Broken barriers! New records were broken on almost every day of the 2012 event! Here’s something for the windsurfing record books: On the fourth day of the event, the never-beforebroken 50-knot barrier was properly smashed: first by Swedish record holder Anders Bringdal (50.41 and then 50.46), and then by Antoine Albeau from France (50.62 knots). Pushed on a daily basis by Anders, Antoine broke the World Record eight times over the competition’s fourweek period, ending with the fastest time of 52.05 knots, making him World Champion for the 20th time! He took his leave saying, “The Lüderitz Speed Challenge is the dream of every speed fanatic!” What’s more, many national records and national multidiscipline records were also improved, with Namibia’s very own Matthias Röttcher reaching 47.34 knots on the fifth day of the event. At time of going to print, the kitesurfing part of the event was still in full swing. Future challenges can only be legendary!
Lüderitz Speed Challenge
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n end-of-year highlight for wind- and kite-surfers is the 5th annual Lüderitz Speed Challenge, which is taking place from 5 November to 16 December.
At about the same time every year when the Christmas rush gains momentum, a group of international speed freaks hit the coastal town of Lüderitz to compete for the title of king or queen of speed sailing. Here, the international wind- and kite-surfing communities meet to battle it out in the reputable event-specific canal that officially made Lüderitz the fastest sailing spot on earth. All set to break the 60-knot barrier The super-speed canal, which was constructed with the exclusive aim of smashing the ultimate speed record, allowed Rob Douglas to exceed the 55-knot barrier in 2010. Only two contesters worldwide have ever attained these speeds, and both of them on the Lüderitz Canal. But once you’ve tasted success, you’ll forever be hungering for more, and, of course, the organisers couldn’t wait to go bigger and better. “Old records are no news,” explained organisers Sébastien Cattelan (European record holder and GPS worldrecord holder) and Sophie Routaboul (second-fastest woman in the world). The canal was then widened, lengthened and deepened to create even smoother water surfaces, and enable faster speeds. And this year’s challenge is to break the 60-knot barrier! “No other event or place in the world would be more suitable to attempt this crazy record!” Windsurfers will strut their stuff from 5 November to 2 December, while kite-surfers will battle it out from 3 to 16 December. Participants include a whole range of international, recordbreaking speed fanatics, including Namibia’s very own Stefan Metzger, who holds the current local record in kite-surfing. www.luderitz-speed.com
TRAVEL NEWS NAMIBIA SUMMER 2012/3
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