Dave Singleton aided by Tom Clement	Dave assists Lionel Lawley	Sue and Jim Free with Antony Rose

The water was almost perfect as the meeting got under way with the 'heavy metal' of the 'A' Class, with two IC boats and three steamers. Dave Sheldrake has built a new hull for his 'A' Class flash steamer, but unlike those of Paul Windross and Bob Kirtley, his is powered by a steam turbine. The noise as the turbine spins up is amazing. The complete boat is little more than an ounce under the 16lb weight limit. It is a steep learning curve for Dave as no one since Jim Bamford in the 1950s has used this power source. Bob Kirtley showed the advantage of an early season outing in France, by putting in two super runs at around the 115mph mark.

It is a while since five 'B' Class boats have run at one meeting and they ranged from Dave Scarnell's vintage boat with a 'Sparky' type motor to John DeMott's exciting larger version of his own build ABC motors. John's 'B' boat has the potential to break the long standing British record, but does prove reluctant to get away. It will not be long before John gets an official run with this motor. Tom Clement was to run out the class winner with his first round run from his ex Doc English boat and engine. Ron Hankins' new hull for his CMB A/BR motor proved to be no slouch with a maiden run of 114mph. A3 proved something of a disappointment despite the very long entry list with only five runs completed. It was not a disappointment for Tony Collins though, as his new Gold Head OPS had been rebuilt with a roller big end and took him to a new personal best at a tad under 120mph that was also quick enough for the class win.

Pete Dirs, Olly Monk, Martin Hamilton	Dave Scarnell with Arthur Wall	John Scarnell's 15cc boat (front)

Dave Singleton has not had a lot of luck recently, so it was heartening to see him lead A2 by a considerable margin from the first round on. His second round speed equalled that of Ron Hankins to three decimal places.  Novice class provided Tony Collins with his second win of the day, while Jim Free rung a good run out of the ASP motor for 2nd place. George Sayell and Antony Rose recorded identical times to three decimal places to share 3rd.

Finally it was on to the lightest of the lines for the A1 and B1 class, and here the gremlins seemed to wreak some sort of havoc with only Sue Free getting a competitive run in. She obviously has a taste for the top step of the podium after Chatellerault. The onset of rain signalled an end to what must have been one of the best attended Kingsbury regattas for a long while.

Results:
A/S Bob Kirtley 115.685mph  A/BR Ron Hankins 114.739mph 2nd Terry Everitt 99.352 3rd John Hyder 77.419
B Tom Clement 74.382mph 2nd Lionel Lawley 51.888  A3 Tony Collins 119.776mph 2nd Pete Dirs 103.584 3rd Steve Poyser 100.996
A2 Dave Singleton 108.507 2nd Terry Everitt 106.747 3rd Ron Hankins 99.176  B1 Sue Free 134.784mph
Novice Tony Collins 87.536mph 2nd Jim Free 82.99  3rd= Antony Rose/George Sayell 65.421

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18th July Open Hydro Regatta
Report & Photos-Hugh Blowers  Results-Arthur Wall

This was the first visit to Kingsbury Water Park for OTW, although we had made regular trips to Bodymoor Heath as it was then known to race full sized hydros on the main lake. The walk through the leafy lane to the lakeside glade was most pleasant, even without the mandatory trolley. Another excellent turnout meant a hectic day for everyone, especially John DeMott, Arthur Wall and other co-opted timekeepers. Even with 30 entries, three rounds were completed in the day.

Bob Kirtley had rebuilt his engine after breaking the crankshaft at Hull and as he put ‘Pisces 2’ on the line, John asked for a third timekeeper. After a hiccup on starting, the boat was underway and accelerating rapidly. Bob waited until it was really singing before putting up his hand, yet still it kept getting quicker. The engine note changed as the prop unloaded, which we have come to recognise as a prelude to the boat taking off, and sure enough, up it went. Bob and Dave Singleton retrieved the still intact boat from the far side of the circuit, but unknown to them, Arthur was already filling out a record sheet. ‘Pisces’ had completed the five laps, setting a new record in the process at 122.5mph almost exactly five years on from Bob’s previous best of 120.79mph. Congratulations to Bob for this incredible run. Sobering to think though that the last two laps were probably around the 125/126 mark.

'Oh Dear'	Arthur Wall confirms a record	Bob's happier now.	Boiler case battered again

Paul Windross had his flash steamer running well until he put his hand up, whereupon it slowed down for five laps, only to speed up again and run exceedingly quickly until the fuel ran out. His luck did not get much better in the second round either when a very loud bang announced to everyone that his boiler had blown up. Being Paul though, he had brought along a spare coil that he fitted before the third round, managing to reel off a considerable number of laps, with the timed run recorded at 107mph.

With John on timing duties and Lionel Lawley absent, Tom Clement and John Benson provided the ‘A’ Class runners. ‘Hellcat’ was reluctant to get into its stride, but John’s ‘Orthon’ looked impressive at a shade under 85mph. Last on the line was John Hyder with his marvellous ‘three cylinder’ OPS AB/R boat. For one glorious moment, all three engines were chiming, and it sounded fantastic, but not enough of them stayed running for a launch. It cannot be far away now for John and this remarkable project. Tom Clement managed one run with the late Doc English’s 15 and ended up as the only ‘B’ Class runner to record a time. The only person to get three good runs in was Terry Everitt with his A/BR OPS, which rounded off the day with a best of 115mph.

Warming up the coils	Now that is HOT	Off it goes	A 'big bang'

‘A3’ was a case of mixed fortunes with the normally consistent Tony Collins blowing his exhaust in round one yet still managed 106mph. Round two and normal service was resumed with Tony recording yet another personal best at 124mph with his OPS Gold head. Since rebuilding the engine Tony has put in run after run at 120+. Just wish I knew what his secret was? Ron Hankins had his PICCO running well for second place, but for the rest of us were reduced to head scratching again and reflecting on what ‘might have been’. Wasn’t it always thus?

The ‘A2’ class is also providing food for thought with all the previously reliable boats and engines seemingly having an attack of the vapours at the same time. Martin Hamilton found out why his diminutive ‘A1’ boat has not been getting away, but now has to re-establish all his settings to get back to the speeds he expects. The only person apparently untroubled by all the aggravation was George Sayell with his Novice boat who had two trouble free runs in the high 70s.

An excellent day, especially for Bob Kirtley. There is no doubt that he can go quicker still, but will have to figure out how to keep the boat on the water at those speeds.

Results:

A/S Bob Kirtley 122.53mph. New Record. 2^nd Paul Windross 107.568mph  A John Benson 84.75mph B Tom Clement 75.08mph
A/BR Terry Everitt 115.569mph. A3 Tony Collins 124.025mph 2^nd Ron Hankins 107.983mph A1 Martin Hamilton 96.774mph
Novice George Sayell 77.634mph.

Paul Windross had his steamer winding up nicely until it skipped, which instantly drops the speed dramatically. If he can overcome this problem then some very fast runs are in prospect as the boat is lapping at around 112/113mph before the prop comes out of the water. The only other person to get a run in the first round was Steve Turley with his A3 boat, prior to his trip to Bulgaria. Jim Free started firing off his fleet of airscrew boats to good effect with his B1 screaming round at 134mph. There was something of an air of disbelief that such perfect conditions resulted in so few runs.