Ken’s son Dave has been exposed to world record breaking his whole life, jet engine’s, fast boat’s & car’s being around workshops & race meetings was a normal part of life and it’s fair to say it’s in his blood. As a young child Dave watched his father build Spirit of Australia in the family backyard and grew up in a world where he heard name’s such as Donald Cambpell, Malcolm Campbell, Lee Taylor, Sir Henry Seagrave , John Cobb and what they stood for. Then to see his father take on the world and break the Unlimited World Water Speed Record twice in Spirit of Australia and to have a dad as the world’s fastest man on water was a strong influence in Dave’s early life. He has known from an early age that he wanted to break the world record too.
As a teenager Dave was part of his father’s Jet drag racing team, touring Australia & America with Jet dragster’s and Jet funny car’s developing a good understanding of how jet engines and afterburner’s work. Seeing them work first hand and being around jet car racers, and record breakers such as Tom Brown, Rosco McGlashan, Romeo Palamides and the Late Craig Arfon’s, added to the need for speed.
Later in his 20’s David wanted to take steps to follow his childhood dream as his father did, become the fastest man on water. He restored an old hydroplane “Diablo” in his Grandfather’s backyard, the same place his father built his first race boat, even using some of the same tools father did. Dave then started to learn to drive, then race this hydroplane, learning the basics and getting the feel of a hydroplane at speed and reading the water conditions. later Dave stepped up to faster boats, fitted out and setting up a 22ft GP hydroplane Aussie Spirit, which he later raced with a supercharged big block chev engine. Dave later raced Ken’s Unlimited Hydroplane “Miss Bud” powered by a 27 litre 3500HP Supercharged V-12 Rolls Royce Merlin and that gave him a greater taste for speed on water.
Dave is an experienced boat builder, and has built hydroplanes from scratch ,he is a registered APBA & UIM reinforced Safety Cockpit manufacturer. Dave now has his childhood dream coming to life , with a Jet powered Unlimited Hydroplane under construction in his own workshop, with the fastest man on water by his side, his father, Ken Warby.
With years of tutorship from his father and his own boating background, Dave has a unique ability to know and feel what works and what does not, in a high speed boat.
David John Warby’s skills are now about to be put to the test, building and now driving Spirit of Australia II.
