Sébastien Cattelan has been named the fastest sailor of the 2013 Luderitz Speed Challenge, after clocking at 55.36 knots.
In 14 days of intense racing at the iconic Namibian speed strip, kiteboarders and windsurfers battled for glory and records. With a total of 2005 finished runs, 70 hours and 15 minutes of racing, the 2013 Luderitz Speed Challenge has reached the end.
The numbers are quite impressive: 36 records were broken by riders from 11 nationalities.
"The aim of this event is to give the opportunity to sailors to go faster than ever before in a confident atmosphere, providing the best conditions for many nationalities to defend their national flag and to have the 'best speed experience of their life', explains Sébastien Cattelan, organizer and competing kiteboarder.
Sophie Routaboul, organizer of the Luderitz Speed Challenge, achieved the best performance in female kitesurfing, with an outstanding 45.44 knots.
In the windsurfing division, the current world record holder in windsurfing, Antoine Albeau, who was leading the rankings with 50.07 knots, was passed by the Swedish Anders Bringdal, on a production board, at 50.43 knots.
Zara Davis, from the UK, once again performed very well by reaching the best speed in female windsurfing with 43.77 knots.
2013 Luderitz Speed Challenge | National Records
Kiteboarding:
South Africa | Taro Niehaus | 53.04 knots
Denmark | Ole Kjaer | 50.43 knots
Sweden | Roger Ornvang | 41.0 knots
Windsurfing:
Germany | Manfred Merle | 47.86 knots
Luxembourg | Nicolas David Garrel | 47.83 knots
Belgium | Patrick Van Hoof | 47.74 knots
Australia | Tony Wynhoven | 47.23 knots
Switzerland | Remo Diethelm | 47.0 knots
Croatia | Boris Vujasinovic | 46.51 knots
Ukraine | Alexander Goncharov | 46.49 knots
Russia | Denis Vladimirov | 44.61 knots