The Lüderitz Speed Challenge is an annual

speed sailing Speed sailing is the art of sailing a craft as fast as possible over a predetermined route, and having its overall or peak speed recorded and accredited by a regulatory body. The term usually refers to sailing on water, even though sailing on land ...

event, held since 2007 in

Lüderitz Lüderitz is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It lies on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island. The town is known for its colonial architecture, includi ...

, Namibia, during the southern hemisphere spring. It is observed by the

World Sailing Speed Record Council The World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC) was founded in 1972, initially to ratify records at the inaugural Weymouth Speed Week held every year since in Portland Harbor.The WSSRC is the body authorized by the World Sailing (formerly Internati ...

(WSSRC) and the

International Sailing Federation International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

(ISAF).

The site

The event is held at the southern end of the lagoon west of Lüderitz, where between August and March every year there is a consistent, strong wind, blowing from the south at the perfect angle of 140 degrees to the sailing course. In the first edition of the event in 2007, participants sailed over a curved course. For the second edition, in 2008, a straight course was created by digging along the shore, providing also a very uniform water depth over the entire run. Performance was further enhanced by placing sandbags upwind of the run, and by using temporary wood “chop killers” that reduce the chop caused by the Lüderitz to winds. The total course length is , including the launching and slow-down zones, before and after the official WSSRC distance.

Event history

2007

The first ''Speed Challenge'' event was held in 2007, in which French kitesurfer made the best 500-m run at 47.92 knots – only short of the then-current world record, set in 2005 on The Canal by windsurfer

Finian Maynard Finian Maynard (born 22 November 1974 in Dublin, Ireland) is a six-time speed windsurfing world champion (1998 - 2001, 2006 and 2009) and held the absolute 500m sailing speed record for all sailing vessels from late 2004 until early 2008. He we ...

2008

The second event saw the first ever over- outright speed sailing record, when on October 3 Sebastien Cattelan made 50.26 knots (93.08 km/h), only to lose the title one day later to Alex Caizergues at 50.57 knots (93.66 km/h). This achievement marked the end of the race of the speed sailing world to cross the mark, between kitesurfers, windsurfers and sailboats, and opened the race towards the next "mythical frontier" of 100 km/h. The women's outright speed sailing record was also broken during this event, by

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n kitesurfer Sjoukje Bredenkamp, who improved her own previous world record to 45.20 knots (83.71 km/h). Earlier in the event, on September 19, kitesurfer

Rob Douglas Robert "Rob" Douglas (born 1971) is an American professional sailor known for using a kiteboard in speed sailing records attempts. In 2008 Douglas broke the world speed sailing record on a kiteboard, hitting a top speed of 49.84 knots. Douglas a ...

(United States) made a 49.84 knots (92.30 km/h) run, becoming the first kitesurfer to establish an outright speed sailing world record – held until that date only by sailboats or windsurfers. However, the international sailing community changed its definition of sailing so that kitesurfing is no longer sailing. Douglas also became the world's third over- sailor, when on September 8 he made a 50.54-knot (93.60-km/h) run.
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2010

Top Results for 2010 Lüderitz Speed Challenge

References

External links

Official Site

Facebook page

YouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luderitz Speed Challenge Kitesurfing Lüderitz Recurring sporting events established in 2007 Sailing competitions Windsurfing competitions Sport in Namibia