British speed ladder 2009

After the success of the 2008 speed ladder GPS-speedsurfing and windsurf retailers dotted around the country are supporting speed sailing in the UK for 2009.

We will also be holding the Ultimate Speed Meetings around the UK. It will still have the same format as last year. A four day warning of a possible event, then a two day call of an imminent event, lastly a solid call the night before. With this format, we are sure that each USM will have decent conditions. The USMs will be governed by the rules of gps-speedsurfing

For this year we are splitting the country into 3 sections. Each section is centred around the most popular speed sailing strip. Each section will be moderated by…

Weymouth / South west. Pete Young is your contact for this area. Weymouth isn’t the fastest speed strip but is one of the most fun places to sail. Pete is a regular sailor here and is an uber  fast sailor. He came second to Anders Bringdal at Weymouth speed week 2008.  He will be more than happy to help in tuning your kit or tips on going faster.

West Kirby / North west. Howard Rowson is your contact for this area. Howard is one of the original speed sailors from the BWA speed events and is a regular at the famous West Kirby wall whenever it’s firing. With 43 knots on the dial and getting faster overpowered Howard is getting more dialed into his kit with each session. Howard will also be keeping us updated with the weather situation for the UK in his “storm track” post on the forum.

Southend / South east. Dave White is your contact for this area. No need for introduction. Whitey has been on the UK / world speed scene for years and is still achieving world class speeds. With a 46 knot average session at the Ray, he has proved that this venue is world class. Sadly the wind doesn’t blow at this venue as much as it deserves. But when it fires it’s the best speed strip in the world. Dave will be giving speed clinics whenever he is at the Ray for a USM. A real opportunity to glean some tips off one of the worlds best.

If your want to be added to the mailing list please contact Simon Hinkley and he will be happy to help. Any advice on setting up your gps or extracting the data from the memory card, please don’t hesitate to contact him.

All these will be donating prizes for all the entrants for the British speed ladder for 2009. Each competitor posting their speed will have one ticket into the prize draw.

If you enter into a USM your ticket will double. This will give you double the chance to win a prize.

Any session of note will be highlighted on the British speed ladder page. If you’re cracking a decent speed or have achieved a personal best, your session will be mentioned.

Here’s to a speedy 2009!!

West Kirby USM  - Sunday 8th of March 2009

West Kirbys first USM of 2009 saw a day of two halves. The morning session dawned with a tight wsw windflow blowing in over the course 15-25kts. The afternoon saw skies clear and a solid westerly flow blowing in at 25kts with gusts to 30kts.

The Gathering:

Many speedies from all over the UK met up on what was to be the last session before the lake closure the following day for four months, for necessary wall refurb and lake dredging.

The competition was hot, hot enough for most to forget the chill in the air and enjoy the glass of the speed strip. Farrel O'Shea, John Smalley and Steve Thorp fighting it out at the sharp end, for top spot of the day.  The rest of the chasing pack meanwhile,  laying down some impressive speeds, with a bag full of personal bests (pb)

Ian Richards (pictured above)  scoring a super pb with a peak speed of 41.67 knots and 10s avg score of 39.42 knots, pretty good going for his first session at West Kirby. The list of pbs was truly impressive with the following sailors all achieving new records - congrats!

Will Trossell, Graham Clegg, Mark Bailey, Tris Haskins, Duncan Adam, Rob Morgan, Jack Bailey

The GPS Speed Ladder would not be possible without the support of the sponsors - thanks guys
4boards.co.uk, Reactive Watersports, RIKS, Solent Sailboards, Westcountry Watersports, Windtek.

Pictures courtesy of Steve Thorp

Ranking of the day

 

West Kirby USM  - Saturday 14th of March 2009

Fridays' forecast for Saturday had pepped up somewhat from that issued the previous day. A solid westerly was forecast F6-F8. By lunchtime Friday the forecast had backed off to F5-F7, with a further slide to F6 by teatime.

With the lake not being drained until Sunday, word was out,  and the USM was on.

Early risers,  Adam Gustafsson and Paul Simmons had made the trip up from the south west, and were rigged and ready to rock not long after first light, greeted to a stiff westerly up around 30kts on arrival. Pete Davis adding to the south coast contingent mid morning.

The wind backed off to 20kts before anyone hit the water. The morning session, a mix of 15-20kts with the odd burst to 25, made for some close competition with sailors pushing for the first 40 of the day. With no real juice in the wind, and the course peppered with 15kt lulls, solid 10s avgs were hard to come by. The Carbon Arts ridden by  O'Shea and Gustafsson coming the closest with high 39 peaks, and very closely matched on the 10s runs, Farrel just edging out the Kernow King with a 37.87 10s avg, topped by a 39.51 10s max.

The high tide fast approaching, and the inevitable lunchtime breach,  saw the wind back off to a poor force 4.

The two hour break done, the tide back in the estuary, the lake brim full ....... but the wind never came back.

Mark Hayford (pictured above) notching up the only pb of the day with a respectable 500 just over 35kts, excellent given the mediocre conditions. 

Top run of the day was Farrel's 38.79 500.

A four month break now. West Kirby will be back tho'  - back better than ever.

The GPS Speed Ladder would not be possible without the support of the sponsors - thanks guys
4boards.co.uk, Reactive Watersports, RIKS, Solent Sailboards, Westcountry Watersports, Windtek.

Ranking of the day