Spirit of Australia
Spirit of Australia is a wooden speed boat built in a Sydney backyard, by Ken Warby, that broke and set the world water speed record on 8 October 1978 with a speed of 511.11 km/h (317.58 mph). == The record and boat == On 8 October 1978, Ken Warby rode the Spirit of Australia on Blowering Dam in Australia on opposite direction runs of 492.813 km/h (306.220 mph; 266.098 kn) and 529.412 km/h (328.961 mph; 285.860 kn), for an official record speed of 511.11 km/h (317.59 mph; 275.98 kn), with a peak speed of 555 km/h (345 mph; 300 kn).