Bluebird's fate finally decided
November 10, 2001
Donald Campbell's family has finally decided the future of Bluebird. The jet-powered boat will be fully restored and raced again before going on public display.
Sir Donald's daughter Gina said it would be 'morbid' to leave Bluebird in its current state - a mangled rusty wreck.
Sir Donald, 45, died in January 1967 when he was trying to break the world water speed record on Coniston Water in the Lake District.
The Bluebird and Sir Donald's remains were recovered by a team of divers earlier this year. Sir Donald was later buried in Coniston.
Gina, who is now trying to raise funds for the boat's restoration, said Bluebird would take to the icy waters of Coniston again before it went on public display in Coniston's Ruskin Museum.
October 29, 2001
Gina Campbell, daughter of speed legend Donald hopes to rebuild the Bluebird and race it once more on the lake which claimed her father's life.
Campbell died when his jet-powered boat flipped over and crashed on Coniston Water during an attempt on his own world water speed record in 1967.
The wreckage of Bluebird was raised from the bed of the lake earlier this year and Campbell's remains were finally laid to rest in Coniston.
The plan was to put the craft's remains on display at Ruskin Museum in Coniston. But now Gina, who has twice broken women's water speed records, is thinking of rebuilding Bluebird and racing it on Coniston Water as a tribute to her father.
The Newcastle team which raised Bluebird says the craft could be rebuilt to working order as its frame is still sound.
Bluebird's co-designer, Ken Norris, who still designs jet-powered boats, said: 'It would be quite a thrill to see it on the lake again.'
New British bid for
water speed record
October 1, 2001
A British man is planning a new assault on the world water speed record currently is held by an Australian.
Nigel Macknight says that after 34 years, it is time the record was returned to Britain. And he believes his boat Quicksilver can make him the fastest man on water. His plans for an attempt on the record at Coniston Water, in the Lake District, are underway.
Donald Campbell, the last Briton to hold the water speed record, died on the lake in 1967 while attempting to take his boat Bluebird through the 300 mph barrier.
His body was recently recovered from the depths of the lake and is now buried in Coniston churchyard.
Mr Macknight plans water trials for his boat next summer with his attempt on the record expected to follow at Coniston during the winter months.
Quicksilver is designed to reach 400 mph but because the lake only provides a five mile run, it will be difficult to go beyond 325-330 mph.
The current record, set in 1978 by Ken Warby of Australia, stands at 317.6 mph, leaving only a small margin for success. C Mr Macknight, who is 46 and lives in Lincolnshire, feels an emotional pull towards Coniston, and says bringing the record home to the Lake District would be a tribute to the memory of Donald Campbell.
September 12, 2001
Hundreds of people gathered on the edge of Coniston Water in the Lake District today to pay their final respects to speed ace Donald Campbell.
Mourners and well-wishers flocked to the lake where Campbell died while trying to break the water speed record in January 1967. Among the pall-bearers at the funeral service was Wallsend-based Bill Smith, the diver who raised Bluebird and Donald Campbell from Coniston Water. Campbell's body was taken on a final emotional voyage around the lake joined by close family and friends before being finally laid to rest at St Andrews Church in the village of Coniston.
Campbell's coffin, aboard a boat a Red Ensign at half-mast, left a jetty at Pier for the final journey at noon today. The boat paused briefly at the site where Campbell's speedboat first flipped over.
The boat then turned round and, to the sound of bagpipes, slowly made the 200-yard journey to the site where the Bluebird was recovered. The boat stopped for a few seconds in silence before beginning the journey back to shore.
Campbell's coffin was lifted from the boat and taken a short distance to a horse-drawn carriage. The procession then began the mile-long journey to the service at St Andrew's.
The wreckage of the Bluebird in was discovered last December after a painstaking four-year search and was raised in March. Campbell's remains were discovered, still clothed in his blue racing suit, two months later.
The Campbell family wants Bluebird to be housed permanently at the Ruskin Museum in Coniston.
August 14, 2001
DNA tests have proved that human remains discovered at the bottom of Coniston Water were definitely those of speed hero Donald Campbell.
His Gina Campbell, 51, is said to be totally relieved. Speaking after a ten-minute inquest into the death of her father, who died trying to break his own world water speed record in 1967, Miss Campbell said she still missed him 'like mad'.
She is now planning a September funeral in Coniston for her father who was 46 when he died. His remains were found on May 28 more than two months after the Bluebird had been salvaged from the lake bed.
June 5, 2001
Human remains have been found near the spot where Donald Campbell's Bluebird was raised to the surface of Coniston Water.
But it could be weeks before they are identified. If they do turn out to be those of Donald Campbell, the feeling in the area is that they should be given a fitting burial in the churchyard nearby.
The remains were found at the weekend by the team responsible for the raising of Campbell's sleek, futuristic boat in March.
The remains were taken to the mortuary at Furness General Hospital at Barrow in Furness where a post mortem was carried out yesterday. Scientists are now carrying out DNA tests to discover whether the bones belonged to Campbell.
High Court to decide
future of Bluebird
May 22, 2001
The future of Donald Campbell's Bluebird speedboat is likely to be decided in the High Court this summer. The craft in which Campbell died while trying to break his world speed record in 1967was raised from Coniston in March and is being restored at a secret Tyneside location.
Campbell's family are in a dispute over the ownership of the Bluebird and have obtained a High Court order to ensure it remains there pending the outcome of the ruling. If the family wins the ownership case they hope Bluebird will be permanently housed in the Ruskin Museum at Coniston.
Bluebird is raised from Coniston
March 8, 2001
Divers have raised the wreck of Donald Campbell's boat Bluebird from the bottom of Coniston Water in Cumbria.
The boat had lain there for 34 years, since the accident in which Campbell was killed while trying to break the world water speed record.
The craft was winched to the surface after a three-hour operation to tow it to the lakeside from its resting place, 150ft below the surface of the lake.
The quest to raise the boat was led by Tyneside diver Bill Smith, who paid tribute to a 'fantastic' team.
A crowd of more than 50 villagers gathered at the shore and saw the tail of Bluebird, emblazoned with a Union Jack, float to the surface aided by four orange air bags.
Campbell's widow Tonia Bern-Campbell flew from her home in America to be at the lakeside to witness the occasion. Other friends and family are with her.
Remarkable state
Smith said he was glad that they had reached the boat as there was always the risk that less scrupulous souvenir hunters could get there first.
'You can see now she's in a remarkable state of preservation and she'll not rot away to nothing now, she can be kept this way,' said Smith, who will also lead the conservation team.
The legendary Donald Campbell was trying to break his own water speed record of 276mph on 4 January, 1967, when the boat vaulted from the lake's surface and somersaulted repeatedly before crashing, killing him instantly. His body was never found and there are no remains in the wreckage.
Campbell was only 46 when he died and achieved legendary status in his own lifetime. He came from a dynasty of world speed record breakers. His father Sir Malcolm Campbell set the land speed record in 1935.
February 12, 2001
The wreck of speed hero Donald Campbell's Bluebird should be raised and given a new home in the Lake District, says his family. Campbell's jet-powered boat was found 150ft below Coniston Water last week - 34 years after he was killed while attempting to break the world water speed record. His family now fears that trophy hunters will also find it and start taking pieces of the craft. Campbell's nephew Donald Wales said a museum in Coniston dedicated to his uncle and his grandfather Malcolm Campbell would be a fitting memorial and resting place for a restored Bluebird.
Divers find wreckage of Campbell's Bluebird
February 5, 2001
The submerged wreck of Donald Campbell's jet-powered boat Bluebird has been found 34 years after he was killed.
Campbell was attempting to break the world water speed record on Coniston Water, Cumbria, when the boat vaulted from the lake's surface and somersaulted repeatedly before crashing, killing him instantly.
The location of Bluebird - and Campbell's body - had always eluded his family and divers but it now emerges a team discovered the wreck 150ft below Coniston Water with its Union Jack still on the tail at the end of last year.
The expedition was filmed by a BBC documentary crew for a series to be screened in April.
Campbell held the world record for travelling over water at 276mph when he took his boat on to the lake on January 4, 1967. He reached 297mph on the way out but on the return, as he reached an estimated 300mph, Bluebird leapt from the surface and crashed.
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Bluebird may race again
New British bid for
water speed record
Final farewell to speed ace
Campbell funeral planned
Donald Campbell's body found?
High Court to decide future of Bluebird
Bluebird is raised from Coniston
Raise Bluebird, says family
Divers find wreckage of Campbell's Bluebird
Copyright (c) 2000-2001 Sue Kelly