Gebi, de coach van Rob Douglas, geeft nog wat achtergronden in het topic op KF, leuk leesvoer. Hij verteld het alsof die riders af en toe helemaal uit elkaar knallen als ze eventjes vallen met 90 km/u.
"Hey my kiteboard Hombres,
Sebastian Cattelain was the first to Break the 50 knot barrier, (with I think a 50.1 knot run) then Alex Caizegues hit his 50.57 knot run which was followed by our american boy Rob Douglas who hit a 50.54 knot run. Then Cat upping his time to a 50.53 knot run. It all happened a few days apart at the end of the Luderitz Speed Event held in the amazingly desolate and windy Second Lagoon, In Namibia.....in the middle of the dessert!
Just giving props where props due. So ONLY 3 sailors in the world, all three kiters, have gone over 50 knots over the 501 meter course with certification from WSSRC. Done deal.
Alex, Rob and Cat in that order. FRA, USA and FRA. Thes guys fought it out fair and square, all had their ups and downs, all are good friends and competitors. Thes guys took some seriously funked up crashes, a few I was amazed that they walked away from...well crawled away from. But the only way to go down the course was to stay completely attached to the water...so there was no slingshotting or jumping down the course. As soon as the board came out of the water even for a split second......the runs were done, finished.. Either their all super crazy as all of the speed kiters are or, very calculating in what they can do and built on their experiences. Congrats to all it was an amazing show to watch.
Imagine putting up a 9 meter kite in average winds of 40 to 50 knots and then trying to figure out how to survive the 55 knot gusts while traveling at 50plus knots and hour. I had a hard time just standing on the beach in the gusts! These guys are animals, complete maniacs, determined warriors, driven competitors and astronauts on the edge of space. It was scary to watch...the crashes. Anyone who would have seen them going 50 knots plus down a 500 meter course in sometimes 8 inch chop/waves would be seriously impressed by the super human efforts they displayed to the world. Cat hit a 2 second spike at the end of the event of over 62 knots! F_______ck yeah! Sorry for the french but is there any question who is the fastest sailing craft in the world? It's over....for a while it seems Kiting will most likely take speed sailing to the next level.....and the kitesurfing equipment is still not highly developed yet....just getting started!. Wait till we get our new boards, fins and kites in some good conditions next year! Shiiiiiiiiiiittttttttttttt!
All of the timing of the runs ratified by WSSRC in Luderitz this last October, and for the past few years ( please chime in Markus) have been done with high speed video cameras on each end of the 501 meter course. Of course our time keeper, Markus Schwendtner is German (nice to have a German time keeper!), and very well organized with a killer multiple camera and computer set up that tracks the speed runs exactly as they happen. (Markus runs
www.speedworldcup.com which organizes most of the PWA (windsurfing speed racing) and PKRA kitesurfing speed events; he's a pro and good at his job; and is now head of the ISAF approved IKA (international Kiteboarding Association) Thanks Markus!
We even get an estimated speed showing on an electronic scoreboard at the end of the runs that blinks the speed of the sailor, along with his jersey number, giving him/her a very close estimate of the speed of the run. The timing camera video footage (upon review of potential record runs in the evening ) is reviewed in slow motion, and the nose of the board is seen to break the line of sight of the timing gate entry and exit points; hence the incredible accuracy in the timing of the runs. The video footage is broken down to a 1/100th of a second and it is clearly visible "exactly" when the nose of the competitors board crosses the timing Start and Finish line (the 501 meter course has been professionally surveyed on land). Now I am sure after last weeks meeting WSSRC and Markus clearly explained and showed this to ISAF so their story about not knowing how the timing works on the runs is completly unfounded anymore.
For example Alex, hit 50.57 knots average, Rob Douglas hit only .03 knots slower at 50.54 knots; placing him an incredible 26 cm behind Alex(measurement in cm's provided by our german time keeper Markus, , and then Cat was only .02 behind Rob with a 50.52 knot run. So all 3 of the (exclusive 50 knot club)fastest guys are within a half meter of each other!
The kite location is irrelevant when running throught the speed course and the quote from the uneducated ISAF person saying they are not sure how the timing is done is pure baloney. These guys are just playing games and politics, and maybe do not have a clue as to how the timing is done, but WSSRC is on top of things. WSSRC works under and is mandated by ISAF's umbrella.
It is way cool to see the kiteboard fraternity turn up the heat with these petitions. Its amazing the misinformation flying around the internet. None of the kiters have threatened to sue the organizers of the Luderitz Speed Challenge. Fred Dasse and Sebastian Cattelan did an awesome job organizing the Luderitz Speed Challenge event and Markus of (Speed World Cup and now IKA) did a great job of video capturing all of the runs and verifying the runs, in conjunction with the water depth being checked each run by the WSSRC commissioner, Michael. They worked together as a team as did all of the kiters. (Apparently Michael who is back in Namibia again right now for WSSRC watching Vesta Sail Rocket trying to break the world speed record in Walvis Bay).
By the way Michael did a great job in Luderitz, stayed impartial and fought us on the water depth but he was completely within his charge and completely sticking to the rules, looking after the best interests of the kiters and windsurfer's and all speed sailors interests as well. no favortism on his part. He's been one of the main WSSRC commissioners and has been watching world record runs for over 2 decades at least. Michael is a lovable character, full of wild stories and a great walking human history book of speed sailing.) I hope to see him next year as well....
Go to this site as this page clearly explains how the speed courses are laid out.
http://sailspeedrecords.com/content/view/53/4/It's time for ISAF to do the right thing and honor the sailors who have gone where no man has gone before. It's done. Everyone clearly plaid by the rules. We have the video proof. We have the surveys of the world record speed course in Luderitz. All fee's have been paid, all the proper paperwork filled out. Now it is time for ISAF to do their job and announce to the world what everyone already knows.
ISAF Do it for the honor of the wind and water we all share together.
All one or we're done!
Warm winds to all,
Gebi - team Nasspi
www.nassp.net"
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