1909 Monaco Regatta
Monte Carlo, Monaco, March 31-April 11, 1909


The Monaco Motor-Boat Meeting [4]

THE RACE FOR CRUISERS
(From Our Special Correspondent)

Fast Motorboats in Monaco Races
Dixie and Standard Off for Monaco
Entries for the Monaco Meeting
The Monaco Motor-Boat Meeting [1]
The Monaco Motor-Boat Meeting [2]
The Monaco Motor-Boat Meeting [3]
The Monaco Motor-Boat Meeting [4]
The Monaco Motor-Boat Meeting [5]
The Monaco Motor-Boat Meeting [6]
The Monaco Motor-Boat Meeting [7]
The Monaco Motor-Boat Meeting [8]
Motor-Boat Races at Monaco
The Winning Motor Boats at Monaco
The Motor Boat Races at Monaco
The Monaco Race Meeting
Orlando Summer

Monte Carlo, April 6. Three motor-boat races were held to-day at Monaco in beautiful weather. In every race vessels constructed on the hydroplane principle raced, but only in one instance did the new style of design prove successful.

The first race was for the Prix de la Mediterranee' for cruisers of from 6.50 metre to nine metres, having a motor of four cylinders with 106mm. bore. The distance was 50 kilometres and the first prize was 4,000f. (£160). There were 11 starters, including three British-owned boats, Gyrinus II, owned by Mr. Redwood and captain Field-Richards, Secret (Mr. Waterhouse), and Brabanconne (Mr. Moore Brabazon). Of these only Gyrinus had both engines and hull built in England. Secret was a Thames-built hull with a French engine, and Brabanconne was entirely French. Gyrinus had a Thornycroft engine, Secret a Barriquant et Marre engine, and Brabanconne a Metallurgique. An interesting entry was Labor-Fauber, a hydroplane with a series of planes. Her Ballot engines ran well, but the swell of the sea spoiled her pace and she lost a lot at the turns. She finished a good fourth, however. Victory rested with the British Gyrinus. She went away at the start, and finished comfortably with a little over one minute in hand. The French boat Fleur-d'Eau, driven with a Megevet-Picker motor, was second. Brabanconne would have taken second prize, as she ran well next to the leader until the end of the fifth round, when her tiller broke. Excelsior-Buirey was third. The finishing times were:--Gyrinus, 1hr. 31min. 53sec.; Fleur-d'Eau, 1hr. 32min. 6sec.; Labor-Fauber, 1hr. 35min. 8sec.; Secret, 1hr. 56min. 27sec. Secret's engines were not powerful enough for the task.

A race for the small racers, the Prix de Monaco, with a first prize of 5,000f. (£200), brought out five starters out of 11 entries. The only English entry, Captain Laycock's E.N.V., did not start. The result was a victory for the German boat, Liselotte, driven with a Mercedes motor, the French hydroplane Fauber-Labor-

Motobloc being second, and another hydroplane, Ricochet, getting third place. Delahaye-Nautilus XIII ran into second place in the fifth round but broke down in the seventh round. The winner's time for the 50 kilometres was 1hr. 6min. 27sec. Fauber-Labor finished ten minutes later.

In the Prix de Cote d'Azur for cruisers of from eight to 12 metres, with another first prize of 5,000f., the hydroplane proved successful. DelahayeNautilus IX winning. Alex-Mercedes was second, and Megevet-Picker third. Out of ten starters only four finished.

(Transcribed from the Times of London, Apr. 6, 1909, p. 5. )

[Thanks to Greg Calkins for help in preparing this page —LF]


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