FOR more than 30 years it lay beneath the waves, the shattered remains of a dream to travel faster than anyone had before.

But now the Bluebird K7, which propelled the adventurer Donald Campbell to seven world records, is to take to the water once more.

After a 17-year project to restore the jet-engined hydroplane after lifting in from the depths of Coniston Water in the Lake District, engineer Bill Smith will bring the Bluebird to the Isle of Bute for trials next week.

It is the first time the superspeed craft has been put back into action since it was raised in 2001, and more than half a century since Campbell's final, fatal attempt to break the world water speed record.

The daredevil, the only person to hold both the world land and water speed records simultaneously, lost his life on 4 January 1967 when the Bluebird crashed during his second attempt to break his own record, flipping over as it reached speeds of 320 mph and sinking beneath the waves.

The craft was eventually recovered in 2001, and it has taken almost 20 painstaking years and a small army of dedicated volunteers to restore the Bluebird to her former glory.

The Herald: Donald Campbell’s Bluebird hydroplane at speed on Coniston Water (PA)

The Bluebirn in full flight on Coniston

From 4th to 16th August, the iconic craft will undertaking crew training on Bute's Loch Fad, although it will be moving at a considerably slower pace than it did in its creator's day.

Project leader Mr Smith has had a love of Bute since fishing trips as a teenager and then later as a diver. He said: "Loch Fad is perfect for this crew-training exercise.

"It's just long enough for Bluebird to get moving and just deep enough that it won't be too difficult for divers to retrieve any dropped tools."

"It's pretty exciting for us right now because we've just ground-tested Bluebird and all her systems are running beautifully. When she's put in the water at Loch Fad next week, it will be the first time in 50 years that Bluebird's engine will be started while afloat."

The bluebird suffered catastrophic damage in the crash which cost Campbell his life, and was hidden by the murky waters of Coniston for decades, although the location was pinpointed by a group of divers from the Royal marines shortly after the crash, but kept a secret.

When it was rediscovered by Mr Smith, there were moves to have it left in situ, but it was eventually raised to stop it becoming a magnet for souvenir hunters.

The body of Donald Campbell was located two months later, still in the green jumpsuit he wore during the final run. An inquest later found he had been decapitated by the Bluebird's plastic windshield.

The Herald:

Bill Smith with the wreck of the Bluebird

Mr Smith, said that there would be "no goosebumps" when he sees the famous hydroplane take to the water again.

Around a dozen different crew members will be required to get the Bluebird moving again, and it will be piloted by professional hydroplane pilot Ted Walsh.

The Bluebird was raised mostly intact, but the team were forced to start over again because the original structure was made half an inch adrift.

Companies in North Shields, where Mr Smith is based, also helped with its restoration. Rolls-Royce Controls and Data recreated the original 1967 fuel system from plans found in archives.

Mr Smith only plans to aim for speeds of around 65mph for demonstrations purposes.

He said: "It's taken us 17 years to get to this point. But it's not the end of the journey. The trip to Scotland is get the crew prepared for the final trials we hope to do in Cumbria. It's another step in the road."

Mr Smith said that he fully expects things to go wrong during the trials. In fact, having everything be plain sailing would be counter to the way Donald Campbell approached his record-breaking runs.

He said: "The Bluebird was always a work in progress and Campbell was always making changes to the design. If he hadn't crashed he would have been back for another go having made alterations and adaptions to the craft.

"We'll have to fix little problems and hope that nothing major cocks up. There will be holes that need filed with silicon and bits that need fixed down, and lots of small snags to smooth over and get everything shipshape. But we're confident that the Bluebird will work as it should."

The Herald:

Campbell began started his career using his father's old boat, the Bluebird K4, but after a structural failure at 170 mph in 1951 he developed the Bluebird K7.

He championed British engineering his entire life and saw the Bluebird, and his land speed records, as a national foil to the feats of the space race being undertaken by the US and the USSR at the time. 

He first broke the record in 1955 with a speed of 202mph.  That rose to 260mph by 1959. By 1966, his record stood at 276mph.

Although he reached a speed more than 300mph in the fateful 1967 attempt he did not smash his previous record as he failed to complete the journey.

The Herald: Sandra Ferguson with unseen footage of the Donald Campbell filmed by her dad.

The fatal crash

Mr Smith believes that Campbell would by proud to see the Bluebird fly again, adding: "Donald Campbell was a bit of a showman and he used to say that there's no such thing as bad publicity.

"He talked a good job and did it very well at drumming up publicity. He would have loved this."

Mr Smith said: "When we raised the Bluebird his wife, Tonia, was beside me on the boat and I looked over at the shoreline and there was 200 reporters and TV cameras and satellite trucks lines up.

"I asked her 'do you think Donald would have liked this?', and she just laughed and said that he would have absolutely thrived on it."