SPEED CHALLENGE ACHIEVES HIGH RECORDS

THE SPEED CHALLENGE commenced this year on the 20th of October and came to an end on the 17th of November. After almost a month of hard going, sand, sea and surfing and of course a LOT of wind (no surprises there), the Speed Challenge of 2011 was the talk of the town.

This year was a really big success. People were arriving from all over the world and a LOT of country records were broken. As this year was a test year, because of the new trench, there were only 11 test-competitors. Out of the 11 competitors, five of them set a new record.

African record: Taro Niehaus: 51.6 knots
Namibian record: Stefan Metzger: 51.36 knots
Sweden record: Anders Bringdal: 47.44 knots
German record: Wolfram Reiners: 46.2 knots
Angola record: Humberto Torrinha: 41.2 knots
Anders Bringdal obtained the World record on Gps in windsurfing made in 10 seconds with 48.02 knots. He is the first windsurfer in the world who is getting 50.7 maximal speed.

The channel was dug just a few days before the start of the event. There were many busy helping to make sure that the channel would be completed on time. Unfortunately the kiters could not train on the channel before the Challenge started, so after a week of strong winds, they had to make a couple of changes on the channel.

They changed the angle from the start and made the sand slope up-and down-wind on the side of the channel to kill the chop. The channel can also be used for Windsurfers, so windsurfing and kite surfing fanatics have found a first class place to break records.

The changes were made and the records came in! Step by step the dream of the Speed Challenge Team has been realised over the past five years. Through all the changes and the ideal location, this place will become the perfect platform for international and outright records.

There are always changes to make and Sebastian and Sophie already have some ideas for next year so they can welcome as many sailors from all over the world as they can and make the Speed Challenge a bigger and better event for next year.