1910 Burnham Regatta
River Crouch, Burnham-on-Crouch, England, September 22-25, 1910

British Motor-Boat Club

The annual Burnham regatta of the British Motor-Boat Club opened yesterday on the Crouch in fine weather, the fixture being favoured with bright sunshine and an almost perfectly smooth sea. The programme consisted of six events for which there were 43 entries, and nearly all the boats put in an appearance. The prize list was a most generous one, seven cups and handsome money prizes being offered. A number of challenge trophies were competed for, including the Bestic, the "A. J. Wilson," and the Motoring Illustrated trophies. Details:--

Race for motor boats, cylinder capacity not to exceed 800 cubic inches. Prize for first boat in, the Bestic challenge cup and miniature; prize for first boat under M.M.A. allowance, the commodore’s cup; prize for second fastest boat, silver medal. Distance about 30 sea miles. Hydroplanes and skimmers not eligible. The entries were:--

Start at 11 a.m. Maple Leaf was the only boat that did not start. Vice was first away, closely followed by Tidla, Tyreless and Tabasco, with Lucinha nearly a minute late. Vice won on corrected time by 1min. 40sec. from Tabasco, Lucinha being third nearly 20min. further astern. The finishing times were:-- Vice (winner), 1:01:35; Tabasco (second), 1:47:29; Lucinha (third), 12:32:33; Tyreless, 12:50:21; Tidla, 1:07:08. Lucinha being the first boat to finish, took the Bestic Challenge Cup.

Race for motor-boats not exceeding 40ft. over all. M.M.A. rating and time allowance. First prize, Motoring Illustrated challenge cup and miniature; second prize, ₤5; third prize, ₤2. Distance about 15 sea miles. Hydroplanes and skimmers not eligible. The entries were:--

Doonie and Maple Leaf did not start. Baby V and Lucinha were over the line too soon, the latter losing a minute in recrossing while Elf was over 3min. late. Vice beat Tabasco by 1sec. for first place, with Etukishook third, less than a minute later on corrected time. The finishing times were:-- Elf (winner), 1:39:49; Tabasco (second), 12:22:45; Etukishook (third), 12:14:19; Baby V, 11:38:14, Lucinha, 11:46:17; Tyreless, 11:56:21; Vice (winner), 12:00:32; Tidla, 12:02:36; Mineric, 12:28:28; Takumono, 12:38:57.

The second prize is subject to a protest by Takumono against Vice for finishing the wrong side of the mark-boat.

Handicap for motor-boats esceeding 12 knots. First prize, British Motor-Boat Club silver sup of the value of ₤10; second prize, ₤5; third prize, silver medal. A silver cup of the value of ₤10 for the fastest boat; no boat to take more than one prize. Distance about 15 sea miles.

Ixia and Maple Leaf did not start. The hydroplane Columbine, which did the fastest time in the race, traveled well up to her reputation, doing the course at a speed of over 31 knots. She was placed second on corrected time, being beaten by Lucinha by 32sec., but she took the cup for the fastest boat. The handicap worked out very well, a little over a minute covering the first four placed boats. The finishing times were:-- Columbine (cup for fastest time), 2:41:15; Lucinha (winner), 2:58:43; Bluff (second prize); 3:12:16; Tyreless II (third prize), 2:54:32; Pierette, 2:48:33; Baby V, 2:52:03; Vice, 3:15:14; Tidla, 3:35:17; Etukishook, 3:35:17; Doonie, 3:39:05. Tyreless gave up.

Race for motor-boats exceeding 25ft. and not exceeding 35ft. over all, M.M.A. rating and time scale. First prize the "A. J. Wilson" challenge cup and miniature; second prize, ₤6; third prize a silver medal. Distance about 10 sea miles. Hydroplanes and skimmers not eligible. The entries were:--

The start was at 4 p.m. Baby V carried away her rudder on the first round and gave up. Lucinha, running well, won by 5½min. from Tyreless. The finishing times were:--Lucinha (winner), 4:29:19; Tyreless (second), 4:35:55; Mineric, 5:00:52.

Race for British Motor-Boat Club 21ft. class; first prize, British Motor-Boat Club silver cup; second prize, ₤2; third prize, ₤1.

Start at 4.15 p.m. Vice finished over 12½min. ahead of the scratch boat and won by 3m. 15s. from Babs II. The finishing times were:-- Vice (winner), 4:55:10; Babs II, 5:00:05; Etukishook, 5:07:52.

[Excerpts transcribed from the Times of London, Sep. 23, 1910, p. 17.]

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British Motor-Boat Club

Yesterday’s programme at Burnham again consisted of six events, for which the entries numbered 45. With the exception of a race for Bona-fide motor-boats (hydroplanes were barred) for a cup given by Mr. G. Pratt and the match for the "A. J. Wilson" Challenge Cup for motor-boats not exceeding 40ft. over all, all the events were competed for on handicap terms, the time allowanced being based upon the previous best performance of each of the boats racing. In two of the races the time allowances were given at the start. Details:--

Handicap sweepstake for motor-boats exceeding 15 knots. Course about 15 sea miles. The entries were:--

The handicaps in this race were given at the start. Vice, Tyreless, Ixia and Lucinha did not start. Baby V was set to start 12hr. 12min. 45sec., Tyreless II at 12hr. 13min. 30sec., Pierette at 12hr. 16min. 30sec., and Columbine at 12hr. 20min. 45sec. The two Brooke-engined boats beat the hydroplanes as will be seen by the following times:-- Tyreless II (winner), 12:49:24; Baby V (second), 12:50:53; Pierette (third), 12:51:8; Columbine, 12:51:59.

Race for bona-fide motor-boats: no time allowance. First prize, cup presented by Mr. G. Pratt. Course 15 sea miles. The entries were:--

Only Tyreless II and Baby V started at 2:30 p.m. Tyreless II won by 1min. 12sec. The times were:--Tyreless II (winner), 2:35:51; Baby V, 2:37:03.

Race for motor-boats not exceeding 40ft. over all: no time allowance. First prize, the "A. J. Wilson" International Challenge Trophy and Cup; second prize, ₤4. Course, about 15 sea miles. The entries were:--

Start at 3:30 p.m. Ixia did not start. Columbine went right away from the fleet and won easily. The finishing times were:--Columbine (winner), 4:00:21; Pierette (second), 4:04:11; Tyreless II, 4:06:14; Baby V, 4:07:21. The winner’s speed worked out at just over 30 knots.

Handicap Sweepstake for motor-boats exceeding nine knots but not exceeding 15. Course, about ten sea miles. The entries were:--

Start at 4:40 p.m. Doonie won by 3min. 35sec from Maple Leaf. The finishing times were:--Doonie (winner), 5:22:15; Maple Leaf (second), 5:16:20; Sparkle (third), 5:25:39; Bluff, 5:08:10; Tilda, 5:12:41; Etukishook, 5:19:42; Quest, 5:21:40; Tabasco, 5:25:52; Mineric, 5:29:16; Takumono, 5:35:36. Babs II gave up.

[Excerpts transcribed from the Times of London, Sep. 24, 1910, p. 15.]

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British Motor-Boat Club

The concluding day of this club’s regatta at Burnham on Saturday was the most successful of the three. The programme was a very long one, consisting of eight events, for which there were well over 70 entries. The chief race of the day was the match for the flying mile championship, for which there were five competitors. Mrs. Edgar Thornton’s Fauber-Saunders hydroplane, which is fitted with a Wolseley engine, was the winner with a speed of 29.3 knots. Mr. Gordon Pratt’s Tyreless II, which is fitted with a Brooke motor, beat the other hydroplane—Lord Howard de Walden’s Pierette—doing 25.7 knots as aginst 25.5. Details:--

Handicap for motor-boats exceeding 9 but not exceeding 15 knots.—First prize, the Motor Schools Cup; second prize ₤2; third prize, ₤1. Course, about 10 sea miles. The entries were:--

Start at 10:45 a.m. Bluff and Maple Leaf did not start. A great race between Tidla and Doonie resulted in a win for the virtual scratch boat by a fraction of a second. The finishing times were:--Tidla,(winner) 11:27:44 4/5; Doonie, (second) 11:37:35 1/5; Tabasco (third), 11:40:20; Quest, 11:37:47; Sparkle, 11:45:54; Mineric, 11:46:01.

Race for B.M.B.C. 21-ft. class—1^st Prize, B.M.B.C. Silver Cup. Course, 10 sea miles. The entries were:--

Start at 11 a.m. Babs II did not start. Etukishook did very poor time on her second round and was beaten at the finish by over 8min. The finishing times were:--Vice (winner), 11:42:21; Etukishook, 11:52:28.

Handicap sweepstake for motor-boats exceeding 20 knots. Course, about 15 sea miles. The entries were:--

Columbine, which had lubrication troubles, did not start. The handicap was—Columbine scratch, Pierette, 2min. 50sec.; Tyreless II, 4min. 30sec.; Baby V, 5min. 40sec., and Ixia, 7min. 20sec. They were given their time allowance at the start and the finish was an excellent one, as will be seen by the following times:--Tyreless II (winner), 12:29:18; Ixia (second), 12:29:30; Baby V, 12:29:48; Pierette, 12:30:37.

Flying Mile Championship race—1^st prize, the B.M.B.C. Gold Medal; second prize, ₤3. The entries were:--Pierette, Columbine, Ixia, Tyreless II and Baby V.

Ixia, Columbine and Tyreless II cut the line practically together, while a couple of seconds covered all five. Columbine proved the winner, though she was not running up to her best time of the meeting. The finish was:--Columbine (winner), 2:32:03 2/5; Tyreless II, 2:32:20; Pierette, 2:32:21 1/5; Baby V, 2:32:22 2/5; Ixia, 2:32:33 4/5.

Handicap for motor-boats exceeding 12 knots. The entries were:--

The corrected times of the finishing were:--Maple Leaf (winner), 3:09:17; Vice (second), 3:12:12; Lucinha (third), 3:13:02; Ixia, 3:13:23; Etukishook, 3:13:30; Tyreless II, 3:14:04; Baby V, 3:14:28; Bluff, 3:14:45; Tyreless, 3:16:02; Pierette, 3:16:12; Columbine, 3:16:24; Tidla, 3:16:48; Doonie, 3:18:28.

The last race of the day was an Allcomers’ Handicap which attracted 29 entries and 21 starters. The finish was a very close one, as follows:--Connie (winner), 5:04:34; Baby V, (second) 5:04:38; Maple Leaf (third), 5:04:52; Tyreless II, 5:05:00.

[Excerpts transcribed from the Times of London, Sep. 26, 1910, p. 16.]

(Thanks to Greg Calkins for help in preparing this page. —LF)

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