WATER SPEED RECORD.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 19093, 27 January 1932, Page 5

WATER SPEED RECORD.

NEW BOAT TO BE BUILT. MISS ENGLAND THE THIRD. b LORD WAKEFIELD'S STATEMENT. 1 I LONDON, December 10. A successor to Miss England the * Second, the world's fastest speed-boat, is to be built. Lord Wakefield made this announcement to the Authors’ Club at a recent meeting. Miss England the Third will, it is hoped, be an even speedier craft than her pre- ( decessor, which gained the worid b record at 103 i miles an hour, and t which has since travelled at over 109 , miles. £ Lord Wakefield, in his speech, discussed the problems connect'd witn y the quest of high speed upon the water. “At highest speed,” he said, “the speed vessel has a draught of v about sin of water. She becomes as r near to an aeroplane, in fact, as a boat can reach, and still remain a v boat. It is the immense pressure of f air and water upon the nose of the hydroplane that forces the vessel up. i ;o that it skims the surface with this j l ’.xcesdingly shallow draught. "Just imagine the pilot’s difficulties. He has to control a boat 33ft in length, packed from stem to stern with a ( dead-wight of machinery, and to , steer it by a rudder operating in per- j < haps less than sin of water. If there j 1 | :.s any disturbance of the surface of j i the water —and absolute calm is very j, j rare, even upon inland waters—the j - beat will tend to leap from wave to ’ wave. “At that speed a direct impact on ( water would have much the same effect as driving a fast car int;> a ; brick wall, or droppi : a ton of concrete from a fourth-floor window You will, I am sure, appreciate the skill and courage of the man at the helm. The recent experiences of Mr Kaye Don at Detroit are evidence enough in support of the view that speed records upon water call for exceptional human qualities. The National Interest. “My interest in this quest for speed records is not so much in speed itself, which is, after all, a relative term anc desirable or not according to circumstances. While I understand, and to some extent share, the sheer ‘thrill’ of this ceaseless pursuit of maximum speed, it is on more general grounds j that I have sponsored these attempts, j They are of value to the industries most closely concerned. They are also in the national interest. “Very many of what are now standard features of the ordinary motorcar engine are the result of experience J of track and road racing. The process | of “hotting-up” an engine of normal | design for the special purpose of rac- ! Ing has again and again led to tne | general adoption of some new device i tried for the first time for this partici ular work. From the earliest days of I motoring - this has been the case, so that it is possible to regard the buildj ing up of successive speed records as an essential part of the practical research work of the British automobile industry. “A clear world’s speed record—on land or water, or in the air—is thus directly beneficial, first to the actual makers of the engine used and, in a secondary degree to the motor industry of the nation as a whole, while it is also a contribution to national prestige. Greater Control and Safety. “I am able to announce that there will be a Miss England the Third. Mr Kaye Don and the experts think that certain modifications will give the pilot greater control and greater safety at high speeds, and I am of opinion that the vessel in its new form will maintain the record against any possible challengers. We are not scrapping Miss England the Second, but keeping her in reserve. “Quite apart from the intrinsic worth of this world’s water speed record, there is plenty of evidence of the great impression that our enterprise has made upon observers abroad. It is perhaps worth recording that international rivalry of this sporting character has in it nothing of rancour.”