1909 Burnham Regatta

River Thames, Burnham, England, September 16-18, 1909

MARINE MOTORING [1]

BRITISH MOTOR-BOAT CLUB

The annual Burnham regatta of the British Motor-Boat Club was begun yesterday and will be continued to-day. The entry this year is larger than ever before. Yesterday’s programme consisted of five events, for which there were 44 entries, and nearly all the competitors put in an appearance.

The first race was started at 10:30, and was for cabin cruisers, the first prize being a silver cup presented by the club. These boats were entered, namely Mr. L. M. Waterhouse’s Major, Mr. E. H. White’s Lethe, and Mr. D. Hepworth’s Satanella. The last names, which is fitted with engines of 53 h.p., as against Lethe’s 15 h.p. and Major’s 25 h.p., was scratch, having to allow Major 35min. 18sec., and Lethe 49min. 30sec. The course was from the Mussel Bank below Burnham round the West Buxey buoy and back, a distance of 14.6 sea miles. The corrected times of finish were:

Lethe (winner) 11:41:9; Major 11:51:6; Satanella 12:27:39

The second race was for motor-boats with a cylinder capacity not exceeding 800 cubic inches. The course from the Mussel Bank to a mark below the mouth Reach and back, six times around, a distance of about 30 sea miles. The first boat in took the Bestic Challenge Cup and miniature, while the commodore gave a cup for the boat winning on Marine Motor Association’s rating and time allowance; there was also a silver medal given by the club for the second fastest boat. The entries were:--

Name Owner H.P. Time Allowance
Shrimper Mr. D. Hepworth 25 20:03
Bluff Mr. H. G. Hepworth 25 24:33
Lucinha Mr. T. A. Comber 26 6:57
Defender I Mr. F. May 36 Scratch
Defender II Mr. F. May 7 64:42
Maple Leaf Mr. E. Mackay Edgar 35 Scratch
Secret Mr. L. M. Waterhouse 20 27:09

 

The start was at 10:45. The scratch boat finished first and took the Bestic Cup, while Defender II won the Commodore’s Cup on time allowance, Lucinha taking the medal for the second fastest boat. The corrected times of finishing were:--

Defender II (winner on M.M.A Rating) 11:57:41; Secret 12:10:42; Lucinha (second fastest time) 12:13:14;

Defender I (fastest time) 12:19:39; Bluff 12:24:21

Shrimper and Maple Leaf gave up.

The third race which concluded the morning’s programme, was for motor-boats not exceeding 40ft., over all, and was under M.M.A. rating and time scale. The course was the same as that in the previous race, but only three rounds were sailed, the distance being 15 sea miles. The first prize was the Motoring Illustrated Challenge Cup, the second and third prizes being presented by the club. The following 13 boats entered:--

Name Owner H.P. Allowance
Secret Mr. L. M. Waterhouse 20 25:37
Takumono Mr. W. Miall-Green 12 33:30
Shrimper Mr. D. Hepworth 12 22:27
Bluff Mr. H. G. Hepworth 25 24:19
Sparkle Mr. T. Desnos 12 51:37
Tireless Mr. F. Gordon Pratt 27 16:19
Baby IV Mr. Mawdsley Brooke 100 Scratch
Lucinha Mr. T. A. Comber 26 15:28
Meteorite Mr. J. T. Z. Moore Brabazon 26 8:45
Defender I Mr. F. May 36 12:03
Defender II Mr. F. May 7 41:24
Spitfire Mr. W. Schmahl 24 26:58
Camilla I Mr. R. N. Fairbanks 15 24:54

 

The start was at 10:45 a.m., all going except Meteorite, Takumono and Camilla. Defender II led across the line by about five seconds after gun fire, followed by Tyreless, defender II, Spitfire, Bluff and Lucinha in the order named. The others were all close together, Sparkle being last away. Baby IV gave up on the first round. Defender II proved an easy winner on her rating. The corrected times of finishing were:--

  H.M.S.   H.M.S.
Defender II (winner) 11:07:52 Defender I 11:21:31
Secret (second prize) 11:11:07 Bluff 11:22:16
Lucinha (third prize) 11:17:32 Sparkle 11:27:33
Shrimper 11:18:14 Spitfire 11:32:10
Tyreless 11:18:50    

 

The fourth race was a handicap for motor-boats exceeding 12 knots, which secured an entry of 15 boats. The first prize was a silver cup presented by the club, while there was also a special silver cup for the fastest boat. The course was three rounds of the Mussel Bank Reach circuit, a distance of 15 sea miles. A good deal of interest was centred in the race, as Lord Howard de Walden’s 600 h.p. Amazon was making its first appearance on the Crouch. The entries were:--

Name Owner H.P. Allowance
Secret Mr. L. M. Waterhouse 20 23:53
Shrimper Mr. D. Hepworth 25 25:36
Bluff Mr. H. G. Hepworth 25 32:24
Baby IV Mr. Mawdsley Brooke 100 9:30
Lucinha Mr. T. A. Comber 26 18:42
Amazon Lord Howard de Walden 600 Scratch
Mitzi II Mr. C. F. Parsons 18 50:00
Camilla I Mr. R. N. Fairbanks 15 34:20
Quest Mr. S. Mannuelle 60 51:30
Defender I Mr. F. May 36 16:51
Defender II Mr. F. May 7 38:39
Maple Leaf Mr. F. Mackay Edgar 35 40:57
Spitfire Mr. W. Schmahl 24 44:48
Lotus Mr. A. Baker White   26:15
Fleurette Messrs. O. B. Colls & W. Scott Hayward 30 24:15

 

Bluff, Secret, Mitzi II and Camilla I did not start

At the end of the first round Amazon was only half a minute ahead of Baby IV, and so was a long way out of her time. She gave up, having been experiencing engine troubles. The corrected times of finishing were:--

  H.M.S.   H.M.S.
Lucinha (winner) 2:43:38 Baby IV 2:45:07
Fleurette (second prize) 2:43:59 Defender II 2:45:41
Quest 2:44:07 Lotus 2:49:27
Defender I 2:44:21 Spitfire 2:50:32
    Maple Leaf 2:50:57

 

The fifth race was for motor-boats exceeding 25ft. and not exceeding 35ft. over all, under M.M.A. rating and time scale. The course was ten miles and the first prize the "A. J. Wilson" challenge cup and miniature. The entries were:

Name Owner H.P. Allowance
Secret Mr. L. M. Waterhouse 20 14:23
Tyreless Mr. F. Gordon Pratt 28 8:25
Lucinha Mr. T. A. Comber 26 7:49
Meteorite Mr. J. T. Moore Brabazon 26 Scratch
Camilla I Mr. R. N. Fairbanks 15 14:06
Lotus Mr. A. Baker White --- 11:23

 

Camilla, Meteorite and Secret did not start. Lucinha led away at the start, Tyreless being second and Lotus third. Lucinha led to the finish and won by nearly 2min. The corrected times were:--

Lucinha (winner), 4:23:44; Tyreless (second), 4:25:38; Lotus, 4:29:19.

(Transcribed from the Times of London, Sep. 17, 1909, p. 17.)

[Thanks to Greg Calkins for help in preparing this page --LF]