ACCIDENT TO SPEEDBOAT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22102, 4 November 1933, Page 16

ACCIDENT TO SPEEDBOAT

MISS BRITAIN 111 IN FLAMES. (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, September 29. , Mr H. Seott-Paine, who returned from America last week after an attempt to win for Britain the Harmsworth Motor Boat Speed Trophy, set up two new records with a speed of 95.08 miles per hour on Sunday in Poole Harbour. His spectacular displays, however, almost ended in tragedy. He raced Miss Britain 111 seven times up and down the course at high speed. On the eighth run there was a violent back-fire, a long flash of flame, and an explosion. Then the spectators saw a burst of flame, near the cockpit, and in a moment the boat was shrouded in a dense pall of smoke. Mr Scott-Paine and his mechanic, Mr Gordon Thomas, jumped on the forepart of the boat. Craft of all descriptions went to their rescue, and they were taken off by dinghy. The former boarded Miss Britain, which was still burning furiously, and assisted a party using fire extinguishers to quell the .fire. PETROL IN THE HULL, Mr Scott-Paine’s life-jacket was burned, and Mr Gordon Thomas was burned on the back of the neck. Mr Scott-Painc said: “ I had no business to have gone out again. I ought to have given up after I had made the record. I thought it was worth taking the chance because I had definitely promised the crowd to run at 5.30. We were in jeopardy all the time. “ After our first run we were about to re-fuel when I found we had petrol in the hull of the boat. I got my mechanic to g<j over the petrol system, and I checked it, and it seemed O.K. We then re-fuelled, but when we got afloat the engine was not running so. well.

“ It wag as we turned at the western end that we caught fire. There ia always some back-firing on the turn, and this must have ignited the petrol in the hull. Both my mechanic and myself were immediately enveloped in flames, but we managed to stay in our seats a few seconds while we slowed the boat down to get her flat on the water. “ Ft seemed about half an hour before a boat I’eached us, but it was actually only a few minutes. We then left Miss Britain because we were afraid the petrol tank might explode.

"If the boat had been made of" wood we should have lost the whole outfit. Really the worst damage is the cowl over the engine. An examination of the engine has revealed that it is not nearly do badly damaged as we x.t first thought,”