List of water speed records

Not to be confused with Underwater speed record.

The world unlimited water speed record is the officially recognised fastest speed achieved by a water-borne vehicle, irrespective of propulsion method. The current unlimited record is 511.11 km/h (317.59 mph; 275.98 kn), achieved by Australian Ken Warby in the Spirit of Australia on 8 October 1978. Warby's record was still standing more than 47 years later.

The record is one of the sporting world's most hazardous competitions; seven of the thirteen people who have attempted it since June 1930 have died trying. Two official attempts to beat Ken Warby's 1978 record resulted in the pilot's death, with Lee Taylor in 1980 and Craig Arfons in 1989.

The record is ratified by the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM).

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