Editor’s Note: Marilyn DeMartini is a journalist and creator covering high-performance boating for decades. We are always pleased to have her byline appear. In this project, DeMartini harnesses the power of Ai and combines it with her experience, access, in the go-fast boat world, to provide a unique way to tell the story of an iconic boat. You can find more of DeMartini’s work by using the search pane on this site, or by visiting: marilyndemartini.com -Kevin Falvey
“Every good story has a hero and I could sure use one now! I am a 31 Bertram race boat and I’ve got quite a history and a plea…
I’m sure you think powerboat racers are macho males, but we all know boats are female spirits and identify with the likes of Betty Cook, the first American woman to win the prestigious Cowes-Torquay Race. And that’s where my story begins.
I was born to win. Dick Bertram was a winner and his success with my 31-Bertram “Moppie” hull spread across the globe. All the elite were writing checks to get me, but the debonair Tommy Sopwith, heir to the aviation pioneer and yachtsman Sir Thomas Sopwith, got Bertram’s attention. In 1963 I was shipped to England’s Isle of Wight to compete in the world famous Daily Express Cowes-Torquay Race. But those 7-litre Holman-Moody tuned Ford engines failed before I could cross the finish line. Even Lady Aitken came in 6th driving one of my sister 31-Bertrams that day! I was so humiliated!
A couple of other blokes tried to race me and also failed, but it wasn’t my fault—those engines were just not reliable, I was before my time, but I knew I had it IN me! Imagine the ignominy of being passed around like a loser—and even relegated to the shame of being turned into a houseboat! I was neglected and abused—yes, a battered woman, but still noble in my bones. Thankfully, after 30 years of torture, a sharp-eyed member of the Classic Offshore Powerboat Club, spied my attractive C. Raymond Hunt profile on the River Thames. Gentleman Robin Wood rescued me! He put a significant amount of time, trouble and expense to bring me back to my racing form, including new V8 engines. American Jeff Hall even came over to England to coach my nimble body back into racing shape, but alas, power continued to fail me. A broken V-drive in 2015 and a broken prop shaft in 2016 put a hole through my hull and nearly sank me just seven miles from the finish! Hall said I had a ‘dark cloud’ over me. Depression set in with no relief in sight. No Xanax, no petrol, no coaxing could bring me out of it.
Read Next: C. Raymond Hunt: Designers of Thunderstreak
Then one day, on a boring, leisurely cruise down the River Medina, a true English gentleman, Hugo Peel, was enjoying his usual boat ride but the sound of my V8s piqued his ears and heart strings! He knew that sound and when he turned his head, tears came to his eyes, recalling when as a wee-lad, he saw me with Tommy Sopwith at the helm, making my way through the Solent in that first Cowes-Torquay race. “Love at first sound,” he called it then and now, he knew I had to be his!
Imagine my delight to have a new home with a man who truly understood my pedigree! Mr. Peel lovingly restored me and my confidence with a total structural facelift. He included new Awlgrip paint in my original colors, down to my red boot-stripe. He stripped out my V8s, re-bored, bead-blasted and re-mounted them with new pistons, ring rockers and valves. But again, the blasted engines failed me! Thank God Mr. Peel is not a penny-pincher and he and his retrofit team stepped up to new MerCruiser 435 fuel-injected engines with Bravo X-drives. But as you know, muscle weighs more than fat, so my entire rear had to be lifted! My engine bay and transom were restructured with new wiring, plumbing, stringers, bulkheads, flooring and cross beams. My rear-view was now as attractive as my profile!
Everyone got in on this face-lift! Winn Willard, the President of Ray Hunt Associates and his team consulted, considering that I was built for 30 mph and was about to blow that number literally out of the water into the 60s! Race engineers at Wills Marine of Poole, England outfitted me with Hardin Marine racing steering, extended trim tabs, new stainless fuel tanks and even an Axiom plotter and stainless framed dashboard. As a loving and final touch, racer Peter Hewitt who had painstakingly overseen all of my renovations, bestowed on me, straight from his racing trophy cabinet, a leather steering wheel. Now I could be powerful–but also be soft to the touch!
As an extra bonus, since Tommy Sopwith and Hugo Peel were both members of the prestigious Royal Yacht Squadron, I got to fly the RYS esteemed flag in the ‘Historic’ racing class designation, using my original, venerable number H400. I was so proud and ready to prove my mettle!
Mr. Peel assembled a worthy team to pilot me to the front of the pack—Team: Royal Yacht Squadron, under the leadership of John Simmonds who took over as project manager when our dear Peter Hewitt passed. The team learned how to properly get me across the finish line. I hate to admit this, but Simmonds was clear in his messaging and my driver, Mr. Peel, throttleman and navigator had to respect my age and treat me like a lady. I’m strong, I’m built to race and the “Gentlemen Racers”–as the team had become labeled, since they were also of “a certain age”—got it.
And we took it all! For three years, Team: Royal Yacht Squadron repeatedly took me, Thunderstreak, to the podium and we gathered trophy after trophy and my hull amassed an astounding number of badges, testifying to my winning streak! At last! I earned my place in history after 60 years!
At the 63rd running of the Cowes-Torquay Powerboat Festival, we again proved our moxie, despite torrential rain, squalls and treacherous seas. We surpassed bigger and more powerfully-equipped boats, taking second overall and first in my class in the Cowes-Poole-Cowes Race. We were awarded 10 trophies at the post-race ceremony from “Best Presented Boat” and the “Boat Designer’s Trophy” to the “First Historic Boat to Finish” and “Oldest Driver” (Mr. Peel is even older than me!)
But then, I heard the dreadful news! The team was retiring! They had achieved their mission and I had risen from under the dark cloud to the shine of success. But now, I am now on the chopping block! I know Mr. Peel loves me dearly, but after considerable time spent with me, Mrs. Peel is now to be the top woman in his life. Like a discarded mistress, I am being left to find a new home.
Despite my dire personal circumstances, Mr. Peel has maintained me beautifully and Mr. Simmonds has ensured I look and act my best with new paint—even where you can’t see it–as my engines were removed and overhauled and now have new manifolds. Clearly, I have been well-loved over my more recent years which made up for the abuse of my younger days and my fate is now in the hands of Englishman, Hugh Rayner of Berthon International Yacht Brokers and American, Jeremy Cohen of Seabound Yachts.
I am in my prime and DO NOT want to retire! I deserve a new love who will treat me with the same respect and adoration as did Mr. Peel. I want to come HOME! I have enjoyed my life in England, but I am an American with strong Miami, Florida DNA. I want to race, be a pace boat, go to Poker Runs and show off my vintage flair—I am not an antique—I am a mature woman of strong body and spirit.
I was going to run this ad on Tinder or Plenty of Fish, but I don’t want to burn or go fishing! I want you to feel my power! I want waves under my hull, wind in my face! Please—I beg of you–I need a hero—NOW!”
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