British powerboat pilot waits for confirmation of new Key West to Cuba world record
Watch as Staffordshire-born Nigel Hook and Jay Johnson hit a top speed of 127mph while seeking the Key West to Havana powerboat world record
Nigel Hook and Jay Johnson are awaiting official confirmation that they have set a new world record for a powerboat crossing between Key West in Florida and Havana, Cuba.
The pair made the 90-mile journey in just 1 hour and 18 minutes in their 48-foot Lucas Oil SilverHook powerboat, hitting a top speed of 127mph.
They averaged just under 80mph across the Florida Straits.
Nigel Hook and Jay Johnson celebrate after the crossing. Credit: Xinhua News Agency/PA Images
This beats the unofficial record set in 2015 by the speedboat Apache Star, driven by German entrepreneur Roger Kluh and co-piloted by Mark McManus.
The pair made the crossing in 1 hour and 30 minutes, breaking the previous confirmed record of six hours set by Gar Wood in 1922.
The new time set by Hook and Johnson has yet to be sanctioned by both the Union Internationale Motonautique and the American Power Boat Association.
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The pair attempted to beat the time on their return journey to Key West but suffered engine difficulties.
According to Hook’s official website, his love of powerboat racing came early on due to the influence of his uncle, Roger Hook, who was the British National Champion in 1968 and 1969.
Hook has raced extensively in the UK, including the legendary Cowes-Torquay-Cowes Offshore Powerboat Race.
He left for California in 1984, where he works as a software engineer, but continued powerboating, competing all over the world and winning numerous world and national championships in offshore racing.
Hook took the Powerboat P1 British Grand Prix Champion in 2007.
In October 2003, he set the San Francisco to Long Beach powerboat endurance record, in 9 hours, 50 minutes and 51 seconds.