The event is about to get underway. Already some fast speeds posted in training, how about a 49.9 by Seb Cattelan!
Follow it at luderitz-speed.com/ and let's hope Bjorn holds the windsurfers up in good stead.
Hi sick,
most of the time and in most parts of the run the water is too deep, especially now
as they have installed the sand bag walls this year (the photo above is from last year). That means: liquid ice appears only sometimes (depends on the tides: www.cellstop.com.na/weather/luderitz-tides.html) and only in some parts of the run. As far as I have understood, Catman`s 49.9 knots-training session was on the old track and behind the sand bag wall he only reached 48.7.
Beside that I dont like the angle. Its not broad enough for me: only 130 - 135°.
So I dont believe that I can sail faster in Lüderitz than in Westerhever.
In the pic below:
1) Running swell behind the sand bag wall.
2) Board edged too much and too much spray (as the run is not broad enough)
The big problem in Westerhever however is: Storms are very rare and unpredictable and only in winter (similar to the Pit). Some winters are even without ANY storm. So its very difficult to make an official event there. I wish I had the regular storms of Lüderitz in Westerhever !
By the way I just had an interesting thought:
Kiters use only the hard surface of the water - especially on liquid ice.
That means they are the only ones who are REALLY surfers
First day at Luderitz
WSSRC Official speeds
Kiters have almost 3 knots on fastest windsurfer (Dunkerbeck)
Rob Douglas: 47,639
Alex Caizergues: 47,313
Sebastien Cattelan: 47,175
Manu Taub: 45,196
Christophe Pringuenon: 45,112
Bjorn Dunkerbeck: 44,779
Jerome Bila: 43,986
Hennie Bredenkamp (k): 43,807
Taro Niehaus: 43,279
Benoit Moussilmani: 43,183
angle was too tight for kiters in the first half of the course...
...and too broad for windsurfers in the second half:
I think "...le vent a generee beaucoup de clapot..." means: "...the wind generated much chop..."[}:)]
From all accounts the run in to the course is too short for windsurfers to get up to top speed so they are still accelerating as they cross the start line. The kiters are also having trouble with peaks 8 knots faster than their 500m times. The course looks choppier than last year and the chop blockers aren't having the desired effect. Additionally they are blocking the wind down low and creating turbulence making it more difficult for the windsurfers to get clean air. It may be touch and go if the record gets broken this time, the odds are stacked in the kiters favour but they seem to be struggling.
Looks like the kiters did it. From French translation: "The information came by bits of Lüderitz and Lüderitz Speed Challenge but a certainty now, if the mythical barrier of 50 knots falls, it will most probably this Friday, September 19, 2008…
In runway on the water since 15h, kitesurfers accumulate in effect performance with a run at 49.90 knots of American Rob Douglas and in the wake 50.10 knots by the french Sebastien Cattelan!
These times are not yet ratified and obviously require a video verification by the Commissioner of the World Speed Sailing Record Council…
The national record of Namibia would also beaten by Jurgen kitesurfer Gieger with 44.8 knots, which means the very high level of the day ..."
New 500m world record at 49.84 knots to American Rob Douglas, now verified. 50 knot barrier not broken!
The latest update: "It's official and is at 20:30 that info is dropped on Friday, the fateful barrier of 50 knots is not finally fell to Lüderitz under the Lüderitz Speed Challenge Antoine Albeau but nevertheless sees his record broken by twice with American Rob Douglas at 49.84 knots and Sebastien Cattelan with 49.59 knots…
Long and tedious, ratification of the World Sailing Speed Record Council will finally allowed to revisit the 50.10 knots of Cattelan announced in the day, the margin for error at these speeds becoming a little more important…
With 47.59 knots, Hennie Bredenkamp enters the very closed circle of men over 47 knots while his daughter Sjoukje pockets of a new women's record with 45.20 knots, a stunning performance which puts digging a little more l 'Gap with the windsurfeuses as Karin Jaggi.
More info certainly in the next few hours…
Best time Lüderitz Speed Challenge of September 19
Rob Douglas: 49.84 knots (kiteboarding) - New world record absolute
Sebastien Cattelan: 49.59 knots (kiteboarding)
Alexandre Caizergues: 48.79 knots (kiteboarding)
Hennie Bredenkamp: 47.59 knots (kiteboarding)
Sjoukje Bredenkamp: 45.20 knots (kiteboarding) - New world record female"
I like your new avatar Elmo!
Oh, well big congratulations to Rob Douglas.
Lets hope a windsurfer can nick the record back very soon and be the first to bash through 50!
C'mon Antoine, Slowy, Bjorn, Finian....!
Seems he IS a windsurfer. I guess he realized if you can't beat them , join them.
From windsurfjournal...
By setting a new American sail speed record on the very first day of racing over in Luderitz, Namibia, with 47.639 knots, Rob Douglas also became the 4th fastest all-category sail racing man in the world.
Aged 37, Douglas isn't exactly an unknown in the speedsailing roll of honour, with good reason, seeing as he's a windsurfer at heart who's only been converted kitespeeding a few months ago.
He was heavily involved, with his brother Jimmy with who he regularly organised events and competitions in the Boston area, in the windsurf world until a couple of years ago, and like a lot of people got involved in kitesurfing too, but had never set feet on a speed sailing board until this June.
After encountering Mike Gebhardt last May, who has since become his personal coach, the pair of them have come up with an ambitious plan to beat the world speed sailing record, and have developed an impressive training and development to match. Twice an Olympic windsurf medal winner, Gebhardt goes everywhere with his man and, on his competitive speed sailing debut in July at Fuerteventura in the Canaries, Douglas quickly made his mark with an excellent second place, that's before the action yesterday over in Namibia that we've just heard about today.
Clearly a very serious contender for the new absolute record, Douglas should be much in the news over the coming weeks, and if he IS the first to break 50 knots, we'll console ourselves with the thought that in fact it was a pair of ex-windsurfers that did it.
Of course he is now the record holder and only 0.16kn short of 50kn... they are getting faster every day. This time tomorrow will the 50kn be gone?
That's some consolation I guess.
Hey Yoyo, I reckon you might have some work to do on your WA Speed Table by tomorrow evening! Well, I hope so anyway.
Can one of the speed demons crack 42 in WA waters?
Sorry...don't have a superstitious cell in my body.
Don't worry Hardie...you'll be alright, and I did use the word "may".
It's a bit old news now but updating from Luderitz.....
Saturday: string of new records, AlexC hits 50.57
Saturday, October 04, 2008, Saturday 9:51 PM
Yesterday the Lüderitz Speed Challenge saw Sebastien Cattelan of France become the first human being to sail at more than 50 knots (93kph) – a world record he held for only 24 hours before compatriot Alexandre Caizergues snatched it away with not one but three runs over 50 knots – reaching a top speed of 50.57 knots (93.65kph).
• Alexandre Caizergues (France) – new outright world speed sailing record of 50.57 knots
(F-One, Ouest Provence, Volkswagen Utilitaires, ION, Placide)
• New outright Netherlands speed sailing record: Rolf van der Vlugt 45.99 knots (Airush, Mystic, Protest, TUDelft, X-tremeboards)
• New outright UK speed sailing record: David Williams 44.78 knots
(Best Kiteboarding, Dead Man clothing, KMS)
• New outright France women’s speed sailing record: Charlotte Consorti 43.53 knots (F-One, Nike, Maui Magic, Baracuda, Weleda)
• New outright Slovenia speed sailing record: Jernej Privsek 41.97 knots
(Jägermeister, Cocta, Kitesfera, Garmin)
• New outright Belgium speed sailing record: Christian Baret 40.87 knots
(Summerwood Guesthouse)
• New outright Netherlands women’s speed sailing record: Katja Roose 37.18 knots (Protest, Maui Magic, Airush)
• New UK women’s kitesurf record: Jemma Grobbelaar 35.61 knots (Flexifoil, Xelerator, Dakine, Arnette, Derevko, Cti, Lizzy, Island Tribe)
These speeds are verified, but are still subject to ratification by the WSSRC.
The massive winds that blew yesterday were exceeded today, although a later low tide meant a slightly delayed start. Several of the top competitors, including Cattelan and American Rob Douglas (who set a new world record in the first few days of the Lüderitz Speed Challenge), selected slightly smaller kites in today’s exceptionally strong conditions, but then swapped back – possibly costing them a few valuable fractions of a second on the 500m run. They still achieved top results, with Cattelan getting a 49.69 and Douglas a 48.82. Other top performers today were Christophe Prin Guenon (FR), who reached 49.54, and Jerome Bila (FR) who hit 49.09.
So far the Lüderitz Speed Challenge has seen ten new outright records and four new outright women’s records – outright world speed sailing record (Alexandre Caizergues - FR), outright women’s world speed sailing record (Sjoukje Bredenkamp - RSA), outright national records for USA (Rob Douglas), France (Alexandre Caizergues), Netherlands (Rolf van der Vlugt), United Kingdom (David Williams), South Africa (Hennie Bredenkamp), Slovenia (Jerney Privsek), Namibia (Jurgen Geiger) and Belgium (Christian Barret), with women’s outright records for France (Charlotte Consorti), Netherlands (Katja Roose) and South Africa (Sjoukje Bredenkamp).
sebs 50.3