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Happy New Year from Team Genetrix.
Here is a video of the construction of the new canal and of some the top speed tests recorded last month in Lüderitz to polish the speed run for the Lüderitz Speed Challenge 2012.
Source : Lüderitz Speed Challenge/Adrien Freville
Taro Niehaus breaking the African Speed Record on November 10 2011
Sebastien Cattelan improved to 52.6
Stefan Metzger set a new Namibian record of 51.36 knots which equals Hydroptere’s record, Anthony Chaffron improved to 42.92 despite being injured, and Humberto Torrinha improved the Angola record to 41.21.
Anders Bringdal had yet another 50 peak (50.1) and improved his Swedish record to 47.44 knots. This should land him first place on the windsurfing GPS rankings.
Source:http://www.speedkiting.org/site/
13 November 2011:
Mother nature had the final say today, and it only blew 30 knots with occasional gusts. Seb clocked the best speed of the day with 51.36 knots. He was the only contender over 50 knots.
Congratulations to Anders Bringdal (50.72 Vmax) and Taro Niehaus (51.64 knots) for their performance record, and to Seb, Sophie and the rest of the team and sponsors for making this event possible.
Sébastien is confident he can reach 60 knots in kitesurfing, and is making it his goal. Windsurfing speeds currently trail that of kitesurfing, but Sebastian has made it his first priority to create optimal conditions in the canal for the windsurfers to push the limits.
Positive energy is needed to manage this adventure, and an interesting challenge lies ahead for us to discover how best to achieve this. We need to share ideas and opinions with people who have different experience with the sea so we can collaboratively create the ideal run.
The new canal has proved to be more beneficial for windsurfers than for kitesurfers thus far, but some options still remain to improve this for both disciplines.
Although the organizers treated this year as a test for the new canal (which was dug just before the start), the results look very promising and windsurfing legend, Anders Bringdal, managed to reach truly impressive speeds on his first day. He had a 50.72 Vmax, which is a first in windsurfing history.
Kite surfing records and performances will follow – step by step the dream of this Team has been realized over the past 5 years, and the much improved run in the ideal location will usher in a new era in speed sailing and become the perfect platform for international and outright records.
Sponsors who choose to be part of this will play a pivotal role in shaping sailing history.
Source:
www.speedkiting.org
www.luderitz-speed.com
Taro Niehaus of team Genetrix has set a new South African record of 51.64 knots, and Seb had 51.2. I’m not sure what Anders’s 500m average was, but he had another 50+ peak today (50.3 kts).
This is a phenomenal effort and well deserved; Taro didn’t hold back, which takes a lot of guts and confidence in your equipment and ability. It was not easy going out there, and despite this he came out unscathed and clocked the best speed so far.
Well done Lighty, I salute your achievement !!!
Strong wind is forecast until Sunday, so I’m sure the speeds will climb further.
Seb took a break over the past week and I have not doubt that he will dial it in before Sunday, which is forecast to be the strongest day.
Source: Basil Cambanis
www.speedkiting.org
The French team
From left to right: Sylvain HOCEINI, Jérôme BILA, Alex CAIZERGUES, Chalotte CONSORTI, Patrice MENOSSI and Seb SALERNO. Christophe PRIN-GUENON is not on the shot. (He had to leave the competition early due to injury)
The USA team
From left to right: Morgan DOUGLAS, Jamie DOUGLAS, Rob DOUGLAS, Micheal GEBHARDT (olympic coach ) and Bill LYNCH.
France Team wins the “Lynch-Cup” with a total of 109 points set by Alexandre CAIZERGUE, Sylvain HOCEINI and Seb SALERNO
USA Team wins the speed competition with 136 points. Rob DOUGLAS takes the price for Best Average Speed.
The 2011 North American Speed Sailing Invitational comes to a close with 12 races completed. Racing occurred on almost everyday of the event and this was the first ever speed event to have port tack races.
The 2011 NASSI was the second event ever to have speeds greater than 50 Knots. It also featured the biggest prize purse in kite Sailing ($27,000) and the first National team trophy, the “Lynch Cup.”
As the best speed sailors in the world battled storm force conditions they well exceeded there expectations with speeds over 50 knots. Two riders Alex Caizergues and Rob Douglas hitt V max speeds greater then 55 Knots in Martha’s Vineyard.
Final results of the 2011 North American Speed Sailing Invitational:
|
Position |
Rider |
Best Speed |
|
1 |
Rob Douglas |
50.994 |
|
2 |
Alex Caizergues |
48.873 |
|
3 |
Jamie Douglas |
47.365 |
|
4 |
Sylvain Hoceini |
44.769 |
|
5 |
Seb Salemo |
45.904 |
|
6 |
Patrice Menossi |
44.370 |
|
7 |
Christophe Prin-Guenon |
44.339 |
|
8 |
Jerome Bila |
41.193 |
|
9 |
Morgan Douglas |
44.783 |
|
10 |
Charlotte Consorti |
39.908 |
|
11 |
Bill Lynch |
39.981 |
Source:
www.sebsalerno.com
www.thekiteboarder.com
On October 31st, Anders Bringdal made the most of it on a windsurfer and recorded a very respectable 47 knot over 500m (new Swedish record – still to be ratified) and 50 knot peak, which is extremely rare in windsurfing.
Wolfram Reiners set a new German record of 46 knots (still to be ratified) on his very first run.
There were a few spills due to the chop and gusts/lulls, but luckily none were serious.
Source: Basil Cambanis
http://www.speedkiting.org
A few days into the event and the athletes are doing a little cross training. This video captures a glimpse of the life these athletes live as they push the 50 knot threshold in the beautiful waters off of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
USA
Source: The 2011 North American Speed Sailing Invitational
The Hydra and Luderitz
23 October 2011
Today was a light wind day (in the 20′s) and marked the start of a new wind cycle. It was a great introduction for the riders to the new canal. The finishing area is wide and long, and instills the confidence needed to cross the finish at full speed. The depth is more than adequate, and we’ll test out windsurfers on it within a few days time.
The wind was very gusty today, and the Genetrix kites helped prevent unnecessary accidents due to unforeseen gusts and lulls mid-run. They handle gusts like no other and have the biggest depower range, which makes them ideal for Luderitz.
The best average speed was 45 knots, with peaks just less than 50 knots. The wind is expected to blow stronger tomorrow, so let’s see what speeds the new canal can yield.
“What I found is there seems to be a lot more wind towards the end of the run, but time will tell when it blows stronger. Getting back to the start was done by either beating back upwind in the lagoon and walking the rest of the way, or catching a lift on the back of a bakkie. The timing system worked flawlessly, so we’re all set for the big day to see what speeds are possible”.
Source: Basil Cambanis www.speedkiting.org
www.luderitz-speed.com
