13 Oct 2010 : It's Official - 1 New World Speed Sailing Record and 5 New National Records in 1 day!
Alex Caizergues has officially set a new World Speed Sailing Record at 54.10 knots during his 1st run at 15h38 yesterday afternoon.
luderitz-speed.com/
Unreal!
crazy french men!!! ;0)
that's over 100km/h of average speed on 500m!!!
respect to those guys!
As others have said before I am just purely amazed that kites are quicker than $500,000 boats that are completely impractical to sail except for specific conditions.
The last vid was sick...... What I'm suprised with is how comfortable he rode...It was only 40+ knots. Watch this space. 55+ is feasable in the next 2-4 years depending on conditions and 60 knots on a kite board will be achieved in the next 8 years...
Open your minds, riding that fast would give me more woodness than any completed handlepass.
To be doing those speeds with 'terra firma' immediately downwind = respect in my book!
... but he proberly doesn't have a handle so he's cool man!
ps uber cool, I've done 30 knots and thought I was the man, thats just crazy speeds, take that poleys!
they must be planning the ticker tape parade down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées for when the new national hero returns home victorious in his pursuit of mad speed with testicles only inches from disaster and protected by mere mm of wetsuit
This is serious stuf!
At least 40 Frenchman would have heard about this awesome record breaking effort!!
I
Thats friggen awesome! I'd love to go that fast, but not with a sandbar only 1-2m downwind of the board.
That would produce a cataclysmic stack and result in a week or three in hospital at best. Crazy dudes and dudettes, wish I was brave enough 
Go the kiters! Bye bye poleys get used to eating the steam from the wake of the kiters as they boil the water with sizzling speed. 
60 knots is a dead set certainty in the next year or two. Woohoo!
haha look at the guy standing on the bank in the last vid. lays down so he gets sprayed then gets back up. wt?
"As others have said before I am just purely amazed that kites are quicker than $500,000 boats that are completely impractical to sail except for specific conditions."
That is smokingly fast - and maximum respect
Consequences of a blown fin box / caught rail are deadly.
however:
how much more specific can you get than a ditch on land with no water (ie no real chop to deal with) in it ?
Those arent real world sailing conditions - but 50 plus knots probably wont happen in real world sailing conditions - unless we are talking a super expensive techno yacht / windsurf technology breakthrough.
Fair point but I don't really see why it needs to have a downwind aspect to the ditch IMO could easily be done behind any sort of land spit/groin given the right wind conditions. Some of those expensive boats only sail 1 direction in comparison.
Aren't there rules about the water being a certain depth e.t.c so provided all the criteria are met it's legit.
The same way they do land speed records on the salt flats.
Either way, awesome work!
Hi,
That's super quick.
Have a look for Tim Pumpa he is from Adelaide and has done 47knts so far. He thinks he can go quicker.
Danny
Absolutely awesome stuff.
But since you guys are talking about crashing at those speeds... 
