Become the fastest man in history on the water at over 500 km/h? A great challenge, even if your father is the current record holder. It’s the story of the two Australians Ken Warby, the man who sailed at 511 km/h in 1978 and his son Dave, who built the boat with which he wants to beat his father’s record today.
Spirit of Australia II
It took over 5 years to design and build Spirit of Australia II, born from the study and best of the current record holder, Spirit of Australia, made by Ken Warby. The work was mainly to lighten and lengthen the boat and some changes to the rudder for safety reasons.
The result is that Spirit of Australia II has almost 50% more power than the original boat (10,000 horsepower) and is powered by a Rolls Royce Orpheus 803 engine taken from a decommissioned Italian military aircraft: a Fiat Gina G-91 fighter aircraft. The construction of Spirit of Australia II was conducted by Dave Warby, an experienced boat builder together with Warby Motorsport Team.
For the taste of the record
It was 1970 when Ken Warby designed the project on the kitchen table, bought three derelict jet engines and dedicated every free moment to Spirit of Australia in his garden covering the future “fastest boat in history” in case of rain with a towel.
Dave Warby is continuing the family tradition today and will soon try to break the record. The son of art is an expert boat builder and has built seaplanes from scratch. Growing up in the world of men of record and speed, he now wants to break his father’s record and become the fastest man in history to sail on water.
The records of the future?
If Dave and his team are working with jet engines, new speed fans on the water are trying to make records…electric! Boats less fast and dangerous – the history of records is unfortunately ravaged by many victims – but equally complicated from the technical point of view. Going to work on electric and non-electric propulsion, all the research results could also contribute to the development of “eco-sustainable” pleasure craft.
