The latest from the Bluebird site.
Re: Donald Campbell's restored Bluebird in museum home row
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by CHWk7 » Fri Aug 17, 2018 8:46 pm
Gentleman,
We should all be at this point in time celebrating this magnificent achievement by Bill Smith and his team and not having a negative discussion on the possible future. The fact that the boat worked straight out of the box so to speak blows me away and then some, unbelievable really! Enjoy the present while you can as the for the future it will take care of itself!
Re: Donald Campbell's restored Bluebird in museum home row
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by Renegadenemo » Sun Aug 19, 2018 1:16 pm
Ahhh, back to normality - that was knackering!
I'll try to keep this brief without leaving anything out.
Yes, K7 worked straight out of the box. She floated, started then went like a bat out of Hell when asked to. One or two bits fell off, leaked, worked loose or behaved differently to how we expected but the maintenance crew were across the issues and our drivers did an amazing job.
Then Gina got a look at her father's boat floating in the sunlight and declared at once that there was no way that boat could be stuffed in a museum, the doors closed behind her and that's that. She had to be shown off to a global audience. We had people lined up on the causeway in the hope of tasting the kerosene flavoured spray as Bluebird roared off and you won't get that in the Ruskin.
Now then, I have been telling the museum for many years that this living machine could not just sit as it would deteriorate. Build her to run and the price you pay is having to tend her systems until the end of time. There has never been any argument over making her run but on the several occasions I have asked the museum et al for their thoughts on future running and anti-det measures all I've had is deafening silence. There appears to be an element that would happily shut the door behind her and that would do for them. That has never been an option and this has been on record for many years.
I have also stated categorically that we won't take our fifteen years of damned hard work and determination anywhere near the museum until this matter is fully resolved and contracts signed so if the slightest hint of wibble emerges that we are being unfair in any way remember that they have had at least a decade to get it sorted.
Same goes for any plans to run on Coniston. For ten years they have known what was going to happen yet when push came to shove there's nothing in place. Bute did it in seven months. I keep hearing that they couldn't plan without a firm date but that's a pathetic cop-out of an excuse and a weak attempt to shove the blame back to our side of the table. They have comprehensive plans for their next flood or mountain rescue but no date for that either - just remember that. They keep saying they've offered dates and we've not accepted them. I am not about to ask a sponsor to throw their money on the table to sit out two weeks of crap weather in October when kids and families can't get there.
We have told them for years - two weeks in a month without an R in it when the kids are off school, but doesn't seem to be going in.
Then there's the LDNPA - snivelling, excuse-making, spineless lot that they are. I'm not even going to begin on that one except say that until they get a letter on my desk offering unrestricted running during daylight hours in a month without an R when the schools are out I'm going to ignore them.
One of the more ridiculous things I've heard is that we'd have to pack up at 4.00pm - listen up LDNPA.
On Loch Fad we often had to wait until quite late in the day for the right conditions, especially in the first week when we did our high speed runs - and all runs on Coniston would be high speed over a much longer course so we need everything spot-on. We had parents sit with their kids all day, often through rain showers and squalls. On several occasions I raided our catering tent for apples and snacks to feed kids who hadn't expected so long a wait, but wait they did and mostly they were rewarded with the sight of Bluebird roaring down the loch. There is no way on Earth we are going to sit all day waiting patiently for good conditions just to have it drop flat at 4.30 only to have to send all those patient people home empty handed because some p**s-pot bureaucrat is scared of Mrs. Miggins whining about a jet engine running at tea time. We didn't have any such crap on Bute and we won't put up with it anywhere else. The people of Bute moved their livestock so the show could go on.
So - in a nutshell.
Bute was a massive success and is now our benchmark for any future running. Coniston, LDNPA, sort out the same sort of venue and we will turn up and play your gig. I'm sure the powers that be on Bute will be glad to show you what's needed.
Gina wants her father's boat toured and that is an excellent idea that has massive support from pretty much every quarter so we'll do that.
The museum can store the boat and display her when she's not being shown off or in maintenance so the sooner they get their proposals on the table the sooner that can move forward.
In the meantime, we have a LOT of work to do on the boat to get her into proper shape to do that again. There's water in places we didn't know she had, joints have opened, the canopy and water ingress is still a problem, the water brake, though it works amazingly well, still has elements of its system not working. Most of the fasteners holding the engine cover are the wrong ones, there's no ASI, the list is endless but we'll be on it soon as we get a rest and regroup.
Good result, though... and remember, if the BBP did compromise the museum would be displaying a replica and the un-restored wreck would be in Manchester. Don't come asking for compromise now.
