Ken Warby

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Model of Spirit of Australia in which Ken Warby set the world water speed record in 1978 on Blowering Dam

Ken Warby is an Australian motorboat racer, who currently holds the Water speed record of 317.60 miles per hour. This was set in Blowering Dam, part of the Snowy Mountains hydro-electric scheme, near Tumut, New South Wales, roughly 400km south-south west of Sydney, on October 8, 1978.

Warby designed the hull of the boat, Spirit of Australia, himself and built it in his backyard. He covered it with a canvas tarp when it rained. It was made of balsa wood and fiberglass. In addition, he was able to obtain a jet engine on his own. The engine was military surplus obtained from an auction for only $69.

On November 20, 1977, he set the world record of 288.18, breaking the record of Lee Taylor by a little over 3 mph. With his 317.60 run, he was the first and only person to go over 300 mph on water successfully (Donald Campbell died on his attempt after his speedboat flipped over at over 320 mph on his return run in his 1967 record attempt). This record has never been beaten to this day. Many attempts have been made, some with significantly more powerful engines and much larger design budgets, but none have been successful at achieving even 300 mph. Approximately fifty percent of the attempts have proven fatal for the drivers.

Warby is in the process of designing another vessel, Aussie Spirit, with which he plans to heighten his record.

As a kid, Warby's hero was Donald Campbell.

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