Zara Davis managed to crack the woman’s speed production record of 36.99 knots (68.5 KM/H) That is some serious speed! She used a Mistral speed board, a Simmer 5.0 SCR 2010 and a Sonntag GPS_5 220 widebase speedfin. The cannel in Luderitz, Namibia, was not ideal for windsurfing. The approach is very shallow and the sand bank build to reduce the chop also interfered with the wind, making the end of the run not perfect. So Zara Davis managed to get the best out of the spot.

Source: UKWA

This video shows Alex Caizergues in Namibia doing 54.1(!) knots (= 100.2 KM/H, also a new World Record) on the same speed strip. Respect!

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is also a cool video which shows the channel from the riders view.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is a post from: Mad Windsurfing. A windsurf blog with tips, news, and how-to's.

Related posts:

1. ISWC Speed Windsurfing World Championship Karpathos 2009
2. Who should be in de Speedsailing hall of fame?
3. These 4 factors affect your speed

This is a post from: Mad Windsurfing. A windsurfing blog with tips, news, and how-to's.

Here is short video from the NP/JP team speedsurfing at La Franqui. Nice to see how Ben van der Steen and Jacques van der Hout have to conquer the chop before they get to the flat water.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is a post from: Mad Windsurfing. A windsurf blog with tips, news, and how-to's.

Related posts:

1. Speedsurfing at La Franqui
2. GPS Speedsurfing and Sponsoring
3. Gps-speedsurfing.com renewed

This is a post from: Mad Windsurfing. A windsurfing blog with tips, news, and how-to's.

Sander van Huizen at full speed

Sunday was a great windsurfing day in the Netherlands. The absence of wind started to annoy me a bit so I was really happy with this day. But the lack of wind in the passed weeks gave me some time to get my RS Slalom repaired without missing to much action.

Anyway, Jeffrey (also a Dutch Fun Speeder) made great photos during that day. He was standing in the water while the speedsurfers were passing him at high speeds. That’s is possible at Strand Horst since the water is knee deep. I hope you were also on the water otherwise you missed a lot of action. Check out his shots over here.

This is a post from: Mad Windsurfing. A windsurf blog with tips, news, and how-to's.

Related posts:

1. The parking card pre-sale has started for Strand Horst
2. Alacati PWA World Cup event report 2008

This is a post from: Mad Windsurfing. A windsurfing blog with tips, news, and how-to's.

Here is Jan Wolters showing some nice speedsurfing at La Franqui. I really like that song. It’s called Cake – The Distance. Enjoy!

Update: Erik loots did a nice interview with Jan. Check out his blog.

This is a post from: Mad Windsurfing. A windsurf blog with tips, news, and how-to's.

Related posts:

1. Speedsurfing @ la franqui
2. GPS Speedsurfing and Sponsoring
3. Reading material for windless days

This is a post from: Mad Windsurfing. A windsurfing blog with tips, news, and how-to's.

4. Build

Many windsurfers think that weight is a big factor in speed. Good physique does help. Because when you’re heavier you can more easily keep your windsurfing equipment under control.

Height also plays a role. Your body functions as a lever while windsurfing. If you’re taller you have more leverage than shorter people.
Does this mean that you aren’t able to go as fast as bigger sailors? Absolutely not! Build is the least important factor. For example, take Karin Jaggi. As a multiple world champion speedsurfing she proved many times that you can go very fast with a length of 168 cm.

Karin Jaggi going full speed.

3. Your windsurfing equipment

Often we hear windsurfers talking about their equipment. A special vin, an expensive carbon mast and the latest 2010 rig. A fast windsurfing board and sail will surely help you go faster.

One thing is really important. You have to be able to release the full potential of this expensive equipment. Otherwise you will be as fast, or perhaps faster, on your freeracer.

2. Rigging and tuning

Unleashing the full potential of your quiver has a lot to do with the correct rigging and tuning of every component. A fast speedsurfer knows how he must rig the sail and board to suit the conditions. And he knows how to tune every component to fit his own windsurfing style.

1. Technique and skill

Windsurfing is a dynamic sport. On a reach you will constantly make small adjustments to trim your sail and board. You will also react to the waves and other conditions in the water. A talented, experienced windsurfer know how to convert that one gust to acceleration and stays in control. The better you know how to react on the circumstances, the higher your end speed will be.

Conclusion

To accomplish high speeds you must learn and improve on all facets. Before buying new equipment I advice you to start with improving your skill and technique. Learn how your windsurfing gear works. That’s when you can get the biggest improvements that will matter most.

And eventually you will have more fun when you do buy new equipment because you learned how to use it to its full potential.
Do you also think that these factors impact your speed? Leave your opinion in the comments.

This is a post from: Mad Windsurfing. A windsurf blog with tips, news, and how-to's.

Related posts:

1. ISWC Speed Windsurfing World Championship Karpathos 2009
2. New Women’s speed production record!
3. Tomorrow last Fun & Speed Meeting for 2009

This is a post from: Mad Windsurfing. A windsurfing blog with tips, news, and how-to's.

Have you ever thought about joining the GPS Team Challenge or starting GPS speedsurfing? Here are 5 reasons why I joined this challenge and hopefully you will also after reading these reasons.

1. Learn more about my favorite sport windsurfing

   Windsurfing has always been my favorite sport and I am windsurfing since I was eleven. After a while I noticed I reached a plateau. I wasn’t getting any faster or improving on other fields for that matter. By joining the Dutch Fun Speeders Team I hope I can remove that barrier and improve my windsurfing skills.

2. Socialize with other speedsurfers

   The cool thing about a team effort is…well…it’s a team effort! And thus you are able to meet new people. Windsurfing is normally an individual sport. By joining a team will open up the opportunity to discuss your set and talk to other people with the same mindset.

3. To keep myself extra motivated all year-long

   Sometimes it is hard to get out on the water, especially if the forecast is not that good. Getting all the windsurfing equipment out of the storage into the car. Rigging the sail etc. It can be a big hassle compared to other sports like normal surfing. Having teammates can help you overcome this a bit easier. And usually, it is worthwhile.

4. Share interesting new learning’s

   Besides learning new stuff for myself I will try sharing the gained knowledge as much as possible through this blog. I really enjoy sharing things which make enthusiastic. And this way I can hopefully make other windsurfers enthusiastic about GPS speedsurfing. And maybe get other people motivated to start windsurfing.

5. To have (more) fun on the water!

   And this is probably the most important reason, to have fun! The rush you will get when going down wind and pushing the limits is awesome. It’s a natural drug. The kick will even be greater after looking on you GPS to see you have a new personal best.

Hopefully you can relate to my reasons for joining the GPS Team challenge. What do you think after reading these reasons? are you going to join the challenge?

Having fun on the water, Spanish Waters - Curaçao

This is a post from: Mad Windsurfing. A windsurf blog with tips, news, and how-to's.

Related posts:

1. GPS Team Challenge
2. Team and sponsor changes

This is a post from: Mad Windsurfing. A windsurfing blog with tips, news, and how-to's.

What is the GPS Team Challenge?

A lot of windsurfers by now know that it’s possible to measure speed with a GPS and post your results individually on sites like GPS-Speedsurfing.com. This idea inspired some members on the Seabreeze forum to set up a similar competition, but then between teams. A lot of people joined the discussion and this showed huge interest by the community. Eventually this lead to The GPS Team Challenge.

This GPS Speed surfing competition is all about fun and everybody who wants to join, should be able to. This competition has the goal to keep you involved with windsurfing all season long, not just in the summer time. And you can learn a lot from your team members

How can you enter the GPS Team Challenge?

First of all you need a complete windsurfing set and a GPS device, which you probably already have. Some competitions have a lot of rules, but this one doesn’t. So you don’t have to be afraid that you have to learn a lot of boring stuff. This competition is about windsurfing as much as possible.

Secondly this is a team challenge, so you will need a team to sign up with. And as you can see, a lot of teams have entered already. If you can’t find a team to sign up with, you can start your own team. Then you have to fill in this form and mail it to info @ gpsteamchallenge.com.

And that’s all. It can hardly be any easier than that.

Dutch Fun Speeders

Several dutch teams are participating and I joined the Dutch Fun Speeders team. This team consists of 20 windsurfers. Yes, that’s quite a lot of people but makes it possible to post a lot of GPS sessions and score a lot of points.

I am really happy that I was allowed to join the team. There are a lot of good windsurfers in the team and also Dutch speed record holder Dirk Doppenberg.
I wrote about having my worst windsurfing season ever last year. And with this team I hope to learn a lot and have a chance of reaching my goals which I set in 2009.

See you on the water!

This is a post from: Mad Windsurfing. A windsurf blog with tips, news, and how-to's.

Related posts:

1. 5 reasons to join the GPS Team Challenge
2. Team and sponsor changes

This is a post from: Mad Windsurfing. A windsurfing blog with tips, news, and how-to's.

The ISWC has a poll online in which you can vote who will enter the hall of fame. The winner will be announced on the 1st of March.

The nominees are:

Men (in alphabetical order):

Alex Caizergues, FRA
multiple world record holder kite, currently at 50.98 knots, double kitespeed world champion

Antoine Albeau, FRA
Double ISWC Speed World Champion

Dave White, GBR
Dave was holding the production windsurfing record for more than a decade

Finian Maynard, BVI
4 times WSSRC Outright Speed World Record Holder, 7 time Speed Windsurfing World Champion

Manu Taub, FRA
Pioneer of Speed-Kiting, 2 times WSSRC Kitespeed World Record Holder, first Kiter over 40 knots

Olaf Marting, RSA
Two times WSSRC Kitespeed World Record Holder

Rob Douglas, USA
Took the Outright Record from the Windsurfers to the Kiteboarders, 2 times within 0.3 knots of the world record

Roddy Lewis, USA
Speed Windsurfing Pioneer

Women (in alphabetical order):

Britt Dunkerbeck, ESP
2 time WSSRC World Record Holder, multiple Speed Windsurfing World Champion

Charlotte Consorti, FRA
2 time WSSRC Kite Speed World Record Holder, 4 times Kitespeed World Champion

Valerie Ghibaudo, FRA
2 time Speed Windsurfing World Champion

Jenna de Rosnay, FRA
4 time WSSRC Outright World Record Holder

This is a post from: Mad Windsurfing. A windsurf blog with tips, news, and how-to's.

Related posts:

1. New Women’s speed production record!
2. These 4 factors affect your speed
3. Anders Bringdal and speedsailing

This is a post from: Mad Windsurfing. A windsurfing blog with tips, news, and how-to's.

The last Fun & Speed Meeting (FSM) of the year will take place at Strand Horst, the Netherlands. This windsurfing event is all about getting your windsurfing skill level up. But it’s also about having fun and help each other to improve.

That GPS Speedsurfing is getting popular is shown by the more than 70 participants (it’s not possible to register anymore). And best of all, the weather forecast is great so don’t forget your GPS device.

This is a post from: Mad Windsurfing. A windsurf blog with tips, news, and how-to's.

Related posts:

1. ISWC Speed Windsurfing World Championship Karpathos 2009

This is a post from: Mad Windsurfing. A windsurfing blog with tips, news, and how-to's.

Karpathos is getting ready for the speed windsurfing world cup 2009. A lot of big names will be competing for world championship points and eventually the speed world title.

Last Year Björn Dunkerbeck won the ISWC event. This year all the eyes will be focused on Antoine Albeau.  He was ruling the last couple of PWA events and there is a good chance he will go home with the win this year. Currently Anders Bringdal is leading the ISWC tour so we can expect some resistance from him. Some Dutchies will also be present and show how fast “we” are on the water, among them are Peter Volwater and Ben van der Steen.

Dunkerbeck at full speed - ISWC Speed World Championship 2008

The ISWC Speed Windsurfing World Championship will be held from 31-7 till 5-8-2009.

Registered windsurfers:

Alberto Possati
Anders Bringdal
Andrea Baldini
Andrej Kocjan
Anja Kruse
Antoine Albeau
Anton Geesink
Armin Hoefer
Ben van der Steen
Beppe Fortunato
Birgit Hoefer
Björn Dunkerbeck
Cedric Bordes
Chris Lockwood
Christian Bornemann
Christophe Fiorentini
Christophe Richaud
Cyril Moussilmani
Daniel Borgelind
Dieter Gerichhausen
Dirk Jan Knol
Drakopoulos Panagiotis
Erik Beale
Erik Larsson
Finian Maynard
Francesko D’Urso
Hans Kreisel
Jaques van der Hout
John Benamati
Jurjen van der Nord
Magnus Bengtsson
Manfred Fuchs
Marcus Kortas
Marcus Richardsson
Marie‐Paule Geldorf
Marion Raisi
Markus Emanuelsson
Martin Kovac
Martyn Ogier
Morten Knutsen
Nick Vardalachos
Nikoletta Margoni
Orlando Lavandera
Pascal Toselli
Patrick van Hoof
Patrik Diethelm
Pete Davis
Peter Volwater
Philip Adamidis
Robert Sturm
Thomopoulos Konstantinos
Thorsten Luig
Tim Otte
Tobias Hed
Torsten Mallon
Valerie Ghibaudo
Wilfried Vanherweghe
Zara Davis

More info: ISWC

This is a post from: Mad Windsurfing. A windsurf blog with tips, news, and how-to's.

Related posts:

1. New Women’s speed production record!
2. Who should be in de Speedsailing hall of fame?
3. Dutch championship icesurfing 2010

This is a post from: Mad Windsurfing. A windsurfing blog with tips, news, and how-to's.