Owing to a lack of wind and fog the start of the race was delayed from May 16th to May 17th. The start was held 3/4 mile East of the Sandy Hook lightship where a steamer flying an enormous burgee of the Imperial Yacht Club (Germany) fired the noon starting gun. (The Kaiser finally organized the race after discussions between various yacht clubs broke down. The prize was an impressive gold cup known as the Kaisers Cup- later found to be only gold plated.) There were 11 entrants in the race and the start was held in a light easterly wind, mist and a large swell.

Atlantic, which was the third yacht across the start line, is shown just after the start of the race. The steamer that started the race is not shown but would be further to the right of the spectator tug at the right hand side of the painting. Just astern of Atlantic is the 137ft. schooner Endymion. In 1900 she sailed from Sandy Hook to the Needles off the Isle of Wight in 13 days 8 hours, which was the fastest Atlantic crossing until broken by Atlantic in this race. The square rigger to windward of Atlantic is the 1490 ton Valhalla. Just ahead of Valhalla is the three masted schooner Untowana. She is in the process of turning to port to cross astern of the starting steamer. Neither Valhalla nor Untowana had all their sails set at the time of the start gun.

Atlantic completed the race in 12 days 4 hours, 16 hours faster than Endymion's 1900 passage and nearly 24 hours ahead of second finisher, Hamburg. This record, for a race across the Atlantic by a monohull, has only recently been broken!

Atlantic was owned by Wilson Marshall and skippered by the famous Charlie Barr. She was 187 ft. length on deck, designed by William Gardener and built of steel at Shooter's Island, New York, in 1903.