Bluebird high-speed run hit by 'technical issues'

"Technical issues" have scuppered a planned higher speed run of Donald Campbell's restored Bluebird craft on Coniston Water.

The hydroplane, used to set seven water speed world records in the 1950s and 60s, was back on the Cumbrian lake on Wednesday as part of a week-long event, with hopes it could reach about 80mph (130km/h).

However, after one run at low speed with Australian Dave Warby at the controls it was towed out of the water with engineers setting to work on the craft.

It came two days after thousands watched from the shore as Bluebird was fired up there for the first time since Campbell was killed in a crash on 4 January 1967 as he tried to push his record past 300mph (480km/h).

Bluebird's wreckage was salvaged from the lake bed in 2001 and handed to Coniston's Ruskin Museum two years ago following the settlement of an ownership row with Bill Smith, the Tyneside-based engineer who led its rebuild.

Warby said Wednesday's issues had stemmed from "engine limitations".

"It's a brand new engine that's gone in. The engineers are just sorting out the fuel control limiters.

"There were no issues with the engine [itself], it was really just progressing to the next stage.

"We just want to make sure it's running right, we're just going to tweak the power settings - it needs a little bit more power to get up on top of the water."

Museum chairman Jeff Carroll said the hope for Wednesday's "optimisation run" had been to see the machine reach a speed fast enough to "plane" - the point at which hydrodynamics enable it to skim across the surface of the lake.

"The boat's just not quite right on technical issues," he said.

"Hopefully we can get her fettled overnight and her back on the lake on Thursday."

Staged as a week-long event, the return of Bluebird to Coniston Water marks what will be the 70th anniversary of Donald setting the first of his records on the lake in September 1956.

Strong winds on Tuesday prevented any running, while there was criticism from crowds that the first day's action had only featured two low speed "familiarisation runs".

But Campbell's daughter, Gina, said on Monday she had been "blown away" to see Bluebird running on the lake.

Don Wales, Donald's nephew added: "As soon as it touched the water, there was a tear in my eye."

Wednesday's first action saw the Blue Bird K3 craft take to the water at about midday.

It set three world water speed records when it was piloted by Donald's father, Sir Malcolm, in the 1930s.

Bluebird K7 last ran almost eight years ago on the Isle of Bute, when it was in the hands of Smith and a team of volunteers known as the Bluebird Project who had been enlisted to restore it in 2006 by a trust run by the Campbell family.

The Ruskin Museum, which had been granted ownership of the craft as part of the same agreement, issued legal proceedings in 2023 following what it said had been "several years of trying to persuade Mr Smith and his organisation" to honour that arrangement.

On show in a dedicated wing of the museum since then, recent months have seen a different team of engineers install a replacement engine as well as carry out checks on electrical and hydraulic systems.

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