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The BAD BOYS Of
The Sport and their Boats. |
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| Lord “Lucky” Lucan |
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| Top of the list in this section of
British Powerboat history must go to one Lord Lucan who took up
powerboat racing after seeing his brother in law Bill Shand Kydd the
wallpaper heir, racing in Blue Moppie the ex Bertram/Griffiths boat of
1962. |
| Lucky’s first boat was a 25ft Bruce
Campbell Christina powered by 2 Ford Dearborne Interceptors totalling
800hp, quite a power ratio in those days. |
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The race in 1963 was run in flat calm for the first stages and
Lucan was seen having a battle royal with Tom Sopwith in
Thunderstreak, Keith Schellenberg in Blue Moppie, Sonny Levi in
A’Spereanziella and Dennis Miller in Damian 3 all averaging 42
knots through the Solent, approaching the Needles White Migrant
(right) suddenly vanished from the timesheets when leading, it
was never clarified what the cause was but she sank off the
Needles. Lucan and co driver Bruce Campbell were rescued
unharmed.
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| In 1964 Lucan was back with one of the
new Don Aronow Formula 233’s powered by a single 388hp Daytona called
“MIGRANT”. He returned again with the same boat the following year
but never raced again. Lucan of course hit the news in 1975 following
the murder of his children’s nanny and his subsequent “disappearance”… |
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| Dr Emil Savundra…. |
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| Boss of the Fire and Marine insurance
company entered the Cowes Torquay in 1962 with Jackie S powered by three
Chrysler inboards. |
| This Cyril Hughes design was unusual in
that there was no superstructure, the following year though he returned
with a cabin and wheelhouse and the hull stuffed full with 4 Jaguar
engines totalling 1000hp… Jackie had stability problems and the good
Doctor’s boat first climbed on to the deck of Don Shead’s TRIDENT……then
proceeded to hit a small converted ships lifeboat called the Skipjack
amidships , Skipjack sank under the weight and all aboard scrambled onto
Jackie.. Once safely transferred Jackie set off again but luck was not
on the Doctor’s side as this time the Needles lighthouse was the target
of her amorous advances, luckily hitting the base at a mere 10mph and
causing little damage to either party…and retired…. |
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| 1964 saw the Doctor return with a new
Fred Cross design built by R.W.CLARK at Cowes, also called Jackie S she
was designed with a hull based on Flying Boat pontoon designs, extremely
innovative but suffered engine problems.. 1965 and he is back again with
Westlake built engines which again were temperamental and consumed spark
plugs at an alarming rate!, the original Jackie was also entered
although not so powerful these days. Neither finished… Next up was
another JACKIE, Flying Jackie was built by Watermota powered by Sea
unicorns as the Doctor called his engines and there was also a Vosper
design powered by 2 Daytona’s later to be called Flying Fish…BUT the
Doctors finances were extremely shakey his business was subsidising the
boats and the ends did not meet. The collapse of FIRE and MARINE was one
of the biggest failures of the day and it was jail for fraud that
beckoned the Doctor next not the sea…… |
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