Forlanini’s hydrofoil boat on Lake Maggiore.
He was so impressed with the speed and the
smooth ride, the hull not being subjected to
buffeting by the waves, that he and Baldwin

began work on their own hydrofoil. In 1919 on

the Bras d’Or Lake in Nova Scotia, Baldwin was

at the controls when the Bell HD-4 hydrofoil

set a new world water speed record of 70.86

mph (114.01 km/h). In more recent years,

Donald Campbell set several world water speed

records in his Bluebird hydroplane boats and

made it to more than 300 mph on Coniston

Water in the Lake District in 1967.

Hydrofoils are still in use today around the

world, providing fast passenger ferries. Being

able to lift the hull out of the water reduces the

water resistance, allowing the hydrofoils to

provide a fast, smooth ride for their passengers.

But why were hydrofoils so important to me? I

needed to know about wheels on the water, not

how wings worked in water. At the end of the

day it was all about pressure. Water pressure

worked much the same way as I already knew

air pressure to work, and it was pressure

that was at the heart of the hydroplaning

phenomenon. Learning a bit about hydrofoils

was also to help me understand about how I

could help to create the hydroplaning effect

with a small but cleverly designed addition to a

standard motorbike. That very special piece of

kit was to come along later, Hugh still had a lot

to teach me about the science of hydroplaning.

Top: Donald Campbell

set seven World Water

Speed records in his

jet-powered hydroplane,

Bluebird, between 1955

and 1964.

Bottom: Campbell died

on Coniston Water in

the Lake District when

Bluebirdrose out of the

water at 300 mph and

flipped over.

Top right: You have to

Bottom right: Note the

get the angle of entry just
right to be a champion
stone skimmer.

ripples caused by the

stone pushing water aside,

displacing the surface

water and transferring

some of its energy to that

water, losing thrust in the

process.

144 HYDROPLANING MOTORBiKe