Sébastien SALERNO speaks about the Luderitz Speed Channel
A video From Eric Bellande
Windsurfers break the 50 knot barrier!
THE 50 KNOT BARRIER IN WINDSURFING IS BROKEN!
After the previous days promising results, everyone felt that breaking the 50 knot barrier was a done deal.
On the 4th race day, this never-before-broken barrier was smashed! Records kept tumbling almost with every run this afternoon. Some of the speeds still need to be confirmed by the Time Keeper.
First, the Swedish Record Holder Anders Bringdal broke the 50 knot barrier twice, with 50.41 and then 50.46 knots improving the world Record on Production Board as well!
After that Antoine Albeau surpassed Anders’ performance with 50.62 knots recovering his position of World Record holder in Windsurfing, which was also shortly held by Cédric Bordes in the afternoon with 49.66 knots.
Zara Davis has also improved her World Record in Windsurfing with 44.92 knots and also Lena improved her Turkish Record with 43.81.
The record on Tandem has been also broken (1 board / 2 sails / 2 riders) with 38.12 knots!
And lots of other National Records were smashed!
Mark Grinnell from South Africa and Matthias Röttcher from Namibia were successively improving their national records which they had already broken earlier during the day.
Mark: 46.49 kts and Matthias: 46.69 kts.
Jurjen Van Der Noord, the Dutch competitor who has just made his first runs today broke the Dutch Record with 47.53 kts.
Patrick Diethelm has improved his Swiss Record and is the 3rd time in the Windsurfing world as well with 49.71 knot!
Nick Vardalachos from Greece and the British Farrell O’Shea improved their record.
Nick: 48.84 kts and Farrell: 48.21 kts.
Christian Benzing who was battling with his German fellow countrymen, broke the German Record in Windsurfing with 45.57 knots.
This incredible day has now gone into the windsurfing history books.The world’s windsurfing community was waiting for a “come back” in Speed Sailing. The goal of the 2012 “Lüderitz Speed Challenge” was to work on that point and offer the best conditions to finally break this mythical barrier. We can expect even better results during the coming days.
Windsurfing World Record Attempt: More Records!
Windsurfing World Record Attempt: Day 3
Even though the forecast has announced only moderate wind, riders were really motivated to hit the gust again today!
The atmosphere was unusually peaceful – this group of competitors is really enjoying the conditions and the event, without hesitating to put their hands into the sand to help achieve the common objective: break records.
The current speed windsurfing Namibian record holder Matthias Röttcher watched the event in the media and decided to take his 4×4 across the desert to join us early this morning and take the chance to claim a new record! After testing the channel he improved his existing record of 41.44 kts to 42.32 kts.
Windsurfers from all over the world are following the event and are starting to realize that the Luderitz Speed Challenge is one of the biggest opportunities for them to be in the speed sailing limelight together with boats & kitesurfers.
The international support to riders and organisers is unbelievable. Encouragement from all corners of the world is streaming in.
On day 3, Zara was again the 1st to jump into the water, and it is paying off: thanks to her we open the race every day by celebrating a new record, and thereafter it does not stop!
Antoine Albeau was leading the day with 48.57 kts but Anders Bringdal went further with 48.60 kts, improving the World Windsurfing Record on production board, and claiming the new Swedish Record.
Dieter Gerichhausen again beat the German record in Windsurfing with 44.01 kts, but – like yesterday – was followed by Christian Bornemann who was faster still, ending with a new German record with 44.41 kts.
Their German team mate Christian Benzing went faster in less wind today and come closer with 42.81kts!
Patrick Diethelm went faster in less wind with 46.55kts, improving his Swiss Record from yesterday.
Lena improved her Turkish record with 42.6 kts.
Cédric Bordes managed to reach the 3rd best speed of the day with 47.83 kts.
The fastest event – the fastest spot – the fastest riders
The Lüderitz Speed Challenge 2012
Since 2007, records were smashed successively, performances have increased, the « Lüderitz Speed Challenge », World record Attempt in Speed Sailing has become a major event with a media impact which has developed the “speed” discipline and has well participated to the kitesurfing industry evolution. Nevertheless, its organizors, Sébastien Cattelan and Sophie Routaboul have seen there the opportunity for the windsurfers to come back in front of the stage and find a location with the best conditions to express themselves. So, from 2009, after several tests, the report sets: the potential is there, let’s build a CANAL…
2010 EDITION set a new record and all the nations know that Lüderitz is the fastest spot in the World!.
THANKS TO THE NEW CANAL BUILT IN THE BAY, THE ULTIMATE RECORD IS SMASHED: 55.65 Knots.
Only two years after the 50 knots barrier was broken, the 55 Knots (103 km/h) barrier was smashed: 100km/h (54.10 knots) and “The Lüderitz Speed Challenge” have managed to get back the title from the multi-million boat “L’Hydroptère” (51.36 knots). Only 2 competitors in the world have reached the 55 knots so far:
Sébastien Cattelan (55.49 kts-European Record) and Rob Douglas (55.65 kts-Ultimate World Record)
2011 WAS THE BEGINNING OF A NEW AREA from an historical project:
Although the 2010 canal made the world of a difference, the conditions still need improvement for faster records to be set, especially to represent the windsurfing community which is huge in the World. Thus Sébastien Cattelan, Sophie Routaboul and his team have invested a lot of money and time to research the possibilities of widening and lengthening the canal, and creating even smoother water surfaces for faster speeds, deeper water but also improving the safety of the finish area.
After 1 year battling to set up the project and get the authorizations, they manage to dig that canal with the support of the Namibian Ministry of Environment & Tourism,according to what they have learnt from performances, tests and experiences they made during their career.
The legend Anders Bringdal took part of this new edition as a windsurfing consultant to be able to invite all the top sailors in the world.
SUCCESS: never before a windsurfer have reached a top speed of 50,7 knots (94 km/h).
0n 10 competitors of this testing-team, 5 records were broken.
The test of this Team is a revelation: this new canal which was improved step by step until the end of the 2011 event is THE solution and will be the playground of many competitors next year as they all have realized its potential.
LUDERITZ SPEED CHALLENGE 2012 PROJECT: Old records are no news, however… Chase the unimaginable 60 knots barrier now: The Lüderitz Speed Challenge has this as its main goal and sole focus.
No other event or place in the world would be more suitable to attempt this crazy record. Organizers have worked really hard to create the right environment conducive to making it happen. It’s the combination of all their experience from previous years and of course the location which gives them the criteria they need (strong and stable wind, good angle…) which will operate.
All the arrangements have been made to manage to create a canal with all the skills that windsurfers need to join kitesurfers (record: 55,65 knots) and boats (record: 51,36 knots) in that real challenge. After obtaining the authorizations, an artificial canal was dug 300m from the bay: 1 month of hard tests and researches, making improvements, were realized during the 2011 edition to be able to present the big 2012 Challenge which will be even more watched and followed in all over the world, where the best top sailors will battle for the World title or their nation.
The list of the selected competitors will be communicated in the beginning of July for an Attempt which will happen from the 5 November to 2 December for windsurfers (registrations number being more important) and from 3 to 16 December for kitesurfers, to avoid the comparison between 2 different crafts.
Luderitz Speed Challenge 2011 from ByAdrienFreville on Vimeo.
Source:www.luderitz-speed.com
Orange Speed Crossing Pro award ceremony
Congratulations to Rob and Charlotte for winning the Orange Speed Crossing Pro!
Rob was untouchable on the runs and won 3 out of four heats. He broke the 1998 Leucate speed record of 42.25 knots held by the windsurfer Jose Bahadour from Guadeloupe with 43.32 knots.
Rob Douglas, winner of the OSC Pro, in front of Anders Bringdal and Antoine Albeau (photo credit Jef Valet kite race.fr)
Charlotte Consorti, winner of the OSC Pro, in front of Sophie Routaboul (photo credit Jeff Valet kite race.fr)
Charlotte Consorti and Sophie Routaboul were the only two women competing in the OSC pro.
Charlotte took the lead from the start and won all 4 heats.
They will all be competing this weekend in the Orange Speed Crossing Pro AM in Leucate.
As for Seb, it looks like his race boards got misplaced and didn’t make it on time to Leucate. He (scored?) a downwind race board from Xelerator to competed with an ankle injury on the fourth day and was the first kiter to cross the finish line.
See the results here:
Orange Speed Crossing Pro: Interim Results
Here are the interim results after the first 3 races of the OSC.
Overall standings after 3 races – Men
Overall standings after 3 races – women
Vas y Sophie!!! **** the team is cheering you on ****
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  |
Congratulations Lüderitz Speed Challenge 2011
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:
http://www.speedkiting.org
http://www.luderitz-speed.com
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.
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.
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.
Over 50 in less wind!
Despite lower than expected 35 knot wind and choppy water, 3 riders achieved speeds of over 50 knots today. Catman, Rob Douglas and Sed Salerno all did it in less wind that was previously required. Zsolt Lenkei improved on his personal best from 39,75 to 42. As the wind was increasing, the tide was too high to go on.
Sophie Routaboul got close to female world record today (45 flashed on the display), in spite of breaking her hand only a week ago.
The above speeds are not official yet.
Source:
luderitz-speed.com
Waiting for what could be the last blow…
There’s no wind today and tomorrow. Friday to Monday still looks promising. The spring high tide will be between 2:30pm and 3:39pm over the weekend. Lets hope the competitors find some flat water and the wind necessary to break some more records. Sunday to Monday might be the last decent wind they’ll have to do so. The wind usually peaks around 3:00pm. Here is what the tide looks like for the next few days.
Fri (Low 8:33 / High 14:38 / Low 20:50)
Sat (Low 9:02 / High 15:08 / Low 21h19)
Sun (Low 9:32 / High 15:39 / Low 21:48)
Mon (Low 10.04/ High 16:12/ Low 22:20)
The Genetrix Team posing at Luderitz Speed Challenge 2010: Martial Camblong – France, Sebastien Cattelan – France, Tim Pumpa – Australia (record), Sophie Routaboul -France, Basil Cambanis – South Africa, Fred Kloren – Netherlands, Marc Avella – Spain (record). Missing on the picture : Zolt Lenkey – Hungary, Taro Niehaus – South Africa (record) and Leila Lelouar – France.
