Tethered hydroplane regattas and tethered car meetings were popular spectator sports at one stage with thousands of people lining the banks of lakes and tracks around the country. However, as we found at our very first tethered car event, the sports can be largely incomprehensible for onlookers, other than watching things go round and round. Now, apart from informing competitors of what is happening, any form of commentary for spectators is now a thing of the past. Here we see John French, British B class record holder, broadcasting to the crowds, probably at Brockwell Park. After his involvement with tethered hydros in the 1930s, French moved on to racing motor cycles, including the IOM TT.

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