2019-08-01_Maxim_Australia

CLOCKWISE (FROM ABOVE LEFT): Ken Warby’s jet drag racing

team — which his son Dave was a part of throughout his teens to early 20s

me to make adjustments and modifications
to the boat before the next run and in
turn it gives me confidence to push even
harder the next time. I’m registered to build
safety capsules by The World Body of
Powerboating and The Australian National
Body. Having built everything myself in
the boat, I feel confident each time I take
to the water. Without this level of intimacy
with your machine you put yourself at risk.

Is there any special preparation
or routine?
D: No, I’m not superstitious, but I do
always wear my Ray-Ban sunnies – so
if you’re reading this, Ray-Ban?! They’re
polarised, so it takes the glare off the
water and allows me to look critically at
the conditions when I’m racing at speed.

The other thing I like to do before I race,

is, while the boat is being craned into

the water and I’m waiting to get in, I take

the time to have a laugh and a yarn with

my crew, who are also my family and

friends. I liken this to days gone by when

we’d sit in the backyard in Newcastle

tinkering with the boat, with friends and

family around us. If I was with a bunch

of people I didn’t know in a boat I hadn’t

built, I’d be shitting bricks, but I’m not,

so I feel no stress or fear.

What goes through your mind

when you’re about to take off?

D: Total focus. I’m reading the water,

the conditions, the controls in the boat...

I need to be in tune with my vessel,

feeling the vibrations – it requires 100%

concentration. I don’t want to say

meditation – does that sound wanky?

• but it is a trance-like state. You
  need to get your body and mind into
  the zone. Once you’re over 100km/h
  you need to block everything else
  out. Knowing how my boat drives and
  testing it constantly, making required
  adjustments, knowing how it should
  feel – this prepares you to achieve
  the unachievable. Without this level
  of dedication and understanding
  you’d just be forcing your family
  and friends to come together for
  a day they’d never want.

Ken, how did it feel breaking

the record 41 years ago?

K: I was at Blowering Dam near Tumut,

CLOCKWISE (FROM TOP LEFT): Dave at two years of age, sitting on an old race boat in the family backyard;
Dave (wearing the boots) and his dad with the jet engine in Spirit of Australia; Teenager Dave helping with Ken's jet funny cars;
On October 8, 1978 Ken Warby prepares to break his second and current world water speed record at a speed of 317.60mph