The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum will present the May offering of its Maritime Distinguished Speaker Series “Butcher Boy and the First Defense of the Lipton Cup,” featuring Raymond Ashley, CEO/president of the San Diego Maritime Museum.

The event will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 16.

Ashley will dive into the narrative surrounding the sailboat Butcher Boy and its important role in shaping the history of Southern California.

The program is free for SBMM Navigators Circle members; $10 for all other members; and $20 for the general public. SBMM members will enjoy a pre-lecture reception from 6:15-6:45 p.m. Register at https://bit.ly/4aPfAWW.

Ashley will unravel the mysteries of a long-ago race and the sailboat Butcher Boy, telling the story of the competition between San Diego and Los Angeles, and how a cast of powerful San Diego personalities with competing visions, (including Edward W. Scripps, John Spreckels, George Marston, and Charles “Boss” Hardy) imagined the community of San Diego.

“On its surface this is a story about a prosaic workboat/yacht, which sailed and raced from San Diego, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara, but in keeping with the idea that the sea connects all things,” said Ashley.

Deploying its political and social resources, San Diego prevailed against Los Angeles in what was then regarded as a contest for the future — determined by railroads, seaport facilities, naval power, urban development, and 20th century sensibilities — all of which converged into this one unlikely race between two ill-matched boats, each the champion of a competing vision.

Butcher Boy was commissioned in 1902, and was built to be the fastest boat on the water. Her role was to provide swift delivery of meats and other such perishables to large vessels that could not enter the San Diego Bay.

Recently, she has been restored by the San Diego Maritime Museum and continues to sail 120 years after her launch, serving as one of the few remaining fragments of bygone history.

The Maritime Distinguished Speaker Series is sponsored by Marie L Morrisroe. To learn more, visit sbmm.org.