Bluebird K7 rose onto the plane on Coniston Water on Friday afternoon, for the first time since Donald Campbell died there on 4 January 1967.
Dave Warby took K7 out at 16:00 BST. The run came after engineers worked through Wednesday night on the boat’s new Orpheus 101 engine, which had been preventing K7 from delivering enough power to get up on the plane. Warby backed off before reaching the target speeds, and the boat was recovered to shore shortly after. Observers watching the festival’s live stream noted throughout the week that the bow was running lower in the water than during K7’s 2018 shakedown at Loch Fad.
The moment K7 lifted brought an immediate reaction from the thousands on the western shore and the thousands more watching the festival’s YouTube live stream. Commenting on the official Facebook page, Paul Nevill wrote:
“Yeah she planed, well done the team.”
Two days of the festival remain. The event runs through Sunday, 17 May, from 10:00 to 17:00, weather and conditions permitting.
Bluebird K7 Coverage
Follow all of Powerboat News’s coverage of the Bluebird K7 Festival and Coniston’s water speed record history.
Coniston Records
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
