It seems a good joke, but it didn’t start that way. At those first, celebrated, Naviga Championships at Amiens in 1967, I was able to run my airscrew hydroplane in a competition for the first time. By the end of the week my model was going well, very well, but lack of experience saw it smashed to pieces, beyond repair. Out of a sense of despair and frustration came the ‘bread roll boat. The hull was made from a wooden placard, the sponsons were ‘ficelles’ from the local bread shop. It looked more like a scarecrow than a hydroplane.

Arriving back at the lakeside, the crowd in the stands surged forward with cries of delight and dozens of cameras. At the running circle the final competition rounds had just finished and willing hands attached the model to a line. The old Eta diesel was started up, but it didn’t go anywhere. Amid cheers, the bread rolls detached and slowly floated off in line, like a convoy of ducks. At the next circle the Russians were making attempts on the World records. Nobody was paying attention to them.