Iain and I had a day out today. We headed to Rothesay to see a boat 'Bluebird' which has been restored.
Donald Campbell used to test his jet-engine hydroplane 'Bluebird' to see how fast she could go.(He broke eight world speed records on water and on land in the 1950s and 1960s.) He died on January 4 1967 aged 45 when it flipped into the air and disintegrated as he attempted a new water speed record on Coniston Water in Cumbria. (He had set himself a target of reaching 300mph.)
In 2001 Campbell’s body – with his race suit intact – and the wreckage of 'Bluebird' were recovered from the depths of the lake.
In 2001 Campbell’s body – with his race suit intact – and the wreckage of 'Bluebird' were recovered from the depths of the lake.
The restored boat came to Bute this weekend on a low-loader from South Shields where Bill Smith, an engineer, has since been lovingly restoring the boat to her former glory.
Here are some photos I took today on my iPhone.
Quite by chance Iain and I arrived at exactly the moment the first test run was about to take place. I simply held up my iPhone and managed to capture the start. There is silence ... then the noise of the jet-engine Va ro-o-o-o-m echoes across the lake! Wow! (Takes me back to the days when I watched hydroplane races on Lake Okanagan at the Kelowna Regatta and also Lake Chelan in Washington State.)
Above is a video of 40 seconds at the start (with Iain in the foreground)
and a shorter one of 16 seconds at the end of the test run.
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