Izaak Perkins: the Tassie king of speed

Izaak Perkins is preparing take over the world of speed windsurfing. The 17-year-old rider from Tasmania, Australia, has been speeding up to the 44 knots very quickly, despite his very young age.

Izaak is the son of Anthony Perkins, an experience slalom and speed windsurfer. The young rider has been steadily improving his speed records and has already broken Australian records.

"I was gradually getting faster and faster and as soon as I hit 25 knots of speed, I borrowed a Hypersonic and, straight away, I hit 28 knots. I then sold my Hypersonic and got dad’s Falcon 91L board, my favourite board. I broke the 30-knot barrier with it", reveals Izaak Perkins.

In 2009, he joined Tassie Speed Seekers and the vice of speed hasn't been slowing down. One year later, Izaak tested the experience of sailing with 60-knot winds at Sandy Point, Victoria.

After chasing the 40 knots frontier with huge enthusiasm, the young windsurfer decided it was time to do really do it. Recently, on a trip to Stanley, on the North West coast of Tasmania, he knew it was the perfect moment for national records.

"My speeds were still climbing 41, 41.5, 41.7, etc. I then over took my dad with a 42.6, giving me the outright Tassie speed record. Straight away, I left and headed off down the run to do a 43.1!

Izaak Perkins' records include 43.28 (2-second), 40.53 (5x10-second average), 27.34(1 hour) and an Australian record of 28.78 (Alpha Racing 500m). "My goals for the next year or so are to break the 45 knots".

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