HYDROPLANING ON THE THAMES.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9459, 31 May 1909, Page 7

HYDROPLANING ON THE THAMES.

Thousands of people gathered on Hammersmith Bridge and along riter banka on the otn April, , watching M. Bellamy’s hydroplane tearing up and down the Thames at exDteaa spedd. The crew consisted of twSpetsdna, the inventor himself and a Daily Ohroniole repeßentativo, whom he invited as the Uofr t-n "■ travel on the remarKanie machine. The craft consists of two narrow canvas-decked canoes, placed side by side, three feet apart, catamaran fashion. Firmly bolted ■the two stout planks f or “ hi *g e link is a framework of stosi tubingTM S JoPporS the four hMed pro.pellor, which revolves e £* irely - >i, n a ; r and is driven by a six, -oylinder’motor, bnilt by M. Bellamy, and developing fifty I took my stand with the inventor on a narrow plank a from the water, and jnat behind the ( engine and propellor writes the Chronicle representative. To my care was entrusted the throttle con trolling our speed, while M. Bellamy held the tiller lines and looked after the engine generally. After a few minutes of turning the propeller by hand o* we matters into her own care, and we were off. Then began a series of novel and exciting sensations. ' As soon as we reached midstream I heard above the roar of the motor M. Bellamy shouting into my ear the one word “open.’ 1 pulled a .handle, the throttle came open tg its widest, and the hydroplane leaped to its work. Drawing only three inches of water when at test, she now rose and skimmed the surface. AN EXCITING EXPERIENCE. The wind from the propeller tore at the hair of our oapless heads, and. seemed to press onr . eyes into our .heads. In front was a gray mist, where the propeller whirred at full speed, The hand with which I clung to the breast-high frame wo rk . numbed with the rush of cold air anti the frantic vibration of the steel tubing. What with hanging on desperately as we tore keeping a hold on the throttle of the engine there was no chance to consult my watch or take much •notice of the river bank as we flashed past. But onlookers say they never saw such speed on the river before, and that we must have reached at least forty miles an hour. Just a glimpse of Hammersmith Bridge, lined with a dense throng of people, and we were skimming towards Putney. Opposite Harrods, a pull on the tiller rope brought the craft smartly roqnd, and we tore op the river again. Yet with all the speed "there was no wash. The water we left behind was as smooth as the calm water we :xnshed to greet. The roar of the engines, the enormous draught of the propeller, and the mad rash of the hydroplane were intoxicating. The fascination of speed gripped ns, v and seemed the only thing worth living for. It was a disappointment to find the craft so safe, for any danger would have been worth facing for the sake of this breathless skimming over the water. All too soon came a slight .mishap to the rudder, and the •'decision to come back to the tame ways of earth and the humdrum taste of tea. As with glowing faces we sat at our meal, M. Bellamy discussed the possibility of such a propeller, working entirely in the •air, proving the salvation of a disabled steamer in mid-ocean. “The engineer could soon contrive it with a few planks,” he cried. And if it prove as fascinating as onr trip, I rather envy the engineer his necessity.