A Record Breaking Year for Luderitz

The Luderitz Speed Challenge this year has been a great success with records being broken and thriving events taking place.
One of the first events which kick started the competition was the opening night in Barrels which took place on 8th October. Monika and Manfred Kratz, who own and run the pub, generously put on a Happy Hour for everybody who was lucky enough to attend. Diane Metzger also treated everybody that night to her solo performance of classic songs with a lyrical kite-surfing twist. Many contenders were congratulated on their current records including Luderitz’s very own Stefan Metzger who broke the Namibian record at 46.5 knots and Alex Caizergues who set a new World Speed Sailing Record at 54.10 knots! The atmosphere was thriving and it certainly gave a sense of optimism to the competition.
On the 16th October, a beach party was held throughout the whole day and into the night at 2nd lagoon. The turnout was vast, food and drinks were available and a rare gentle breeze made the day even more enjoyable. There was something for everyone and kite surfers entertained the entire lagoon with their stunts and tricks.
The Shearwater Oyster Bar hosted an ‘Oyster Party’ on 22nd October. They played the best videos and showed the best photos from the competition so far so that people could keep up with what has been happening to date. The night was enjoyed by all and so were the discounted famous Luderitz Oysters.
Another successful day during this
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jam-packed month was the Kids Fun Day at 2nd lagoon which included kite surfing lessons for kids from all over Luderitz. The children made teams and take part in fun activities including a three-legged race, egg and spoon races and sack races.

Throughout October we have had some very strong winds which has been perfect for the kite surfers to reach their personal records as well as national ones!

Taro Niehaus, African record holder of 50.62 knots tells the Buchter News about how he has found this years speed competition.
“The event has been a great success this year, it was quite an extreme rush going down the channel for the first time, but all the effort of the event organisers paid off as we have broken many records this year. We have had amazing conditions and many good results to show from it. The channel has given us a big step forward in speed kiting and of course combined with the windy conditions of Luderitz we are all very much looking forward to next year,”
Just some of the records broken at this year’s Speed Challenge:

Sailing
Alex Caizergues has officially set a new World Speed Sailing Record at 54.10 knots during his 1st run at 15h38.

Kite Surfing:
USA – Rob Douglas, 51.88
Namibia – Stefan Metzger 46.5
New Zealand – Gavin Broadbent, 50.93
French Women’s National record – Charlotte Consorti, 45.23
Australia – Tim Pumpa, 46.78 (best kite speed record performance)
Algeria – Atrit Foued, 38.48
Hungary – Zsolt Lenkei, 35.34

Windsurfing:
Sweden -Anders Bringdal, 44.80.
U.K – Zara Davis, 36.99, Female World performance with Production Board
Sebastien Cattelan from France is placed 2nd in the world speed sailing rankings at 52.33 knots.

(These results are recorded up to 23rd October)