What were you doing in 1974?

[Richard.C]

I'm having a nostalgic youtube session, found the below Cowes to Torquay video from 1974.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHuQlm2hFhY

I was 5 at the time and I remember having a toy model of the Miss Embassy boat, I think it was a truck and trailer with the boat. I will have to go back to our parents home and see if it's still in a box of old toys in the attic.

It was an awesome time.

 

[Jurgen]

Wonderful footage, some of the boats would still look good today

 

[sharpness]

Great post. I remember having the same miss embassy toy boat, brings back childhood memories

 

[Offshore57]

Tommy Sopwiths 1961 winning boat "Thunderbolt" is moored about 8 feet from the stern of our boat on the Hamble.........owner (Mike) had it running at the weekend......he will be at the Cowes Powerboat weekend with her....

 

[Latestarter1]

I had not long left Ford's Dunton research facility, last working on oil cooled piston designs for the Ford Dorset. 250 hp out of a 5.95 diesel engine, 41hp/liter, wow this was ground breaking stuff!

 

[burgundyben]

Tommy Sopwiths 1961 winning boat "Thunderbolt" is moored about 8 feet from the stern of our boat on the Hamble.........owner (Mike) had it running at the weekend......he will be at the Cowes Powerboat weekend with her....

In Cowes 4th to 6th September there will be 3 ex Sopwith boats, Thunderbolt, Thunderflash and Thunderstreak. Thunderstreak is racing in the historic class to Torquay (if we get it finished in time)

 

[MapisM]

some of the boats would still look good today

LOL, I assume you're talking of the Italian boats.
With all due respect, that Miss Embassy thing would look as modern on the water today as a mid fifties Caddy looks on the road...

PS: in reply to the OP, in 1974 I rather had a certain Camilla in mind, than anything boating related. Much nicer than the Duchess of Cornwall, I hasten to add!

 

[paul.norton]

I used to watch this race when it finished at Torquay.

The most memorable finishes IMHO were when Jim Wynne sped Ghost Rider into the harbour to get medical attention to his for his mechanic who had broken both ankles. Also remember Don(?) Hunt, who's helming position was right over the transom, lose the race by going the wrong side of the final mark - forgot who won.

Happy dayz.

Paul

 

[Richard.C]

I used to watch this race when it finished at Torquay.

The most memorable finishes IMHO were when Jim Wynne sped Ghost Rider into the harbour to get medical attention to his for his mechanic who had broken both ankles. Also remember Don(?) Hunt, who's helming position was right over the transom, lose the race by going the wrong side of the final mark - forgot who won.

Happy dayz.

Paul

There's highlights of that race on Youtube as well Paul, I watched it a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Richard.C]

PS: in reply to the OP, in 1974 I rather had a certain Camilla in mind, than anything boating related. Much nicer than the Duchess of Cornwall, I hasten to add!

You had me worried there for a second, although I would hope the Duchess looked a little better back in '74!

 

[salar]

You had me worried there for a second, although I would hope the Duchess looked a little better back in '74!

You be the judge...

 

[Offshore57]

Ooer...hardly a young Diana......:ambivalence:

 

[Richard.C]

You be the judge...

View attachment 53146

Yikes!!!

I guess her and Charles were made for one another.

 

[Neil_Y]

1974 I think I was on the water in a lovely bright Yellow Christina, fitted with old race engines out of a Tremlett offshore race boat. It was very quick and very noisy! The boat was owned by a John Martin from Lymington.

 

[burgundyben]

1974 I think I was on the water in a lovely bright Yellow Christina, fitted with old race engines out of a Tremlett offshore race boat. It was very quick and very noisy! The boat was owned by a John Martin from Lymington.

Do you remember the name of the boat?

 

[epervier]

I was inside this in '74

 

[nickd]

I think for most of 1974 i was probably wanking

 

[Dick Atcherley]

I think for most of 1974 i was probably wanking

Quality one-liner :encouragement:

I hadn't discovered that in 1974. I had to wait until 1975....

 

[SP2]

1974 - Did my first RYA Motor Cruiser Course with Roger Lomas on a Weymouth 32 out of Hayling Island. The classroom stuff was at his house in Rowlands Castle where I stayed for the week. At the age of 16 this was an adventure but more so when a fellow student who was a Volvo engineer and was being paid to learn boat handling decided we needed to "cruise" the nightspots of Portsmouth.. I may not have shared that with my parents...

Also I was supposed to be doing my mock O levels that week but my father sort of swung it with the headmaster (they were both in the same Rotary Club) and I had the joy of sitting them alone on my return.

Then armed with the certificate, accompanied my father on our first cross-channel Medway-Calais (via Dover where we were weather bound for three days). From Calais it was up the coast to Flushing but weather meant we had a return via the canals of Belgium and France before back across to Blighty. Boat was our home completed Tough Brother Cobra 33. It never got on the plane despite having 300 HP on board.

Was an avid follower of the Cowes Torquay and remember there was an Embassy Racing Team which I joined for the sticker and badge. I always was a sucker for that kind of thing. Still am.

Mike

 

[Third mate]

Replacing american ejection seats for those made by Martin Baker as the ones fitted in the F104 Starfighter by the yanks tended to fire the seat before the canopy resulting in a number of very short pilots