SEBASTIEN CATTLELAN has done it:
50.26
In a blistering first run of the day Catman charged down the speed strip in Luderitz... the wind was a whopping 45knots at times, and during breakfast you could see the anticipation of something great happening...
the clock read 50.3, but after verification it came back at 50.26... the mystical barrier has been broken...
Seb's GPS read 58 - could 60 be on the cards, tomorrows forecast is predicted to be even stronger than today... but as of now Seb is the new Outright Speed Record Holder...
Still to be ratified but awesome work none the less, Seb's been pushing it for a while now so hopefully it will be approved.
The scarey part is the reading the last 2 Para's
Heres the full article
Nah - cheer up Elmo: 50 knots is the hydraulic equivalent of Mach 1.
That's why it's such a b*gger to get through, but once you're through, the drag/speed slope flattens off, and it's comparatively easy to go to 60, 70 and onwards.
That's why the kiters are showing 58's on the dial with such ease - it's not because they've just got so much more potential than windsurfers (although I also reckon there's more potential there that hasn't been exploited yet), it's just that that extra bit of grunt they've got has managed to tug them through Mach 1, and (if you'll pardon the pun), it's plain sailing out the other side.
So once the windsurfers have figured out a way to crack 50 themselves and keep almost nothing but the fin in the water, I actually wouldn't be surprised if they managed to overtake the kiters -> do ya reckon the Tonster (Tony W) will have the b*lls to do 70kn?
Do you have the b*lls for it?
Dunno about the Tonster - starting to show his age a bit...
Mind you, if he does show he's got the Cremaster for it... just think, in a few years time he could be the founding member of the "Senior Citizens @ 70 knots Club".
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I think it's great, once it's ratified I think it will also end up like the 4 minute mile, the 30knot, 40knot barriers.
Once the floodgates are opened more will follow.
Now wheres that 40knot barrier
According to Cattelan, his record breaking run of today saw a maximum speed of 58 knots – 107kph – on the GPS, with an average of 54.5 knots over 200m.
interesting... if his peak was 58, and ave 54 over 200m then you can assume his min speed was ~ 50.
An 8 knot difference over 200m or 7 seconds! This is quite a different kettle of fish to the fast windsurfing (and other sail powered craft) runs where they seem to get pegged out against a drag wall. This, I suspect illustrates the ground effect drag reduction skim. Of course it could have been a wicked gust and demontrates that there really is no top end limit for kites.
I guess the next race is to be first to 100 km/h.
Congratulations to the Catman.
That's awesome!
I think this and recent results from kitesurfers puts more pressure on windsurfers to look at alternative higher power/lower drag design systems - something I'm passionate about. But I feel there's still fear of change from the windsurfing community, which is ironic considering we were once at the forefront of watercraft innovation. Clearly a peak speed of 58knots is way out of reach of current windsurfer design (and I'd love to see anyone contradict me) and that it appears some threshold has been surpassed by the kites. I see no such threshold being surpassed by windsurfers at the moment - just a steady but slowing increase in top speeds over a 25 year period.
For the time being, we remain very good at refining design, not innovating. This approach is good for getting more people on the water and having fun, but every now and then we must innovate too. We can innovate and have fun at the same time! 
I reckon its great that the kites are pushing forward. Seb is also a good windsurfer I might add...
Windsurfing has not reached a limit yet. I'm sure of that. But there is a fundamental limitation we do face. We can only generate a limited amount of lift from the sail due to the moment being balanced with our body weight, and needing the centre of effort to be a minimum height above the water (to maintain a reasonable aspect ratio). The kite has a significant advantage in that the centre of effort can be placed very low, thus reducing the need to use weight and leverage to get power. The trick we use to be fast is efficiency. Our hydrodynamic lift is several times more efficient than a kite board. But that comes with a penalty at very high speeds- cavitation. The faster we go, the lower the pressure on the low pressure side which is giving us our efficiency advantage. But at some point the dissolved gas and small bubbles in the water will expand and cause a reduction in lift, whilst increasing drag. There goes the efficiency advantage!
With a kite there are several fundamental advantages. They can generate multiple times the power of a windsurfing rig with the same sized rider, which corresponds directly to accelleration. So they can really whip up to speed very quickly. This means they can go really fast on shorter courses like luderitz, AND take advantage of short gusts. And of course the advantage of the kite board is its only working with a high pressure side, so no cavitation mechanism is kicking in. The limit for kites will be wind speed, board stability (attachment to the water), and rider strength!
The kite speeds will continue to rise.
fantastic to see someone break the 50kt. barrier on a kite..but i'd really like to see a windsurfer do it
..nevertheless kudos to Sebastian for doing so now he has raised the bar and everyone will be rethinking every bit of gear just to break this one..i really had a feeling about this since last year but it's good for all the windsports
fantastic to see someone break the 50kt. barrier on a kite..but i'd really like to see a windsurfer do it..nevertheless kudos to Sebastian for doing so now he has raised the bar and everyone will be rethinking every bit of gear just to break this one..i really had a feeling about this since last year but it's good for all the windsports
Bloody Hell, Alex C did 50.57 yesterday.
Still to be ratified but that's smokinghttp://www.luderitz-speed.com/ContentPages/News/News.aspx?pageid=1
Was talking to someone who pointed out that if "sailing" involves a non-solid attachment to the rig, then its only a matter of time before they put a waterskier on the back of one of those huge a 30+ knots catamarans, and get him to slice across the wake (like they do before a water ski jump) a few times. Easily get 60 knots, and he would be powered by sail...
This could get silly!
windjunky i don't think you would get a very high average speed over 500m whipping on a water ski behind a big trimaran. the fact that it is an average speed over a distance means that you are measuring velocity made good. as such your vmg when being towed by a trimaran will be equal to the speed of the trimaran. unless of course you were on a ludiccrously long rope which created an arc with a chord length of 500m. but that is pretty much impossible.
Windjunky. Hey I see you've opened up ye olde chestnut again. How about we move on from the question of what is a sailing craft and concentrate on bettering speeds mate?
The WSSRC has.
Just got this via stalkernet facebook:
Sebastien Cattlelan was leading the day with a run of 50.6 knots, only to be bettered by Rob Douglas with 50.7...
and South Africa's Taro Niehaus has broken the outright African sailing record...
all this will be verified this evening and I'll send you the exact results...
No, records today but 3 riders doing 50.5's (once you open the floodgates)
Tomorow they think all the planets may align with stronger winds and better tides
A bit green are we? Elmo's on the money, I got this this morning:
Alexander Caizergues(FRA) record of 50.57 knots still stands as both Rob Douglas(USA) and Sebastien Cattelan(FRA) came extremely close with runs of 50.54 and 50.52 knots respectively...
From wondering if someone would break the “50 knot barrier” at the Lüderitz Speed Challenge 2008, we now how three sailors well clear of it, and all separated by a mere 0.05 knots...
South Africa's Taro Niehaus set a new South Africa and Africa outright record of 48.47 knots...CONGRATULATIONS...
I've got some Irish in me Pat so I'm more than a bit green. Bring me a shrubbery (Monty referance again). Actually I admire the kiters for the speeds they are achieving, it's great to see speed back in the public conscience again. With kiters, windsurfers and boats all after the holy grail of the outright record the sport couldn't be healthier. My money is on the boats to have the record by the end of the year and I hate to say it but I don't see windsurfers getting 50 knots over 500m anytime soon. The torch has been passed and the new knights of speed ride steeds of steel and plastic with crossbow kites their weapons of power!
a bit more competition with Hydroptere going over 50kts max!
yoyo: note the stepped hulls/outriggers. A pretty common feature on fast watercraft like offshore powerboats, seaplanes, Dan Engdahls board (did he use it recently?) and other craft.
www.hydroptere.com/_en/
and pics
www.bymnews.com/photos/displayimage.php?album=422&pid=70618
You can see in there why they have such high peaks compared with their 500 metre speeds; he's really not going very straight at all is he? It looks like a series of little bursts and then - whoops! let's just bring that back under control.
It suggests to me they have a long way to go yet.
