Video from Ben about his new personal speed record with the Racing Blade 2011



interview http://www.loftsails.com/2011/2011/01/itw-and-video-from-ben-about-his-new-personal-speed-record-with-the-racing-blade-2011/

Source www.facebook.com/theloftsails

Never ceases to amaze me seeing just how fast these guys go. Reminds me of that video of Slowboat hitting 50 knots at SP where someone's board flies through the air just after he passes them sitting on the waters edge.

PS - never got to see any footage of Spotty's et al runs from last year. I recall talk about it being videoed - was it ever posted?
Could make for a great thread with videos of any runs over 45knots.

will he be ejected from the NP/JP mob for defecting from NP!?!

Select to expand quote

stringer said...

will he be ejected from the NP/JP mob for defecting from NP!?!

He's signed with the Pinna's

Select to expand quote

elmo said...

stringer said...

will he be ejected from the NP/JP mob for defecting from NP!?!

He's signed with the Pinna's

thats just what we need

How embarrasament, the zecrets out allready

I heard Pete Volwater was going faster than Ben that day until he had to leave to catch a plane, and the conditions got even better. Looks like a great place for speedsailing.

Yeah , I heard that too from someone who was there... :-))

Actually the video shows the run-up and doesn't show the topspeed as one needs to bear off into the chop to get the high speeds in when the wind comes from the right direction. It's at "het Kuitje" which is an extremely gusty spot, because we can only sail it with wind from S-SSW and the wind needs to ome over a high wall and is disturbed by the land. It's a curved spot and therefore good for extremely high peaks, but I don't think it will be a threat for SP when looking at ten second runs, which is a shame actually, as it will probably force us to come over to Australia (if one could call coming to Australia a shame...). That doesn't mean we will stop looking though....

By the way, anyone fancying a trip to Holland is always welcome to drop me an e-mail and I will show you our best spots.


www.google.com:443/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=nl&geocode&q=het+kuitje&sll=33.137551,-22.412109&sspn=36.342298,86.396484&ie=UTF8&hq=het+kuitje&hnear&ll=52.930223,4.799652&spn=0.012262,0.042186&t=h&z=15&iwloc=C

Interesting google map. Censorship of naval areas(?) by Dutch goverment?

Select to expand quote

slowboat said...

I heard Pete Volwater was going faster than Ben that day until he had to leave to catch a plane, and the conditions got even better. Looks like a great place for speedsailing.

oh yes maybe he could have gone quicker but you will never know
Id be happy with 48 on the dial

blade blade blade blade blade blade blade blade blade
blade blade blade blade blade blade blade blade blade
blade blade blade blade blade blade blade blade blade
blade blade blade blade blade blade blade blade blade
blade blade blade blade blade blade blade blade blade
blade blade blade blade blade blade blade blade blade
blade blade blade blade blade blade blade blade blade

Select to expand quote

Id be happy with 48 on the dial

Great speeds for sure.

Select to expand quote

slowboat said...

Id be happy with 48 on the dial

Great speeds for sure.

How do you really measure who is the fastest?
(this isn't "brand" debate, could apply to any sessions)
Pete could have hooked onto the best gusts while he was there and if the conditions improved later Ben could have got onto more of these better gusts, by the end of the year positions will be sorted out.
Brings me back to the subject of how do you really measure who is the fastest on a given day? sailor A could be 1-2knots faster than sailor B all day, sailor B happens to hook onto the only descent gust of the day and comes out on top, does this make sailor B faster or just "lucky" ?

Select to expand quote

choco said...

slowboat said...

Id be happy with 48 on the dial

Great speeds for sure.

How do you really measure who is the fastest?
(this isn't "brand" debate, could apply to any sessions)
Pete could have hooked onto the best gusts while he was there and if the conditions improved later Ben could have got onto more of these better gusts, by the end of the year positions will be sorted out.
Brings me back to the subject of how do you really measure who is the fastest on a given day? sailor A could be 1-2knots faster than sailor B all day, sailor B happens to hook onto the only descent gust of the day and comes out on top, does this make sailor B faster or just "lucky" ?

Not that I am any speed guru, but I would lean to sailor B being the fastest, taking into consideration A and B both spend the day judging gust, wind conditions, water conditions and so on. B for me. Same as in a surfing comp; somebody gets that special wave in a final, and wins the day.

I'm with you mineral, unless the the two sailors are on the same gust running down the course at the same time you cannot tell. But awesome speeds.

5x10 sec

I think 5x10 is the best measure of performance on a day. Sometimes it really is a lot of luck to time the squalls correctly. The fastest run is a nice glory category but it doesnt separate a one-off lucky gust from the rest of the day. My 2sec/10sec PB was a very lucky gust- there was even a video camera on the beach to capture it

In ISWC competitions the "lucky gust" factor comes into it a lot for a result in a round, since they only count the best 2 runs for each round, but this becomes less of an issue once you get 5 or more rounds in. In Karpathos, its common for there to be only one or two solid gusts to come through in a round, and only a handful of people will be in the right place in the queue to nab it. That makes a huge difference to the results. I suggested to the pres that they should increase the number of runs averaged per round to 5.

My comment earlier on Benny's big day was that from the indications of speeds being done "at the same time" => similar conditions, Ben ~might~ have had some competition overall had Pete not had a plane to catch :)

Maybe a better way to measure performance is to discard the best 2 runs and cound the 3rd to 7th best times. That would kill off the lucky gust factor entirely.

Agree with 5x10 but think the lucky gust is the tactical element of the sport. Remember a few years back on my first visit to the pit being stuck at the wrong end of the run during every 'lucky' gust while all the old hands came flying down the run to ace the day. Have now learnt to look out for the big dark clouds and try and time the run to get the max wind I can hold with gear that I'm on. This often means staying still for 10 minutes which is a bit couter intuitive if you're having lots of fun sailing. Down at the Pit on a good day I reckon there are probably 2 to 3 clouds / gusts during the best tide and if you can get them it is awesome. However, if you have to queue up like Karpathos then I reckon that removes this tactical skill...

The only way that i see to eliminate the "lucky gust" is doing the distance depending on your course where you sail , is it a 250 or 500 or the famous NM !!!!

And dont forget there is no 1 lucky gust there are many of them that will come through , you just have to be there...

I have never sat on a good strong continous gust to crack a 500m run which then i have to adjust and squeeze to get the best run i can to get a decent result.

Its a pity alot of people depend on 2 sec runs instead of trying to make themselves to go quicker over a certain distance which at the end makes you a better sailor and more consistant and thats what speed is all about!!!!

Even the 5 by 10sec can have a few lucky gusts but then again it will even it all out.

It is still better than a 2sec run for me that has no meaning to it , yeah its good to brag on the forum if you got a good 2 sec run but that does not determine how fast you really went over a good 250 or 500m.

For me a 2 sec is only good to compare on that run how far i am off a 250 or 500m run and the closer the numbers are the better i am preforming!!!!

As for the sail debute for me all race sails will go fast off the wind if properly rigged and tunned - combining board , fin and SAILOR!!!! And that has been proven....

Select to expand quote

seahorse said...

Agree with 5x10 but think the lucky gust is the tactical element of the sport. Remember a few years back on my first visit to the pit being stuck at the wrong end of the run during every 'lucky' gust while all the old hands came flying down the run to ace the day. Have now learnt to look out for the big dark clouds and try and time the run to get the max wind I can hold with gear that I'm on. This often means staying still for 10 minutes which is a bit couter intuitive if you're having lots of fun sailing. Down at the Pit on a good day I reckon there are probably 2 to 3 clouds / gusts during the best tide and if you can get them it is awesome. However, if you have to queue up like Karpathos then I reckon that removes this tactical skill...

The "lucky gusts" I'm talking about are the ones that come with no obvious warning, and are impossible to predict- even with all the skill, local knowledge and experience in the world. At SP you generally get a solid wind boost under rain squalls. You can see them coming and generally have plenty of time to prepare. There is still a big degree of luck involved in timing them- since the wind peak can happen at the start, end, and if we are lucky the duration of the squall. I've missed a few good squalls by waiting too long, and going too early, and sometimes I've lucked onto some great wind at the end of a squall. Theres some luck in the timing.

Lucky gusts are a bit like those shots in tennis where the ball is stopped by the top of the net, but still falls onto the other side. You cant make those shots deliberately but they always win a point. The players always acknowledge their "lucky point" to their opponents almost apologetically.

I like nailing "lucky gusts". Its quite satisfying.