ON THIS DAY

World’s fastest man on water

On 8 October 1978, Australian Ken Warby MBE set a world water speed record at Blowering Dam, NSW. Clocking 317mph or 511km/h in his motorboat Spirit of Australia, his record remains to this day. No one else has exceeded 480km/h and survived. The challenge is often described as one of the most dangerous in existence.

Warby’s childhood hero, Donald Campbell, died after his hydroplane crashed at over 320mph (515km/h) on his return run in his 1967 record attempt.

Warby was a mechanical engineer and designed and built the hull himself in his backyard, on a shoestring budget and without sponsors. In the early 1970s, he bought 3 military surplus Westinghouse jet engines at auction for $265 and teamed up with 2 aircraft men from RAAF Base Wagga Wagga who helped refurbish them. The boat was made of wood and fibreglass.

On 20 November 1977, Warby set a new world water speed record of 464.46km/h, breaking the existing world record held by American Lee Taylor by a little over 4.8km/h. Almost a year later, in 1978, Warby did even better, reaching 511.11km/h. Warby had to be strapped into the aircraft-style cockpit. He apparently described his piloting of Spirit of Australia as, “You don’t drive the boat, you wear it.”

In 1978, Warby was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to speed boat racing. Spirit of Australia is now at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney.