vospers water sport 1962 magazine article

8/8/2019 Vospers Water Sport 1962 Magazine Article

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2/12

THE

^'\'.FFIJT)DL

Uff)11

urf\,-

P O

W E

R

B

O

AT

RACE

@f".;l

"tr+*e-*l

:

Soon

ofter the stort Tramontona

(2) holds

second

ploce

in Blue Moppie's woke.

ln

the

background ore

lockie

S

(10,

left) ond

Ultimo Deo

(21J.

The

'Daily

Express'

lnternational

Race

Reported by

ANTHONY

NEEDELL

F1.rHE

early

morning

of Saturday,

I

September

8th,

saw

the

anxious

I

faces of 45 fast

boat crews

awake

and studying

the sea

and sky over

the

Solent.

Undoubtedly

the

question

which

had dominated

the

Offshore

Powerboat

Race

competitors

for

weeks was

the

weather.

It

turned out

much as

forecast,

W.N.W.

at

about force 4

to 5 with

good

visibility,

and to

the relief

of

all, the

race

was

ON.

As the

10

a.m. starting

time

approached,

a

vast

crowd

assembled

all

along the Cowes

front

and

beaches,

and even

more

irnpressive was

the huge

spectator

boat

fleet

of

sailing

and

power

cruisers,

dinghies,

runabouts

-

the

lot.

Indeed,

so many craft

were

around

as

to

cause a

few

worries

over interference

with

the

race

fleet.

The field

finally

totalled 42 out

of

47,

but

this

excellent

showing

did

not

really compensate

for

the disappointment

that

the

missing

five included

last

year's

winner

Tommy

Sopwith with

No.

1, Thunderbolt

II and

that stalwart veteran,

Bruce Campbell,

with

Christina

IX:

both boats

encoun-

tered

last-minute

troubles.

No.

41,

the

only

all-British

outboard,

had

with-

drawn before

the

race,

one

boat was

excluded and

Dr. Trost of Germany

just

didn't

turn

up,

which

perhaps

justifies

the

sponsors' views

of the

Common

Market.

This

year,

to

give

the boys

and

girls

a bit more

to do, and

also

give

the Cowes

spectators

better

value,

the

course

at

the

start

was

arranged

from

East to

West, over

the

Royal Yacht Squadron

line out

to

the East Lepe buoy,

nearly

two miles

away,

a

90o

turn to

starboard

down to the

Gurnard

Ledge, where

the

course

turned another

90o

to

the

Eastward

leaving

an

M.V,F.

moored

(continued

on

page

614)

612


3/12

CASTR(IL

UUII{S

DAI

LY

EXPRESS

I

NTERNATIONAL

OFFSHORE

P( WERB(}AT

RAOE

The 1962

winner,'Tramontono',

owned

by

R. S.

Wilkins

ond

built by VOSPER

Ltd.

1st

TRAM0]{TA]{A

Driven by

J. K.

QUILL

(Subject to officiol conftrmotion)

Always

askfor

Castrolbyneme

613


4/12

Ofrshore

Powerboat

Race-(continued)

offEgypt

Point to starboard,

and

thence

on course

to

southsea.

At about

9.57

a.m.

the

varied

fleet

started to

get

into

position

for the

controlled time

start,

in

which

boats

in

principle

made

an

ordinary

flying

start

but in fact used

the

M.T.B.

Brave

Borderer as

a

guide

boat,

as

in a rolling

start. Nos.

46 Blotto,

and29

Sansavino,

were

hopelessly

adrift,

being

not

only

in

the

penalty

area

but

over

the

line

as

well

after the

flve

minute

gun.

A

minute to

go,

and a wonderful

start

was

in

the

making,

several

rows

of

craft

in

line

abreast stretching

for

a

t

mile inland

of

Borderer,

and increasing

speed

as they

approached

the

line.

Blue Moppie,

close

in

to

the

guide

boat,

seemed to

have

the edge,

Yo

Yo well

up,

also Jackie

S,

Tramontana

a

little

hemmed

in.

But

right

inshore

Max

Aitken,

in

Glass

Moppie,

came

through,

and

as Borderer

turned

awaY, made

a

tremendous

start

and

led

at

the

gun.

As

they

disappeared

Blue

MoPpie

seemed

to take command,

withJackie S

close

behind

and

Tramontana,

statting

to

eat

'em up. Having

seen

the

big

boys

away,

I

turned

to

see

a

continuous

fleet of

craft

still

crossing

the line-it

must have

taken

a

full

30 seconds

at

least.

I

remember

seeing

the

huskY

Keith

Nelson

boat

(No.

39)

uncon-

cernedly

plunging

through the

seas

set up

by

the leader's

wash,

and

several

of the

smaller,

slower

boys

were cer-

tainly

having

it rough. No. 46

seemed

already

in

trouble,

crawling

across, off

the

plane.

In

a

glorious

fever

we

gazed

at the

M.F.V.

off Egypt Point

and

after

what

seemed

pretty

long

it

was

the

light

blrc'e

Blue

Moppie

which

fairly streaked

round

first

with

Tramontana

a

quite

appreciable

way

back followed

by

the

sporting

Dr.

Savundra

a

very

good

third.

Thereafter

the

fleet streamed

past,

with

Ultima

Dea's

Maseratis

rushing

uP

towards

the

front.

I

particularly

noticed

the big

diesel boat

Lindsay

Chase

in

the

first

dozen,

thus indicating

early

on

the

capabilities

she was

to

prove.

At

Southsea,

Moppie

still

led bY

10

seconds

from

Tramontana,

with

Dt.

Savundra

a

mere

15 seconds

further

behind,

still

leading

the snarling

Mase-

ratis

under

Agnelli's

control.

Lobster

Thermidor

passed

fifth

followed

by

A'Sperenziella.

On

the

long

run

out

to

the

N.A.B,

Tramontana

moved

into first

place,

whilst

wein

Borderer were

tearing

through

Spithead

to

catch

up

the

fleet.

Climbing

aboard

in Cowes after

rushing

down

from commentating

on

the

Squadron

Balcony,

I

was

horrifled

to

meet

Sonny

Levi,

Settimo

Yelo.

His

fast

inboard/outboard

had

failed

going

to

the

1ine, so he was

hitching a

ride.

Neither

Belinda,

No.

33, nor

Bolney

passed

Southsea.

History

thus

repeated

itself,

with

three out at the start.

As

we

left

Spithead

the sea was

already rough

enough

but

we

got

to

the shelter of

Sandown

Bay in

time

lo see

Tramontana

coming through,

followed

by

Moppie,

scarcely 40

seconds

behind,

these

leaders

having

averaged

38 knots.

Jackie

S had been overtaken

by Ultima

Dea,bothbeing

about

7

minutes behind.

Kety,

in

the

hands of Mercury experts

Melly and

Merryfield,

had

disappeared,

Alphabet

swamped

herself and Contango

I

sportingly

went to

the rescue and

then

retired

herself.

Under

way

again

in

Borderer we

met rough stuff South of the

Island.

I

asked Sonny

Levi

how

con-

ditions

compared

with last

year,

and he

reckoned

that

while

they

didn't

look

so

vicious, they

were

pretty nearly

as

bad.

Arxiously,

we

looked for the

leaders,

and soon

spotted the

long

sleek

green

hull

moving

purposefully

and steadily

through

the

seas

and

throwing

out

clouds

of light

spray. Right behind her

-at

times not

20

yards

astern-was

Blue

Moppie,

leaping,

dancing

but

always looking

safe. Sam

Griffiths

was

now

really

showing

us that

his

fame was

no

fluke;

cleverly

he

kept

Moppie

in Tramontana's

wake,

the

masterly

trim of

his

craft

giving

the

crew

an

easy ride. We

paced

them awhile

at nearly

30,

yes

30, knots

in

that rough

and

tumble,

and then

sped

on

to

Boscombe

where,

as last

year,

the water

was calm

in the

land's

shelter. Riding

just

as

intended,

Tramontana came

through

at

11.47 with

Moppie

just

40 seconds behind.

None scamed the

horizon

for

third

man as

keenly

as

Levi,

and

soon Ultima Dea appearcd

from

quite

the wrong direction, found

the

mark

with

difficulty, turned

out

to

sea,

slowed

and

turned

right

round

towards the shore and flnally shot off

on

correct

course.

Only the

narrow

and

crowded

confines

of

Borderer's

bridge

stopped

Sonny

dancing with

frustrated

rage

at

this

nonsensical

navigation of his brain-child. About

13 minutes

later Jackie S rode

happily

through, followed two

minutes later

by

A'Speranziella

and

another surprise.

Undaunted by

all

this horsepower

and

high seas

litt\e

Yo

Yo II lay

sixth, 15

seconds

behind

in

the Italian's

wake

alad

24

minutes

behind Tramontana

itt

56 miles. Once more the

English

Channel

south of the

island

took its

toll;

nine

boats were eliminated

in this stretch,

the most disappointing being the Levi-

designed Cowes-built

Trident

powered

by

three

Volvos.

Her

intrepid

pilot

Don

Shead

had

got

her

up

to seventh

overall

at

the N.A.B.,

ahead

of

Yo Yo,

but

she went

out

somewhere

off Ventnor.

A

very

sad

retirement was

Connie

II,

a

handsome

and well-equipped Christina

which

foundered

off the

Island coast,

her brave

husband and wife crew

rowing

themselves

ashore

in

their rubber

dinghy.

All

along

the Dorset coast

the

sea remained

bumpy and

rain

squalls

increased

discomfort and

decreased

visability.

Here

poor

Dr.

Salundra

ran into trouble

and, before Weymouth,

was

passed

by Nos.

16

and

15;

by

Portland

Lindsay Chase

had

also

passed

him.

Although

some

of them made

the

'Bilf the Boscombe-Portland

leg

knocked

out another six.

Morgan-Giles

really

touched

rock

bottom.

After

losing Monaco Mutineer

before

the race

his

Monaco

Midget struck

something

and

he

had

to

make Weymouth.

Designer

Colin

Mudie

and his

non-

chalant

spouse

Rosemary

suffered

trouble in one

engine after

a happy run

in the

beautiful

big

Smoked

Salmon;

her

smaller sister,

Lobster

Thermidor,

piloted

by Sir Robert Hobart,

was now

thundering

along at the back of

the

field

after

twice repairing his steering.

In

our

'Committee

Commuter'

we saw

little

of

this

as

we

dallied

rather too long

in

Poole

Bay, and we arrived

at Portland

to find

that the two

leaders

had

passed.

We also found a most horriblv confused

The

ltolion'Ultimo

Deo' ot sDeed

6t4


5/12

ffi

ft#ryiffi#tr#

:,#*";

trnj

sea

and,

a

few

miles

beyond,

Blue

Moppie.

I

think

that

this

is

where

she

lost

all

chance of making a race

of it,

for

although

only 4$ minutes

behind at

Portland,

she

just

didn't

have the length

or

power

to

cornbat the

seas

over

the

ten

miles

or

so

west of

the

Bill. We

left

her trying

to

decide

whether to do

a Bruce Campbell,

and

go

round

close

inshore,

or

bash

it

out on the straight

line.

Coming

up with

Tramontana,

we

found her

sailing

serenely on, having

no

doubts about the

shortest distance

between two

points.

She

was

perhaps

down

to

26-27

knots.

To

help

ourphotographers

the Navy

now

gave

us

a

big

thrill.

They

took Borderer

astern

ax'*.ffi

of

the

leading

boat

and

gradually

up

on

her

wake,

until

we

could see

right

down

into her

cockpit,

where

they

seemed

to

be

positively

lounging

in

their

seatsl Having

got

the

shots, Borderer

neatly

peeled

off to

starboard.

The

weather now started to

'fine

off' a

lot

and the last 20 miles or so

of the

notorious

bay

got

calmer

and

calmer

until

it was

positively

indecent

off Torbay

itself

This

last

long leg

still

repeated

the last race

pattern,

only one

boat

Spumante

retiring, a

water

hose

failure

bringing

about

a

sinking

condition.

To

everyone's

delight

its

crew sent

up

their

rockets

to

atftact

a

tow

home.

The

three

leaders stayed the

same

but the others had

a

little

sorting.

Before

Weymouth

Yo

yo

had

already

passed

into

an incredible

fourth

place,

but

I

irlflsay

Chase

passed,

her,

the

ailing

Jackie

S

trailed

away,

the

wonderful

girls

Pamela

Campbell

and

Letty

Curtis.

in Thunderbolt

I,

came

up

into

7th

lp_ot 1ld

the

big

handsome

Anglesey

(No.

7)

recovered

to

8th

place

after

trouble earlier.

We roared

into

Torbay

and

disembarked

amidst

a

vast

and

interested

crowd,

with

a

bright

sun

shining

on

a

calm

bay

absolutely

covered

with little

boats,

and

awaited

the

finishing

stages,

enlivened

this

year

by

the

course

taking

them

right

round

Torbay

and

out

again

to

Teignmouth

and back

to

the

finishing

line

ofl

Torquay.

Tramontana

duly

appeared,

ju-st

before

3

p.m.,

riding

much

happiei

after

getting

rid

of

about

2

tons

of

fuel.

Sh9

_y-as

followed

by

Blue

Moppie,

and

Ultima

Dea

passed

as

Tramoiiana

finished

amid

cheers,

sirens

and

waves.

She

had

taken

5

hours

and

20

minutes

for

170

miles,

an

average

of

nearly

32

knots.

Now

the

excitement

mou;ted,

Lindsay

Chase

rounded

Berry

Head,

closely

pursued

by

little

yo

yo,

ani

by

the

time

they

reappeared.

at

the

fuish the

American

wonder

had

got

back

his,fourth

place.

A

sadly

ail ing

A;

Speran_

ziella

next

appeared,

trailed

remorselv

by

the

girls

who

were

now

really

turning

up the

wick.

They

took

the

Italian.

anJ

were all

set

for

no

less

than

sixth place

when

the

gremlins

in

charge

of

the

fuel

shortage

department

got

to

work:

they

struggled

to

Teignmouth

in

ninth

place,

and

flnally

stopped

for

good

a

miserable

2f

miles

from

the

finish.

They

hadn't

run

out,

the

wretched

stuff

would

not flow.

What

a

tragedy.

Mean-

while,

in this

same

last

leg,

Glass

Moppie

and

Charles

Currey

with

Fairey

Aiirc_

man

pushed

Anglesey

down

to

eighth

place.

The

rest

then

came

one

by

bne,

the

last

being

the

outboard-powered

Thunderbird,

checking

in

at

5

minutes

to

8

p.m.

Poor

little

lanthe

was

again

out

of luck,

finally

getting

to Torquay

only

about

15

minutes

outside

the

tim

limit.

The happy

atmosphere

after

the

finish

was

marred

by

one

of

those

sad.

sad incidents

which

every

race

committee

dreads.

Three

of

the

most

couraseous

finishers,

Illtima

Dea,

A,Spuaizielta

and

Jackie

^S

were

all

reported

as

having

failed

to

round

the

Iiranksome

Chine

buoy.

All

three

were

sincerelv

under the

impression

they

had

followei

the

course

but,

on

learning

that

their

errors

were

confirmed,

all

three

with_

drew

their

course

completion

declara-

tions, leaving

the

Committee

no alterna-

tive

but

to

eliminate

them

from

the

results.

Courteous

sportsmanship

on

all

sides

soon

resolved

the

matter,

and

everyone celebrated

a

prize-giving

in

which

even

parts

of the

ceremonv

were

joyously

hilarious.

TOP:'Cheetoh

l'

(9),

driven

by

John

Coombs

ond E.

Freezer,

ond Kerry

(45),

the outboord

of

Len Melly

and

John

Merryfield.

CENTRE

:

lto

I i a

n-desi

gn

ed,

Cow

es-bu

i lt'

T ri

dent', d r

iv

en by D. Sheod.

BOTTOM:

R.

J.

Chose's 'Lindsoy

Chose'"

615


6/12

THE

HOPEFUL

4

Lobster

Thermidor

5

Christim

II

6

Christirc

X

7

Anglesey

8

Connie

II

9

Cheetah

I

l0

Jockie

S.

I

I

Momco

Mutineer

l2

Monaco

Midget

l4

Gsy

Gazelle

t5

YeYo

II

16

A'Snerenziella

l7

Setiimo

Velo

18

Trident

19

Spumente

2l

Ultirc

Dea

22

Lindsay

Chue

23

lanthe

24

Occqsionql

Admirql

26 Bella

II

27 Faire

Huntsmm

28

Fairey

Huntress

29 Smsavino

30 The

Lesser

Nit

31

Michele

32 Alpine

Mist

33 Belinda

II

34

BIue

Musketeer

35 Pqcemaker

2l

36

Sea

Skiff

I

37 Algor

I

38

Tiji

II

39 Espoir

40

Thunderbird

41

Bqli

Ha'i

42

Red

Bandit

43

Alphobel

44

Glass

Moppie

45 Kerry

46

Blotto

47 Merkur

8

88

Blue

Moppie

aaa

Race

Position

Name of Boat

t

Tfamontarc

2

Blue Moppie

3

Yo-Yo

II

First All-British

Boat

Cheetah

I

First

Diesel

Engine Und€r

15

Litres

Fairey

Huntsman

Fint

Petrol

Engine Under 5* Litres

Yo-Yo

II

First

Outboard

Engine

Thunderbird

First

Production

Boat

(Under

f,4,000)

Faircy

Huntress

First Foreign Boat

Blue Moppie

Concous

D'Elegance

Gay Gazelle

Sealed Handicap

I

Espoir

2

Fafuey Huntsman

3

Gay Gazelle

Name of

Boat

Glass

Moppie

Lindsay

Chase

Anzlesey

Lobster Thermidor

Pacemaker

2l

Occasional Admiral

A

special

Trophy

was awarded

to

t]ne

owaer

of

tlltima

Dea,

A'sperqnziella

and

lackie

S.

for

their sportsmaoship

in

withdrawing their Declarations

when

they

discovered'

after completing

the course,

that

they

had

inadvertently

missed one of the

turning marks.

There were no

entries for the unrestricted hull fom

classification,

No

lady

competitor completed the course.

Awards

Beaverbrook Challenge

Trophy md

f.1,00O.

Silver

Medallion.

€250. Silver Medallion.

10O.

Silver Medallion.

100

and Royal Motor Yacht Club Tropby. Silver

Medallion.

100.

Silver

Medallion.

100.

Silver

Medallion.

f,

100.

Silver Medallion.

{250

and Royal

Torbay Yacht

Club Trophy.

Silver

Medallion.

Leeds

Challenge

Trophy.

fntemational

Boat

Show

Trophy.

250.

Silver

Medallion.

Builder

Broce

Campbell Ltd.

Vosper Ltd.

Bertram Yacht Co.

Bruce Campbell

Ltd.

Bruce

Campbell

Ltd.

Halmatic Ltd,

Pochins

Ltd.

Bruce Campbell Ltd.

A. E, Freezer

Jacqueline Group

Morgan Giles

Morgan Giles

Dorset

Yacht Co.

Bertram Yacht Co,

Cantiere Navaltechnie

Cantiere Navaltechnica

R. W. Clark

Cantiere Navaltechoica

Cantiere Navaltechnica

Peam

& Sons

Westcraft Ltd.

Amphion Ship Builders Ltd.

A/S

Ancas

Fairey Marine Ltd.

Fairey Marine Ltd.

Fairey Marine Ltd.

Fairey Marine Ltd./Harleyford

Estates Ltd.

Fairey Marine

Ltd.

Plymarine

Ltd.

Plymarine Ltd.

Bertram Yacht Co.

Port

Hamble

Ltd.

Chris

Craft

Corp.

W. &

J. Tod Ltd.

Brooklands

Aviation

Ltd.

Keith Nelson & Co. Ltd,

G. Prout &

Sons

Webster

Jenners

of

Thorpe

Ltd.

Marley Tile Co./Southern

Speed

Boats

Bertram

Yacht Co.

Hicke

Boats

Freeman

Marine

Chris Craft

Bertram

Yacht Co.

aaaa

Numerical List

of

Entrants

Race

No.

I

2

Boat

Thunderbolt

II

Tramontana

Smoked Salmon

Owner

Tommy Sopwith

R.

S. Wilkins

Sir Robert Hobart

Sir Robert

Hobart

Pamela

Campbell

Broce

Cmpbell

C, W.

T.

Pochin

P, W. Hicks

J. Coombs

and

E. Freezer

Dr. E. Savundra

M.

L. Morgan-Giles

M. L. Morgan-Giles

S. C.

Maey

R.

Bertram

(U.S.A.)

R.

Levi

(It.)

A. Petroni

(It.)

D.

Shead

A. S.

Hubbard

G.

Agnelli

(It.)

R. J. Chase

H. R. Read

Norman Ricketts

F.

E. Carvill

(Nor.)

Maj. C. Chichester-Smith

C.

G.

James

S. Healey

R. Watts

M.

Sacher

E.

F. J. Perkins

J. Lanyon

John Blue

Denys

Sessions

A. P.

F. Dempster

E.

F. H. Beeson

A,

D. Forndran

P.

and

R. Thomycroft

-A..

Dunning

A. Webster

David

Millbank

A.

Betteridge

Max

Aitken

L.

Melly

and J, Merryfield

B. W. Lewis

Dr. O. Trost

(Ger.)

Peter

Blond

tI/J,

Driver

Length

Owner

-

32

J. K.

Quill

39

Colin Mudie 34

Owner

23

Owner

23

Owner

23

Owner 37

Owner

23

E.

Freezer

29

Owner 35

Cdr.

C. Parsons

38

Owner

24

Omer

34

J. R. Wyme

22

A. Petroni

26

R. Levi

20

Ower

19

Owner

30

Owner

32

S. F. Hewett

33

Owner

18

Capt. G.

Hunt, RNR

31

Owner

23

Chas. Currey

25

Peter

Twiss

20

Owner

20

Owner

20

D.Grose

25

Noel

Tolkien 2l

Owner

18

Owner

22

Owner

tB

A. Cribb

24

Owner

18

Owner

18

Owners

30

F.

Prout

22

Owner

20

Nigel

Riley

22

Owner

23

Eaqines

Triple Crusaders

Twin C.R.M.s

Twin Chryslers

One CheYrolet

Twin

Crusaders

Crusader

Twin Coventry

Climax

Twin

Crusaders

Twin

Volvos

Twin Jaguars

Triple Chryslers

Twin Caterpillars

(D)

Twin

Perkins

(D)

Twin Rolls-Royce

Twin Volvos

Twin

Crusaders

Twin Mercruisers

Twin Volvos

Twin

G

Mrtors

(D)

Triple Mazeratis

Triple

G

Motors

(D)

Twin Evinrudes

(O)

Triple Perkins

(D)

Twin

Volvos

Twin Barracudas

(D)

Dearborn

Interceptor

Twin Volvos

Perkins

(D)

Twin

Barracudas

(D)

Twin Rootes Alpines

Twin Mercruisers

Twin Volvos

Twin Mercruisers

Twin Chris-Craft

Twin Volvos

Healey

Twin

Perkins

(D)

Twin Johnsons

(O)

Twin Bermudas

(O)

Twin

Healey

Twin Mercuries

(O)

Twin

Chryslers

Twin

Mercuries

(O)

Twin Zephyrs

Twin Chris

Craft

Twin

Fords

Designer

Brue Campbell

Cdr. Peter DuCme

Ray

Hmt

Ray

Hut

Ray Hunt

Bruce

Campbell

Ufa Fox

Ray Hunt

Fairmile Construction Co.

Cyril V.

Hughes

Morgan Giles

Morgan Giles

Dorset Yacht Co.

Ray

Hunt

Renato Levi

Renato

l€vi

Renato Levi

Renato

Levi

Renato Levi

G. Pearn

G.

L. Watson

&

Co.

Philip Ellis

Nils

Pran

Ray

Hunt

Ray Hunt

Ray Hunt

Ray

Hmt

Ray

Hunt

Cox & Haswell

Britannia Marine Plastics

Ray Hunt

Port Hamble Ltd.

Chris Craft Corp,

W. & J, Tod Ltd.

Brooklands Aviation Ltd,

T.T. Boat Designs Ltd.

Prout

Bros.

A, Webster

W.

F. Rayner

Ltd.

Uffa Fox

Ray Hunt

David

Martin

Phil

Hughes

Chris

Craft

Ray Hunt

Stoted

B.H.P.

I,180

2.308

Owner

Owners

Owner

Owner

Owner

28

2l

20

J)

28

930

650

360

400

650

200

400

900

430

460

200

600

460

200

350

1,380

591

150

3'15

2N

200

240

200

105

200

150

270

160

220

3'to

130

102

260

150

80

250

90

600

200

168

550

660

aa

Owner

R. S. Wilkins

R. Bertram

R. Bertram

f.

Coombs,{E.

Freezer

Major Chichester-Smith

R. Bertram

A.Dming

C.

G.

James

R.

Bertram

S. C. Macey

P.

& R. Thornycroft

Major

Chichester-Smith

S. C. Maey

Owner

Max

A.itken

R.

J.

Chase

C. W.

T.

Pochin

Cmdr.

Sir Robert Hobart, R.N.

Denys Sessions

Norman Ricketts

Driver(s)

J.

K.

Quill

S. Griffith/P. Blond

J.

Wyme

CLASS AWARDS

E. Freezer

C. Currey

J. Wynne

D. C. Norvall

P,

Twiss

S. Griffith/iP.

Blond

S.

C, Macey

P.

& R. Thornycroft

C.

Cwrey

S. C. Macey

COURSE

PLAQUES

awarded to all

prizewimers

and to the following who

successfully completed

the

course:

Driver

Max Aitken

S.

F.

Hewett

C. W.

T. Pochin

Cmdr.

Sir Robert Hobart,

R.N.

D. W.

Simmonds

Capt. G.

Hunt, R.N.R.

ANd

THE

SUCCESSFUT

Award Winners

and Official

Finishers

616


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I

The

winner

of

the

1962

International

6Daily

Express'

Offshore Powerboat Race.

She was

built

by

Vospers

to

the

design

of Peter

ilu Cane for

Mr.

R.

S.

Wilkins,

and driven

by Jeffrey

Quill.

Her

principal

dimensions

are as follows:

Length

(Overall)

(Water

Line)

42

ft.3 in.

39

ft.2

in.

Beam .

13 ft.

Depth

6

ft.

7

in.

The engines are

twin

C.R.M.

183

AD,

which

are based

on the fsotta Fraschini

marine

unit, delivering

1,150

B.H.P.

at2r000

r.p.m.

619


10/12

FFrus

2nd Offshore Powerboat Race

I

has

produced

a feast of data which

I

can take months to

digest

and

study. The Race Progress

Chart

alone

reveals

many interesting

facts

concerning

relevent

performances.

I

will endeavour,

however,

to

comment

on the

leading

points

as

they

strike me.

Prior

to

the

race

opinions

were

being understandably

voiced

that

with

2,000

h.p.

monsters

about, what

chance

had normal small boats to

get

a

look

in,

but what

happens?

Little Yo Yo II,

22ft. O

in.

w.1.,

200

h.p.,

costing under

€5,000,

and

consuming

less

than

70

gallons

of

petrol,

romps home

in

3rd

place

overall

Admitted

the biggest monster

won

as

expected and

beat

Yo

Yo

II by I Iu.

35

mins. but there

were

an

awful

lot of

other monsters

or

sub-monsters

which

did

not finish ahead

of

Yo Yo

II.

A

little

higher up

the

scale

but almost equally

meritorious

was the

performance

of the

bigger Bertram,

Blue Moppie,

having

little

more

than

a

quarter

the

power

and

two-thirds

the length

she finished

17

minutes

behind

the

winner. After

having

led

on

the

first leg

she was

second throughout

and only

4 minutes

behind at Portland

Bill.

These

two

performances

only really

emphasise

and underline

the

basic

lessons

of any mechanical

and

man-

made machine

sport, namely, 'knowing

what has to be

done and

being able to

do it,' for

that is

just

what these

Americans do.

Look at

the

tally,

two

U.S.A.

starters,

two

places

in

the first

three;

four

Bertram

boats

and

three

finishes

in

second,

third

and

fifth

places.

All

these

boats are standard

production

Bertram hulls

adapted

to a

greater

or

lesser

degree

for

racing

but

using

quite

ordinary

production

petrol

engines.

What

is

the

secret

of

their

success?

Answer:

None-the

Hunt/Bertram

is a

thundering

fine boat

which they

know

how to drive.

Tramontana

is the

result

of Mr. Dick

Wilkins'

directive,

'build

the best

boat

possible

within the rules to

win

this

race'.

The

directive

was addressed

to

Cmdr. P. Du

Cane and

Vospers Ltd.,

world

leaders in

the

design and

buitding

of

small high-speed

craft, who

tackled

the

job

in

that

all-embracing

attitude

which

I

personally

admire.

Cmdr.

Du

Cane decided on strength

and bags

of

meaty

power

developed

at

low revs

and

with

plenty

of

reserve.

This

decision

set

him

the

very considerable

problem

of

not

letting

the weight

inevitably

involved

prove

too much for

the

power

within

the

top water-line limits.

He has

succeeded magnificently

although not

that

far

from the

wrong side of the

equation in respect

of

top speed; her

pilot

Jeffrey

Quill

stated

that he

was

'trying

as

hard

as

he

cared

to'.

I

think

he could have

pulled

out another 10

per

cent

if

he had

been

really

hard

pressed

more by

Tramontana's

ability

to

ride

through

just

about anything rather

than

pure

maximum. Incidentally,

I

under-

stand they used about

600

gallons

of

petrol.

The Italian team were

a

flne

collection

of

technical

exercises.

They

suffered

some bad

luck

but also I am

afraid

a

modicum

of

under

par

preparation.

Ultima Dea, Renato Levi's 'unJimited'

contender,

was an

example

of

light-

weight

high-efficiency

power

in

a speed-

type

hull,

her three Maseratis, rated at

1,380 h.p., weight, according to figures,

about 80

per

cent of one C.R.M. or the

same as

two

Crusaders

totalling

only

600

h.p. Prima facie Ultima

Dea

did not

seem as

good

a

sea boat

as

A'Speran-

ziella

and

did not

perhaps get

a chance

to

show

her absolute top speed. Yet,

as

the

Race

Progress

Chart

shows she

lost

only 5

minutes

on

Tramontana across

Lyme

Bay to Blue Moppie's 16] minutes

i

ii

att:i :l

:t:i:l#:l

;riil*ri

,.,.

+lli

deflcit,

but lost a

minute

on

the final

calm flat-out

stretches

of Skerries-

Teignmouth*Torquay,

a reversal

of

the

expectation

of

slow

in the rough

and

fast

on

the

flat. Donavon

Shead's

Trident,

a Levi

design built under the

owner's direction at

R.

&

W.

Clark

of

Cowes, was

most racer-like

in execution

and

powered

by

three Volvos.

She lay

seventh at

the

N.A.B.

Tower but failed

after Ventnor

with, I

understand, hull

damage. Levi's own Settimo

Velo

falled

through engine trouble on the

start line

and Bruce Campbell's Coventry Climax

engined

Christina never

turned

up, thus

robbing us of seeing how the

very

high

power

to

weight short boats would cope

since a

craft of

this type

won the

Miami-

Nassau

race.

albeit in

a flat calm.

Amongst the

big

boats

Dr. Emil

Savundra

was

unluckier

than

he

deserved

with

Jackie

S.

She

is

a

'normal'

boat

of

excellent sea-keeping

qualities

and

OFFSHORE

POWERBOAT

RACE

AN ANALYS IS

by ANTHONY

NEEDELL

Chief Scrutineer,

Handicapper,

Race

Commentator

and

Member

of the

Race

and

Organising

Committees.

:: ;:;6x

'+##ri

Americon-entered'

Bl

ue

Moppie', second

overoll behind' T

romontono'.

620


11/12

powered

by

three

Chryslers she

proved

very fast but very

steady.

Anglesey

also

had

delaying troubles

but finished

strongly

in

eighth

place.

Designed by

Uffa

Fox

she is a handsome

ship of

'non-Hunt'

form.

On

this

point

the

Race

Chart

shows

a most interesting

situation. Anglesey, No. 7, and Nos. 3,

44,

and

to

some

extent

No.

5, were

all

within

a

minute or

so

of one

another to

Branksome,

and

only

No.

7 had fallen

behind

at

Portland. These

four

vessels

have

only

one

thing

in

common, the

same

horsepower, otherwise

they

all

differ

from

one

another as

regards

length,

hull

form,

displacement, de-

signer,

or

even combinations

of

all

factors,

and they had

come

through

rough and calm seas. Satisfied

about the

inexactitude of

the science of Naval

Architecture?

The

diesel boats deserve

nothing

but

praise.

Their

ratio of flnishers to starters

was

only

50

per

cent, but not due, as far

as I

know,

to

engine failures. Pride

of

place goes

to the Peter Thornycroft boat

Espoir, No. 39, winner of

the handicap.

She

is

a

rugged,

heavy-duty,

round-bilge

production

boat

powered

by

twin

Perkins. Charles

Currey made another

incredible run with a mere

10.8 litres

of

diesel engine

and

averaging

23*

knots.

Lindsay

Chase, admittedly

having

a

complex

and

powerful

installation, was

always amongst

the

leaders,

and

to

finish

fifth

overall

in the

company

in this

race

is

a

feat indeed. Study

the

Chart

and the entry

list

and

you

will

see

that

she was

always ahead

of

the

above-

mentioned

petrol-powered quarter

Nos.

7

,

44, 3

and

5,

with the saze horsepower.

At

the lower end

of the

scale, No.

30,

though a non-finisher,

merits mention,

with

a

single

diesel

of 105 h.p. she had

climbed to seventeenth

at Weymouth

and

averaged

19 knots.

Speaking

of

the

Handicap Prize,

I

seize

this

opportunity

to

explain that this

was computed

on

horsepower, hull form,

weight

and water-line

length,

these

factors

indicating

a

potential

maximum

speed, the theoretical maximums being

adjusted in light of a number of known

performances.

It

was

thus an

Index

of

Performance, the winner having achieved

the

best

improvement

in race speed

relevant to

indicated

speed.

I

hope some

will

agree

with

me that

if

one were to

tr.

A

strong boat.

2. A

good

driver.

3.

A

good

navigator.

4. Reliable and

effective machinery.

Get this

lot right

first

and

then

you

can

go

to the

'Psychiatrists'

over hull

form,

power/weight

ratios,

water-line

lengths, controllable ballast, etc.

If I

am

a

miserable moralist

I'm afraid it's too

bad, but

harping

heavily this right

and

ready

treatment

of

the

15

official

finishers

80

per

cent were absolutely

ready

and in

position

at

the

start of

official scrutineering

at 9

a.m.

on

the

preceding

Friday. Any

questions

?

Reverting to this

concern at the

pos-

sible future

patterns

of

the

race

in

light

of

this

year's

batch of monsters.

The

organisers are certainly

well

aware

of

the

position

and

have been

studying

possible

rule revisions

since before

this

event.

There

is

undoubtedly

a

very

strong

desire

to

maintain

the race

as a

spectacular

sporting

contest

with

one

outright

winner

and

quite

definitely

Tramontana, Ultima

Dea and

their

sisters do contribute to hull

design and

development.

Finally

it

gives

me

great

pleasure

to

review

the

performance

of boat No.

44,

Glass

Moppie, entered and

driven by

the

Hon. Max

Aitken

and

navigated

by

Capt.

J. Coote.

Glass

Moppie has

been

converted

into

a smart and

comfortable

Cruiser and

is

heavier

and less tuned

than

last

year.

Driving to

strict

rev.

limits with no

other

purpose

than

to

finish, her crew made a

copybook

run

into fifth

placing

and the

vessel arrived

as

clean

and smart as when

she left.

Mr. Aitken did not enter for

any of the

subsidiary

prizes,

otherwise he

may well

have been

a

serious contender

for

the

concours d'elegance.

Mr. Aitken

and

the

Daily

Express have

provided

the race,

and John

Coote

is

behind its

organisa-

tion. The fact that they

so ably

practice

what they

preach

emphasises

still further

the enormous

practical

contributions

made

to

the sport and

the

industry

by

Beaverbrook Newspapers and its

Chair-

man.

Two

of

the

scrutineering

team:

Mourice

Hedgecock

(reft)

and

lvlortyn

Watkins,

Production

ond Art Editor of Watersport.

tiL:

j:ija

iii'.:''.

;

',']

;;i,":lS

'Foirey Huntsmon', driven

by Chorles

Curry,

which come home in seventh

bloce.

produce

a

'moral

winners'

list,

judged

on the

merits

of

the flnishers,

it

would

be

much the

same.

I

have commented

on the

smaller and

cheaper boat

performances

elsewhere

in

this issue, but

a

word

about outboards.

Out

of four

starters, one

finished and

one was outside

the time limit so

it is

not

that bad, but

I still

fail to see why,

say,

3 litres of outboard

should not

perform

in a

comparable

manner

to

3.2 or

3.6

litres of inboard/outboard.

Speaking

of

the latter

there is little doubt that they

are

here

to

stay, 12 runners using

this

form of

transmission. Percentagewise

the

finishing results of the boats con-

cerned

was

poor,

but

in no case did the

drivers

fail.

I do not

think

that

any

remarkable

deductions

can

be

made

from the

performance

of

the catamaran

except to

praise

the

builders, Messrs.

Prout. Constructing vessels

of

this type

to

withstand

the seas

is

not

easy.

Her

enthusiastic

owner told

me

that

the

Johnson

engines ran beautifully through-

out and used

about 110

gallons

of

fuel.

Having,

so

to

speak, thrown a

lot of

facts in the air, what do we deduce

is the

form

to

succeed in this

race?

Quite

obviously

the

greatest

factors to combat

are

the weather and the exacting course.

It

would

be remarkable indeed if

we

ever

did have

a flat

calm over the whole

distance.

Dr.

Needell's

prescription,

following a diagnosis of

competitors

and

finishers, is simple and old-fashioned:

621


12/12

we thing I can claim of

my own

efforts

in

connection

with

the

International Daily

Express Off-

shore Powerboat

Race

is that

I recog-

nised the winner

as soon

as I

saw

her. I

can

prove

it,

too, by

my

choice

of

the

Theo

Page drawing

for the

month,

showing Tramontana

in

all

her

glory

She

had

all

the winning cards,

power,

design, know-how,

a

good pilot

and,

above

all,

she

was

ready.

Peter

Du

Cane

and Jeffrey

Quill

must be very satisfied

with

a

job

well done, and

let

us

hope

that

the very

justifiably

proud

owner,

Mr.

R.

S.

Vy'ilkins, will continue

to

sponsor this atl-important

aspect

of

power

boat racing.

After a week during

which time

I

had

a

look

round

the entries

getting

ready

on

the south coast,

and was lucky

to

arrive al the right moments

to

have

a

ride

in

both Tramontana

and the beauti-

fully

prepared

Pacemaker

21

from

Port

Hamble,

I

returned home to Norfolk

to

try

out my own mount,

Red

Bandit,

at

Jenner's

of

Thorpe.

It

was a

wonderful

sunny weekend, and everything

seemed

to

go

well,

although time was tight

for

the final trials, and

to

make certain

of

everything.

When

all

possible

tests

had

been carried out on the calm waters

of

the Broads. the boat was

lifted

out on

to

her trailer, and the long

journey

by

road

to the Hamble

began.

In

order to coax a

few more revs

out

of

the

engine, it

had been

decided

to

have the

propellers

slightly

modified on

the

way,

and it

was not

until

late on the

Thursday before the race that we finally

left

Moody's

Yard,

at

Hamble, for

Cowes. There were

four

of

us on board,

Geoflrey

Milbank, who was

to

be my

co-driver,

and two

of

the

boys

from

Jenners,

Harold Faircloth and

Terry

Metcalf who were to stay with us

until

the

'off',

in

order

to

sort

out

any last

minute

snags. It

was a nasty crossing,

with

a short sea,

a

lot

of

wind,

and no

chance

to

give

her a real

go,

as there was

too much loose kit and

spare

parts

on

board. However, she seemed

to

take to

the rough water

in

a

manner befitting a

Norfolk

lady.

Friday morning was taken

up

with

scrutineering, and here

I

must

put

on

record that

it

was

done most efficiently,

and with very little bother. It must have

been

because

we were

the

very first

boat

through Next, a

trip

out for the benefit

of

the compass adjuster, and then all

ready

for

a final run

to

get

a few

more

hours in on engines that were still tight.

Having

called at

the

steps of the

Gloucester

in order to

pick

up

our

navigator, Guy Hummell, I confidently

switched on the starboard engine,

turned

the key to start

position

but

there

was an ominous silence. Up

floor-

boards, and there was one nasty hot

burnt-out starter

motor

which

had

obviously been

trying

to

keep up with

the

running of the engine for some time.

DRIVER'S

EYES

Nothing for it but

to

have

it off, and

find a

replacement

starter and switch.

This

was

done, and

it

looked

as if all

was

well

again.

NIGEL

RILEY

sees

the

Offshore

Race

THROUGH

The only close

turns

were

at the start

and,

as from

last

year's

experience I

knew

that we were

not likely to see very

much, we set

offon a full-scale

rehearsal,

with

Guy

pointing

out

the various

points

to me

so

that

I could

identify

them

quickly

the next day.

We took

it

very

gently

so

as

to

run

in

the motors

quietly,

and all went

well until we

approached

Southsea,

when a

cry of

'fire' had all the crew

jumping

around

at

high

speed until

the trouble

was

located.

No

great

drama,

but another

faulty

switch

had

caused the

port

starter

motor

to

suffer

the

same

fate

as

had

the starboard

earlier

in

the day. So

it

was

back

to Cowes, and

more rushing

about.

Despite

these set-backs,

it

was

with

reasonable

confidence

that

the

full

crew,

Geoffrey,

Guy and

myself,

gathered

on

board

the following morn-

ing.

It

was

bright

and sunny and

from

what we had

been

told

by

the W.R.N.S.

Officer

at the briefing

the

night

before,

we had

little

to fear from

the

sea.

Her

actual

words,

to

be remembered

later,

were,

'waves

of not

more

than

two

to

three

feet'.

I

had decided

that, as we were not

in

the fastest

class, and

there was

a

long

way

to

go,

it

would

be better

to keep

out of

trouble at the

start and

pick

the

clearest

passage,

so we set

off

for the

back

of the

penalty

area. On the way a

cheerful

roar

through

a

loud

hailer

shattered

my left ear-drum,

and

there

was

the beaming

Cyril

Benstead,

with

a

party

of

the L.M.B.R.C., waving

us on

our way.

I took up station

towards

the outside

of

the

line;

I could

see Tramontana

behind

me ready

for

a

long

run-in,

and

alongside

were

Len Melly

and

John

Merryfield

on

one

hand,

and

Doug

Norvall

and

Ron

Clarke.

in

the

out-

board

Cat,

on

the other.

The minutes

ticked away and slowly

Brave Borderer,

the

Naval start boat, began

to move.

I

opened the

throttle and we started

for

the

line.

Faster boats began

to

creep

past,

but we were still

right there

in

the

middle

of

them

with the

line

coming

closer every second.

The

gun

fired and

we were over. There were

boats all over

the

place

and the sea boiled. As soon

as

I

found a

flat

wake

to

follow, a

faster

boat seemed

to cut across from nowhere,

and there

was

yet

another

dirty big

hole

to

fall into.

By

the time we had rounded

the flrst two markers and

headed back

to the start

line and

Cowes, it was

apparent that all was not

well with us.

The

revs

were

still not

there

and

although there were

still

quite

a

few

behind,

the main

field

began

to draw

away

from

us.

Still,

it was well worth

pressing

on

because

anything

can

happen

in

a

race of

this

length,

as was soon

apparent when

we

saw one race

boat

after

another halted

with

hatches open

or frantic

bailing

in

progress.

The

run

down

to

Southsea

was un-

eventful,

the sun shone and

there

was

a

following sea

to

speed

us on our way,

but

we

still

could

not

get

those extra

vital

revs. Out at

the Nab Tower there

was an armada

of small craft to wave us

on our

way.

A

bit more

sea

here but we

were soon under

the lea of Sandown

and

Shanklin. Then came

St. Catherine

Point. Multiply

the

forecast

wave

height four times, and

it

was

not far off;

with our

reduced

power

we could

not

get

over

the top of the

waves

and after

the

third or

fourth

green

mouthful

the

Naval Met.

service

came

under

dis-

cussion

About this time

some

home

supporters

from Norlolk

came over

in

a

chartered

aeroplane. I hate small

aeroplanes but I began

to

wonder

if

they

had not

got

the best seat. One consola-

tion

was

that

others

were

flnding

things

unpleasant

too;

we

began

to

overhaul

one or two who could not

cope

with

the

seas

as well

as

we

could, and

this

was

better. Past

the Needles, with

Geoffrey

driving

now,

I had a

good

look

round. No sight of anything

ahead but a

number of

clouds

of

spray behind

indi-

cated

that we were by no

means last.

Once

under the lea

of

Bournemouth

we had

a

chance

to take stock

and

it

soon became apparent

that

we were

not

going

to make

it

this

year.

The

boat

was

fine and had done

all it

had been

asked

to

do

in

the rough

passage

that we had

been through, but with

the lack of

revs

on

full

power

our fuel was clearly not

going

to

last out,

so rather than

get

caught

out with our

trousers down

in

Lyme

Bay

we headed

into Poole

Harbour

and

the

hospitality of

the

Royal

Motor

Yacht Club.

Here

we

found John

Blue

who

had arrived

just

in front

of us with similar

troubles. We

did make

Torquay, thanks

to

him.

By

car.

But next

year

. .

"

622

vospers water sport 1962 magazine article

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