The world's fastest man on water, Ken Warby, has died in the United States after a short illness.
Born and educated in Newcastle, NSW, Warby shot to fame in the late 1970s when he first broke the world water speedboat record.
"Ken was a fantastic man, he had a wonderful and charmed life," long-time friend Bayden Gardem said.
Warby's interest in the sport began as a teenager when he became fascinated with Englishman Donald Campbell, who set both land and water speed records in 1964.
The king who never lost his crown
A mechanical engineer by trade, Warby financed and built the power boat Spirit of Australia in the early 1970s.
On November 20, 1977, he set the world water speed record of 288.60 miles per hour (464.5 kilometres an hour) on Blowering Dam, south of Tumut.
Then with a sponsor on board and more money to spend on his boat, he broke his own record, again on Blowering Dam, on October 8, 1978.
Even 45 years later, that mark of 317mph (510.2kph) has never been beaten.
Close friend John Reid said it was not surprising Warby still held the record.
"He just had nerves of steel and he was just focused," he said.
"It didn't matter what he did, whether it was racing vintage power boats at high speed, he just always went at it."
In 1980, Warby was invited by then-Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser to take Spirit of Australia on a tour of the United States, to help promote Australia.
He remained there until his death this week at the age of 83.
"Everybody loved Ken in America, unfortunately he suffered from tall poppy syndrome in Australia," Bayden Gardem said.
Speed runs in the family
Over the past decade, Warby has collaborated with his second son David, who was behind the boat Spirit of Australia 2.
The group testing it is attempting to break Warby's world record with improvements to hull design and safety.
Incredibly, Warby never had seatbelts in his original boat.
Spirit of Australia 2 is being tested on the Manning River at Taree and on Blowering Dam.
In a social media tribute, the group said he would be greatly missed by his family and Team Warby Motorsport.
"His knowledge and Australian sense of humour can never be replaced," members said.
Warby is survived by his wife Barbara and three sons.
Editor's note 22/2/2023: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated Ken Warby was 84 when he died.
