page_title: Water speed record
section_title: 1967
hierarchical_section_title: Water speed record / 1967
caption_attribution_description: English: Lee Taylor, USA (California), Water speed record 1967-06-30 (Lake Guntersville, on 'Hustler' - 285.22 mph - 459.02 kmh - during ten years), 'Campioni dello Sport 1969 - 1970', Panini figurina n°433.
context_page_description: The World Unlimited water speed record is the officially recognised fastest speed achieved by a water-borne vehicle. The current record is 511 km/h, achieved by Australian Ken Warby in the Spirit of Australia in 1978.
  The record is one of the sporting world's most hazardous competitions. Two official attempts to beat the 1978 record resulted in the death of the driver; despite this, there are several teams working to make further attempts.
  The record is ratified by the Union Internationale Motonautique.
context_section_description: Donald Campbell's Bluebird K7 had been re-engined with a Bristol Siddeley Orpheus jet rated at 4,500 lbf (20 kN) of thrust. On 4 January 1967 he tried again. His first run averaged 475.2 km/h (295.3 mph) and a new record seemed in sight. Campbell applied K7's water brake to slow the craft down from her peak speed of 507 km/h (315 mph) clear of the measured kilometre to a speed around 350 km/h (220 mph). Rather than waiting for the lake to settle again before starting the mandatory return leg, Campbell immediately turned around at the end of the lake and began his return run. At around 512 km/h (318 mph), just as she entered the measured kilometre, Bluebird began to lose stability and 400 m before the end of the kilometre, Bluebird's nose lifted beyond its critical pitch angle and she started to rise out of the water at a 45 degree angle. The boat took off, somersaulted and then plunged nose-first into the lake, breaking up as she cartwheeled across the surface. Campbell was killed instantly. Prolonged searches over the next two weeks located the wreck, but it was not until May 2001 that Campbell's body was finally located and recovered. Campbell was buried in the churchyard at Coniston on 12 September 2001.
  Lee Taylor, a Californian boat racer, in Hustler during a test run on Lake Havasu, was unable to shut down the jet and crashed into the lakeside at over 200 km/h (100 mph). Hustler was wrecked and Taylor was severely injured. He spent the following years recuperating, and rebuilding his boat. On 30 June 1967, on Lake Guntersville, Taylor and Hustler tried for the record, but the wake of some spectators' boats disturbed the water, forcing Taylor to slow down his second run, and he came up 3.2 km/h (2 mph) short. He tried again later the same day and succeeded in setting a new record of 459 km/h (285 mph).
caption: Lee Taylor (US), 1967-06-30, 285.22 mph on Hustler (Lake Guntersville)
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