The greatest revelation of the Lüderitz Speed Challenge 2009 is the possibility of kiters riding under full sail (and at full speed) in a channel. Currently the only channel purpose-built for speed is in Sainte Marie de la Mer in France, where only windsurfers have been able to compete and produce great times. Before the 2009 Lüderitz event, no-one could imagine kiteboarders also working in a channel. The channel in France is 30 metres wide and 800 metres long , the one in Lüderitz was only three metres wide and 800 m long.

An unfortunate accident happened to Jerome Bila on the last day of racing. He and another competitor crossed lines near the finish and this caused Jerome’s kite to launch him in the air, he landed on his back breaking a vertebrae. Jerome has since had surgery and is recovering well; feeling and movement are already returning. He’s receiving the best medical attention and daily visits from friends for moral support.

The last day of racing saw Rob Douglas hit just over 50 knots, with his brother Jamie close behind with an excellent 48.67 (both on Cabrinha kites), and Alex Caizergues (F-One) again in the top three with 48.55.
Charlotte Consorti (F-One) had another very good day with a top speed of 43.07 knots, and Melissa Gil (Cabrinha) marginally upped her US outright women’s record to 38.00 knots.

The event organisers opened the strip yesterday for two sessions, one at mid-day on the falling tide and one in the late evening when it returned. Wind was strong, but not epic, with a good consistent 30 to 40 knots. Jernej Privsek (Jägermeister) broke the Slovenian outright speed sailing record, improving his 43.42 mark from last year with an excellent 44.55 knots.

The Speed Strip was opened yesterday at 2PM to take advantage of the incoming tide to give competitors as much time on the water as possible. Many of the bravest took chances in marginal water conditions at the start, having to sail perfectly judged lines to stay in the deeper water. Even a fraction of a second of lost concentration or unfortunate choice of racing line meant a hard crash – and these were legion, with numerous awesome face-plants at over 40 knots.

 Today began a couple hours later than yesterday as riders waited for the tide to drop and the wind to peak.  After yesterday’s great conditions and fantastic results, many riders wanted to conserve their energy to make sure they were taking full advantage of the run when it was at its optimum condition. While conditions were good, they weren’t as huge as yesterday.  It was a touch less windy, and there was some strange chop throwing up sudden rough patches.

 Frenchman Alex Caizergues (F One) has broken the world kiteboarding speed record with an incredible time of 50.98 knots, breaking his previous world record of 50.57.  

Rob Douglas (Cabrinha) also set a new American outright speed sailing record with an equally impressive time of 50.95knots.

 It was obvious from the onset that today was going to be a different day.  The locals and other spectators were already at the beach before many of the riders got there, and on only the third timed run of the day, yesterday’s best time was beaten.  The wind was blowing a lot harder so many riders switched to smaller (7 to 9 meter) kites, and quickly many riders started having their fastest runs thus far.

  After a week of near calm, broken only by bizarrely unseasonal rainstorms and drizzle, today dawned bright, clear and windy. The speed strip was opened again, and competitors had another opportunity to train and familiarize themselves with it.  A number of new people have arrived in the past few days - Fred Kloren, Hennie Bredenkamp, Marc Avela pulled into town yesterday evening from Cape Town, and needed a bit of a run to get the 1100km of sitting in a comfy chair out of their legs. It was a great preview for tomorrow,  especially for the competitors who had arrived as recently as yesterday.

 In the build up to this weekend’s forecast of heavy wind, many people are optimistic that this year’s Speed Challenge will again produce new national and international speed sailing records.  What many people overlook though, is the fact that these results will only become official records after the governing body, the World Sailing Speed Records Council of the International Sailing Federation, ratifies the results.  This is why Michael Ellison, the WSSRC commissioner overseeing the 2009 Lüderitz Speed Challenge, is a very important man.