LÜDERITZ SPEED CHALLENGE UPDATE.
Pete Davis brings us the lowdown on what has been happening at the Luderitz Speed challenge in Namibia. So far there has not been any really windy record breaking days but it sounds like there are some solid winds in the forecast so stay tuned for all the updates!
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- Antoine Albeau
Pete Davis: “Day 17 and 18 we finally get some good winds to run in the Channel. Record attempts are always set over a long period to try and capture the best wins possible to break world and national records but this long wait at this year’s attempt has been trying for all the competitors.
The 17th promised solid winds but not exceptional, but the 18th looked much better with gusts in excess of 40 knots forecast. The organisers and competitors were on site early and the course was open for the longest time in the events history for over seven hours!
The big hitters were all out in force, but it was the lighter riders like Brendan Lorho from France and 1st timer Alexander Petikidis from Greece, that were getting the top speeds early in the day.
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- Brendon Lohro: Luderitz Speed
As the day progressed the speeds got higher, peaking at around 4pm with two almost identical speed runs from Vincent Vakenars (BEL) 46.94k and Gunnar Asmussen (GER) only .02 of a knot behind. With top speeds in the runs at almost 49 knots the guys got close to magical 50k.
The close battles continued down the fleet with national pride at stake. Simon Pettifer and Jim Crossley (GBR) were close but Jim with a 45.13k run and 5th overall came out on top.
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- Luderitz Speed
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- Luderitz Speed
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- Luderitz Speed
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- Luderitz Speed
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- Luderitz Speed
The winds needed to be stronger for sure, the biggest sails most people bring here is 5.6/5.7m and you know when the top pros like Antoine Albeau and Bjorn Dunkerbeck both with speeds in the 45 to 46 knot range, are on the same size as the much lighter girls and guys you know its not going to be record breaking. However, It did give everyone some good practice runs for the hopefully windy days to come.
The girls Jenna Gibson (GBR) and Heidi Ulrich (SWI) were also very close which the fastest speeds swopping all day. Jenna came out on top today with a 41.9k run and Heidi just behind at 41.41k.
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- Jenna Gibson
With not much Channel time so far this month and 16 riders taking part on these two days it meant you only got a run every hour, if it all went smoothly and everyone started cleanly. The riders were obviously keen to keep going so the organisers kept the course open till after 6.00pm Which is a record for organisers who worked hard getting as many runs in for the riders as possible but the speeds didn’t go any higher.
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- Luderitz Speed
The highlight of the Day was one national Record subject to WSSRC approval of Momar Diagne from Senegal who is also Antoines Caddie. He did a few runs and set the new Senegal record at 39.66k he is confident he can go faster and at least have it start with 4 in front of his time!
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- Momar Diagne Luderitz Speed
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- Momar Diagne Luderitz Speed
Good winds are forecast for Sunday and next week so keep following on here for updates and follow the live timings every day the Channel is open. This is the link: