WATER fabulous effort!

A Chorley-based power boat team is over the moon after breaking its own world water speed record.

Miss Windermere VI -- designed, built and raced by the team -- reached an average speed of 149.16mph to create the new record!

Designed by Ron Wobold and incorporating a Hawk trainer cockpit and Piper Cherokee tailfin, Miss Windermere VI spent a week on Lake Windermere building up to the event.

The existing record -- in the R-infinity hydroplane class -- of 145.52 mph went last Thursday at 8.30am.

A planned further attempt the following day to try to reach the elusive 150 mph was cancelled due to the weather.

The Chorley-based team of John Lee and current Union Internationale Motonautique world record holder Jim Noone, linked up with sole sponsors Door System Design, of Bradford, for the attempt.

John, of Chorley, who owns the boat and is the team co-ordinator, said everyone was "elated" over the achievement.

However, he explained that it was touch and go as to whether Miss Windermere even made it into the water at all.

"The engine blew up on the first morning. I phoned the engine builders straight away. We got it down to him on the Monday afternoon and got it back by lunchtime on the Wednesday. We got it up and running by 6pm on the Wednesday evening and we had to keep our fingers crossed for good weather on Thursday or Friday."

Amazingly Miss Windermere managed 152.588 mph on her very first run with the 'new' engine. Another run of 145.729 mph gave the average of 149.16 mph -- and it was champagne celebration time for the team.

John added: "You can imagine how low we were at the start of the week and how high we were at the end of it."

The Chorley guys teamed up with DSD -- designers and manufacturers of innovative glass door entry system, partition walls, entrance halls and security doors -- after meeting Chris Jones, DSD owner who has a boat on Windermere.

"When John Lee and Jim Noone approached us, we were delighted to be asked to participate.

"The success of DSD is based upon creative design and so we were immediately drawn to the design technology surrounding this record attempt," said Chris. MISS hits record: Chris Jones (left) with Jim Noone who drove Miss Windermere.