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Kiteboarder manages 50.26 knots on Luderitz course #156437
10/04/08 01:21 PM
10/04/08 01:21 PM
Joined: Jul 2001
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North Europe, Sweden, Uppsala
Hakan Frojdh Offline OP
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Hakan Frojdh  Offline OP
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North Europe, Sweden, Uppsala
Wind was 45 knots!

/hakan

-- Have You Seen This? --
Re: Kiteboarder manages 50.26 knots on Luderitz course [Re: Hakan Frojdh] #156438
10/04/08 07:29 PM
10/04/08 07:29 PM
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New Hampshire, USA
windswept Offline
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It is supposed to blow even harder tommorow. Winds above 60kts.


Tom Siders
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Tornado US775
Re: Kiteboarder manages 50.26 knots on Luderitz course [Re: Hakan Frojdh] #156439
10/04/08 08:58 PM
10/04/08 08:58 PM
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US Western Continental Shelf
hobiegary Offline
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12 percent faster than wind speed. Who's impressed?

Re: Kiteboarder manages 50.26 knots on Luderitz course [Re: hobiegary] #156440
10/05/08 01:09 AM
10/05/08 01:09 AM
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West coast of Norway
Rolf_Nilsen Offline
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I am certainly impressed by their guts. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I would not want to zip along like that at 50knots behind a kite. I am getting old I guess..

Re: Kiteboarder manages 50.26 knots on Luderitz course [Re: hobiegary] #156441
10/05/08 07:57 AM
10/05/08 07:57 AM
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scooby_simon Offline
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12 percent faster than wind speed. Who's impressed?


not at all!


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Re: Kiteboarder manages 50.26 knots on Luderitz course [Re: scooby_simon] #156442
10/05/08 09:20 AM
10/05/08 09:20 AM
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New Hampshire, USA
windswept Offline
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I am at the balls they have. I dont want to diminish the fact that they broke the 50knt barrier, but I am still looking for it to be done with a boat or even wind surfer. I think the physics behind the kite boarding is different than that of other types of craft.


Tom Siders
A-Cat USA-79
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Re: Kiteboarder manages 50.26 knots on Luderitz course [Re: Hakan Frojdh] #156443
10/05/08 09:37 AM
10/05/08 09:37 AM
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North-West Europe
Wouter Offline
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And I got one simple question.

Was this record confirmed on the RETURN trip within say 15 minutes ?

Otherwise I say what I always say the best potential for beating the 50 knot barrier in any other way is to find a 80+ knots hurricane, hang 15 sq. mtr cloth in the air and be dumb enough to tie yourself to it.

Sort of like a cyclist claiming to have set a new human powered speed record by "cycling" down a steep hill.

Wouter

Last edited by Wouter; 10/05/08 09:38 AM.

Wouter Hijink
Formula 16 NED 243 (one-off; homebuild)
The Netherlands
Re: Kiteboarder manages 50.26 knots on Luderitz co [Re: Wouter] #156444
10/05/08 01:50 PM
10/05/08 01:50 PM
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Posts: 1,147
Bay of Islands, NZ
W
warbird Offline
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Quote
And I got one simple question.

Was this record confirmed on the RETURN trip within say 15 minutes ?

Otherwise I say what I always say the best potential for beating the 50 knot barrier in any other way is to find a 80+ knots hurricane, hang 15 sq. mtr cloth in the air and be dumb enough to tie yourself to it.

Sort of like a cyclist claiming to have set a new human powered speed record by "cycling" down a steep hill.

Wouter


Wouter I would agree with you there except they are saying the guy was going faster than the wind. This would suggest he was in control.

I think we have to understand that when an actual boat succeeds in beating this barrier it will mean a lot more for many reasons. These would include possible applications of the science refined back into everyday sailing. Much the same as high level racing tech goes back into everyday motoring. Where a large foiling trimaran might have had to employ new construction methods and new uses of materials etc there would be little such gains to be found in riding a flat board behind a kite.

As a rider I note that the kites and the boards on the video we all like to watch and that is doing the rounds again. With everything being equal the big tris are well faster than both boards and kites and perhaps that is the test of a record. Is it sustainable normal circumstances? Or do you have to find hallow, flat water and special wind directions etc etc.

Re: Kiteboarder manages 50.26 knots on Luderitz co [Re: warbird] #156445
10/05/08 05:10 PM
10/05/08 05:10 PM
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Posts: 612
Cape Town, South Africa
Steve_Kwiksilver Offline
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"Was this record confirmed on the RETURN trip within say 15 minutes ?"
No, it wasn`t. Neither is this a requirement in the rules for a record to be ratified, so what exactly is the point of that question, Wouter ? Did Hydroptere sail back upwind at the same speed that they managed 52knots on GPS ?

I`d have to disagree here. I think that the technology developed for a boat such as Hydroptere will make far less impact on "the science refined back into everyday sailing". If that were the case we would see a lot more folks sailing Windriders and Hobie Trifoilers, but we don`t.
In contrast to this, the kites being used are available off-the shelf from the manufacturers through dealers - or if they are prototype kites they will use that technology in next year`s kites which will be available for sale to the ordinary kitesurfer - how many of us can buy Hydroptere ?
This was proven by Rob Douglas at the beginning of the Luderitz event - he was an "unknown" contestant with 4 months of speedsailing training, and broke the windsurfer`s record, showing that the kites have massive potential.

Yes, undeniably you have to have flat water with ideal wind conditions and direction, this has been the case ever since speedsailing began, it makes no sense to try and break the landspeed record on a motocross track, why try speedsailing on lumpy water ? Each craft has their own special requirement, no-one complained when Yellow Pages took the record from windsurfers at Sandy Point, a shallow, flatwater venue.
I think that all the craft that are trying for the record are awesome in their own right - Sailrocket, Hydroptere, the windsurfers and the kiters, all for their own reasons.
Being an average person with an average income, I kind of like the idea that the equipment required costs a few thousand dollars, and not a few million. It makes it accessible to almost anyone who aspires to and has the courage to want to be the fastest.

Re: Kiteboarder manages 50.26 knots on Luderitz co [Re: Steve_Kwiksilver] #156446
10/05/08 05:17 PM
10/05/08 05:17 PM
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New Hampshire, USA
windswept Offline
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Dont forget WotRocket either. There is one other that I cannot remember the name of right now down the same lines as Sailrocket that is in the mix.


Tom Siders
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Re: Kiteboarder manages 50.26 knots on Luderitz co [Re: windswept] #156447
10/05/08 05:44 PM
10/05/08 05:44 PM
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South Carolina
Jake Offline
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Dont forget WotRocket either. There is one other that I cannot remember the name of right now down the same lines as Sailrocket that is in the mix.


Wotrocket flipped and blew into pieces a couple of months ago.


Jake Kohl
Re: Kiteboarder manages 50.26 knots on Luderitz course [Re: Wouter] #156448
10/06/08 03:47 AM
10/06/08 03:47 AM
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scooby_simon Offline
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Was this record confirmed on the RETURN trip within say 15 minutes ?



Wouter,

When did the speed sailing rules change? I was not aware that you had to make a return trip on the reciprocal bearing; what is the tolerance on the reciprocal - I struggle to hold the same course for 500m.


F16 - GBR 553 - SOLD

I also talk sport here
Re: Kiteboarder manages 50.26 knots on Luderitz course [Re: scooby_simon] #156449
10/06/08 10:35 AM
10/06/08 10:35 AM
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Wouter Offline
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The rules never changed as far as I know, they have always been skewed in this way with respect to sailing. However alot of all other speed records require a return trip, round tracks or carefully controlled ambient conditions as to prevent skewed results.

The biggest problem I see with kite surfers breaking records is just as I say. Find a tropical storm, hang 15 sq. mtr kite in the air and find a jackass type of guy to hook himself on to that. Afterall there are also no rules requiring the pilot to survive the attempt for the record to be valid ! Get my point ?

That is very different from Yellow pages doing (what ?) 46.83 knots in 20 knots winds ! Or having Hydropthere doing close to 50 knots in 30 knots winds and open water seastate.

It is the difference between a downright brute force approach and the elegance of technologically efficient course.

It is not that I dislike kite surfers (I don't) but when as an engineer I'm too impressed by 50 knots average in say 45 average winds. Sorry, that is 45 knots due to the wind and only 5 knots due to the design and pilot. Compare that to Yellow pages : 20 knots due to wind and another 26 knots due to design and pilot.

You know when I will be impressed by the kite surfers ? When they TOO start doing 40+knots in 20 knot winds then the kite design will have really progressed beyond the brute force approach. Then they will have something interesting. Current the name of the Kite situation seems to be to find enough wind (45+ knots) in combo with perfectly flat water. To me the difference to landyachting has been lost. These cars (with and without kites) already do 50+ knots only 10 mtr more upwind to the kiters. Come to think of it these kite cars already do these speed at 30 knots or slightly less and have more advanced kites.

Wouter

Last edited by Wouter; 10/06/08 10:36 AM.

Wouter Hijink
Formula 16 NED 243 (one-off; homebuild)
The Netherlands
Re: Kiteboarder manages 50.26 knots on Luderitz course [Re: Wouter] #156450
10/06/08 10:50 AM
10/06/08 10:50 AM
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North-West Europe
Wouter Offline
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However, having said all this I do believe that the achievement by the Kite surfers is an admirable one. In itself that is a major effort to keep standing in those conditions and that must be respected.

Wouter


Wouter Hijink
Formula 16 NED 243 (one-off; homebuild)
The Netherlands
Re: Kiteboarder manages 50.26 knots on Luderitz course [Re: Wouter] #160975
11/20/08 07:44 AM
11/20/08 07:44 AM
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South Carolina
Jake Offline
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THERE IS NO 50 KNOT RECORD… YET
The World Sailing Speed Record (WSSR) Council is the lone authorizing authority
for record claims. Established by the International Sailing Federation in 1972,
their mission is to maintain consistent standards for a variety of record
setting categories. The quest for the outright world speed sailing record is
being played out on several fronts, with recent excitement coming from Luderitz
in Namibia where kiteboarders were displaying that they are currently the
fastest.

American kitesurfer Rob Douglas set a new speed record of 49.84 at the Luderitz
speed strip on September 19th, which was later ratified by the WSSR, beating out
the previous record of 49.09 kts set earlier in the year by windsurfer Antoine
Albeau (FRA). During the same speed event that Douglas set his record, called
the Lüderitz Speed Challenge, the event announcement came on October 3rd that
Sebastien Cattelan of France become the first human being to sail at more than
50 knots, a world record he held for only 24 hours before compatriot Alexandre
Caizergues snatched it away with a top speed of 50.57 knots.

The speed set by Caizergues was announced as the new speed record, but the only
problem is that over a month later, no formal claim for the record has been
requested of WSSR, who is still awaiting the documentation from the event
organizers. According to the record books, Douglas is still the holder of the
outright world speed sailing record. -- Scuttleblog,
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2008/11/no-record-yet.html


Jake Kohl
Re: Kiteboarder manages 50.26 knots on Luderitz course [Re: Wouter] #161006
11/20/08 04:26 PM
11/20/08 04:26 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 1,307
Asuncion, Paraguay
Luiz Offline
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Asuncion, Paraguay
Originally Posted by Wouter

The biggest problem I see with kite surfers breaking records is just as I say. Find a tropical storm, hang 15 sq. mtr kite in the air and find a jackass type of guy to hook himself on to that. Afterall there are also no rules requiring the pilot to survive the attempt for the record to be valid ! Get my point ?


Another approach would be to wait for the wind, wear a wing-cloth (wearable rigid wing), tie the feet to a ski and go for it. The aerodynamic drag of the crew body is nearly eliminated and the power can be the same as in a windsurfer or kite.


Luiz
Re: Kiteboarder manages 50.26 knots on Luderitz course [Re: Jake] #161069
11/21/08 11:27 AM
11/21/08 11:27 AM
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Dublin, Ireland
Dermot Offline
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Dublin, Ireland

The WSSR Council announces the ratification of a new World Record:

Record: World Kite-board Record
Board: Xcelerator board. Genetrix kites
Name: Sebastien Cattelan
Dates: 3rd October 2008.
Start time: 14; 55; 03.84
Finish time: 14; 55; 23.18
Elapsed time: 19.34 seconds
Distance: 501m
Current: 0.1 kt
Average speed: 50.26 kts
Venue: Luderitz, NAM

Previous record: Robert Douglas; Luderitz 2008; 49.84 knots.

There has been a considerable delay in the ratification of this claim due to the non availability of the necessary data. This has also affected a further claim for an increased speed on a later date. The Council anticipates that we will be able to make an announcement on this claim within a few days.

Note that at the November Conference 2008, ISAF clarified that a kite-powered craft cannot be recognised as the holder of The World Sailing Speed Record.

http://www.sailspeedrecords.com/content/view/99/3/


Dermot
Catapult 265

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