x
This is the story of Thunderstreak, the late Tommy Sopwith’s 1963 Bertram 31 Competition Special, and its three-year restoration. It’s also a story of dedicated powerboat people and skilled marine engineers with the determination to succeed against all the odds.
My tale, however, starts on August Bank Holiday 1963. To this then 13-year-old, that meant one thing: it was the Daily Express Cowes-Torquay powerboat race weekend. Spectating at this new and exciting sport had been getting more dramatic every year. Top speeds had reached 50mph. Engines had got bigger. And louder. Striking, purpose-built raceboats had begun to fill the entry lists – many from the USA and carrying the Bertram brand. The sight of 50 starters lapping the Isle of Wight at full-chat then powering on to Torquay was unforgettable. As the now stretched-out fleet blasted past Cowes for the second time, the visceral bellow of Thunderstreak’s 7-litre Holman-Moody tuned Ford race-engines as it porpoised past trailing a rooster-tail behind it made a lasting impression on my teenage mind. It was love at first sight: or perhaps love at first sound.
Never, for one moment, did I dream that one day I would own her. Fast forward to late summer 2017 and across the River Medina I detected the familiar rumble of just such a pair of V8s. It turned out to be Thunderstreak, sporting her H400 race number. Then in the ownership of Robin Ward, who discovered her in 2014 as a rotting houseboat in an East London marina, he had completed an initial restoration and raced her with mixed results in 2015 and 2016. It took one chat, one test run, and one offer to become the owner of this historic vessel. Now the hard graft would begin.
LABOURS OF HERCULES
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September 2020-Ausgabe von Motor Boat & Yachting.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September 2020-Ausgabe von Motor Boat & Yachting.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
SUNSEEKER OCEAN 182
Sunseeker's tri-deck sibling to the Ocean 90 offers exceptional living space, particularly in the new enclosed upper deck. But how does a boat with such a broad footprint perform at sea? Hugo Andreae finds out
TIME FOR A KEYS CHANGE
Elliott Maurice pulls out all the stops with a Florida cruise his son will never forget
SNOW PRINCESS
Charter company Lumi Yachts is named after the Finnish word for snow, but a few days on board its brand new Princess Y80 is enough to melt anyone's heart
BOAT CUISINE
Phil Sampson visits an historic establishment on the banks of the Beaulieu River
AZIMUT 50 FLYBRIDGE
Azimut's 50 Flybridge is one of those boats that really ought to come with a health warning.
TO THE ROOT OF THE MATTER
Phil Sampson discovers that things are not always as they appear...
HOW TO NAVIGATE IN FOG
Being out in any form of restricted visibility, due to heavy rain, snow, mist or fog, is a major concern to all boat users because three things immediately come into play.
PARKER SORRENTO 100
Behind the wheel of one of this year's most outstanding new boats
BEYOND THE HORIZON
Jasper Smith, founder of Arksen and champion for a new brand of off-grid oceanic adventure, talks to Alex Smith
RIVA 82 DIVA
Riva's aptly named 82 Diva is sharply dressed and highly sought after but does it also deliver a suitably memorable performance?