Great day - big PB - totally chuffed.. well done everyone - great to see the Dutch guys at WK.. flying !!!

great days sailing and catch up with the speedies! still no cigar after hitting 39 3 times. all runs after 12 didnt count, i think as i tire my bottle drops and dont go for it, some things to work on and some new sails me thinks!!

Yippee, at last, over 40k averages and a full new set of PB's in all the other boxes:)) Spent the first hour or so telling myself that the 5,7m was to big for these winds, but I eventually realised that I could sail OK with it, runs got faster and faster as confidence grow, shame my energy levels started to drop off. Upwind was very hard work and wasted alot energy.

Top, top day, well chuffed:))

cracking day , new pb`s across the board for me , must try harder though , not bad for first time at west kirby , need a smaller board (ah tris) well done to all today and tris for breaking the 40knot average , top man . next time for ah 

great day :)

After being kept in it's bag for just over a year, I decided to have another attempt at sailing my speedboard hoping that the time put in during the last 12 months on smaller kit would pay off which it certainly did

New PB's in max (40.54kts), 2 sec max, 10 sec avg, average, 100m and 250m

At last I can finally say I'm officially a member of the 'over 40 club'

Would like to say a big thanks to a Farrel, Neil and Steve for their help in sorting my issues with control and kit out.

Well done Mark H, Mark B, Tris and others on there PBs. Thank you Peter C for the loan of your Tushingham X-15 4.6m. made live a lot easier at the end of the day when the wind picked up!

Great day's sailing with speedies from all over the UK and Holland.

my aim for the day was to get a +40 average as I not achived it this year, JOB DONE! So pleased.

Could have rigged my 5.8 but stay on my 5,2 until late in the dat peter offered me a go on his 4.6.

The Moo Custom ate the chop in the middle of the lake when bearing off, Only had to bale out once.

Mast 400 arrows 75%

Got held up at work so I turned up around 1630 just in time for the winds to go Nuclear !   Not good when it's the first time on my W44. Scary stuff !!!   Anyway just about got 5 runs in without killing myself over that chop...Had 40 max on every run but not for the 10s. Oh well not to be for me this time. Congratulations to Mark H on his 40k averages.

Have a beer on me m8

Funny old day, well done to all those with great PBs, I struggled getting dialed in at all today, look out for some great speeds to follow i think!!

Nice to meet the dutch n belgian guys and some new faces  hope you the trip was all worth it .

strongest winds i've ever tied to sail in, though a smaller sail would probably would not of helped much, with the big winds and better angle came some pretty deadly chop!! some spectacular wipeouts by many  but thankfully no injuries to anyone, Pete Young impressed by wearing half his fin away on the wall at 45Knots definitely the save of the day, could of been sooo nasty.

Wow... what a great day at the Kirb!

I drove up last night then went for a great curry with Paul B and Ian R. £9.95 for 3 courses and very tasty too!

We turned up at the lake pretty early today but didn't get on the water until around 09:30. My first run was a bit slow due to badly positioned harness lines (wrong by six inches) but after that I felt like I was sailing well. I did a total of 20 runs and only two were under 40 knots.

All in all, several of my PBs were broken including a new peak of 42.84 knots (+1.8) and my first 40 knot session average with 40.25 knots (+1.6). Super stoked!

It was great to see so many familiar faces and some new ones from overseas. Thanks Paul B for putting me up overnight, Neil H for the weight jacket and Daz for his lead weights.

   One of those rare days where I can definately say I could have done with less sail and a smaller board!

  Lucky to get away unscathed after using the wall as a motox berm on my first run, trashed my best fin but could have been much worse.

 Great day all in all was worth the trip just to watch all the legends in action some serious stuff going on!.  Some great crashes aswell, Stu Trunkfeilds was the best I witnessed, bet that blew away a few cobwebs LOL.

 And champagne moment goes to Bob Cuninghams run down the wall in at least 45 knots of wind........ with no harness!    Now Thats Hardcore.

got a few PBs so chuffed  but my 10 second averages were off the peaks. Must eat more greens.  

A long day of changing winds.  Pleased with PB but its never fast enough is is!

Great new experience at West Kirby.

High level of speedsurfers from all over the UK, very friendly and helpfull people.

We saw many different conditions for this spot on one day, low wind, very high wind en different angles. Perfect day to discover this new spot for us. Made 25 runs over 80, this must be my record.

Saw some nice crashes today aswell. Hope to come back once again. Steve great that you had 50 knots on your display. We saw you guys accelerating big time when we were leaving. Very impressive. We decided to go as the runs looked very short.

Howie thanks for the good forecast and Darren thanks to call windfinder to order the increasing wind 2 hours earlier before darkness.

Drove more than a 1000 miles, to surf less than 10.

Some people call me crazy.....but didn't wanna miss a thing :-)

First time at WK and it was an epic one. Allthough I was just a priviliged spectator when the wind raises to 60 knots.

After a short night in a hotel on an ever shorter mattress (apr. 1.70m I guess), didn't feel wide-awake when I arrived with Jacq & Hans at the lake. After my 4th run I got a cramp in my calf. I knew I had to sail 1 more proper run to have a small PB. And luckily after a 1 hour rest I could do it with my last run. So quit excited but still a very big way to go compared with the really fast guys.

But what a fine day of windsurfing it was, together with the "creme de la creme" of the Dutch and English speedscene.Glad to have met you guys!

Brilliant day for speedsailing, epic to see so many keen speedsailors and people travelling so far for a day at the Kirb.

Thought I'd blown it when I didn't bother going out in the morning, then heard that 47's had already been posted, then watched the wind ease. Should have some great pics tho!

My first run was a 45.5 on an upright Gasoil fin borrowed from Farrel, felt really good but unfortunately hit the bottom and snapped the tip off before I managed another (really sorry Farrel, typical it wasn't my fin). Went slower from then on and decided to have a big break and wait.

Didn't get on too well with the square conditions , don't think my swept back fin and light weight help. The Dutch guys really seem to fly in these conditions, very impressive.

Later in the day (very later) the wind picked up to 60knots in the gusts and I managed to get some fast times on the 5.0. Unfortunately it went super super broad almost straight away, so although the slingshot in was amazing, you were soon running into 2ft death chop. I had a huge wipeout where I just let go, knowing that if I held on, my fin (which was barely in the water), was going to loose grip in a horrible way. As it was I cartwheeled twice and had to swim to the opposite bank and pluck my kit off the wall (luckily still in one piece), luckily i found my gps floating by too..

Managed to get pretty confortable in the big wind and on my second from last run and saw the big 5 o on the display! A very very short burst though, my 2 sec max being 48.3 and 10sec only 44.7. If only the course had been flatter it would have been insane, but the 2ft chop after only 20m made it impossible. I think we were only getting 7 seconds before sheeting out to get the board back on the water..  we all tried to hold on for longer, and all went spetacularly over the handlebars. I enjoy this stuff a lot though! I'd saved my energy and the kit works perfect for super broad and windy.

Apologies for getting a bit waspy with the front of the que, but it really is important to get going close to the wall and make use of the flat water in the top corner, and also it's hard to have a fair que system if the 5 guys at the front aren't actually wanting a run but are in the 'ready to go' position, lots of time wasted...   anyway, you're all a great bunch, i feel bad complaining so I won't mention it again.

Congrats to the Dutch guys for schooling us yet again! Perhaps if Ant hangs around for the wind next time we can put up a better fight!

Stoked to see 50 on the dial, hoping it's not too long before we have another crack, really fired up for it now. Just need 60knots again..

(oh, I had some problems uploading as my tracks were in two segments, so I concegated. Seemed to give the same results anayway? software says 49.996knot max....)

A mad day at west kirby. Broke a boom and uj before I had even done a run, but things  improved after that, first time with over 40 on the dial, but a bit dissapointed with my overall speeds.Found the rolling chop a bit concerning at 40k and took a heavy crash. First time using weight about 10kg which took its toll and I was unable walk let alone sail when the wind nuked late on.

Hats off to Farrel, steve T and the Dutch guys who where awesome in those conditions. 

My second visit to West Kirby...but my first time of 'trying' to sail in the strongest winds I had ever experienced.  It also my first time ever of seeing so many tiny boards and also my first time of seeing so many exalted speedsailors.  

My attempts were pretty much limited to the lulls in the wind but even then the bear off seemed pretty scary and I found myself instictively sailing with the brake on.   Self preservation I guess!

Congratulations to all those that sailed and I now see how the big boys earn their medals. 

2nd time in West Kirby, this time sailing with Westerly wind. It started off allright but I was unable to build up my speeds somehow. When going broad it felt like oversheeting and speeds qwere not going up that much. As soon as the wind increased furher severe chop was messing up the course. Something to think about. I decided not to go for the 4.9 as I could not improve my speeds either in lesser winds, so hopefully better next time. Congrats to Hans and Jacques and off course Steve Thorpe for his insane max speed!

Cheers Serge. good to see everyone again :)

A bunch of pics here

http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.10150401222969524.421463.575069523&type=1

congratulation Dirk

  the First GPS Speed Belgian Record Holder

mp en koen

What a epic day at West Kirby wanted to go here for a while to give it a try. Have to say i like it nice atmosphere friendly people and good competition and a really nice speedstrip and some mind blowing winds today at times 5,5 was way to big.

Could feel i didn't touch my gear for a few weeks and blew my arms up way to early because when the wind got stronger and the angle got better it could have been really nice. maybe i should have waited all day it could have been perfect. But i couldn't resist going out over and over again made 10 runs over 44 knots feels really good beeing able to do this all day long instead of one hour on a tidal spot. And i had to make Jacques drive worth while thanks mate i was way to tired.

Nice to see you all the guys go to the max and beyond seen some big sick beautiful looking crashes i'm glad i didn't crash but had a few close ones to be honest . 

Congrats to Steve for 50 on the dial and all the other guys who set PB's and Jacq with the last minute day victory respect for the last few runs after such a long day.

I'LL BE BACK

Sorry for posting this late. I was totally wasted from ou trip back. We ended up in the city center of London with a broken down car.

All in all it was a great trip. It didn't end too well for me but it sure was inspiring to sail at West Kirby again,. Lots of English speedies out. and a great atmosphere. the day itself was devided in three segments. During the first Hans was clearly in front of us all with a slowest firth run that was faster than the fastest run of anyone else. I was happy with my speed and was battling with Jacques for second.

The wind died and after the break it was Jacques who stood out of the crowd. He overtook Hans as it turned out. The way I see it his locked in n style helps him on ight courses. I couldn't better my speeds and decided to wait for the predicted windswing. Just when I wanted to get inthe water  again things got insane . I saw speedies and speedboards flying around like pizzas in an old school pizza bakery. So no need to go on the water I thought.

Just before dark the wind eased off enough to sail again and at that moment the English crew showed what they're made off with the impressive speed by Steve as the highlight of the day. All Dutchies stood on the shore and watched him go for it for around 4 seconds (as it seemed). It was clear from the shore the chop was way too high for high ten seconds so I decided not to go for it. I have to admit I chickened out because I was afraid to injure my shoulder while breaking. When driving back I felt bad about it but after reading Steveç comments I feel I took the right decision. I want to try and break the record and need to stay calm. The day itself gave me enough confidence and I feel I am on the right track again, My arm doesn't bother me at all anymore while sailing, the speeds are there, now I only need to find my confidence again and go for it without fearing a bad crash.

Kudos to Jacques, Hans and Steve and I want to express my respect to Norman Petty. at his age he's still going for it, just like my buddy john Overmeer. It's guys like them that show me you can overcome your age and potential physical burdens. thanks for the hospitality and great atmposphere and see youguys  again in the hopefully perfect storm.

Thanks Martin to mention my name. But now you have name me in combination with Norman Petty (hey Norman, like to meet you) a guy I did'n now till now, it's necessary for me to go also to WK or another topspeedspot, because his PB scored on WK is a little bit higher then mine scored at Horst and I like to be the fastest grandfather!:-)  (However... my 2 sec. is faster 77 km.:-))

At last got the PC on the internet at home.

Full USM report and session comments to follow.