The World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC) was founded in 1972, initially to ratify records at the inaugural

Weymouth Speed Week Weymouth can refer to: Places ;In the United Kingdom *Weymouth, Dorset, England :*Weymouth and Melcombe Regis (UK Parliament constituency) :*Weymouth and Portland, the abolished local government district :* Weymouth Bay :* Weymouth Beach :* Weym ...

held every year since in Portland Harbor.The WSSRC is the body authorized by the

World Sailing World Sailing (WS) is the world sport governing body, governing body for the sailing (sport), sport of sailing recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). History The creation of the Inter ...

(formerly International Sailing Federation, International Yacht Racing Union) to confirm speed records of sailing craft (boats,

windsurfers Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

and

kitesurfers Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...

) on water (not on ice or land). In the early years the council only dealt with claims of speed records on a one-way leg of 500 metres. Since 1988 the WSSRC is also responsible for offshore sailing records, because there were several controversial claims about the times of long voyages. The first records recorded in 1972 were the Outright record of Sir

Timothy Colman Sir Timothy James Alan Colman (19 September 1929 – 9 September 2021) was a British businessman and a Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk. Biography Colman was from the Colman's mustard family, and was the son of Lettice Elizabeth Evelyn Adeane and ...

, ''

Crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fire ...

'', 26.30

knots A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines. Knot may also refer to: Places * Knot, Nancowry, a village in India Archaeology * Knot of Isis (tyet), symbol of welfare/life. * Minoan snake goddess figurines#Sacral knot Arts, entertainme ...

(D class); ''Icarus'' 21.6 knots (B class); ''Mayfly'' 16.40 knots and

Lief Wagner Smitt Lief may refer to: * Harold Lief (1917–2007), American psychiatrist * Jacob Lief (fl. 1989–2018), American humanitarian * Leonard Lief (1924–2007), president of Lehman College See also * Lev (disambiguation) Lev may refer to: C ...

, windsurfer 13.6 knots. One or more meetings were held every year and since 2001 the council has had a permanent secretariat. Members of the expert council from Australia,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

and the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

assess record claims. Record holders and their times are listed. WSSRC also issues Performance Certificates to sailors who wish to be officially timed over accepted courses without breaking records.

References

{{Reflist

External links

* http://www.sailspeedrecords.com/ - homepage of the WSSRC Sailing records Yachting associations