jhr
Well-known member
I’ve just, rather belatedly, bought the April edition of MBY with its article about the 1965 Cowes-Torquay race, won by Dick Bertram in Brave Moppie. It’s brought back a lot of memories.
For reasons too tedious to bore you with, my family had connections with Dick Bertram, who shipped Brave Moppie across from the States for the summer of 1965, to campaign her in various European races, including the Viareggio – Bastia and Cowes – Torquay races. He had also brought across 3 of his numerous children and his then wife, Pauline – the original Moppie; so-called on account of her “mop” of blonde hair. Having raced in the Med., they bought the boat up through the French canals and over to the UK.
As I was about the same age as one of the Bertram children, I spent quite a lot of time with them including, memorably, a day when Dick took us out to Freshwater Bay on Brave Moppie and we dropped the hook for a picnic and a swim. Sadly, I don’t suppose a Class 1 offshore powerboat would be used for that sort of thing nowadays and, even if it were, I guess a 9 year old child wouldn’t be allowed near it. As you can probably imagine, I had a ball and still remember us blasting down the Solent with wide open throttles, being stared at by everyone.
For the race itself, we watched the start from the Cowes waterfront and were then flown from Sandown to Exeter and driven to Torquay in time to watch them cross the finishing line. I also recall the party at the Imperial Hotel that evening, attended by many of the names mentioned in the article, although we kids were sent to bed before things really got going.
Brave Moppie was an interesting boat – built in wood rather than the more usual (for a Bertram) grp. I guess that, as a one-off , the intention may have been to use the hull as a plug for a production series. As the article says, it was a brave decision to engine her with diesels in those days but it did allow Dick to plaster her with signs saying “holder of World diesel water speed record” (57 knots, I seem to recall) and it did mean that she kept going when other, more temperamental machines gave up. It’s also interesting how many of the other boats mentioned in the article were Bertrams of one sort or another. Ultimately, Dick took her back to the States where I think she sank during a race: a sad end for a beautiful and exciting boat.
Dick himself was quite a character. He was, ahem, fond of a tincture or two and this led to various jolly japes, including a Whitehall farce-style lost trouser episode at Southampton Railway Station one day.
Happy memories.......
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For reasons too tedious to bore you with, my family had connections with Dick Bertram, who shipped Brave Moppie across from the States for the summer of 1965, to campaign her in various European races, including the Viareggio – Bastia and Cowes – Torquay races. He had also brought across 3 of his numerous children and his then wife, Pauline – the original Moppie; so-called on account of her “mop” of blonde hair. Having raced in the Med., they bought the boat up through the French canals and over to the UK.
As I was about the same age as one of the Bertram children, I spent quite a lot of time with them including, memorably, a day when Dick took us out to Freshwater Bay on Brave Moppie and we dropped the hook for a picnic and a swim. Sadly, I don’t suppose a Class 1 offshore powerboat would be used for that sort of thing nowadays and, even if it were, I guess a 9 year old child wouldn’t be allowed near it. As you can probably imagine, I had a ball and still remember us blasting down the Solent with wide open throttles, being stared at by everyone.
For the race itself, we watched the start from the Cowes waterfront and were then flown from Sandown to Exeter and driven to Torquay in time to watch them cross the finishing line. I also recall the party at the Imperial Hotel that evening, attended by many of the names mentioned in the article, although we kids were sent to bed before things really got going.
Brave Moppie was an interesting boat – built in wood rather than the more usual (for a Bertram) grp. I guess that, as a one-off , the intention may have been to use the hull as a plug for a production series. As the article says, it was a brave decision to engine her with diesels in those days but it did allow Dick to plaster her with signs saying “holder of World diesel water speed record” (57 knots, I seem to recall) and it did mean that she kept going when other, more temperamental machines gave up. It’s also interesting how many of the other boats mentioned in the article were Bertrams of one sort or another. Ultimately, Dick took her back to the States where I think she sank during a race: a sad end for a beautiful and exciting boat.
Dick himself was quite a character. He was, ahem, fond of a tincture or two and this led to various jolly japes, including a Whitehall farce-style lost trouser episode at Southampton Railway Station one day.
Happy memories.......
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