Yesterday saw a moderate 20 knots fill in and Brit speed sailor Zara Davis had a crack at the canal to see how things are shaping up. Fingers and toes are all crossed that the main competition will get underway soon.

Other big names who are on the ground in Namibia are Bjorn Dunkerbeck and Antoine Albeau who are both vying to smash the World Speed Record.

Watch this space to see if they can do it!

For more info check out the official site here and Facebook page here

Luderitz Speed Challenge - Namibia

Following an instructor course down at Portland Harbour, Sam Ross catches up with Kevin Greenslade. The Weymouth Speed Week Champion for the last two years, Kev certainly knows a bit about going fast. With some great winds and a revolutionary new approach to speedsailing equipment and setup, Kev explains how he managed to break the 40-knot mark.

Also spotted recently was this clip from West Kirby. As hallowed ground for speedsailors all over the country, Chris Bates provides a great onboard view as he really pushes 40 knots, using a handy Flymount.

3 November 2011: The wind lived up to the incredible forecast blew super strong on Monday (up to 55 knots), this created too much chop towards the end of the course though, so it was difficult to record fast speeds.

Tuesday was better despite there being less wind as the water state was flatter. So a lot of lessons were learnt and action is being taken to correct this. More news to follow soon at www.luderitz-speed.com

Kevin Greenslade and Ant Baker

Euro Speed Tour organiser Pete Davis brings us the latest update from Weymouth Speed Week 2011…

Weymouth Speed Week - Monday 17th October 2011

Euro Speed Tour organiser Pete Davis reports from the first windy day of Weymouth Speed Week 2011…

On the 3rd day of Weymouth Speed Week, the final leg of the Euro Speed Tour, the competitors finally got to show how fast they were. The wind gradually built throughout the day but with a falling tide, chop built up later on which made it very interesting with the morning leaders having to try hard in the afternoon to hold their positions. If the event finished today the dark horse from Luxemburg, David Garrel would win the tour by a slim margin over Thorsten Mallon from Germany. In the UKWA fleet Kev Greenslade defends his title from last year in 1st place, Ant Baker trying for the double Slalom and Speed crowns in 2nd place and Martyn Ogier from Guernsey in 3rd place.

Here’s Dave White’s image gallery from the day…

More on the day at www.gps-speedsurfing.com

Ant Baker at Weymouth Speed Week 2010

Ant Baker of the Baker Academy has released details of his forthcoming Ultimate Speed and GPS Clinic during Weymouth Speed Week 2011

When: October 15-21 – 2-day option also available

Where: Weymouth Sailing Academy, Weymouth Harbour

Info: Weymouth Speed Week offers the perfect training ground for all who want to get that little bit more from their kit on the water. We will cover everything from equipment tuning to full-speed laydown gybes. I will be competing as well so we can all together get the speed we need to take the title!

Ant Baker at Weymouth Speed Week 2010

All levels of planing windsurfers are welcome, so whether your a pro or just started to go fast, this is for you.

Six out of the seven days will be coached for the full clinic, I will also have a few 2-day clinic spaces as well, so contact me for more info.

Costs: £175 for the 6 days / £80 for 2 days

Availability: 10 Spaces available – 8 left

Min Ability: Waterstart and stay upwind

More Information and bookings: info@baker-academy.com

Check out the new and improved Baker Academy website at www.baker-academy.com

Ant Baker at Weymouth Speed Week 2010

Zara Davis tops the podium in Germany

The third event of the European Speedsailing Championship tour was held on the island of Fehmarn in Germany. It delivered some great, if challenging racing with winds up to 35 knots. Five rounds were completed by the international fleet and the lead changed 3 times over the event.  Anders Bjorkqvist from Sweden came out on top amazingly after a bad crash in the second round when he broke his finger and put his head through the sail! He carried on, taking the win by only one point over Manfred Merle from Germany who split the two storming Swedes, putting Daniel Borgelind in third.

Zara Davis with five bullets won the women’s fleet, beating her old rival Birgit Hofer who consoled herself with taking the Germans ladies crown for 2011. Zara’s speed was impressive all week underlined by the fact that she came an impressive 17^th overall in a very strong men’s fleet of sixty plus entrants.

This back to back win for Zara puts her on the top of the women’s European speed tour rankings with one event to go on home turf Weymouth, which she is hoping to win to secure her European Speed title. The men’s fleet is far from decided. Thorsten Mallon from Germany extended his lead over Patrick Van hoof from Belgium in the tour. But these two have now completed 3 events (only your best 3 results count) and the Swedes Anders Bjorkqvist and Daniel Borgelind are only 45 points behind the leader and have only completed 2 events. So a win in Weymouth will see the European title going to one of the Swedes, separated by only 1.8 points! We are looking forward to an epic battle going down to the wire.

Men’s Fleet

Women’s Fleet

Daily Report…
Day one: No wind for competition opening today but the forecast looks very good for later in the week.  A very good turnout with 70 riders competing and all the main players are here including the home favourite and current tour leader Thorsten Mallon followed very closely by Patrick Van Hoof from Belgium. David Garrel sailing for Luxembourg is also in attendance who won the Belgian event but missed the Swedish one, so could upset the close battle for the top spot. Zara Davis from the UK is also here hoping for a back to back win from Sweden but her old rival Birgit Hofer the current German ladies tour leader never makes it easy for her. Unfortunately due to work commitments Steffi Wahl the 2010 German Champion couldn’t make it.

Day two: Wind is still light but the organiser Manfred Merle is hoping to run some fun races today to to get the competitors warmed up for the wind forecast later in the week.

Day Three: Monday still not enough wind for competition

Day Three: One no counting racing today just a GPS fun race.

Day Four: Two counting races today for European tour one only for the German championships. David Garrel LUX and Anders Bjorkquist SWE are tied on points but David has the fastest speed so is leading Zara Davis GBR leads the women. Anders had a bad crash and went through his sail and broke this finger and had to go to hospital but I am sure he will be back on the water tomorrow.

Day Four:a frustrating day for racers and organisers. Due to the wind direction the water level in this area dropped by over a meter overnight and the race officer decide to delay starting till the afternoon in the hope that the level would come back. This was the windiest period unfortunately with winds of 25 to 35 knots. The level didn’t rise but the organisers didn’t want to waste the wind so a round was run but it was very shallow and weed became a real problem. The Swedish liked these conditions as it is very similar to their home speed spot and both Anders and Daniel from Sweden took first and second places in the international fleet putting Anders in 1st place overall. Zara Davis made it three in a row with Birgit Hofer close behind. In the German National Championship Michael Naumann is winning every race and needs one more win to secure his lead overall in the 2011 German speed tour.

Day Five: The wind has dropped to 20 knots, but the water hs come back. Two rounds completed today, the top spots stay the same but the dark horse, Manfred Merle is moving up the list and is now a close 2nd place in the international fleet. Michael Naumann made it a clean sweep with 1st place in every race in the German nationals and should take the German tour title.

Last two days there was not enough wind for competition so mid day Saturday prize giving was staged, and the competitors made their way home for a well earned rest.

Anders Bringdal crash

Thorsten Mallon

The 2011 German Speedsurfing Championships take place in Fehmarn, 3-11 September – for the first time this event is licensed by ISWC and is one of the five European Championship rounds.

International competitors will take part from all over Europe as this event will count as one of their major point scoring locations to decide the European Champions for 2011. They have confirmed entry for top German national speedsurfers like Manfred Merle, Thomas Doeblin and the current tour leader Thorsten Mallon will be there as well as international stars such as Belgians, Patrick Van Hoof and from England the world women’s No 1 Zara Davis.

For the third time, the isle of Fehmarn is the location of the final of the German Speedsurfing Tour. Constant winds and a probability of 25% 15+ kts from WSW make the Orther Reede to an ideal race spot for quality speedsurfing competitions. In the Western and Eastern Orther Reede one can stand in the water almost everywhere, but with chop up to 40cm and sea grass, weed fins are recommended.

This event is a very popular on the speedsurfing scene and where several brands like Ka.sails, Severne sails, Gaastra sails, Starboard and F2 will exhibit their products. Registration is open now until 14th August. Please register at www.speedwindsurfen.de

Places are limited so register early. Participants can stay overnight in tents or caravans at the regatta place (limited space – please register early!). Appartments are available in Orth and additional camping place is in Fluegge approximately 5km away – www.campingparadies-fehmarn.de

Please contact Roswitha Merle for further assistance – roswitha.merle@tiho-hannover.de

Zara Davis