Although very humorous, this comparisons between wind surfers and catamarans is about as informative and sensible as comparing windsurfers "speed" to ski boats, or how about comparing a windsurfer to "Geronimo" in an around the world race? How many skiers can a windsurfer pull up in 15 knots of wind?
We have all seen such “gimmicky” competitions as a human sprinter raced against a horse over 100m, and many years ago they used to race planes against cars! I don’t think anyone has really been interested in the outcome as any sort of definitive proof, one way or another, as to the relative “performance” attributes of one over the other?
If “conditions” are applied to any comparison between two very different things, then different results are forth coming. I.E. compare a windsurfer to a cat over, say, a 500-mile coastal race? Or make the comparison through a shore break with 3 metre waves. What about comparing the windsurfer to a “little Americans cup” C class cat around an “Olympic” course in 2 knots of wind? Then compare a windsurfer, sailing in 50-knot winds along a man made channel that is hardly wide enough or deep enough for a cat to actually sail in? It should be obvious to even the dimmest person, that different conditions will achieve far different result and because a cat and a windsurfer are such different craft, there cannot be any really equitable comparisons between their relative speeds, endurance, comfort, or even race, performances. So a windsurfer has been recorded at speeds approaching 50 knots? So what? My car does that in second gear! Is that any sort of a relative comparison?