List of water speed records
Officially recognised fastest speed achieved by a water-borne vehicle
Why this is trending
Interest in “List of water speed records” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-02-25.
Categorised under History, this article fits a familiar pattern. Historical topics gain renewed attention when tied to commemorations, documentaries, or current events that echo past episodes.
GlyphSignal tracks these patterns daily, turning raw Wikipedia traffic data into a curated feed of what the world is curious about. Every spike tells a story.
Key Takeaways
- The world unlimited water speed record is the officially recognised fastest speed achieved by a water-borne vehicle, irrespective of propulsion method.
- 98 kn), achieved by Australian Ken Warby in the Spirit of Australia on 8 October 1978.
- 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.
- The record is ratified by the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM).
- 1885, Nathanael Herreshoff's Stiletto : 42.
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).
Before 1910
Until 1911, steam-powered, propeller-driven vehicles held world water speed records.
- 1885, Nathanael Herreshoff's Stiletto: 42.2 km/h (26.2 mph)
- 1893, William B. Cogswell's Feiseen: 50.9 km/h (31.6 mph)
- 1897, Charles Algernon Parsons' Turbinia: 62.9 km/h (39.1 mph)
- 1903, Charles R. Flint's Arrow: 72.5 km/h (45.06 mph)
1910s
In 1911, a 12 m (40 ft) stepped planing hull, Dixie IV, designed by Clinton Crane, became the first gasoline-powered vessel to break the water speed record.
In March 1911, the Maple Leaf III, which was powered by two twelve-cylinder motors producing 350 hp each, set a new water speed record of 57 mph (92 km/h) on The Solent.
Beginning in 1908, Alexander Graham Bell and engineer Frederick W. "Casey" Baldwin began experimenting with powered watercraft. In 1919, with Baldwin piloting their HD-4 hydrofoil, a new world water speed record of 114.0 km/h (70.86 mph) was set on Bras d'Or Lake at Baddeck, Nova Scotia.
Content sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0
