HATS OFF TO MISS ENGLAND !

HATS OFF TO MISS ENGLAND HI! KAYE DON REGAINS FOR BRITAIN THE WORLD’S WATER SPEED RECORD WITH A SPEED OF 119.81 M.P.H.

WHAT a debt Of gratitude this country owes to that great sportsman, Lord Wakefield ! When he announced his intention of building” Miss England III” for the purpose of regaining for Great Britain the world’s water speed record, one instinctively felt that his purpose would inevitably be accomplished.

For some considerable period after the boat was launched, however, so many were the trials and tribtldtions of those connected with the record attempt that there began to creep into the public mind a doubt as to whether the boat was really capable of breaking the record. Now, after a Series of magnificent runs, she has proved to all the world that when a group of Englishmen set out to reach a certain goal, no amount of bad luck can stand in their path.

Let us recount briefly the history of the boat from the .date of its launching up to the present time. When Miss England III was sent to Lake Garda she was fitted with the same engines as Miss England II. Her maximum speed, however,

seemed to be in the region of 105 m.p.h. and she appeared to be down at the bow. Without loss of time she was transported back to England, and two of the latest Rolls Royce ” R” engines fitted about a foot further aft. This, as everyone knows, caused the craft to ” porpoise ” badly and various unsuccessful remedies were tried, until Mr. Thorneycroft himself insisted upon a ride in the boat, after which the angle of attack of the front step was altered.

It was difficult at first .to see whether this alteration had been successful, as more trouble had meantime developed. The two inside water scoops were failing to function, so the outside scoops were moved farther out and the inside ones took their place. Still, however, there was a certain amount of starving and all the scoops were moved to the front step to be clear of the slip-stream. Still more trouble was in store, however, for one of the gear-box cases broke and the weary mechanics were once again called upon. After a series of exasperating

trouble with the slipway, everything was at last ready and a run over the measured mile was made at 5 o’clock in the morning. Everything functioned perfectly and two timed runs were made giving a mean speed of 117.43 m.p.h. Although this was well over the late record, Kaye Don was doubtful if there would be any breakfast ready yet, so out he went again, with a different “dope” in the tanks. The result was a mean speed of 119.81 m.p.h.

To beat the existing record by such a wide margin is a feat of which all those connected with the adventure may justly be proud, and we offer our sincere congratulations to Lord Wakefield who made the enterprise financially possible, Mr. Thorneycroft and his staff of men who built the boat, Messrs. Rolls Royce for designing and building the most wonderful engines in the world, and last, but by no means least, to the intrepid pilot of the craft, Kaye Don, and his engineer, R. Garner.

B. P. petrol, Smith’s instruments, Ryland Varnish, and Moseley aircushions were used.