Exciting speed boat racing film from 1966

This vintage home movie from 1966 features a set of speed boats racing on a lake or other waterway somewhere in the UK.

The film is part of a longer reel that the unknown photographer made which also covered Guy Fawkes night, some trips to the seaside and a camping holiday. It was filmed on Ilford standard 8 film.

The exposure is slightly out unfortunately, with the film being a touch dark. This could be because the event took place later in the day or possibly because it was a dull day. Ilfochrome film was I believe, ASA 25 so would work best in bright sunny conditions.

Some still images from the film

Film of speed boats racing

Unfortunately, I’ve not been able to confirm exactly where this event or meeting took place but I did find this Pathe newsreel which seems to cover the sort of event shown in the film. It mentioned three locations; Fairford, Chasewater and Woodlands Lake so it’s possible this event took place at one of those locations.

The first time I saw the film I thought it was just a single boat but after a few seconds it is apparent that this is some sort of club or event which is taking place. There are several boats and although the film definition isn’t very good, on closer inspection it’s possible to see that they have numbers assigned to them.

The racing seems to be taking place on a measured circuit in the middle of the lake or river that the film was taken at and it was after I’d see this that I did the research above and found the link which suggests this was a popular sport in the 1960s.

As always, if you know where this film was shot, or have any other information about the events shown, please let me know with a comment in the film below.