Broken Records
Finally we get enough wind to start chasing the nautical mile record. I thought the 500m courses was long, but the leg burn that 500m gives you is nothing compared to what a 1852m nautical mile can do for you. National records start to fall from the moment the course opens, and by the end of play Bjorn Dunkerbeck had smashed Finian Maynard’s old record.
The top of the course had good wind but I just couldn’t get that last 100m’s right and just kept loosing my drive. I tried different sail sizes but still couldn’t quite hit the magic 40knots, when the final result were ratified I was third just behind Hennie Brendenkamp with 39.97knots matching Finian’s record from last year.
Having sat on the beach for so many days, it seamed a crime to come off the water, plus the conditions were so easy I just kept running up and down the course, even when it was shut. While we are running under official timing the Garmin GPS has become an essential purchase for every speed sailor. Not only does it help for training but help to tune the equipment as you watch the ever-changing display when flying down the run. At the end of the day it’s a race to download and compare tracks, peek speed, best 100m, 500m, mile, one hour, distance covered, and many more.
Most sailors clocked up 50 km, Bjorn was just over 70km and I pasted the 110km mark. With so much time on the water the gps really give great feedback, just finding the right angle or fastest 500m within the run will help push the speeds up in further runs. Have a look at my GPS Track from the mile, just haveit compute the information you want and click on the results to see it on the run.
With a bigger forecast Markus was keen to push us up to the Salinas which meant moving all the kit from the island but boat, and after a long days sailing it was done without the normal high spirits. As it turned out we may have left it where it was, the Salinas doesn’t get as much wind as the strip, plus the angle is so broad it was all but impossible to get down the course. Bjorn had to use a 7.3 and 100l board just to pump his way through the finish line, so all back to the strip.
We opened the 500m course with 40kt runs right from the start, national records soon started to fall. I travelled here with Zara and Pete Davis, we had one agreement, she made me thinner and in return I’d make her faster. Having watch several runs I had Zara run closer to the beach and then change to a small custom Tabou. She looked so much more comfortable with the board smoothing out the chop, with comfort comes the confidence to push that much further and as she crossed the line we had a new British record.
I pushed as fast as I could go in the conditions; 42.91kt was my max and the fastest speed of the day, finally I get to finish in front. If it wasn’t for the my time in the French ditch this would have been my fastest ever run, if we get to run even with a little more angle I’m sure the production record will go, and then who knows after that.
Read MoreThe top of the course had good wind but I just couldn’t get that last 100m’s right and just kept loosing my drive. I tried different sail sizes but still couldn’t quite hit the magic 40knots, when the final result were ratified I was third just behind Hennie Brendenkamp with 39.97knots matching Finian’s record from last year.
Having sat on the beach for so many days, it seamed a crime to come off the water, plus the conditions were so easy I just kept running up and down the course, even when it was shut. While we are running under official timing the Garmin GPS has become an essential purchase for every speed sailor. Not only does it help for training but help to tune the equipment as you watch the ever-changing display when flying down the run. At the end of the day it’s a race to download and compare tracks, peek speed, best 100m, 500m, mile, one hour, distance covered, and many more.
Most sailors clocked up 50 km, Bjorn was just over 70km and I pasted the 110km mark. With so much time on the water the gps really give great feedback, just finding the right angle or fastest 500m within the run will help push the speeds up in further runs. Have a look at my GPS Track from the mile, just haveit compute the information you want and click on the results to see it on the run.
With a bigger forecast Markus was keen to push us up to the Salinas which meant moving all the kit from the island but boat, and after a long days sailing it was done without the normal high spirits. As it turned out we may have left it where it was, the Salinas doesn’t get as much wind as the strip, plus the angle is so broad it was all but impossible to get down the course. Bjorn had to use a 7.3 and 100l board just to pump his way through the finish line, so all back to the strip.
We opened the 500m course with 40kt runs right from the start, national records soon started to fall. I travelled here with Zara and Pete Davis, we had one agreement, she made me thinner and in return I’d make her faster. Having watch several runs I had Zara run closer to the beach and then change to a small custom Tabou. She looked so much more comfortable with the board smoothing out the chop, with comfort comes the confidence to push that much further and as she crossed the line we had a new British record.
I pushed as fast as I could go in the conditions; 42.91kt was my max and the fastest speed of the day, finally I get to finish in front. If it wasn’t for the my time in the French ditch this would have been my fastest ever run, if we get to run even with a little more angle I’m sure the production record will go, and then who knows after that.
