'My job is to do record-breaking Bluebird justice'

1 day ago

Phil Cunliffe,in the Lake Districtand

Pamela Tickell,North East and Cumbria

Pilot Dave Warby said he idolised Donald Campbell and the Bluebird growing up

BBC Dave Warby is sitting in the cockpit of the hydroplane Bluebird K7 with his thumbs up. Warby is wearing a grey hat and a black jacket with an Australian flag patch on the arm. He has one hand on the steering wheel and is covered by the clear pane over the blue water vehicle. — Pilot Dave Warby said he idolised Donald Campbell and the Bluebird growing up

The man who will pilot the restored Bluebird hydroplane when it returns to Coniston Water later this year says he hopes to do the record-breaking vessel justice.

World water speed record challenger Dave Warby will be in the cockpit of Donald Campbell's hydroplane during the Bluebird K7 Festival in Cumbria in May.

Campbell lost his life on the lake in 1967 when he attempted to break his own water speed record.

Sitting in Bluebird for the first time, Warby said: "My job is to do the boat, the community and the family justice and bring a whole new generation to what water speed record breaking is all about."

Australian Dave Warby is the son of current world water speed record holder, Ken Warby MBE.

Warby said he idolised Campbell and Bluebird as a child.

"It's like a holy experience coming and actually being here," he said. "It's very surreal."

The restored Bluebird last ran on Loch Fad, on the Isle of Bute, in August 2018

Getty Images A close-up image showing Bluebird running on Loch Fad. It is a blue craft that looks like a cross between a boat and a plane. It has a tail fin and its pilot can be seen through a clear canopy. Spray is rising up behind it. — The restored Bluebird last ran on Loch Fad, on the Isle of Bute, in August 2018

The festival from 11 to 17 May will mark the hydroplane's return to Coniston Water after 59 years.

Between 1955 and 1964 Donald Campbell broke the outright world water speed record on seven separate occasions in Bluebird K7, and was attempting to push past 300mph (480km/h) when he died.

Warby said he hoped to get the hydroplane up to 150mph (241km/h), but would not attempt any speed record.

"We're here to put on a display safely and do it justice and bring back the sound of a jet engine roaring through the valleys here," Warby said.

"The boat needs to come back in safe, in one piece and be put in the museum for generations to enjoy."

Dave Warby visited Coniston Water for the first time

Celia Bartlett Dave Warby is smiling at the camera while standing on the banks of Coniston Water. He has very short ginger hair, almost bald, and is wearing a black and red jacket with an Australian flag patch on the arm. — Dave Warby visited Coniston Water for the first time

Bluebird was recovered from the bottom of Coniston Water in 2001 and restored on Tyneside by engineer Bill Smith and a team of volunteers.

However, a years-long ownership row followed before Mr Smith relinquished his claim in 2024.

Warby visited the team at Ruskin Museum, and the UK for the first time, to familiarise himself with the vessel.

Organisers plan to take Bluebird to the water every day of the festival, weather permitting.

Warby said: "Being here, looking down Coniston Water, I don't really think of the death, I really think of what he's [Campbell] achieved.

"I don't think I'm stepping into anyone's shoes, I don't think those shoes can be stepped into, and with any record breaker I think they stand well and truly on their own."

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