The Early Years | The Racing Years | Whale Cay

Marion Barbara Carstairs was born in London in 1900. Her grandfather, the American Jabez Bostwick, had made his fortune along with Rockefeller in oil and railroads.

'Joe' had a difficult childhood. Her father left before she was born and her mother was an alcoholic. This no doubt had a lot to do with the formation of her strong, independent character.

In 1916, she joined the Red Cross to drive ambulances in France. Later she joined the Women's Legion Mechanical Transport Section in Dublin. Demobbed in 1920 she went on to set up a successful chauffeuring garage with friends.

Joe (centre left) with other crew members of Estelle IV & V

Joe stood out from the crowd. Her behaviour was often outrageous and she usually dressed as a man. During her years in France and England she developed a love of machines, adventure and speed.

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The Early Years | The Racing Years | Whale Cay

In 1925 Joe came into inheritances from both her mother and grandmother. The first thing she did was to commission the best motorboat money could buy!

Over the next five years Joe made a real mark in the male world of powerboat racing. She won the Duke of York's Trophy in 1926 but set her sights on the Harmsworth Trophy. The Harmsworth was the most prestigious motorboat prize in the world.

Estelle IV & Miss America IX – Harmsworth Trophy 1930

Joe competed for the trophy in 1928, 1929 and 1930 but was defeated on each occasion. However she did establish herself as the fastest woman on water.

Thirty of the trophies she won are on display in the Museum.

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The Early Years | The Racing Years | Whale Cay

By the early 1930s Joe was facing tax problems in both England and the United States. The Press, who had been supportive during her initial success in racing, became increasingly hostile to her unconventional lifestyle. So in 1933 she bought the island of Whale Cay in the Bahamas for $40,000.

Over the next forty years Joe 'ruled' the island. She invested huge amounts of money building roads, clearing land and building a power plant. She played host to numerous guests including Marlene Dietrich and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

Her constant companion who she treated as a best friend and alter ego was Lord Tod Wadley. He was a leather doll given to her as a present by her secretary Ruth Baldwin in 1925.

Joe sold the island in 1975 for close to $1million. She lived out the rest of her life in and around Florida, never too far from the sea. She died in 1993 aged 93.

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