HAM
(HawaiianAMerican)
Speed Challenge ‘10

Press Release-

The Nassp team has been inivted as Team New England to compete in the 2010 HAM Challenge against Team Hawaii and Team Gorge.  The team with the fastest 3 runs averaged together over the 100 meters, 1 mile and 500 meter jibe course will be declared the 2010 HAM Champion.  Windsurfers will go head to head with the kitesurfers to see who is the fastest sailor and craft and who has the fastest piece of water in America.

The Hawaiian team includes former overall world record holder Eric Beale (40.48 knots) and legendary waterman Alex Aguera.

log on to www.gps-speedsailing.com for details, speeds and updates

2010 heavyweight fight

.03 knots again……….

unbelievable!!!

More fuel for next year.

New board templates have been made.  New designs will be tested asap.  2010 is going to see kites break and set a new overall world speed sailing record………Cabrinha will be there and the NASSP team will be bigger and stronger.

The Black Dog Cup - October 2010

- A speed sailing invitational event on Martha’s Vineyard USA

- The worlds 12 fastest - “The Best of the Best”

- America vs. France

-Cabrinha vs. F One

Notice of race - TBA

Day 6 of racing took place on Wednesday, Nov. 25.  This was the only day of the event that the race was open twice in one day.  Surprisingly, the wind came up to above forecast.  The strip was opened at 12noon in an attempt to take advantage of the optimum conditions in the trench as the water receded from the 2^nd Lagoon.  Rob and Jamie were the first sailors out, intent upon getting out early and making the most of the building wind.  On the second run, in a wind of around 25-30,  Rob hit a 47 and Jamie posted a 46.5 knots.  Other sailors were scrambling to get to the water…many arrived late and missed out on the favorable conditions.  Water was moving out quickly, the red flag was raised and the course was closed at around 2:00.  The event site was vacated during the time of low tide, with most competitors back at their accommodations, resting and waiting for the tide to come back up in the evening.  The breeze continued to blow at around 30, building up to 35 strong by the evening.  Sailors waited patiently for the trench to fill in and for the course to be re open.

The green flag went up at around 4:30pm and many sailors hit the water for tune up runs in preparation for the ideal conditions in the trench which would follow, as the lagoon began to flood.  Gebi got some great video of Rob laying down some runs…passing distance on some of them came within a few feet of distance…or about an arm’s length!! 

The green flag went up as the sun began to settle in the west.  Would there be enough time for the trench to fill in to provide for adequate water depths of 18cm while there was still enough light? Could this be the evening the Rob would take back the world record?  Moments later, Alex Caizergues blasted a 49.28 on the outside.  Jamie had kite troubles and barely made it off the beach…disappointed, underpowered and not prepared – a lesson learned.  Rob snuck in a 48.48, good enough for second fastest on this day.  Rob’s 47 combined with his 48.48 were good enough to claim the highest average of the day, a consolation prize if you will.  As the sun settled behind the mountains bordering the 2^nd Lagoon, race organizers had to close the course because they could not recognize competitor’s numbers on the back of their race jerseys.  Darkness soon fell upon Luderitz..Top speeds on Race #6 were: Alex, Rob, Christophe, and Jamie in 4^th.

This is Team NASSP’s second year sojourn to Luderitz’s Second Lagoon in Namibia to partake of the world’s fastest speed sailing strip. We brought Rob’s brother Jamie Douglas with us this year and he is currently running top 5 at this year’s event, giving his older brother a run for the money, posting a 47.7 knot run and quickly becoming a threat to the top players.  Also, Melissa Gill is with us and she has broken the USA Women’s outright speed record claiming it from Windsurfer Meg McKenzie, which was 36.23 upping it to 37.52 knots. Nice job M!  We are driven by the chance to break world speed sailing records, to push the limits of our kitesurfing speed equipment, and to take back the Outright Speed Sailing 500 Meter Record.

World Record Alley

Right now “Hydroptere” has on the WSSRC record books an (open water) run of 51.36 knots average speed over 500 meters. Hydroptere is a 65 foot long trimaran that rides on some pretty cool looking hydrofoils, so it does not matter if the surface of the water is rough, as only the relatively small area of the foils is cutting through the water.  What we found intimidating about Hydroptere’s world record speed is that they did it in an average of 28 knots of wind. 51.36 knots in 28 knots of wind….now that is some serious efficiency.

Up until last year, for speed kiters to go anywhere near 50 knots, we needed 45 knots plus wind speed. But we quickly found out this year on the Luderitz Second Lagoon speed site that we could post runs of  47 knots in winds  averaging 25 knots and gusting to 30. In winds of 30 to 35 knots with gusts to around 40 knots we are getting runs of 50.98 by Alex and a super close run of 50.95 knots by Rob, (Rob’s top run breaks his last American record which are now his fastest two speeds on a kite, just within striking distance of Hydroptere’s World Record run.

NASSP Workshop / Living Room

Now where we are not comparing apples to oranges is in how the 500 meter distances are recorded. Hydroptere is using a high precision GPS system, allowing them to sail around and track, on say a 10 mile long run. Then they choose the fastest 500 meter piece of track and that becomes their record. The kiters are limited to going fast by the surface of the water. If the water is flat then the higher speeds are easily achieved. Right now the kiters are sailing an arc, meaning they are having to follow the protective contours of Luderitz’ Second lagoon shoreline. Where the lagoons shoreline is broken up, we have built chop killers; make shift wooden walls that block the chop from blowing the kiters off of their edges.

The good news is the efficiency of the kiters and speed boats is coming closer to being equal. So what has brought the efficiency of the kiters up so much since last year? Well it is a number of factors. Better boards, better kites and a better speed course. Board designs are evolving, with more refined shapes expressing better flex characteristics.  The flex of the boards is tuned to the weight of the riders allowing the power of the kite to be transmitted more effectively to the board as they blast through chop at high speeds. The kite designs as evolving as well. The kites generate less bar pressure in stronger winds, and depower more efficiently. The stability of the kites is improving, thus giving the riders more confidence to stay on the gas even when the ride becomes scary at speed.

Last, but maybe the most important improvement, has come in the improved speed course that Seb Cat “dug” for us this year. What Seb Cat did is dig a speed ditch 2 meters wide and a half a meter deep, that follows the natural arc of the lagoon’s shoreline. No one would argue that Sebastian Cattelan is the craziest of all the speed kiters.  He was among the first to drive up to Luderitz and ride in winds 50 to 55 knots in 2 inches of water, hitting “top speed spikes” of over 61 knots!

When we saw the ditch for the first time, all of the speed kiters thought it would be next to impossible to make it down the course “In the ditch,” especially at lower tides, and not risk serious harm if you made a mistake and crashed.  The Seb Cat ditch is 4 foot wide at the entrance and 6 foot wide at its widest point. The ditch is dug 3 feet downwind from a wooden chop killer for over half the course. The problem with the ditch and more importantly the wooden chop killer break wall, is that if you run out of wind, say as in a lull, while in the ditch, you can easily fall back and crash into the wooden chop killer at speed.

Black Dog Team Rider Christophe Prin-Guenon

This very scenario happened to Sjouki Bradenkamp’s (fastest woman in the world) father Henne, who smashed into the chop killer at over 40 knots, during a speed run. Henne broke off the nose of his board as it hit first, then crashed into the wooden wall with his front thigh, (luckily he is around 6’4” and 230 pounds) breaking off a 4 inch thick post of wood and seriously bruising his leg. Henne is lucky to be alive and has been limping around for the past week and will be off the water till his leg heals and he builds a new speed board. Also at the entrance of the course, kiters pushing the limit of the water depth, have hit the entry of the course only to blow their line by a few feet and run out of water, What follows then are some spectacular high speed crashes with riders seen kart wheeling over the dry sand bank just down wind. Amazingly enough no one has gone to the hospital yet!

What we do know about top speeds is that besides Sebastian, Hydroptere is the only other water sailing craft to post top speeds over 60 knots. Sebastian is hitting his 61 knot runs at a 155 degree angle off of the wind and in 2 to 3 inches of water… Seb Cat can only do this in Luderitz when it is so windy it is hard to walk, like a solid 50 to 55 knots of wind! What we do know now is that if we make the course straight we will easily post runs 2 to 5 knots faster over the 500 meter course. So next year we already have plans to make a bigger chop killer out of a man made “sand bank” that will be 5 feet tall and will be straight in line with our fastest angle.

Right now Rob and Alex are already faster than Hydroptere in a 500 meter arc, but because we are riding over an arc across the measured 500 meter course we are sailing an extra 10 to 15 meters. With only 2 more days of medium wind forcasted for this event’s window timeline it looks like next year will be out best chance to smash the new outright speed sailing record.

The wind has once again shifted to a northerly direction in Luderitz. The 2009 Luderitz Speed Challenge has been challenged by abnormal winds which have frequently been coming from the north - onshore. As this happens, the town of Luderitz takes on the feel of a San Francisco summer day, warm but cold, with a bank of sea fog settling in just offshore. No Golden Gate, just sand.

Display At Cape Cod Maritime MusuemAmerica

The last racing day came on Sunday, November 22^nd. Winds cooperated and exceeded forecast, building to a raceable 30knots from the south…thus opening up the speed strip to competitors. Rob and Jamie both used the biggest kites they had, 10 m Crossbow and 10m Switchblade, respectively.

The green flag went up, signaling the opening of the course while the water was near low tide. Thus, unlike other days, such as during Rob’s record run, sailors had to wait until there was enough water in the trench…waiting for the higher tide so there was water to run on.

Waiting on the higher tide created an interesting beginning of the day. Many sailors crashed repeatedly while underestimating water depth, running in depths of less than a few inches, trying to get into the trench. Black Dog team rider Christophe Prin-Guenon, despite an ugly crash that sent him 10 feet airborne and hard onto the dry sand, won the day with an impressive 46.88 knots. Another member of Team Black Dog, Melissa Gill of Jupiter, Florida set a new American outright speed record for women with a 37.62 knots.

Gebi Tunes a Board

Rob came in a close second with a 46.54 knots. Alex, the World Champion, took a 3^rd. Jamie, at 44.23 knots took 5^th on the day.

The wind forecast looks promising for Wednesday and Thursday but water levels at the period of maximum winds will once again be challenging. So instead of Thanksgiving with the family at Uncle Greg’s we may be putting the pedal down in Luderitz !

Rob Takes on the Press

After another run at 44. knots I now knew we had to make a kite change.  As I made my move to the pits, I saw that coach was one step ahead and had rigged the back up 9 meter CB………perfect!  We switched quickly and discussed some issues that we were having and noticed the level of tide.  It was now or never. The next run with the new kite at 2:22 felt good  but different…….I picked a good line but not too aggressive with the new kite….. its not fast if I loose it in the middle and kiss the wooden chop killer fence at over 50 knots.

As I crossed the finish line I saw 48 kts on the display………there we go and heard a yell from coach who’s voice carried nicely downwind in the 40 kts..

At 2:30 we punched another 48 kt run and now felt ready to put the coals to the new kite on the next run.

At 2:43, and with time running out for perfect conditions on the day, I saw Jamie make a seriously aggressive run, high at the start and committed……….I saw his line and he had rolled the dice perfectly……I gybed, checked the green flag at the start, pushed my foot deep into the straps and committed to my next run.  I smacked the start at over 48 kts knots and picked a high line against the chop killer…..the tide was really starting to suck lower now and was putting some heavy chop onto the course under a section of the chop killer…..I went defensive in the middle at 47 kts but picked it up to over 50 kts at the half way point.  As I approached the dog leg and final section of “World Record Alley” I applied full power to the board and saw the speeds increase to over 54kts as I headed for the 150 degree downwind finish……a nice little gust at the end and I crossed the line at over 49.5 kts……….things were getting good.

The course, my mind and the equipment felt ready now.  No time to change boards as the conditions were perfect and not going to last.  On my feet I had the #7 board…….not my favorite but she would have to do.

At 2:50 I was back at the top of the course but things had changed……the fickle and always confusing tide in the 2^nd lagoon had retreated and left a dry run up and entry area into the course.  The course had the required water depth but getting to the trench before the start with enough room to get the speed over 50 wasn’t a possibility now.  I had to wait and see if the tide would make a final push.  The start had to be over 50 kts if I wanted a 50.5 kts or better run.  For the next 20 minutes I waited at the top with one or 2 other riders and saw the tide move in and out.  I took a sight on the beach and knew what I needed for water depth.  I waited and waited, remembering coach’s words.  “Sometimes, snipers wait for hours, even days for one shot…….it only takes one shot.”

At 3.12 the water in 2^nd lagoon made its move and so did I.  Here she goes………full power for one last run.  I punished the staring line with the GPS reading over 51 kts and got a great piece of wind to carry me through to the middle of the course……..a quick drop in speed for the rough section to 47 kts and then max power to the Curtis fin and Mike Z. custom board and more sheet on the 9m Cabrinha Crossbow……. my speed jumped to 55 kts.   I knew we had something at this point and now I had to survive the bottom and keep the power on.  The bottom of the course felt good but my legs were shot after 3 hours of hard sailing.  As I headed down the final section I was physically unable to stand on the tail but managed to cross the line at over 52 kts.  I managed a quick peak at the display and saw a 50.5 go up and knew we had put ourselves in a position to win.

At approx. 10pm that night the official times were released and it had come down to Alex (F-21) and me for a new world record for kitesurfing.  At the end, I had recorded a new American record of 50.95 (.2 kts deduction for current) and Alex once again like déjà vu was quicker by .03 kts or less than 24 cm over the 500 meter course………amazing.  A true battle to the end and the birth of a true rivalry.

Final analysis of the run had me with the fastest max GPS run and the best start of gthe day but the 48 knot mistake in the middle had been a painful lesson.  My GPS recorded a 51.58 run over the 500 but a 50.95kt run over the course……….so close yet so far.  I am very happy to know that my 500 speed is world record caliber (Hydroptere 51.36) and tells us that we are close…..very close, healthy and ready for another historic opportunity in Africa.

Rob Douglas US-555

The new American speed sailing record happened on November 14^th 2009 at 3:13 pm local or 8:13 EST.

PART 1

Rob Douglas US-555 on the Luderitz speed strip

I started Saturday with a plan. Coach Gebhardt and I discussed the strategy days before when Wind Guru (weather forecast) first showed the 40 to 45 kts of south wind for Luderitz. We knew the tide was going to be best at approx. 1hour and 15 minutes after the 1:27 pm high tide in 2^nd lagoon. We had been watching the wind peak in Luderitz at around 2:30 for over 2 weeks………the tide and wind were going to come together to provide very fast conditions then, maybe even record conditions - and we would be waiting.

I launched early, at around 12:30 after the skipper’s meeting when the tide was coming up and made a few test runs in the 40’s…mid fleet speed, getting in about 25 minutes of warm up sailing. The 25 kts breeze and gusts to 30 were improving. A few quick warm ups to check the gear and check the mind. I planned to run the powerful 9 meter Crossbow 2010 from Cabrinha along with my smallest board oddly nicknamed “Big Dog” after the large artwork on the nose.

Weeks before I had sent brand new boards back to my shaper Mike Z. for a few last modifications and little did I know that the plans for the day would change. After a few sub par runs in the low 41’s and 42’s, I took notice of Alex Caizergues FRA and Seb Cattelan FRA who were posting first runs of 47 and 46kts……….the mind kicked in and started asking questions. “Yo, did you see Seb just mow down that 47 kt run like he was sleeping? Hey, Alex looked like he was bored with his 46 and just waiting to take over when the wind increases to 45kts”. Hey, Rob can you to pick up the pace? Just then my brother Jamie slipped a 43.5 run and the mind knows we have equipment problems. Not now!!!!

After sailing the 6 minutes up to the start, my next run topped out at 44 kts…….not too good if I wanted to stay close to the leaders as they made the push to the elusive 50’s. Not many sailors have made runs north of 50……actually only 5 in world history.

One more run at around 43 kts at approx. 1:30 and I jumped the chop killer and went to the pits to change up.. Coach was already there…he knew we had already been on the water forty minutes too long, burning the legs up too early……. things were not right and the plan was not being followed. I switched to my bigger board with more rocker, talked to coach briefly, hydrated and quickly went back out. I pushed a next run into the low 45’s…better but so was world record holder Alex who had moved into the 48’s.

I was burning the legs up that were going to be needed when the course got flatter and as wind built past 40kts………we were running out of time!

Part 2 - tbc tomorrow

The weather has been unusual this year in Luderitz.  Historically, November has been a very windy month with many rideable days.  But this year, that pattern has been thrown off.  Strong winds have been coming for periods of a few days at a time and they have been followed by extended periods of no wind- calmness or onshore notherlies and fog.  Luderitz is a small, isolated and seacoast town of the southwest coast of Africa, surrounded by desert.  When the wind is not blowing competitors at the Ludertiz Speed Challenge must find things to do.

There is always something you can do to go faster.  Tweaking equipment can be an endless procedure.  Fins, Kites, boards, straps and harnesses can be adjusted in the field.  The Luderitz speed strip is a unique venue and testing for this event is best done here.  Over the past few days the NASSP team has been making adjustments.  (see pic of Gebi and Rob)

Hard at Work Making it Faster

Our living quarters are now thoroughly covered in fiberglass dust, and etc.  (Jackie would not be happy with us).  Cut off pieces of tails and rails, fiberglass, and used chunks of sandpaper are accumulating.  When traveling around 60mph over water our speed boards are resonating all kinds of pressure on our legs.  A little more or less here or there can make the rider more comfortable and able to apply more effective horsepower from the kite to the water.  The easier the ride the more the sailor can pay attention the course, no small feat when traveling around 60 mph over inches of water….that is why they call it sailing on the edge.

Warma and Windy (sometimes)

Rob currently trails Alex by .03 knots for the kite speed world record.  Rob needs about .30 knots to surpass the catamaran yacht Hydroptere to once again  become the fastest sailor on earth.  Jamie trails the 5^th place competitor by .03knots as well and must show improvement if he wants to become a real player in this event. We will make some adjustments.

Wind is once again in the forecast for Luderitz.  We will keep our eyes on potential pressure building for Saturday and Wednesday of next week.  Keep you eyes posted to the blog for “Coaches Corner” as Gebi writes his first blog soon.

Luderitz Claims Victim

Rob’s best run was a dramatic, end of the day, tide going out event.  He waited near the top of the course for the best combination of wind and tide…the last competitor on the course of the day.  With the tide near minimum requirements, Rob was forced to sail in the newly dug speed trench for the entire 500m.

Rob With Pedal Down

Jamie posted his best run of 47.7 knots during Saturday’s competition in winds gusting 45knots.  Jamie’s success rate for completing runs has been low, many resulting in crashes near the bottom of the course.  With this speed Jamie became the 2^nd fastest American sailor in history…surpassing windsurfer Roddy Lewis (44.21 knots in Fuerteventura, Spain in 1995)  Still developing his stance and gaining more kite / board knowledge / control, Jamie is happy to have moved up in the overall event rankings…currently sitting in 6^th place.  The other American sailor is Mike Hall of St. Petersburg, Florida just a few places back.

Sunday brought less wind (35 knots) and a more square course as the wind backed into a southerly direction.  Rob won the day with a 50 knot + run out pacing Alex Caizergues (current world record kitespeed champion) of France who posted a run of around 48.5 knots, 2^nd place for the day.  The wind has now gone calm in Luderitz.  Competitive conditions probably won’t arrive until later in the week.

Jamie Approaching Finish Line

With these recent results Team Black Dog / NASSP currently are the two fastest sailors in US history.

Rob With Back to the Chopkiller at 50+

Saturday saw winds around 40-50 knots as forecasted.  Official speeds have just been released…Alex in 1^st with 50.97 (new kite record), Rob in 2^nd  and just behind with 50.95 (previous best was 50.54), and Seb. In 3^rd with 49.31knots.  Ideal water surface conditions existed at around 4pm when the winds were maxed.  9m kites fully lit.  These ideal water surface conditions exist for approximately 1 hour as the tide goes out and the lagoon becomes shallower.  Rob’s 2^nd place run was in the speed ditch…this means his back and shoulders were literally several feet away from the 1^st chop killer – an amazing feat while speeding at almost 60mph.  Not to overblow it but this speed course puts sailors on the razor’s edge.  The speed ditch, when the tide empties, is surrounded by a wooden fence and dry sand…the width of the speed ditch is approximately 4’.   WOW ! 

Jamie’s best run was in the neighborhood of 47.5knots (with a total of about 8 complete runs down the course in lifetime) and will be official in a few hours. 

Sunday’s forecast looks like lighter winds so it should be a good tuning day.  Check luderitz-speed.com for new from the official event website.

The NASSP team is just getting settled into the course after the 1^st full day of record conditions and will continue to push for higher speeds…one run at a time !

Heard the Vineyard had a good NE blow the last few days…with winds getting up to 40knots as well…sounds like speed sailing conditions in Cape Pogue.