Sébastien SALERNO speaks about the Luderitz Speed Channel
A video From Eric Bellande
Orange Speed Crossing 3rd Heat
Today, the best times had been recorded in the early part of the day due to a declining Tramontane as the day wore on. 4 windsurfers finished in the top five but Rob took the lead again with the fastest time over 42 knots. In the absence of Alex Caizergues it was Geoffrey Mascarell who was the second kiter to finish.
Orange Speed Crossing 2nd Heat
Rob Douglas (42.5) winner of the second heat of the Orange Speed Crossing in front of Antoine Albeau (41.5)
We are sorry to hear that Sebastian Cattelan wasn’t able to take part in the last 2 races. “My racing gear is somewhere on an airport carousel between Maui airport and South Africa. I was able to borrow some equipment left and right, but it is not easy without my personal settings. Plus I’m cold, so for now I stay on the beach (smile).”
Alex Caizergues also had no chance today. He fell hard in the second inning and had to be evacuated by firefighters, having apparently suffered a knee sprain. He was in fourth place in this heat! This might compromise his season.
Charlotte Consorti consistently finished in the first half every time at the scratch, leaving behind about thirty men!
Anders Bringdal, who won the first round is 7th in this second round and falls back overall.
Heat 2 results:
1 Rob Douglas Kite
2 Antoine Albeau Wind
3 Cedric Bordes Wind
4 Alex Caizergues Kite
5 Geoffrey Kite Mascarell
Le mondial du vent 2012
Leucate, France will host the Mondial du Vent from April 7th to 15th 2012. The worldwide event was created in 1996. 16 years later, Leucate is still the first kitesurf and windsurf meeting in France and one of the most important international events in these disciplines.
see more here: http://www.mondial-du-vent.com/home.php
ORANGE SPEED CROSSING Pro: 7 to 12 April
For the fourth consecutive year, the Mondial du Vent et Orange have organized the Orange Speed Crossing in Leucate from 7 to 15 April for the 16th edition of the Mondial du Vent. A unique opportunity to watch the world’s best athletes of kiteboarding and windsurfing go head to head on speed runs.
A total of 30 professional athletes including kitesurfer Rob Douglas (world speed record holder), Alexandre Caizergues (3 times world speed holder), Sebastien Cattelan (50 and 55 knot recordbreaker) and windsurfers Antoine Albeau (speed and slalom windsurfer world champion) and Anders Bringdal, will participate in this unique event. Charlotte Consorti and Sophie Routaboul will also compete to see who is the fastest woman on the water.
In 2011, kitesurfers proved to be fastest. Will the windsurfers take the speed record back this year?
As of now, here is the list of the riders in the Orange Speed Crossing.
10 riders will compete using Genetrix kites
| Kitesurf | Windsurf |
|---|---|
1- Anthony CHAFFRON  2- Wolfram REINERS  3- Alex CAIZERGUES 4- Rob DOUGLAS  5- Geoffrey MASCAREL 6- Jamie DOUGLAS 7- Morgan DOUGLAS 8- Manu TAUB 9- Damien LEROY 10- Brock CALLEN 11- Sébastien CATTELAN 12- Chris HARDUIN 13- Christophe PRIN-GUENON 14- Jean-Charles PAUPARDIN 15- Maxime RICHARD 16- Bill LYNCH 17- Sylvain HOCEINI 18- Florent GAUTIER 19- Romain RENAUD 20- Emmanuel MOGICATO 21- Sylvain MORET 22- Charlotte CONSORTI 23- Sophie ROUTABOUL 24- Julien TAUB 25- Jean-Yves TERRIEN 26- Bruno DANDINE 27- Jernej PRIVSEK  |
1- Thomas GAUDIOT 2- Nick VARDALACHOS  3- Gauthier BOURGEOIS 4- Antoine ALBEAU 5- Cyril MOUSSILMANI 6- Benoit MOUSSILMANI 7- Sylvain MOUSSILMANI 8- Anders BRINGDAL  9- Olivier BERNARD 10- Cédric BORDES 11- Andrea BALDINI  12- Christophe RICHAUD 13- Xavier JOLY 14- Pascal BOULANGER 15- Cyril MICHEL 16- Christophe FIORENTINI 17- Gilles PAREDES 18- Valérie GHIBAUDO 19- Karin YAGGI  20- Romain DONADA 21- Alain MONTAUZOU 22- Damien NICO 23- Jacques VAN DER HOUT  |
Happy New Year 2012
Happy New Year from Team Genetrix.
Taro Niehaus’ 51.64 knot speed run video
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.
New from Luderitz
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
Luderitz 2011 Kitecam
Another one from Basil but this time the view is from the kite. He does get pretty close to the bank at one stage. Probably looking up at the cam 
“I stuck my camera onto one of the struts today to get an areal view of the canal. It’s alignment was slightly off, but not bad considering. The wind was a mild 20 knots at the time and I used my 12 sqm v4 Genetrix Hydra kite. As you can tell from the footage, the water state is excellent. We’re waiting until next week when stronger wind is forecast, then things will get interesting.”
Two separate speed events attempt breaking 55.65 kts record
Here is a video from Basil Cambanis. Take a ride with him on his Genetrix Hydra down the speed run in Luderitz, Namibia. The new canal has been built in the salt pan a few hundred meters upwind of Second Lagoon. It looks impressive, and with the longer run-up and finish it’s bound to be faster.
At the same time, there is a speed event organized by The North American Speed Sailing Project (NASSP). SOME of the Fastest Sailors are competing for the $27000 prize at Martha’s Vineyard in October 2011.
It will be interesting to see who will break the 55.65 kts over 500m set by Rob Douglas in Luderitz in 2010.
NASSP———————————————————-or the Luderitz Speed Challenge ???
One of them looks like a holiday and the other like suicide. Good luck to all and be safe!
THE LUDERITZ SPEED CHALLENGE 2011
The World Record Attempt in Speed Sailing
Namibia: October 20th – November 17th 2011
The “Lüderitz Speed Challenge” has been held in Namibia since 2007, and is a World Record Attempt in Speed Sailing that has produced more than 40 World & National Records to date.
The organisers, Sophie Routaboul and Sébastien Cattelan have constantly innovated in their attempt to push the limits, and have recently obtained authorisation to dig a new channel away from the Second Lagoon shoreline, which has been used thus far. This is necessary to make it possible to break the 60 knot barrier (over 500m), which is the new challenge (115km/h under sail). Last year, the famous hydrofoil boat “L’Hydroptère” held the Outright Record with 51.36 knots (95km/h over 500m), but was beaten during “The 2010 Lüderitz Speed Challenge” by the kitesurfers who established the World Record in Speed Sailing with 55.65 knots (64/mph, 103km/h over 500m).
This has been a large scale and difficult project to undertake, which made these two driven extreme sports enthusiasts decide to officially test the newly built channel before taking on the responsibility of organising a fully-fledged event. A full scale event is planned for 2012 where numerous international competitors will be invited.
As the stakes increase and the speeds achieved are pushed higher, the organisation of each event has become more challenging in itself.
The consequences of this recognised official record attempt are far reaching. This event combines an environmental aspect together with the efficiency of wind power, and the human, tourism and commercial aspects, while bringing to the front stage an African country: Namibia. This is where kitesurfing (while still in its infancy), has been propelled into the headlines as being the world’s fastest craft on water.
Will this incredible and daring feat allow them to beckon in the dawn of a new playground for the windsurfing community, and give them access to the exclusive 50+ knot club? The results speak for themselves: over the past four years everything possible has been done to increase the potential of this unbelievable site, which has made the constant climb of speed sailing records possible.
The answer will be revealed between 20th October and 17th November 2011, which are the dates of the event during which windsurfing and kitesurfing performances will be done…. with the kind support of the sponsors : LM Wind Power, Genetrix and its team, SunPass Cream, The agency Chaffron Insurance, Kitaddict and the Lüderitz Community.
GENETRIX at the Mondial du Vent 2011
From the 23rd of April to the 1st of May, Genetrix will attend the Mondial du Vent in la Franqui, one of the windiest spots in the south of France. Windsurfers go head to head against kitesurfers during the Orange Speed crossing, starting tomorrow 26 Apr - 1 May.
For the first time, 60 competitors (32 pros and 28 amateurs) will compete to see who is fastest on the water.
The 55 knot speed record-breaking champion Sebastien Cattelan (France) will be competing against the other giants in the sport like Rob Douglas (USA), current world record speed holder, and Alex Caizergues (France).
At present, the list of competitors is as follows:
| Kitesurf | Windsurf |
|---|---|
| 1- Alex CAIZERGUES 2- Sébastien CATTELAN 3- Sylvain HOCEINI 4- Sylvain MAURIN 5- Geoffrey MASCAREL 6- Manu TAUB 7- Julien TAUB 8- Bruno DANDINE 9- Christophe PRIN-GUENON 10- Marc-Olivier MARTIN 11- Rob DOUGLAS 12- Morgan DOUGLAS 13- Jamie DOUGLAS 14- Damien LEROY 15- Sébastien SALERNO 16- Sjoukje BREDENKAMPF  17- Charlotte CONSORTI 18- Sophie ROUTABOUL 19- Antony CHAFFRON 20- Nicolas ALLIBERT  21- Marc-Antoine MARIN 22- Florent GAUTIER 23- Maxime RICHARD 24- Benoit JOUFFRET 25- Bill LYNCH 26- Rémy JANISSET 27- Alex ROBIN |
1- Antoine ALBEAU 2- Cyril MOUSSILMANI 3- Anders BRINGDAL 4- Sylvain MOUSSILMANI 5- Benoit MOUSSILMANI 6- Bieuzy MAUFFREY 7- David GARREL  8- Pascal BOULANGER 9- Pierre MORETTI 10- Andrea BALDINI 11- Marion RAISI 12- Gilles PAREDES VINUALES 13- Thomas GAUDIOT 14- Christophe RICHAUD 15- Fabien COURTIADE 16- Wilfried VANHERWEGHE 17- Alain MONTAUZOU 18- Sébastien BONHOMME ALLAIRE 19- Xavier JOLY 20- Jean-Charles MAES 21- Miguel AGERKOP 22- Gauthier BOURGEOIS 23- Christophe FIORENTINI 24- Eric CARRIERE 25- Olivier BERNARD 26- Cyril MICHEL 27- Pascal TOSELLI |
Luderitz, Seb, and their stories
Here is the complete video on France 3
Or you can view the different parts of the documentary here:
Thalassa documentary part one
Here is the first part of the documentary of the Luderitz Speed Challenge 2010 in Namibia which will be aired on Friday the 18th of March on Thalassa France3.
Genetrix on Thalassa French TV 18th March @ 8:35pm
For those who are interested, Genetrix will be featured in the Thalassa TV documentary to be shown on Friday 18th of March 2011, starting at 8:35 pm Paris time on the French TV channel “France 3″. This documentary was filmed during the Ludertitz Speed Challenge in Namibia last October 2010.
La date de diffusion du sujet Thalassa que nous avons tourné en Namibie à l’occasion du Luderitz Speed Challenge sera diffuse le 18 Mars 2011 sur Thalassa France 3 A partir de 20h35
Seb Cattelan – First to 55 knots
On 28 of October, Sebastien Cattelan was the first person to reach a speed of over 55 knots average over 500m with a Genetrix Hydra 9 meter kite and an Xcelerator board.
MARTIAL CAMBLONG INTERVIEW
The Luderitz Speed Challenge has finally come to a close. Martial, founder and owner of Genetrix gives us his impressions
MTL: Rob Douglas got the world record by going 55.65 knots. What is your reaction?
I’m not ready to forget that infamous day! First, Seb pulverizes the previous record and becomes the first to pass the 55 knots speed barrier making history one more time. 14 minutes later Rob Douglas improves the time by 15 hundredths of a second. I was incredulous.
These two men have really set the bar very high. It is a very good victory for Rob Douglas who is a great guy and this will help bring recognition of the speed discipline to the U.S, which is very positive for the sport.
Q: First to 50 Knots / First to 55 knots and the record gets snatched by only 15 hundredths of a second. That must be a bit annoying, no?
Of course it is annoying because we put so much work and energy for this record. With Seb, we gave it everything: me in the development of new wings, and him, working on improving the speed canal, but it is the harsh nature of the sport. But, I am very proud of what he was able to accomplish under the conditions and circumstance he had to go through. It is truly an extraordinary and historic accomplishment, even though he did not end up with the overall speed record at the end of the day, he still made his mark on the history books.
Q: 7 national records, 1 European record. Gentrix took most of the national records on this event:
It was fantastic to see a sky filled with Genetrix kites and to see the various national records falling to so many different Genetrix riders. The competition led the team riders of the same nationality to try to surpass each other for their national records. The Genetrix Hydra demonstrated its superiority and helped many riders express their full commitment even at world-record speeds. At times, there were only Genetrix kites on the water. Unfortunately, Sophie Routaboul was injured during one of her runs. But, she was still able to exceed 48 knots with a broken hand, respect …
I’m really proud of the riders in the team and the spirit that they have portrayed throughout this event. CARE, RESPECT, FAIR PLAY. It is great for the boss of a brand to have such a solid team. Beyond victory it is extremely important for me, because this spirit of teamwork and sportsmanship is our strength, I am a very happy man.
Q: What equipment did team Genetrix use?
Sebastian established the 55 knots with the new HYDRA 9 m V5 on 25 meter lines.
All other National Records were made with the new HYDRA v5 8 m (also with 25 meter lines). It is a wing that we have developed this year with Seb and it is simply AMAZING. The evidence is in the results!
Q: Do you have any regrets?
It did not work out very well that Seb had to wear two hats as event organizer and competitor. He had the entire project of the organization on his shoulders and, of course, had to manage the enormous daily pressures that such an event creates. Imagine, having to organize an event of this level in the depths of Africa with only primitive means available! Getting up every morning for nearly two months at 6:00 am and having to brave the cantankerous mechanical digger or the shovel (I know how hard it is from personal experience!) to fill sand bags and make dams all along the canal to get the water level right. Every day, the same endless chores because of tides that damage the run during the night …. Eat a sandwich, get to the run and then compete!! Personally I do not know where he gets his energy to achieve such performance!
I really regret that Seb was not able to race in a physically fresher state. But, even in his depleted state his performance was exceptional: 6 Runs at more than 53 knots, one at over 54 knots and 2 runs over 55 knots. I lost track of how many runs he exceeded 50 knots, which has become routine for him!
Q: The competition is over: what are your plans now?:
We are going to do a photo shoot in South Africa of the new Origins.
Q: Can you tell us more?
Not yet — I do not want anything leaking out quite yet. But, I will say that the new kite is simply extraordinary. Just wait until you have one in your hands. Its flying characteristics are amazing! (photos soon).
Congrats to all Participants and Organizers
GENETRIX IS FIRST TO 55 KNOTS – NEW WORLD AND NATIONAL RECORDS ALSO SET IN NAMIBIA
The Luderitz Speed Challenge has finally come to a close. Congratulations to all the competitors, the organizers, sponsors and Sebastien Cattelan for making this event possible. It wasn’t always easy to please everyone but in the end, the new course proved to be a winner making speeds of more than 55 knots attainable for the first time ever.
12 national speed records were also achieved, and 7 of them were set on the Genetrix Hydra!
Catman was the first one to break the 50 knot sailing speed record in 2008 which was taken from him by Alex Caizergues 24 hours later. History almost repeated itself in 2010. This time around, Catman was the first to reach 55 knots and again became the fastest sailor in the world on the Genetrix Hydra with 55,49 knots (102.6 km/hr). But only an hour later Rob Douglas edged him out by 15 hundredths of a second and managed to set another new world record of 55,64 knots, taking it back home to the US. Congratulation to Rob for being the fastest man.
Seb remains the new speed sailing record holder of France and Europe! Congratulations also to Charlotte Consorti for being the first woman to reach speeds over 50 with 50.43 knots.
2 National Records broken despite lighter wind
Stefan Metzger improved on his Namibian record with 49.28 knots
Zsolt Lenkei improved his Hungarian record with 43.65 knots.
Unfortunately today’s wind was lighter than yesterday, so these are excellent speeds.
It is a lot of work to keep the channel free of sand without the rivers filling it back up or keeping the water in when the tide goes out. The start of the run was also improved, and all rivers were closed off in time this morning. By having the retaining wall at the end, this raised the water depth of the channal and gave the riders a bit more width to play with. The canal had a constant water depth the entire day.
UNOFFICIAL results up to Day 12 – 29 October 2010 (excuse any errors & omissions) :
Visit www.luderitz-speed.com for the OFFICIAL Results.
| Rank | No. | Name | Nat. | Speed |
| 1 | 55 | Rob Douglas (WR & NR) | USA | 55.65 |
| 2 | 69 | Sebastien Cattelan (NR) | FRA | 55.49 |
| 3 | 21 | Alex Caizergues | FRA | 54.93 |
| 4 | 64 | Sebastien Salerno | FRA | 54.28 |
| 5 | 53 | Sylvain Hoceini | FRA | 52.90 |
| 6 | 11 | Gavin Broadbent (NR) | NZ | 50.93 |
| 7 | 45 | Basil Cambanis (NR) | ZA | 50.72 |
| 8 | 1 | Taro Niehaus | ZA | 50.62 |
| 9 | 4 | Charlotte Consorti (Ladies WR & NR) | FRA | 50.43 |
| 10 | 57 | Morgan Douglas | USA | 49.69 |
| 11 | 56 | Jamie Douglas | USA | 49.46 |
| 12 | 19 | Stefan Metzger (NR) | NAM | 49.28 |
| 13 | 13 | Manu Taub | FRA | 49.09 |
| 14 | 40 | Patrice Menossi | FRA | 48.74 |
| 15 | 7 | Sophie Routaboul | FRA | 48.64 |
| 16 | 46 | Marc Avella (NR) | ESP | 48.55 |
| 17 | 9 | Christophe Prin-Guenon | FRA | 47.18 |
| 18 | 14 | Fred Kloren | NL | 46.93 |
| 19 | 18 | Tim Pumpa (NR) | AUS | 46.78 |
| 20 | 59 | Jernej Privsek (NR) | SL | 46.60 |
| 21 | 10 | Anders Bringdal (NR) [W] | SWE | 44.80 |
| 22 | 5 | Sjoukje Bredenkamp | ZA | 44.25 |
| 23 | 6 | Zsolt Lenkei (NR) | HUN | 43.65 |
| 24 | 52 | Bill Lynch | USA | 42.32 |
| 25 | 81 | Farrel O-Shea [W] | UK | 41.02 |
| 26 | 2 | Afrit Foued (NR) | ALB | 39.81 |
| 27 | 800 | Nick Vardalaxos [W] | GR | 38.06 |
| 28 | 223 | Andrea Baldini [W] | IT | 37.21 |
| 29 | 47 | Zara Davis (PR) [W] | UK | 36.99 |
| 30 | 3 | Leila Nouar | FRA | 34.71 |
WR = World Record, NR = National Record, PR = Production Record, W = Windsurfer
Source:
http://www.speedkiting.org
New records!!
New world record by Rob Douglas (USA) with 55.65
New french and european record by Seb Cattelan (FR) with 55.49
New world record feminine by Charlotte Consorti (FR) with 50.43
Still awaiting the ISAF and the WSSRC official results.
Catman did it. First over 55
Rob Douglas and Catman have both exceeded 55 knots today, but we’re still waiting for the official results.
Catman was the first one today to have broken the 55 knot ( over 101 kmh / 63 mph) speed barrier but not for long as Rob Douglas also clocked in above 55 knots.
Stay tuned…
2 More National Records
By the time the wind got steady and in the right direction today around 3:00pm, the tide was too high. When dealing with Mother Nature, it’s not always easy to do what you want when you want it! Monday, Wednesday and Saturday looks promising with the high tide being later on in the day. Let hope it gets nuking!
2 More National Records
Zsolt Lenkei – Hungary 35.34 knots.
Afrit Foued – Algeria 38.48 knots
Here is a pic of the camera that aims at the finish line. The same camera is positioned at the beginning of the run. The two are linked together by a 500m cable. To position, calibrate the 2 cams, hookup the cable and connecting the clocking screen at the exit of the run takes about 2 hours. In the evening, same thing. It all has to come down. A suspended contraption rigged out of wooden posts and planks had to be put in place to help crossing the lagoon when the tide is too high to get to the cameras at the end of the day.
Source:
sebsalerno.com
luderitz-speed.com
The heat is on…
There are only 8 days left to break a new world speed record. With the right conditions of wind and tide, the kitesurfers are sure to exceed the speeds of last week. The wind should gradually increase to 35-40 knts, being the strongest at the beginning of next week. Hoping they will get more!!
The speed the competitors could achieve yesterday was limited due to choppy water and lighter 30 knot wind. As it is spring high tide, the water came up quickly making the run usable only between 12:30am-1:30pm. It will be hard for all competitors to have a go at the run when the conditions are optimum for that day. It’s going to be a stampeed for the start since no one will want to miss the magical wind and tide window. In the next few days, as the high tide moves later towards the end of the afternoon, keep an eye out for some crazy performance in Luderitz.
A few pictures from Adrien Fréville photographie
New Spanish National Record
14 Oct. It’s Official – Marc Avella #46 (Genetrix, Xcelerator) has set the new Spanish National Speed Sailing Record today at 48.33 knots. Congratulations to Marc.
