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Image Not Available for Union of International Motorboating world speed record certificate presented to Ken Warby SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA
Union of International Motorboating world speed record certificate presented to Ken Warby SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA
Image Not Available for Union of International Motorboating world speed record certificate presented to Ken Warby SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA

Union of International Motorboating world speed record certificate presented to Ken Warby SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA

Maker (founded 1922)
Date1979
Object number00000004
NameCertificate
MediumPaper
Dimensions8 x 434 x 398 mm
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThe cerificate from the Union of International Motorboating certifying that their bureau has checked and accepted the chart of course, the timer's certificate, measurer's certificate and the report of the official referee to declare that Ken Warby is the new world speed record holder in the hydroplane SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA. The record of 511.11 Kph(317.596 Mph ) was averaged over two runs on Blowering Dam, near Tumut, New South Wales in 1978. Signed in Brussels 26 January 1979 No. 2520.HistoryKen Warby, SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA's designer, builder and driver, achieved his world water-speed records on a shoestring budget. The boat was built over two years in the backyard of his suburban Sydney home, using stringers, brackets, stock bits of timber, plywood, screws and epoxy, and launched in 1974. Warby first claimed the world record in 1977, taking his home-made hydroplane to a speed of 464.44 km/h and breaking American Lee Taylor's ten-year-old record of 458.98 km/h. But where Lee Taylor's record had cost close to $1 million in 1967, Warby built his boat in a suburban backyard with a military-surplus jet engine that cost $65. In 1978 he returned to Blowering Dam in the southern highlands of New South Wales and pushed his record to 511.11 km/h (317.68 m/h), where it still stands. Warby was awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire) in recognition of his achievement. More information about SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA's construction, configuration and condition can be found on the Australian Register of Historic Vessels www.anmm.gov.au/arhv.SignificanceThe SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA was designed and built by Ken Warby and holds a current world record of 511.11 Kph(317.596 Mph) averaged over 2 runs on Blowering Dam, near Tumut, New South Wales in 1978.