- 5 minutes ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:09To be continued...
00:31In the 1920s and 30s, British and American speedboat racers competed against each other in a series of desperate and
00:39bitter duels.
00:41The races excited the imagination of the public, and the eyes of millions watched these gladiatorial spectacles making the impossible
00:49possible.
00:52The Goliath American power-packed, supercharged fastboats faced fierce combat from the lean and innovative British challengers.
01:00I should be very surprised if I have any luck, but I'll promise you I'll do the best I can
01:05to bring that trophy back here.
01:07Many of the crews were injured. Tragically, some were to die.
01:13But Britain and America would go head-to-head in one of the greatest spectator sports of the century.
01:26July 2003, the Isle of Wight, England.
01:31An international field of offshore powerboat racers take to the water to compete for the 100th anniversary of the International
01:38Harmsworth Trophy.
01:40Racing in three heats over three days, the trophy is the ultimate prize in powerboat racing, and the symbol of
01:46speedboat supremacy.
01:49It's nation versus nation.
01:51The British challenger this year was Lord Normanton, competing in Premier Crew.
01:57It's the trophy that everybody wants to win.
02:01If you haven't won the Harmsworth you haven't achieved, I want to win it.
02:07I want to get my name on that trophy.
02:11But this year's winner was Hans Burdnick of Austria, who beat off the British challenge.
02:18These champions are the latest in a line that goes back more than 100 years.
02:29Michigan, America.
02:32For centuries, the gentle ripples of the great American lakes were not disturbed by anything more rigorous than the slow
02:38rhythm of canoes and rowing boats.
02:46Then, in 1893, Christopher Columbus Smith drove the first powerboat on the St. Clair River with a petrol engine.
02:54It cruised at nine miles per hour.
03:04As soon as the powerboat was invented, faster and faster boats started to be built, and someone wanted to race
03:11them.
03:18The 1900s witnessed the first great duels of speed and record-breaking.
03:22The combustion engine was pushed to greater and greater limits.
03:26Motor racing sports began to draw huge crowds around the world.
03:34Then, in 1903, Alfred Harmsworth, proprietor of the Daily Mail, created the first international speedboat challenge, the Harmsworth Trophy.
03:46The rules stated that the crews and the boats must both be from the competing country.
03:53The size of hull and the power of the engines were unlimited.
04:00The winner of the first Harmsworth race was the English Napier Racing Launch, with a notable top speed of 19
04:06miles per hour.
04:09After the First World War, in Detroit, Garfield Wood, the American who was to dominate the next 20 years of
04:15speedboat racing, was preparing to enter the race.
04:21Gar Wood was a millionaire, who had made his fortune by inventing the hydraulic truck hoist.
04:26But his first love was speedboats.
04:31His sport became a passion, his passion became an obsession, greater and greater power into more and more efficiently built
04:39boats,
04:39which he started by calling Miss Detroit, because it was the Motor City, and then patriotically calling Miss America.
04:49Gar Wood had a successful powerboat business, and all his engineering innovation went into speedboat racing.
04:56Wood's first racing speedboat was a hydroplane, Miss Detroit.
05:00It was a revolutionary leap forward, with the boat planing on top of the water,
05:05and it had the stability to be driven by much larger engines.
05:09The future of speedboat racing seemed to be in America, with what became known as the Roaring Twenties.
05:29The rich and famous were enjoying a hedonistic lifestyle.
05:33Water sports and speedboat racing was becoming all the rage.
05:39This was the sport of millionaires.
05:44In August 1920, Gar Wood arrived at Osborne Bay, Isle of Wight, with his new boat, Miss America,
05:51to challenge for the first time for the Harmsworth Trophy.
05:56Thousands of spectators lined the shores for this historic event.
06:01Gar Wood won the race, outclassing the British with his two 1,000 horsepower engines.
06:08Well, he never settled for second. He always had to be the best.
06:12And the man had no fear.
06:14He just jumped in those boats, he ran those boats, and whatever happened, happened, you know.
06:19Well, Gar Wood had taken the top prize in powerboating with his vast Miss America boat.
06:27From now on, the Harmsworth would be held in Wood's hometown of Detroit,
06:31until someone could challenge him and win.
06:34Every race attracted the world's press, but Wood and his Miss America 2,
06:39now fitted out with four huge aircraft engines, beat off all opposition.
06:46Wood thrived on competition.
06:48He would never miss any opportunity for a race, and loved the publicity.
06:59Then, in 1925, he raced the fastest train in the world down the Hudson River in his baby Gar speedboat,
07:071,250 miles from Albany to New York.
07:12It was beautifully staged.
07:14There were thousands of people along the river,
07:16and there was an airplane following them from above that was broadcasting to a wireless station.
07:21He knew how to drum up publicity, and he knew how to have a good time.
07:26To the astonishment of America, he beat the train by 41 minutes.
07:36In Britain, the second of the legendary figures in powerboating was now about to enter the frame.
07:44Hubert Scott Payne of the British powerboat company in Hyde, already a British speed legend,
07:49decided to mount a challenge against Gar Wood's latest, Miss America 7.
07:54Racing the boats at high speeds against the Americans is a way of proving the designs that he had were
07:59better than the Americans,
08:01using different engines and different design concepts,
08:04and that really proved the product when it came to the marketplace.
08:11Like Gar Wood, Scott Payne was already a successful engineer and innovator.
08:15He had made his fortune in supermarine aviation,
08:18and had won the world-famous Schneider Trophy air race,
08:21with a design that later spawned a Spitfire.
08:32He was terribly British, and I can always remember as a kid him saying to me,
08:36remember, my dear, you're a British, and you marry a Britisher.
08:41Oh, no, he was very, very patriotic, yes.
08:44He was always innovative.
08:47Weight was the biggest problem, of course.
08:48Everything, being an aircraft man from supermarine,
08:52weight was no good.
08:53It had to be strong, but anything but weight, unnecessary, out.
08:57He didn't like it if you beat him.
09:00I mean, he made it, and he knew it, and he'd tell you,
09:03lucky, you'd say he was lucky, or something.
09:06And, of course, my eldest brother used to say,
09:09not luck, it's experience.
09:11He wants a bit more experience than what you've got.
09:14And that he didn't look at.
09:17Scott Payne's ideas were revolutionary,
09:20and were diametrically opposite to the American approach.
09:23Scott Payne proposed a small, single-engined boat
09:26to compete against the brute force of Gar Wood's mighty aero engines.
09:32The construction took only seven weeks in great secrecy in the Hive boatyard.
09:38You probably have about 20 or 30 people who were absolutely sworn to secrecy
09:41about what was going on.
09:42No-one else was allowed to go into those sheds,
09:44and out would come a boat that, you know, people would just take people by surprise.
09:47He was certainly concerned with other companies trying to pinch his ideas.
09:52I mean, there was a lot of competition,
09:54and he was jealous of his design, which he knew was right and good,
09:57and he didn't want anybody else to get hold of him if he could avoid it.
10:02Scott Payne then persuaded the most celebrated motor racing driver of the day,
10:06the first man to travel on land at 200 miles per hour,
10:10to join him as team driver, Henry Seagrave.
10:141923, the Grand Prix at Tours, a distance of 496 miles.
10:22Britain's Sunbeam team included Henry Seagrave and K.D. Guinness.
10:25The race was one at an average speed of 75.3 miles an hour by Henry Seagrave.
10:31But Seagrave had no experience with fast boats,
10:35so Scott Payne personally taught Seagrave the skills needed
10:38to master the manoeuvrability of the boat,
10:41to control high speed on straight runs,
10:44and handling around tight corners without dangerously turning over.
10:49Scotty felt that he knew a lot about boats.
10:51Seagrave had hardly handled the helm of a boat,
10:53and so he could be alongside him and teach him the ropes
10:56and build the boat at the same time.
11:03In 1929, Seagrave broke the land speed record
11:06with a run of 231 miles per hour at Daytona Beach, Florida.
11:12Fresh from this success, he went on to compete in Miss England
11:16at the World Motorboat Championship in Miami.
11:20Could Seagrave bring his prowess from the racetrack
11:23to the world of powerboats?
11:25How would the fastest man on land fare
11:28when he came up against Gar Wood,
11:30the fastest man on water?
11:41At the 1929 Miami regatta,
11:44Gar Wood, the American water speed champion,
11:47looking for challengers,
11:48was desperate to give Henry Seagrave,
11:50the British land speed record holder,
11:52a good race.
11:54His aim was to seduce the English speed king
11:56to the thrills of speedboat racing.
12:00Without other challengers,
12:02Gar Wood wanted to encourage Seagrave
12:04to mount a British challenge for the Harmsworth
12:06later that year.
12:09Seagrave was given the pole position,
12:11but soon was dangerously fighting Wood's wash.
12:15The dramatic confrontation between Miss England
12:17and Miss America 7 took place across a 12-mile course.
12:22After a tense second heat,
12:25Seagrave finally drew ahead of the American
12:26and to victory.
12:28For the first time in nine years,
12:30a British boat had beaten Gar Wood.
12:34It was a real scoop for the yard.
12:36It boosted everyone's morale,
12:38and it was a great attribute to Scott Payne,
12:42and it paved the way for future successors.
12:47Waiting for news back in Britain,
12:49a jubilant Scott Payne received a cable
12:51from Seagrave in America.
12:54We won.
12:55Boat ran dead ahead horizontally,
12:57handles beautifully,
12:58no wash,
12:59hull simply wonderful,
13:01motor wonderful.
13:02Congratulations, Seagrave.
13:06The victory over America
13:08turned into a national celebration.
13:11Seagrave was now speed king on land and water.
13:14He returned home to a knighthood
13:16and a hero's welcome.
13:23Now a major celebrity,
13:25Seagrave was poached from Scott Payne
13:27to join a new British powerboat team.
13:29Their goal,
13:30to win back the Harmsworth Trophy.
13:34But first,
13:35he had one more ambition to fulfil,
13:37and he took his new boat,
13:39Miss England 2,
13:40to Lake Windermere
13:41in an attempt to break
13:42the world water speed record.
13:44To my friend,
13:47Sir Henry Seagrave,
13:50I convey
13:51my sincere wishes.
13:55I hope that good luck
13:57will continue with him
13:59when he is at the helm
14:02of this boat.
14:04It couldn't go wrong.
14:05It was a beautiful white boat.
14:07It had a fine team,
14:08Union Jacks.
14:09Everything was gung-ho
14:11for a most wonderful speed record.
14:13They go down the lake.
14:15The boat is going well.
14:17No propellers breaking.
14:18It's going up to 95 miles an hour.
14:20This is it.
14:21This is the feeling
14:22that we're going to get a record.
14:24We're going to beat that American.
14:25We really are going to be successful.
14:28Seagrave made two timed runs.
14:30His average speed
14:31was 98 miles per hour.
14:34But he didn't realise
14:35he had broken Garwood's record
14:37by 5 miles per hour.
14:39So, to the surprise of the crowds,
14:42he turned and accelerated
14:44for a third, all-out run.
14:47But bear in mind
14:48it was the Friday the 13th of June, 1930.
14:52This was a man
14:53that didn't carry mascots.
14:55But this is a man
14:55who went out,
14:56broke the record
14:57and then said,
14:57let's turn her around
14:59and put full throttle
15:00and see what she will do.
15:02The roar was terrific.
15:05Racing now at over 100 miles per hour,
15:07Miss England made a sudden turn
15:09then slowly cartwheeled
15:11out of the water
15:11with her engines screaming.
15:14It was the worst that could happen.
15:16The boat had hit a submerged log.
15:20He comes to consciousness
15:22and he says,
15:25did I break the record?
15:27Yeah, said his wife,
15:30trying to sort of hold back the tears.
15:31He said, well,
15:33how much by?
15:35Five miles an hour.
15:37And Seagrave,
15:38who'd survived so many things,
15:40said,
15:41now I can die.
15:44Sir Henry Seagrave,
15:46along with mechanic Ted Garner,
15:48died.
15:49Chief mechanic Michael Wilcox
15:51miraculously survived.
15:55For Gar Wood,
15:57this was also a blow.
15:58Now he had lost his challenger.
16:01By 1926,
16:03Gar Wood was getting to the point
16:05where what did he have a trophy for
16:06if he didn't have any challengers?
16:09Now a new eccentric driver
16:10appeared briefly on the scene,
16:12ready and willing
16:13to take on Gar Wood's challenge.
16:17Betty Carstairs,
16:19having driven ambulances
16:20on the Western Front
16:21and things like that,
16:22very brave,
16:23determined,
16:23strong woman
16:24with tattoos on her arms,
16:26decided
16:27that she would like
16:28to get into par boat racing.
16:30Gar Wood,
16:31desperate to guarantee
16:32a good harm's worth challenger,
16:34helped the millionaires
16:35to build a new boat,
16:37Estelle 5,
16:38almost a mirror image
16:39of his Miss America 8.
16:43Gar Wood had a competitor
16:45and that was what saw
16:46the escalation of interest
16:48in that race,
16:49which led to thousands
16:51and hundreds of thousands
16:52of people turning up
16:53to see this extraordinary combat.
16:55It was the first time
16:56that there was a full British team
16:57going over to America,
16:58to contest against
16:59the invincible Mr. Gar Wood.
17:01This is Estelle 4.
17:03We have two unsupercharged napiers
17:05and inside is Estelle 5,
17:07the two supercharged napiers
17:09and I think we have
17:11a pretty good chance.
17:12I can't say,
17:13I don't like to say very much
17:15because I don't think
17:16it's very good luck
17:17to boost oneself.
17:20Although the boats
17:21were evenly matched,
17:22for Betty Carstairs
17:23it was a disaster.
17:24Her engine blew up.
17:26She would never challenge again.
17:29Gar Wood went on to win
17:30the 1930 Harmsworth Trophy
17:32in Miss America 8
17:33with his brother George
17:35a close second
17:35in Miss America 7.
17:39It was now time
17:40for Scott Payne
17:41to reveal his revolutionary design
17:43developed in the secret workshop
17:45at Hive.
17:47Miss Britain 1
17:48had been built
17:49as a test bed of ideas
17:50for a future Harmsworth challenge.
17:53Keen to push the engineering
17:54to its limits,
17:55Scott Payne decided
17:56to compete
17:57for the Detroit
17:58International News Trophy.
18:00But first,
18:02it was time to talk
18:03to the press.
18:06Although it isn't as vast
18:07as I would like it to be,
18:09nothing ever is of course,
18:11it has proved
18:12to be very successful.
18:14The great idea
18:16is to do away
18:17with the heavy sides
18:18of the boat
18:19and take
18:20the strains
18:21of the structure
18:23through a central girder
18:25which you see here
18:27and it is built up
18:29of wood longerons
18:30and struts
18:31in exactly the same manner
18:32as an aeroplane cutel arm.
18:40He could build the boat
18:41in the yard,
18:42design it in the yard,
18:43test it on the water
18:44outside the yard
18:46and then that was of course
18:47a big bonus,
18:49a big plus sign.
18:51And then again,
18:51of course,
18:52the competition,
18:53the thought of a competition
18:54in a race,
18:55I think,
18:55to Scottie
18:55was just, you know,
18:56like gunpowder.
18:57He had to go
18:58and had to win.
19:00He used to say
19:01that he used to think
19:02about going for the
19:02Harmsworth Trophy
19:03every time he shaved
19:04in the morning.
19:05It was a long-term ambition.
19:07He was going to get it back
19:09for Britain
19:10and that's why
19:11he called his boats
19:12Miss Britain.
19:13Notice the way
19:14Miss Britain turns
19:15without decelerating at all.
19:18As I've already told you,
19:20I know I've got
19:20a tough job on
19:22and I should be very surprised
19:23if I have any luck
19:24but I'll promise you
19:25I'll do the best I can
19:26to bring that trophy back here.
19:28Miss Britain 1
19:30was shipped to America
19:31to compete
19:31in the single-engine
19:32Detroit News
19:33Trophy.
19:36Here,
19:37the unusual design
19:37proved a winner
19:38and impressed the Americans
19:40enormously with both
19:41her speed
19:41and maneuverability.
19:45The rivalry
19:46between the two nations
19:47and the competing teams
19:49was becoming intense.
19:54In 1930,
19:55back in Britain,
19:57Miss England 2
19:57was miraculously salvaged
19:59from Lake Windermere.
20:01Two new Rolls-Royce engines
20:03were fitted
20:04to compete for the
20:05world water speed record
20:06and a future
20:07British Harmsworth challenge.
20:10Now another legendary figure
20:12in motor racing
20:13was about to enter the race.
20:15Miss England's new driver
20:16driver was Kay Don,
20:18the latest world land speed record holder.
20:28Whilst Don was still preparing
20:29to mount his challenge,
20:31Gar Wood showed up
20:32the British once again.
20:35in Detroit,
20:36he became the first man
20:37in the world
20:37to break the
20:38100 miles per hour barrier
20:40in a speedboat
20:40over a measured mile.
20:47Gar Wood
20:48humbly maintained
20:49that his success
20:50was due to
20:51two captains
20:52of fate.
20:53These teddy bears
20:55have been our mascots
20:57for years.
20:59Teddy,
21:00the one I hold,
21:01is my lucky bear
21:03and Bruin,
21:04the one Orland Johnson
21:05holds,
21:06is his lucky bear
21:07and the combination
21:07is hard to beat.
21:09Buenos Aires,
21:10April 1931.
21:12Our reason
21:13for being here
21:14is to attack
21:16the world's
21:18water speed record
21:19recently
21:20wrestled from
21:21Great Britain
21:21by America.
21:25Wood's record
21:26only stood
21:27for three days.
21:28In Buenos Aires,
21:29Kay Don snatched it
21:31back from America
21:31by a marginal
21:32one and a quarter
21:33miles per hour
21:34in a record-breaking
21:36103.5 miles per hour.
21:40Kay Don was fated
21:42on his return to London
21:43and welcomed
21:44by Lord Wakefield,
21:45whose patriotic sponsorship
21:46had finally paid off.
21:49Mr. Kay Don,
21:52I am very glad
21:53indeed to welcome
21:55you home
21:56and to offer you
21:58my warmest congratulations
22:00upon your success
22:02with my Miss England
22:04number two.
22:06I am very grateful
22:07to you, Lord Wakefield,
22:08with the very warm welcome
22:10you have extended to me
22:12on my return home
22:13and I feel proud
22:15to think
22:16I've had the opportunity
22:17of regaining
22:18for Great Britain
22:19the world's speed
22:20water record.
22:23Fresh from this success,
22:25it was now time
22:26for Kay Don
22:27and Miss England too
22:28to take on
22:29Gar Wood
22:29to win back
22:30the world's most
22:31prestigious trophy,
22:32the Harmsworth.
22:34In 1931,
22:36nearly a million people
22:38lined the Detroit River
22:39to witness
22:40what would turn out
22:41to be
22:41the most controversial
22:42speedboat race
22:43of all time
22:44between Britain
22:45and America.
22:57September 1931,
22:58Detroit,
22:59Motor City, USA.
23:02These were the days
23:03of economic depression,
23:05prohibition,
23:06gangsters
23:06and bootleg boos.
23:09But everybody in America
23:10knew this was also
23:11the venue
23:12for the greatest
23:13head-to-head
23:13speedboat race ever,
23:15the 17th Harmsworth Trophy.
23:18Kay Don
23:19and the Miss England
23:202 team
23:21travelled from Britain
23:22to challenge
23:22Gar Wood's
23:23two boats,
23:24Miss America 8
23:25and 9.
23:26It gives me great pleasure
23:27to come to this
23:27very wonderful city.
23:28I've been looking forward
23:30for many months
23:30to the race
23:32that I'm going to have
23:33with that great sportsman,
23:35Commodore Gar Wood,
23:37the man, I should say,
23:37who has done more
23:38for the motorboat industry
23:39than any other man
23:40in the world.
23:41I think we shall see
23:42a very excellent contest.
23:44Great pleasure
23:45to introduce you...
23:45But before the great duel
23:46on water,
23:47for the world's press,
23:49some verbal shadowboxing.
23:51I'll be glad to take you around
23:52and show you this course
23:54that we have
23:54and show you
23:55where the high spots are
23:56and the low spots
23:57and so forth.
23:57So when you get out there
23:59and run around
23:59110 miles an hour,
24:01you won't have to hunt
24:01around for these things.
24:02Just let her go.
24:04Well, now,
24:04let's hope to not,
24:05Mr. Wood,
24:05and I do appreciate it
24:06very, very much today.
24:07Starting from
24:08the Detroit Yacht Club
24:09in the Detroit River,
24:10the Harnsworth Trophy race
24:12of 1931
24:13has prompted
24:13more lively debate
24:14than any sporting event
24:15since the famous
24:16Long Count in Chicago.
24:17Here is one of the
24:18principal figures
24:19in the argument,
24:20Kay Don.
24:21And the people still
24:21talk about the race.
24:23I've had a lot of the
24:24old-timers come in the shop
24:25and, you know,
24:26everybody talks about the race,
24:28you know,
24:29who won or was it
24:30dirty play or whatever happened.
24:32The rivalry was there
24:33and, of course,
24:34you had a kind of
24:35a one-sided crowd here
24:36because everybody
24:38was rooting for Gar Wood.
24:39To me,
24:40the start was terrific
24:41to watch all these boats
24:43circling around
24:44trying to time it right
24:46and hear Gar Wood
24:47is coming from
24:48way back there,
24:49you know,
24:50and bang,
24:50they hit the starting line.
24:52Kay Don got away
24:53to a beautiful start
24:54in the first heat.
24:55Miss England
24:56is in the center
24:57with Gar on the right
24:58and the second wood boat
24:59on the inside of the course.
25:01To complete the race,
25:03the boats had to travel
25:04six times
25:05around a five-mile course.
25:06There were to be
25:07three heats
25:08over three days.
25:11The key to winning
25:12was split-second timing
25:14across the start line.
25:16More than five seconds early
25:17and you were disqualified.
25:19Time it right,
25:19you win pole position
25:20and the contender
25:21is left to fight your wash.
25:28You feel like a gladiator.
25:31You feel you're in the middle
25:32of the ring
25:32and as the gladiator says,
25:34is this what you want?
25:35Is this what you've come for?
25:38Have you come to see us win
25:39or have you come to see us die?
25:42Perhaps some of you
25:42have come to see us die.
25:48Almost a million spectators
25:50lined the riverbanks
25:51and jetties,
25:52packed tight
25:53at every vantage point
25:54in countless boats,
25:55cruisers and yachts.
25:57This was the largest crowd
25:58in the history
25:59of any sporting event.
26:09Of course,
26:09I was kind of privileged
26:10a little bit
26:11because knowing Gar Wood,
26:13we got some spots
26:14right under the judge's stand
26:16and right on the water's edge
26:18at the end of main dock
26:19where we could really
26:20observe everything
26:21both up and downstream.
26:23And when he got across
26:25from the starting line,
26:28the sound was deafening.
26:33As they say,
26:34the wig and the dead,
26:35ear piercing.
26:37At the end of the first lap
26:38when the boats
26:38passed the starting line
26:39at the Yacht Club,
26:41Miss England was traveling
26:42better than 90 miles an hour
26:43and was gaining
26:44on Miss America night.
26:45It was a joust.
26:46It was almost a joust
26:48to the death
26:48because they were doing speeds
26:50that no boats
26:50in the history
26:51of marine engineering
26:52had ever done
26:53and going around
26:54a 35-lap course
26:55to do it.
26:56This was nothing short
26:58of suicidal,
27:00but suicidal
27:00in a very public way.
27:02Miss England second,
27:04silver gray
27:05and with Kay Don
27:06and his mechanics
27:07sitting in front
27:08of the engines.
27:09And here's Miss America ninth,
27:11mahogany red in color
27:12with Gar Wood
27:13and his mechanician
27:14sitting aft
27:15of the motors.
27:18They passed the Yacht Club
27:19again with Kay Don
27:20safely ahead.
27:22Well, here's the winner.
27:27When Kay Don,
27:29the Brit,
27:30won the first heat
27:32and there was great sorrow,
27:36I might say,
27:37at the club here
27:37because that just
27:39couldn't happen.
27:39I mean,
27:40it was unbelievable
27:41because he never lost
27:43to any competitor.
27:45All manner of craft
27:46on the river
27:47and thousands of cars
27:48lining the course
27:49tooted and honked
27:50and bellowed a salute
27:51to the winner
27:51of the first heat,
27:52Kay Don,
27:53as Gar Wood
27:53added his congratulations.
27:55The faster boat won,
27:56Wood said after the race.
27:57Then you and I
27:59and a million more of us
28:00tried to get home.
28:02Imagine the bumpers
28:03that were hooked
28:03and the fenders
28:04that were dented
28:05and the bad words
28:06that were said here.
28:07Just one of scores
28:08of parking places
28:09where the spectators
28:10had left the family car.
28:13But Gar had a problem
28:14after the first heat
28:15after losing.
28:16He had a leaking gas tank.
28:18Well,
28:18they wanted to give Gar
28:19a little more time.
28:20Kay Don said,
28:21well,
28:21I don't think so.
28:23He wanted to hold
28:24Gar Wood's nose
28:25to the rules
28:25because, well,
28:27he was bound in Germany
28:28and he was going
28:29to beat him.
28:30With a high-octane
28:32fuel tank leaking,
28:33Miss America 9
28:34was a time bomb.
28:36Gar Wood's reaction
28:37was incredible
28:38to fire up a brazing torch
28:40and attempt to fix it
28:41there and then.
28:43Well, Gar Wood,
28:44he sits right on top
28:45of the gas tank
28:45on the deck
28:46while he's brazing it,
28:47you know.
28:47Oh, well,
28:48if it's going to blow,
28:49it's going to blow.
28:50Any man that has
28:52what he had at the time
28:54and would have
28:55enough guts
28:57to get in a boat
28:58with a full tank
29:00of gasoline
29:00and a brazing iron
29:01in order to stop a leak
29:03has to have
29:04an awful lot
29:05of adrenaline pumping
29:06because he had
29:07a lot to lose.
29:09Well, Gar knew
29:10he was still in trouble
29:10to make this race
29:12and Kay Don says,
29:13well, I beat him
29:14before I can beat him again.
29:15So at the beginning line,
29:17before the race started,
29:18Gar went up to him
29:19and, you know,
29:19I hope good luck in that,
29:20but I'm going to beat you
29:22off the line.
29:23So right away,
29:24he's prepping him.
29:24So he's saying,
29:25what if he's going to
29:25beat me off the line?
29:26He must think
29:26I'm faster off the line.
29:28So Kay Don,
29:29he's, you know,
29:30on the line.
29:31And then when he sees
29:31the other one take off fast,
29:33I must have missed the gun.
29:34Zoom.
29:34Off he went after him.
29:35The minute the gun went off,
29:37then they really
29:38opened the throttles
29:39full bore on their boats
29:41and the one that was ahead
29:42was, chances were,
29:44much in his favor
29:45of winning that
29:46particular heat.
29:49It was over the dash
29:50to the start line
29:51that the real controversy
29:52later raged.
29:55Did Gar Wood
29:56deliberately force
29:57Kay Don over
29:58the starting line early
29:59and face disqualification?
30:01If so,
30:02this was a highly
30:02dangerous tactic.
30:06And the trap was set
30:07and he went right into it.
30:10Gar Wood and Miss America
30:119th was first,
30:12followed by Miss England
30:13and Miss America 8th.
30:14Now, listen for that
30:16starting gun.
30:19That was it.
30:20They go over the line
30:21and this time,
30:23Don is riding
30:24in Gar's wash.
30:25Off they go.
30:26Boom, boom, boom.
30:27So Gar is ahead of them,
30:29you know,
30:29around the first lap.
30:30So here comes Kay Don.
30:32He's going to catch him
30:32and go up.
30:33So Kay Don's too excited.
30:36He goes over Gar's wake.
30:38Big mistake.
30:39Now they are rounding
30:40the fatal turn
30:41near the Belle Isle Bridge.
30:42Gar Wood makes
30:43a sweeping curve
30:44around the orange
30:45and blue buoy.
30:46Now watch Kay Don.
30:47his boat seems to waver
30:50and bucks in Gar Wood's wash.
30:52It appears to be
30:53out of control.
30:54Meanwhile,
30:55Miss America is off
30:56on the long
30:56two miles straightaway.
30:58And then...
31:03The vortex,
31:05as he turns,
31:07flips the boat over.
31:10And these guys
31:10are just flicked
31:12into the water
31:13like so many corks
31:14out of a bottle.
31:17And George Wood,
31:18who's following,
31:19had the presence of mind
31:20maybe to keep
31:21a little bit to port
31:22or to starboard.
31:23Otherwise,
31:23he might have run them over
31:24and cut their heads off.
31:26And he continues
31:27and he completes the lap.
31:28But nobody is interested
31:29in the race now.
31:30The question is,
31:31where are Kay Don
31:32and his associates?
31:33That boat carried
31:34the Gerald Major Seagrave
31:35to his death.
31:36Has Kay Don escaped
31:37the same fate?
31:38One by one,
31:39three heads appear
31:39above the waves.
31:40Lines are thrown to them
31:41and they are pulled
31:42aboard government
31:42and official patrol boats.
31:44Second thought
31:44is for Miss England's second.
31:46A line is made past
31:47to the disappearing prowl,
31:48but her weight is too great
31:49and the line snaps.
31:51Miss England's hope
31:51to lift the harmless trophy
31:53brought to the United States
31:54by Gar Wood 11 years ago
31:55lies now in the mud
31:5720 feet below the surface
31:58of the Detroit River.
31:59But the arguments
32:00will not down.
32:01Well, you've seen
32:02the two heats.
32:03Who should have won?
32:04Kay Don or Gar Wood?
32:08Ironically,
32:09both men had beaten
32:10the starting gun.
32:11Wood by nine seconds
32:12and Don by seven seconds.
32:14They were both disqualified,
32:16allowing Gar's brother
32:17to win.
32:18The following day,
32:20the Fleet Street newspapers
32:21in London
32:22and the American newspapers
32:24had a field day
32:25accusing Gar Wood
32:27of being a trickster,
32:28an old grey fox
32:30that had tricked
32:30this noble Englishman
32:32across the line.
32:33It has to be
32:34the most controversial
32:36race fiasco
32:38in the entire history
32:39of powerboating.
32:42The Detroit Times
32:43reported from a source
32:44close to Wood
32:45the entire plot
32:46to trick Don of Victory
32:47was planned
32:48in the American boathouse
32:49by the Gar Wood team
32:51an hour before the race.
32:56But on the day,
32:57as ever in defeat,
32:59Kay Don was the perfect
33:00Englishman.
33:01On Monday,
33:03it was rather unfortunate.
33:06Both Gar Wood and myself
33:07crossed the line
33:09before the starting gun
33:10and we were both disqualified.
33:14Then I had that
33:15on my unfortunate accident
33:17due to a very violent skin
33:19on the first turn,
33:20which I corrected.
33:22But when she came
33:24straight again,
33:24she caught a watch
33:25and turned over.
33:27However,
33:28that's just the luck
33:28of the game
33:28and I suppose
33:29it can't be helped.
33:32Wood's Miss America 8
33:33with his brother George
33:34driving had as planned
33:35finished the race alone
33:37and incredibly,
33:38the Harmsworth Trophy
33:39stayed in America.
33:42The uproar
33:43over this race
33:44increased the rivalry
33:45between the two nations.
33:47It was now time
33:49for an old adversary
33:50to re-enter the race.
33:51Hubert Scott Payne
33:53was about to return
33:54and to fight
33:55the final duel
33:56with the most revolutionary
33:57speedboat of the decade.
34:11The Harmsworth Trophy
34:13was no longer
34:14just a challenge
34:15between two teams
34:16to be the fastest.
34:16It had become
34:18a bitter duel
34:18between Britain
34:19and America
34:20and between two
34:21very different approaches
34:22to the building
34:23of high-speed powerboats.
34:27Hubert Scott Payne
34:28of the British Powerboat Company
34:29was putting together
34:30a new design team.
34:32He was secretly
34:33building a new generation
34:34of experimental boats
34:36to mount a final challenge
34:37against Gar Wood
34:38and the Americans.
34:40Miss Britain 3
34:41was built
34:42in a special shop
34:45but in a small shop
34:46where there was only
34:48five men
34:48and when she came out
34:52we were surprised
34:53to find
34:54that she wasn't wood.
34:57Scott Payne
34:58and designer
34:59Tommy Quelch
35:00had created
35:01a streamlined
35:01aluminium-clad
35:03masterpiece.
35:04It offered
35:05the world of powerboats
35:06a glimpse
35:06into the future.
35:08I told him
35:08what I thought about it.
35:09I thought there was
35:10a lot of rubbish.
35:11Well he said
35:12it's a speed boat.
35:15Well he said
35:15it might be a speed boat
35:17but it's not a boat to me.
35:18It's a tin can.
35:21Well he said
35:21I'm disappointed over that.
35:23He said
35:23but it is a speed boat
35:25and I've built it
35:26to beat Gar Wood.
35:27Miss Britain 3
35:28was extremely advanced
35:29even by today's standards
35:30if you look at the boat
35:31it is just
35:32such an impressive
35:34piece of design.
35:35I think in materials technology
35:37he certainly scores
35:38very highly.
35:38metal sandwich construction
35:40for a racing boat
35:42it was extremely advanced
35:43for the day
35:43it was extremely strong
35:44but very light.
35:46Then I've always wanted
35:47to go with Mr Scott Payne
35:48on one of his speed trials
35:50and he didn't tell me
35:51about me back
35:52and have a cushion
35:53or anything
35:53and when I went with him
35:55of course I looked at me back
35:56but it was nice
35:57experience for me
35:59to be doing
36:00103 miles an hour.
36:07Gar Wood's latest design feat
36:10the mighty Miss America 9
36:11was powered with two giant
36:13blazing Packard aircraft engines
36:15but to everyone's surprise
36:17Wood failed in 1931
36:19to beat Kay Don's
36:20British world water speed record.
36:26typical of Gar Wood
36:28his answer was to build
36:29a bigger boat
36:30with even more engine power
36:32Miss America 10
36:33was to be called
36:34a madman's dream.
36:37Wood conceived
36:38of the most ambitious experiment
36:39of packed power
36:40yet undertaken.
36:43Miss America 10
36:44was 38 feet long
36:46with an all wood
36:47hull construction
36:48packed with four
36:49supercharged Packard engines
36:51the most powerful engines
36:52in America.
36:53Driving this
36:54was like sitting
36:55on nine tons of dynamite.
36:58It was literally
36:59headlines in the paper
37:00Gar Wood was going
37:01to kill himself
37:01in this boat
37:02because it developed
37:03a substantial amount
37:05of horsepower
37:06I think it was well
37:06in excess at the time
37:07it was built
37:08of 6,000 horsepower.
37:10It will actually suck
37:11your shirt right
37:12out of your pants.
37:15When Miss America 10
37:16was unveiled
37:17she was the largest
37:18and most powerful
37:19speedboat ever built
37:20to defend
37:21the Harmsworth Trophy.
37:23Now the international
37:24race was on.
37:27Whilst Scott Payne
37:28was still testing
37:29his futuristic
37:30aluminium plated
37:31Miss Britain 3
37:32another British
37:33boat building
37:34competitor
37:34was working
37:35round the clock
37:36building a sleek
37:37Miss England 3.
37:39Lord Wakefield
37:41I have much pleasure
37:42in now handing over
37:43your new boat
37:44Miss England 3
37:46and wishing you
37:47on behalf of my
37:48firm and myself
37:49every success
37:50in your attempt
37:51on the speed record
37:53and later
37:53in the great
37:55international race
37:56in Detroit.
37:57Now join you sir
37:58in congratulating
37:59Sir John Thornycroft
38:01and all those
38:02who have played a part
38:03in the construction
38:04of Miss England 3rd.
38:06Would this challenge
38:07be Lord Wakefield's
38:09and Kay Don's
38:09final British attempt
38:11to win back
38:12the prestigious
38:12Harmsworth Trophy
38:13from America
38:14and Garwood.
38:18Off to a running start
38:20the deciding heat
38:20for the Harmsworth Trophy.
38:22These pictures taken
38:23from a plane
38:23show Kay Don and Garwood
38:25battling for the lead.
38:26There goes Miss England 3rd ahead.
38:29Miss America 10th is right
38:30behind her
38:31with a throttle
38:32wide open.
38:34Look Kay Don's
38:35slowing up.
38:36His engines are missing
38:37and he has to withdraw
38:39from the race.
38:40It's too bad.
38:42Garwood finishes alone
38:43at more than
38:44a mile a minute.
38:46This was the end
38:48for even Lord Wakefield
38:49who was running out
38:50of funds
38:50and decided to withdraw
38:52his sponsorship.
38:57Britain's only
38:58remaining hope
38:58of taking on
38:59the might of America
39:00in the Harmsworth Challenge
39:01lay with Hubert Scott
39:03Payne
39:03and the futuristic
39:04Miss Britain 3rd.
39:07This was a real
39:08David and Goliath situation
39:09where Scott Payne
39:11was a one-man band
39:11from the UK
39:12competing against
39:13someone who had
39:14more power,
39:15more money
39:16and Scott Payne
39:18really built a craft
39:19that was more
39:20highly advanced.
39:21It was a better design.
39:22It was more innovative,
39:23better materials technology,
39:25slightly let down
39:26by the engine size
39:27and availability
39:28but at the end of the day
39:29he had a boat
39:30that was just under
39:31half the size
39:31and a quarter
39:33of the power.
39:35Surprisingly,
39:36the gigantic
39:37Miss America 10
39:38and the tiny
39:39Miss Britain 3
39:39were amazingly
39:41well matched.
39:43But few in America
39:44believed Scott Payne
39:45had any chance
39:46whatsoever.
39:48And he arrived
39:50in Detroit
39:52for the race
39:53which came to be known
39:54as the David
39:55versus Goliath.
39:58Garwood's boat
39:58had four engines
39:59and she was longer.
40:02Now Mr. Scott Payne
40:03knew that.
40:04He knew it.
40:05So he built this boat
40:07with the idea
40:08that he would be able
40:09to do it
40:10with one engine
40:12and be quicker
40:13on the turns.
40:16Garwood on the left.
40:17The Silver Fox
40:18of speedboat racing
40:19expects to retain
40:20the Harnsworth trophy
40:21in his giant
40:22Miss America 10.
40:33Scott Payne,
40:34the British challenger,
40:35hopes to win
40:35the coveted cup
40:36with his newly designed
40:37Miss Britain 3
40:38which is the smallest
40:39craft ever entered
40:40for the race.
40:41There are three heats
40:42each run over
40:43about 40 miles
40:44on an oval 8 mile course.
40:46Scott Payne had designed
40:47Miss Britain 3
40:49for Lake Sinclair,
40:50a nice wide course
40:51where he could dodge
40:52the wash of this
40:53big juggernaut.
40:54But then what had happened?
40:56They changed the rules.
40:58They'd moved the goalposts.
40:59They said we're going to race
41:00on the Detroit River,
41:01a tight course
41:02in which Scott Payne
41:04was going to have to take
41:05the wash of that juggernaut.
41:08Hundreds of thousands
41:09of spectators
41:10had turned up
41:11but the world's press
41:12had gathered to report
41:13on what was seen
41:14to be a foregone conclusion,
41:15an easy US win
41:17over the underpowered Brits.
41:20The British team
41:22were keen
41:22to show their mettle.
41:24The crowds were to see
41:25a unique demonstration
41:26of courage
41:27and expert boat handling
41:28by Scott Payne
41:29and his mechanic,
41:30Gordon Thomas.
41:32For once in his life,
41:34Gar Wood had a duel
41:35with an Englishman
41:36who knew the tactics
41:37of the race,
41:38the strengths
41:39and weaknesses
41:39of his boat
41:40and above all
41:41who could manoeuvre
41:42the tight turns
41:43at high speed.
41:46The race is on
41:47between Gar Wood,
41:48the old grey fox
41:49of speedbird racing
41:49in Miss America 10
41:51and his new challenger
41:52from Britain,
41:53Hubert Scott Payne.
41:54Miss America 10
41:55takes an early lead
41:56with her tarpal engine.
41:58This was the craft
41:59in which the American
42:00who has held
42:00of the Harnsworth Trophy
42:01since 1920
42:02been paid on last year.
42:06Scott Payne,
42:07whose boat is only rated
42:08at 1,300 horsepower,
42:09makes a plucky fight of it.
42:11Scott, he knew how to race
42:12power boats.
42:13He'd raced them
42:13for at least 10 years,
42:14so had Gar.
42:15They were very experienced.
42:16They were well matched
42:17in that respect.
42:24The boat could go
42:25into tighter corners,
42:27it manoeuvred better,
42:28it was probably
42:29as good on acceleration,
42:31didn't quite have
42:31the top end speed-wise,
42:33but if he'd had
42:34a bigger engine,
42:35which he could have had,
42:36he probably would have
42:37won the day.
42:39Miss America 10
42:40won the final heat
42:41by just 22 seconds.
42:44Scott Payne had given Wood
42:45the biggest scare
42:46of his life,
42:47the single-engined Brit
42:48versus the four-engined
42:50American powerhouse.
42:52But the British challenge
42:53of Scott Payne
42:54had won the hearts
42:55of the world.
42:57When Gar Wood
42:58took Miss America 10
42:59for a lap of honour,
43:01he broke the propeller shaft
43:02and came to an abrupt stop.
43:06This was to mark the end
43:07of an extraordinary era
43:09and would be
43:10the speedboat king's
43:11final race.
43:13The surprising strength
43:15of the British challenge
43:16had stunned
43:17the international
43:17speedboating world.
43:20The smart,
43:21streamlined engineering
43:22of Miss Britain 3
43:23had shown the way
43:24of the future.
43:26The 10th was obsolete.
43:28It was a new era.
43:29Gar knew that
43:31and it played itself out.
43:33After that,
43:33Gar retired from racing
43:36and those guys
43:37were setting records.
43:38The speeds haven't got
43:39much more than that
43:40after all these years.
43:42Scott Payne is trying
43:43for a new record today
43:44with his small speedboat,
43:45Miss Britain 3,
43:46which gave Gar Wood
43:47such a race
43:47on the second day
43:48he had to drive.
43:50But Scott Payne
43:51was to continue
43:52to defy danger.
43:53His next dice with death
43:55was in Poole Harbour,
43:56racing for the world's
43:58single-engine
43:58water speed record.
44:01Over the waters
44:02of Poole Harbour
44:03Miss Britain skims
44:04at the great average speed
44:05of 95.08 miles per hour.
44:07Smashing Seagrae's
44:08unofficial single-engine
44:09motors record
44:10of 92.78.
44:13As he was going along
44:14absolutely flat out,
44:16this boat came along
44:17and he had to swerve
44:18to avoid hitting it.
44:20And of course
44:21that tipped the boat
44:22which slopped,
44:23I presume,
44:23the petrol.
44:24This is what I think
44:25he said afterwards.
44:26And of course
44:27then the whole thing
44:28burst into flames
44:28and it was just instantaneous.
44:31That was very frightening
44:33because the whole thing
44:34and of course
44:34I can remember
44:35crying like anything
44:36and saying to Mummy
44:37oh, is Daddy all right?
44:38Daddy all right?
44:39But to everybody's relief
44:40neither Scott Payne
44:41nor his mechanic
44:42are seriously injured.
44:43Many hands are ready
44:44with extinguishers
44:45and the fire is got under
44:47before he can reach
44:47the petrol tanks.
44:48He got all singed,
44:50his back of his head
44:51and all his eyebrows
44:51and things all got singed off.
44:55The boat is towed in
44:56with her metal hull intact
44:57and Scott Payne in the bow
44:58is ready to race again
44:59another day.
45:01I've got to thank everybody
45:02very much indeed
45:03for coming along
45:03and giving me all the help
45:04they have done.
45:07And matter of fact
45:08all the day's work
45:09this comes along
45:10we'll get over it
45:11all right.
45:12The damage was quickly repaired
45:14and Miss Britton returned
45:16to the cold
45:17and still Southampton water
45:18on the 16th of November
45:201933.
45:23She roared
45:24against the historical tide.
45:26Hubert Scott Payne
45:27and Gordon Thomas
45:28reached a world
45:29water speed record
45:30for a single engine boat
45:31of 100.132 miles per hour.
45:36Here is the record breaker.
45:37Passing past the camera
45:39close-up range.
45:40A record that was to remain
45:42unbroken
45:43for over 50 years.
45:45For the first time
45:46in the history of the world
45:48put up
45:48100 miles of air
45:50on salt water
45:51and I must say
45:52that I'm very glad
45:53that we've been able
45:54to achieve that object.
45:56Scott Payne's
45:57sleek new speedboats
45:59had never been able
46:00to beat Gar Wood's
46:01vast heavyweights
46:02but Scott Payne's
46:03design innovations
46:04would enjoy
46:05a more lasting victory
46:06on a very different
46:08battlefield.
46:15The British Powerboat Company
46:18now concentrated
46:19on persuading
46:19the British Admiralty
46:20to accept a new concept
46:22in fast warships.
46:23A revolutionary plan
46:25to build a fleet
46:26of fast motor torpedo boats.
46:31By the eve of the
46:32Second World War
46:32Scott Payne
46:33had won this battle
46:34and built for the
46:35Royal Navy
46:36a set of elegant
46:37fast motor boats.
46:40The innovative
46:41motor torpedo boat
46:42was twice as fast
46:44as any other
46:45naval craft
46:45on water.
46:48You could put a person
46:49up there
46:49and say
46:49how fast do you think
46:50we're going?
46:51You know
46:51you could look out
46:52and say
46:52we're doing 20 knots
46:54or something like that
46:54and in fact
46:55you'd be doing
46:55nearly 40 knots.
46:56you just had no idea
46:57of speed
46:58like an aeroplane
46:59no idea of speed
47:00at all
47:00up in the wheelhouse.
47:02But the final victory
47:04was still to come
47:05in America.
47:07In October 1939
47:09Hubert Scott Payne
47:10of the British Powerboat Company
47:12was invited
47:12to a secret meeting
47:13with President Roosevelt
47:14at the White House.
47:18After this meeting
47:19the US Navy
47:20decided to commission
47:21a fleet of
47:21fast motor patrol
47:23torpedo boats.
47:25these fast boats
47:27would go on
47:28to create
47:28their own legends
47:29and make an enormous
47:30contribution
47:31to the American success
47:32in winning the war
47:33in the Pacific.
47:36Scott Payne
47:37would win
47:37worldwide fame
47:38as the Englishman
47:39who brought
47:40the famous
47:40PT boats
47:41to America.
47:44The bitter duels
47:46the desire
47:47to win
47:47the love
47:48of speed
47:49in the 1920s
47:50and 30s
47:51of the British
47:51and American
47:52speedboat races
47:53had created
47:54a unique moment
47:55in the story
47:56of human endeavour.
47:59I think what's missing
48:00in powerboating today
48:01is the spirit
48:02of trying
48:03and untried
48:04technology
48:05which people say
48:06it's impossible
48:07you're mad.
48:08The most interesting
48:09part of powerboating
48:09are people who innovated
48:10who laid their neck
48:12on the line
48:13to do
48:14the impossible
48:15that had not been done
48:16not to repeat
48:17what others have done.
48:19I sit behind
48:20that wheel
48:20without the motors
48:21running
48:21and I look ahead
48:23and I just think
48:25you'd have to be
48:25a little crazy
48:26to get back there
48:27and pull those throttles
48:28with all that.
48:29I just look at that
48:30it's scary
48:30it's just darn scary.
Comments