While the Bristol MES which had amalgamated with the Bristol Boat Club and Model Car Club was still going strong, celebrating its centenary in 2009, the Cotswold Model Marine Club was becoming the hotbed of tethered hydros in the area. John would eventually be elected Commodore of the Cotswold Club as well as a Vice President of the Model Hydroplane Club. Alongside John there was Jim Williams, another fine engineer, and between them they formed a formidable team for many years to come.

On his return to the tethered hydroplane fraternity it is obvious that John had been busy in the workshop in the intervening period, as he had produced an exceptionally well engineered schnuerle ported 15cc engine for the ‘B’ class. Like his larger hydroplane engines, everything for the motor, including the castings were produced at home, and Mike Rose still remembers the Sundays when his mother wanted to start the dinner but had to wait as the moulds were being dried in the oven. He also had another project on the go as he had built an exact replica of his original 15cc four-stroke ‘Meteor’ to run in the vintage class.

Mike still has the original drawings and as you can see from the pictures is still in possession of the patterns.  If anyone was interested in building this engine then they could borrow the drawings and patterns.

By 1979 John was competing regularly and beginning to get his boat and engine sorted. At the International that year he finished second to Ian Berne in the Miniature Speed Trophy with a run at 57.06mph. Run concurrently, either at area championships or the International are the Collier Cup and Mears Trophy for a run of 1000yds. John, and later his son Mike, were almost to make these trophies their personal property.

In 1981 John was awarded the prestigious Windermere Trophy for adding nearly 8mph to his existing record with a run of 86.04mph at his home water, South Cerney. Away from the water 1982 would see the  family celebrating the wedding of Mike Rose to Karen Atwill. By the early 80s, the number of competitors running the 15cc home built engines was diminishing and while Jim Williams could never quite match the top speeds that John was producing, he was never far behind and would often pick up wins when John was not competing or not quite up to his best. The two of them also started to look seriously at the 10cc Class and for the 83 season, both had joined the ranks of A3 competitors. With the arrival of NAVIGA classes the 'C' and 'C/Restricted' classes had ceased to exist as such, so rather than a homebuilt motor, John had opted for an Italian commercial engine, as they were the ones ruling the roost in that class. While the OPS was making the running, John chose to go with a PICCO. Designed primarily for tethered cars, the motor was not sufficiently tractable for boat work so John modified the porting with a new stepped piston to give a less aggressive exhaust timing.

In 1987, Peter Hill wrote in Model Boats that “He would like to make special reference to John Rose, who brought three boats to the International, giving six starts, six speeds, and each boat took first place in its allotted class, the first time this has ever been achieved. This was due to the fact that John is not only a very good engineer and has long experience of both full size and model hydroplanes, but his boats are always immaculate in design, finish and preparation; a lesson not only to hydroplanists but to all that run power boats”. This followed a clean sweep at the International where John won the ‘B’ Class at 95.6mph, A3 at 116mph with the PICCO and the Vintage class at 65.78mph with ‘Meteor’, which would also win him the Lambert Trophy for the first time.

John being despatched to find out the depth of the new lake at Cerney!

John's younger son Mike was now becoming equally involved with racing tethered hydroplanes with the arrival of the ‘Novice’ class, which prompted him to join his dad in the sport. Mike was soon to make his mark as well, adding his name to the record books with his Novice class boats. Mike and Karen also presented John and Marion Rose with a grandson Antony in 1987, to be followed  by a granddaughter Kayleigh in 1989. Antony has embraced tethered hydroplanes most enthusiastically, while Kayleigh's views on the sport are less clear.

The wins with the new boats continued through the following seasons until the 22^nd of May 94 at Kingfisher, where John put in a run of 110.42mph in round one to set a new record and the first run over 110 by a 15cc boat. In round two the boat went even quicker to set yet another new record, and by quite a margin, with a speed of 115.91mph. This record still stands today, 15 years on!

Cerney in 1991 with the newly built hulls.	John Assisted by Jim Williams	Watching a run at St Albans

In Sept 92 a large contingent from the UK travelled to Amiens, France for an International regatta.
Jim Free provides this panel of photos of John Rose at that meeting.

Throughout the 1980s, Bob Kirtley had been working tirelessly on developing his ‘A’ Class flash steamer, upping the class record regularly. In 1988 Ian Berne joined the fray, and from then on the pair of them pushed the record up, almost on a run by run basis at times. By the end of 1989 the magic 100 mph had been well and truly smashed which persuaded Stan Poyser to have another go with a flash steamer. This competition carried on through the 90s, which obviously appealed to John who set about building himself a flash steam outfit. While the ‘A’ Class record was regularly being broken, the ‘B’ Class mark had stood for years, until Stan Poyser turned his attentions to the smaller class. With the weight constraints the 'B' class presented a very challenging design and engineering exercise, which John took on enthusiastically with this superbly engineered, single cylinder flash steam engine that he started building in 1995.

Poppet valve, hairpin valve springs, adjustable throw pump eccentric and uniquely, twin rams on fuel and water pump.

As well as continuing to work on the flash steamer, the 95 and 96 seasons produced the usual crop of race wins and trophies for John, including the Miniature Speed and Collier double at the International each year.

Unfortunately 1996 would be the last season that would see John Rose competing around the country and dominating ‘B’ Class racing. The steam project would also remain unfinished, as John was taken seriously ill during the winter and after a six month battle with cancer, died on the 19^th of June 1997.
 

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