After 3 successful events, The Lüderitz Speed Challenge has earned its credibility and made its mark in the World of Speed Sailing. In 2010, for the first time in the history of Speed Sailing, all 3 of the sailing disciplines (windsurfing, kitesurfing and hydrofoils) will jointly compete in the same event for the coveted title of the “Fastest sailing vessel”.
In 2004 Sébastien Cattelan together with Sophie Routaboul, co-organiser of the event, discovered the now legendary speed location in Luderitz. This natural lagoon in the Namib Desert has all the qualities to become the top international speed sailing venue in the world. The warm desert winds accelerate through the surrounding hills and on reaching the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean, thermal atmospheric pressure creates incredibly high wind speeds.
3 Oct 2008, Luderitz Bay, Namibia: French kite surfer Sebastien Cattelan was the first person to break the mythical 50 knots sailing barrier (+ 90 km/h over 500m averages).
Speed Sailing has become an international inter-disciplinary sport. For many years an ongoing challenge existed between windsurfers, hydrofoil boats and kitesurfers to smash records - capturing the imagination of the media in a battle where speed barriers are constantly being broken.
So what’s in store for 2010?
The favorable results of the previous year which offered a tempestuous run for our sportsmen recording upwards of 90 km/ph on a 20-50cm deep, 500m long and 2m wide canal, has initiated continual improvement of the speed strip. In 2010, conditions for navigation have been improved by way of a more efficient canal of 10m of wide, 700m long, with a depth of 1m.
The aim this year is to widen the canal at the start as much as possible, making entry much easier. The sand taken from the canal will be laid up wind, creating a wall for protection against chop created in the water at high tide. The canal will have sufficient water depth to conform to the WSSRC rule (15cm minimum throughout) and even at low tide when the water recedes, the canal will remain at least 50cm deep throughout the run. These increased proportions of the canal will result in greater safety compared to the previous wooden chop killer.
The 2010 Luderitz Speed Challenge promises to be the most hotly contested competition held in the history of Speed Sailing.
Source: Sébastien Cattelan and Sophie Routaboul
Click here to visit Luderitz Speed Challenge’s website.
Says Sebastien Cattelan: “Using natural energy, has consequences for you, for us …
These performances represent what is possible in the future using energy from nothing but what nature provides.Wind-driven sailing vessels are once again becoming the pioneers in maritime transportation, and kite makers have been approached by forward-thinking commercial boat owners to design huge kites to experiment with the concept of using wind power to help drive large cargo vessels.
In theory, the kiteboard is replaced by a huge vessel, however the principle is the same. This development would result in huge cuts in the consumption of fuel, reduce oil spills and the overall cost of transportation costs world-wide.
We have entered a point in history where innovative ideas from nature will help to contribute to the protection of our planet”.
What a cool thought! (where’s the ‘Like’ button?)
The 2010 Catalunya Costa Brava (Spain) PWA Slalom World Cup Event Summary
Source: PWA tv via YouTube
The wind gods blessed the racers in Costa Brava with some awesome conditions on both day 1 & 3 of the competition, allowing two of the PWAs longest standing legends to take control of their respective fleets at the event, and move into pole position in the overall rankings.
Fifty-nine men competed in a full round of high-octane slalom on the first day, which saw Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard, Severne, Mystic) take the early lead. A 2nd elimination was also started, but the wind dropped off in the early evening causing the racing to be cancelled for another day.
The womens’ fleet saw twenty-one fast and furious females competing in the biggest fleet the PWA has seen for over a year. And, in a similar fashion to the men, the women managed to complete one full round on the first day, which saw Valerie Arrighetti nee Ghibaudo (Tabou, Loft, Mystic) take first line honors and the event lead.
Day two was the first without wind, meaning the worlds best had to wait until day three to resume the second elimination.
Source: PWA tv via YouTube
The third day saw big swells and gusty winds which enabled the men to race through the early round heats, but just as the finals were about to start, the wind dropped yet again. However, the women managed to squeeze in a full round of racing, which saw Karin Jaggi (Patrik, Severne) claiming victory.
Source: PWA tv via YouTube
The remaining three days of competition were frustratingly spent on hold with the wind refusing to blow consistently enough for any world cup competition to take place.
MEN
Day one saw the mighty Dunkerbeck dominate the fleet on his Severne Reflex 8.6 and Starboard iSonic 111. He flew off the start line in every race, and won his early round heats with a convincing margin. By the time the winners final came round, he was full of confidence and was without doubt one of the fastest racers on the water. His speed helped him to achieve an early lead with the 2009 world champion, Antoine Albeau (JP, NeilPryde) trailing in his wake. At mark three, following a not so perfect gybe, it looked like Albeau might overtake Dunkerbeck, but he put the pedal to the metal and raced off ahead to take the bullet.
With the conclusion of race 2 unable to take place, and both Albeau and Dunkerbeck having qualified for the winners final, they were awarded equal points for that race. This meant Dunkerbecks first race win put him on the top of the podium, for the first time since Sylt 2008, with Albeau having to settle for second.
Flying Frenchman Cyril Moussilmani scraped through his early heats in race one, but managed to put in an excellent performance in the winners final to finish just behind Dunkerbeck and Albeau. He then qualified for the final of race 2, which earned him the final spot on the podium for the event.
WOMEN
Costa Brava marked the return of the 2009 slalom world champion, Valerie Arrighetti to world cup competition, and with it, a convincing first race victory ahead of nearest rival Karin Jaggi.
Jaggi failed to let this bother her too much, and following a little bit of drama in an early round heat on day three, where she fell at the final mark, evened the scores with Arrighetti by taking the winners final of race 2.
This left Arrighetti and Jaggi on equal scores for the event, but due to the tie break rules, Jaggi claimed the crown. The young freestyle world champion, Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard, Gaastra) posted a consistent set of results to take the final place on the podium.
HOT HEATS:Despite a lengthy period on hold, the spectators were treated to some extremely exciting racing late in the afternoon on day three. A fairly sizeable swell was running which made for some interesting inside mark roundings, and a few unexpected launch ramps that had many of the sailors airborne on various legs of the course whether they liked it or not.
Source: PWA tv via YouTube
The young Italian racer, Alberto Menegatti (Starboard, Simmer) sailed a flawless first round heat of race 2, to swiftly proceed through to the next round. He then scraped through the quarterfinals by the skin of his of teeth, claiming a fourth position to just carry him through. Then in the semi finals, racing in a fleet full of the worlds greatest racers, including Dunkerbeck, Williams, Buzianis, Maynard, and Allen, he sailed the heat of his life to beat all of the stars in the tough conditions and claim his righteous place in the winners final.
LUCK OF THE LEGENDS
The evening of day three could have been a complete disaster for the highest ranked sailors in the world. First off, Dunkerbecks’ mast snapped moments before his heat, but, as if by magic, mark three began to drift which bought the legend plenty of time to hitch a ride in and switch to another set of gear.
Albeau also had a lucky escape when the wind began to drop, and he was out on gear that was too small during in his semi final heat. He was left out the back and struggling to maintain his usual speed, but just as he rounded the final mark in sixth position, the wind dropped below 7 knots, causing the heat to be cancelled. Needless to say, he didnt make the same mistake again, and went straight in to grab the biggest gear he could find to win the re-run.
THE TIE BREAK RULE EXPLAINED
Throughout the final half of the event, Arrighetti and Jaggi were equal first due to them both having scored a 1st place and 2nd place finish, and therefore having accumulated 2.7 points each. In this situation Part 1 section 13.4 (event scoring: ties) of the PWA rulebook applies. This states that in the event of a tie in total points of an individual discipline the tie shall be broken.
The rules state numerous ways in which a tie shall be broken. Firstly, who has beaten the other more times, then if that doesnt do it, who has the highest number of firsts, seconds, thirds etc. If the tie still remains, then it goes on to who discarded a better result, then a sail off between the competitors can be permitted if reasonably possible. And finally, if the tie still remains between competitors ranked in the top 3, the tie is broken in favour of the highest finishing position in the last race or elimination.
Jaggi and Arrighetti had beaten each other an equal amount of times, they had an equal number of firsts and seconds, there was no discard, and a sail off was not possible, so it went right to the wire. Jaggi beat Arrighetti in the last race, and therefore took the crown.
OVERALL RANKINGS
Men
Costa Brava has certainly made the title race much more exciting in the mens fleet. Dunkerbecks win and Albeaus second place finish mean that theyre now on equal scores overall in the rankings. Dunkerbeck is currently in the lead however due to the tie break rules.
Micah Buzianis (JP, NeilPryde) has also snuck ahead of Jimmy Diaz (Starboard, North) after posting a more consistent set of results. The biggest surprise is that last years runner up, Finian Maynard (RRD, Gaastra) has slipped down to ninth, after a PMS in the race one final, and a shocking result in the semi finals of race 2 saw him scrape into the losers final in Costa Brava. Theres still plenty of events left to go though, and everything to play for!
Women
Following two consecutive wins, Karin Jaggi now stands head and shoulders above the rest of the crowd in the womens rankings. If Ala?i is the final womens racing event of the season then a 4th place or higher would see her claim back the overall world title for 2010. However, if Sarah-Quita Offringa wins in Ala?i, and Jaggi only manages a 5th, Offringa would snatch the title from her.
1st Karin Jaggi (Patrik, Severne)
2nd Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard, Gaastra)
3rd Alice Arutkin (Starboard, North)
