The quest to set a 450mph speed record could pioneer frictionless travel on water

Telegraph

01-03-2025

You might wonder how it is that Richard Noble OBE, entrepreneur and holder of the land speed record (LSR) between 1983 and 1997, is now, at the age of 79, considering a tilt at inspiring the fastest person on water.
Surely this consummate record-breaker should be settled back enjoying his trophies and a mug of Horlicks, rather than heading up a team aimed at another record? After all, he played such a crucial part in the Thrust SSC record of 763.035mph in 1997 and its almost-but-not-quite LSR successor, Bloodhound.
The water speed record (WSR) of 317mph has stood for the past 46 years, held by Ken Warby and his Spirit of Australia hydroplane.
The clue comes in Noble's autobiography, Take Risk!, in which he reveals that when he was six he saw and was inspired by three-times land speed record-holder John Cobb's Crusader WSR boat on Loch Ness in 1952. 'This started me on a quest for the land-speed record,' he writes. (The history of record-breaking on water, including Cobb's Crusader, is detailed below.)
He's far from starry-eyed about the dangers of such a project, which are horrendous. Water is around 800 times more dense than air, so hitting it at any speed is extremely hazardous, often fatal. It's almost never flat, with imperceptible swells and waves that can deflect a craft, while it can also contain semi-submerged hazards or pockets of different density, which can cause instability.
Seven of the 13 people who have attempted to break the WSR since 1930 have perished in the attempt; the only men who tried to beat Warby's 1978 record, Lee Taylor in 1980 and Craig Arfons in 1989, died in the process. In short, Warby is the only man to have exceeded 300mph on water and survived.
With a target of 450mph, has Noble finally met his match, or is the prize of almost-friction-free travel over water too valuable not to at least have a go at it?
Other WSR efforts
There are currently three other record attempts, all planned with hydroplane hulls. The first is the spiritual successor to Warby's Spirit of Australia, Spirit of Australia II, which was commenced by Ken Warby with his son David, who continued the work after the death of his father, aged 83, in 2023. The craft has more than twice the power of its predecessor thanks to its Rolls-Royce Orpheus 803 jet and plenty of potential. Motor Boat and Yachting magazine reported in autumn of 2024 that Warby, having achieved 260mph in testing, had experienced a bird strike into the engine's turbine blades, which put things back.
Quicksilver is a UK effort led by Nigel Macknight, which started as a partnership with Ken Norris, the designer of Bluebird K7 and doyen of speed record-breaking. It's a stepped hydroplane design with input from high-speed boat designer Lorne Campbell and aerodynamicist Mike Green, powered by a Rolls-Royce Spey jet engine. Things have been quiet on the project for a few years as Covid and personal tragedy affected the team, but it's far from dormant.
'The water speed record is really, really difficult and dangerous,' comments Macknight, 'and I've every respect for Richard Noble's effort. I don't really see these things in terms of rivals, as it's not helpful, but while we've lost momentum, we're hopeful and optimistic.'
Another British project, Longbow, is under construction at Blackpool, Lancashire. Its project manager, David Aldred, was interviewed by BBC North West in January this year. He worked on the restoration of Donald Campbell's 1950s Bluebird K7 and helped source a new engine for the craft prior to its planned return to Coniston Water next year.
Standing in front of his twin-engined, wood-framed hydroplane, he said: 'Unlike the land speed record, which is done in the desert and is just a YouTube video, this will be done in the Lake District, where you can come and see it, skimming across the water, with a guy putting his life on the line, to get the record for Britain.'
Embracing risk
Undeterred by rivals or risk, Noble is pressing on. He has little truck with what he sees as an aversion to risk in the UK Government and companies, asserting that taking on 'really big risks is the way to succeed'.
''Highly dangerous' for us is ideal, and we offset that risk with design and innovation,' he says.
If it sounds crazy, the track record of the Thrust and Bloodhound teams is of brilliant and innovative design along with extensive research backed by solid data and meticulous safety, all of which resulted in the LSR for ThrustSSC and a top speed of 628mph for Bloodhound in November 2019.