PHEW BIRD!
Relief as iconic hydroplane thrills onlookers after steering glitch nearly foils her return to the water
SHE was the iconic craft in which Donald Campbell broke speed records – and in which he met a tragic end while trying to break yet another.
Now, half a century after the notorious crash which killed him, his famed hydroplane Bluebird K7 has returned to the water.
Yesterday, the jet-powered craft was driven across Loch fad, on the Isle of Bute, as scores of cheering onlookers watched from the shore.
they included Mr Campbell’s daughter, Gina, who was clutching a teddy bear that her father had taken with him on his final trip.
the cuddly mascot, Mr Whoppit, was found floating among debris after the crash which killed Mr Campbell on January 4, 1967.
the 45-year-old had been trying to break his 276mph speed record in Bluebird on Coniston Water in the Lake District.
It is estimated that he was travelling at more than 300mph when the hydroplane flipped and split in two.
the wreckage lay on the bed of the lake until it was raised in 2001 by engineer Bill Smith, who led the restoration of the boat.
the body of Mr Campbell, still wearing his race overalls, was recovered soon after Bluebird was hauled from the depths.
Yesterday, after a successful test run, Miss Campbell, 71, embraced Mr Smith and praised his hard work in restoring the vessel.
She said: ‘I am absolutely elated. She ran wonderfully well and looked beautiful out on the water. And it’s all down to one man: Bill. He’s boneheaded, arrogant, single-minded and tireless – just like my dad.
‘Watching him effortlessly command people and give them direction, that’s what it was like watching my father. He wouldn’t take no for an answer either.’
Miss Campbell, a former powerboat racer, added that Bluebird could be a ‘grumpy old lady’ and it was ‘a relief’ to see her moving.
Lead pilot ted Walsh got the hydroplane going at 1.30pm before a round trip of nearly half a mile.
Mr Smith, 51, jumped for joy and did a small jig in front of his applauding crew as he returned. He said: ‘twenty-two years ago I went diving in the Lake District after my girlfriend dumped me – little did I know that it would lead to this.
‘It’s an epic feeling to see it go at a clip after all these years of hard work. It was four years of finding it then rebuilding took 17. I can’t wait to see how quick it can go.’
He added: ‘She will be back in the water tomorrow and we will go bigger, better and faster.’ Mr Walsh, 52, said Bluebird ran ‘like it was built yesterday’, even if the cockpit was ‘bloody noisy’.
He added: ‘It was a cracking trip but there was a bit of panic with the steering at first.
‘She wouldn’t respond on the first three turns. I was turning and turning but she wouldn’t budge. finally I felt her start to move and breathed a sigh of relief. She even started to plane, though we didn’t want to hit a high speed.’
Andrew Dix, 69, from Melbourne, Australia, was eager to watch Bluebird’s journey after following the restoration on Youtube.
He said: ‘It has been a project of extraordinary dedication.
‘It was a pleasure to watch them take these first baby steps today. If you remember the accident and the attempts to find it in the 1960s, it makes today very special.
‘It even has the original union Jack on the back, it’s quite breathtaking.’
Jean Lanham, 55, from Prestwick, Ayrshire, described Bluebird’ as ‘incredible to look at’.
She said: ‘Just the shape of it fills me with nostalgia.
‘I saw it on television yesterday and it captured my imagination – I had to come and see it in person.
‘to see it sit so serenely on the surface of the loch, it’s so perfectly British.’
‘Like it was built yesterday’