Namibia – There are few areas of sport where one sees huge differences between the competitors or their equipment. If a swimmer wears a special suit at one competition and wins, other swimmers begin wearing similar suits, and people will say that this “revolutionizes” the sport. So what would these same people say if one day someone showed up at the pool in, for instance, an F-18 jet? Then, what would they say if a couple years later, a swimmer in plain old trunks managed to beat the jet? Sort of “revolutionary,” wouldn’t you say? Â
If you’re new to speed sailing, let’s quickly get you up to, uhm, speed: There are four camps vying for the title. There are the watersled styles – fixed wing dragsters which are made to go one direction and pretty much one direction only. There are the windsurfers who sail on boards with attached masts and sails. There are the massive multihulls, of which a hydrofoil design named l’Hydroptere has (until now) held the official overall speed sailing record, and then there are the kiteboarders, who strap their feet onto a small board, grab hold of a big kite, and as of yesterday, are the fastest sailors on the water … Details
Alex Caizergues has officially set a new World Speed Sailing Record, at 54.10 knots, during his first run, at 15h38, yesterday afternoon.
Five New National records were broken on the same day:
Kitesurfing:
USA – Rob Douglas, 51.88
Namibia – Stefan Metzger 45.02Â Â …Â Details
Absolutely amazing. The l’Hydroptère no longer holds the world’s fastest speed sailing record.
In the 2010 Luderitz Speed Challenge, the record of 51.36 was broken numerous times.
Kitesurfers were delivering top performances and the second Luderitz lagoon lived up to all expectations … Details
An international field of 50 teams from four countries are competing on Lake Mohave, NV in the Hobie 16 North American Championships and USA team PAN AM selection event.
Day 1 racing saw challenging conditions with oscillating up and down winds that were strongest early and faded as the day went on. Those that stayed in the breeze and went the right way made big gains. Position changes were frequent … Details