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[Roadrunner]

For years I've always made the claim that my Father was a hardcore race leader in the UK, European & World championship power races during 1969 till 1979 when he married my mother and retired from racing...

Today finally I get to prove that claim as I brought a 'slide' scanner to take all the 35mm slides my dad had and upload to the computer.

These photo's are of the 1976 European power race championship in which my Father came 1st. This is his boat (which he still has)







Now the rest of the photos from that event my father took, the first set are of the hydroplanes, one image is of one catching its own wake!!!, running at a clocked speed of 140mph! and that's in 1976!















Next up some photos from a scale war display with proper bangs and sinking ships all done old style without this new fangle technology!











And just a few (lol) remaining photo's of that event.

[Colin Bishop]

I think I recognise Steve Kirby's Katahdin and Ray Cattle's gunboat HMS Fidget there!

Colin

[knoby]

great pics, where was the venue ? looks like stambridge lakes

[Colin Bishop]

Yes, the last lot of pics look like the Naviga World Championships in which case it was 1975 not 1976.

Colin

[philk]

hi rr

what club was your father a member of back then. i notice the boat has cm13 on it which these days would be the cygnets model boat club

phil

[Roadrunner]

yes he was with the Cygnets the cm13 was number not issued to racers as it was the unlucky number, my dad wanted to prove it wasn't by winning the euro championship of 74, which he did so much for unlucky 13!

Colin some of the photo' s may be a bit mixed up they may have come from 75-or 6 ( however my dad has assured me most of these in this section are from 74) If there were world championship races my dad competed in all from 70-79, but since the years have passed many photos were lost due to deterioration and not all in the right boxes they were originally marked up to keep in order. Sorry that's the best i can do with info wise.

[Colin Bishop]

I ran a copy of the original 1975 World Champs report in last year's Model Boats Commemorative Special which is why I recognised some of the models. Maybe your Dad is mentioned in it. The smoke and flame is also familiiar and some of it came ashore! I was there at the time.

Colin

[knoby]

i was at the 75 championships too. The best week of my life ( i was only 10) The Italian display was truly spectacular, I seem to remember they managed to set the Italian judge alight too 

[Roadrunner]

He may well be Colin he was very active during that time frame, i have some documents from model boat mag dated October 74 with a few page blurb of the Keighley event (aug 17,18,19) to which my dad is referenced by name and a photo of his boat on page 421 if you have access to the archives, as snipped to quote the magazine

''during the early stages there was an interesting almost private duel between Chris Moore (my father) and Andre Brandt, with both boats dicing around the course for a long time, neck and neck; in the end both suffered engine failure, Chris having to eventually retire at 187 laps''

I also have the model boats mag from oct 72 of the race events my father took place in pages 440 on the lap table showing my dad overall 1st place

There is also dads endurance racing record book from 74 world championships, signed by everyone who entered that event, to achieve 3rd dad totalled 251 laps in 2 hours 2nd went to J. Klawitter of Germany with 266 laps and first went to G. Merlotti of Italy with 316 laps  

I will try to get these documents scanned in, but of all the things i own a scanner is not one of them, and a photo will not show up the small text good enough to read ( i tryied)

[philk]

so when did you all move from kent to the deep south west

[Roadrunner]

83 when Chatham dockyard shut down, my dad was offered a ''secure'' job with DML in Plymouth and a house (which he still owns now retired) an offer he couldn't turn down, job, new house and me ( I was 6 weeks old then) been here ever since, although all our family still live in Kent & surrounding areas.

It was either that or my dad go on the dole like a lot of others when it closed down, with a new born he made the right decision, although I know he regrets moving, always has, but like many who have there priority's in order, you have to put the needs of your family over what you want.

[Bowwave]

Thanks for posting up those pictures; they bring back alot of memories.  I have been searching for one of three 16mm films that where taken over the period of the event. None have yet surfaced. I was very much involved in 75 as part of the team of   workers and as a competitor. It was an amazing event   the likes of which we have not seen in the UK since which is a great pity. But Naviga changed after 1979 as many of the big events where hived off into their own world championships.
I remember Jim King the then International secretary of the MPBA and the driving force behind staging 75 allocating the assembly of the floating Public address system down to a team I was responsible for. We were allocated 4 large oil drums 6, 8ft, planks rope, scaffolding , 4 horn speakers, two paddles and life jackets  and told to get on with it. The floating bit had to be assembled on the bank side the rest in the middle of the lake, it was pure Heath Robinson and  the words H&S were never mentioned  but it all  worked and not one person got wet.  
Bowwave