Record #00374Transport archive
Fastest Official Water Speed Record
Australian driver Ken Warby set the official water speed record of about 511.09 km/h on 8 October 1978 in the jet-powered Spirit of Australia at Blowering Reservoir, New South Wales.
ARCHIVE VISUAL / 01
NOT TO SCALE
Current Record
511.09km/h
Current record value
- Location
- Blowering Reservoir, New South Wales, Australia
- Start date
- 1978-10-08
- Record status
- VerifiedView verification details ↗Report an issue
Overview
Archive NoteWarby designed and built Spirit of Australia, a jet-powered hydroplane, and carried out high-speed trials at an inland reservoir in New South Wales.
Guinness's 2024 retrospective gives the official two-way average of 511.09 km/h on 8 October 1978 and distinguishes Warby's earlier unofficial 1977 run. The Australian National Maritime Museum reports the same official record as 511.11 km/h, a small 0.02-km/h published discrepancy. This entry consistently follows Guinness's 511.09 figure and does not mix the unofficial earlier estimate.
Record history
1 Milestones- 511.09 km/hSpirit of Australia hydroplaneBlowering Reservoir, New South Wales, AustraliaCurrent Record
Sources
Evidence & ReferencesVerification basis and limitations
VerifiedThe record conclusion has sufficient verification support.
Basis: direct confirmation by an authority
Guinness's 2024 retrospective and record description support 511.09 km/h on 8 October 1978. The Australian National Maritime Museum gives 511.11 km/h for the same official record, a small 0.02-km/h reporting discrepancy; the entry consistently adopts Guinness's 511.09, not two different records.
Comparison boundaries still under review
A small source discrepancy exists between 511.09 and 511.11 km/h for the same 1978 officially certified run; neither should be confused with an unofficial 1977 test.
- Verification assessment
- 2026-11-05
- Last editorial review
- 2026-11-05
Current Entry identifies the current entry in this archive; it does not establish that the record is still held today.
The record value on this page is organized from the public sources above. Measurement methods may differ; JiLuDB follows the unified method described for each entry.
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