Sailrocket runs 65.45 knots (75 mph) to smash World Speed Sailing Record

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Anders Bringdal on the course of the Luderitz Speed Challenge

The history of the World Speed Sailing Record as measured over 500 meters.

The fastest sailboarder in the world - at least this week - Antoine Albeau

Antoine Albeau is having one hell of a week. A week ago, no-one on a sailboard had run 50 knots - since then Albeau has had five 50.XX kt runs, five 51.XX runs and one of 52.05 knots, and he isn't finished yet.

Larsen in the Vestas Sailrocket at high speed. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

Vestas Sailrocket 2. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

Paul Larsen in the Vestas Sailrocket 2 records 59.38 knots (68.3 mph - 110 km/h) on Walvis Bay, Namibia. Meanwhile at the Luderitz Speed Challenge, sailboarders broke more than a dozen speed sailing records with Antoine Albeau recording 52.05 knots (59.9 mph - 96.4 km/h).

Inside the Sailrocket Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

Prepping the Sailrocket. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

Larsen and the Vestas Sailrocket at high speed. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

Larsen and the Vestas Sailrocket. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

One very happy Paul Larsen after achieving his goal of becoming the fastest sailer in history . Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

Larsen and the Vestas Sailrocket. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

Larsen and the Vestas Sailrocket at high speed. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

The Vestas Sailrocket team. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

It's a mobile world. Paul Larsen rings Team HQ before he has even removed his wetsuit. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

Larsen and the Vestas Sailrocket at high speed. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

The Vestas Sailrocket team. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

Taking the Vestas Sailrocket out to play. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

Larsen and the Vestas Sailrocket at high speed. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

Paul Larsen lives the dream. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

Larsen and Vestas Sailrocket 2. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

Larsen and the Vestas Sailrocket at high speed. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

The Vestas Sailrocket team. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

Larsen and the Vestas Sailrocket at high speed. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

The Vestas Sailrocket team. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

Larsen holds the GPS with numbers that indicate he has just become the fastest sailor in history. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

Larsen and the Vestas Sailrocket at high speed. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

Diagram of the Vestas Sailrocket Image copyright Vestas Sailrocket.

Larsen and the Vestas Sailrocket at high speed. Image copyright Helena Darvelid and Vestas Sailrocket.

The Vestas Sailrocket 2 is capable of harnessing the forces of nature like no other sailing craft in history. Image copyright Vestas Sailrocket.

L'Hydroptere from below

The awesome Hydroptere may no longer be the fastest boat in the world over a nautical mile, but it can do it for hours, indeed days, across vast distances

The French Hydroptere

The fastest open water sailing boat in the world - L'Hydroptere

Fascinating infographic of Hydroptere's performance

The man behind L'Hydroptere - Alain Thebault

The fastest open water sailing boat in the world - L'Hydroptere

The World Speed Sailing Record for a nautical mile has nearly doubled in less than a decade

Exhibit 1 - evidence of the great camaraderie between rivals. The fastest windsurfer in the world (F-192 - Antoine Albeau) and the fastest kitesurfer in the world (US-55 - Robbie Douglas) are no longer the fastest sailors in the world, at least for now. from Robbie Douglas' Facebook album

Exhibit 2 - evidence of the great camaraderie between rivals. Robbie Douglas goes for a sail on Hydroptere with Alain Thebault, Yves Parlier, Jean Le Cam and Jacques Vincent (Not shown - he took the picture) from Robbie's Facebook album

The fastest kitesurfer in the world (US-55 - Robbie Douglas) is also the proprietor of Black Dog Clothing Company. From his Facebook page.

The Yellow Pages Endeavour morphed into a subsequent world record attempt in 2009 with a similar Lindsay Cunningham design dubbed the Macquarie Innovation. The boat ran 50.43 knots in March 2009.

Björn Dunkerbeck

Björn Dunkerbeck, holder of 41 world windsurfing titles

Björn Dunkerbeck has three times held the outright world speed sailing record over a nautical mile

Half Danish, half Dutch Björn Dunkerbeck, joined the 2012 Luderitz Speed Challenge a week late after being present for the birth of his child - a few runs later, he clocked 49.53 kts - watch this space!

In November, 2006, Björn Dunkerbeck muscled the first sail craft past 40 knots over the Nautical Mile when he broke the Nautical Mile world speed record for the fourth time at Walvis Bay in Namibia with an incredible speed of 41.14 knots.

Björn Dunkerbeck has set seven world speed sailing records in a career dating back to 1986 - he's still at it more than a quarter century later with 41 world titles and ... counting.

When you're trying to go after world speed records and all you have is a sailboard, it helps to be big and strong - Björn Dunkerbeck

On the sidelines of the 2012 Luderitz Speed Challenge

At the time of the publication of this article, Frenchman Cédric Bordes was one of just four people who had run over 51 knots on a sailboard, along with Antoine Albeau, Jurjen Van Der Noord and Anders Bringdal.

Anders Bringdal at the 2012 Luderitz Speed Challenge

The world's fastest female sailboarder, Zara Davis of the United Kingdom. Zara's current record is 45.83 kts, but the Luderitz Speed Challenge is not yet over.

The world's second fastest female sailor, Lena Ardil of Turkey at the 2012 Luderitz Speed Challenge

Zara Davis in an image that demonstrates just how narrow the Luderitz course is

Zara Davis on the Luderitz Speed Challenge course earlier this week

Antoine Albeau

Sailrocket runs 65.45 knots (75 mph) to smash World Speed Sailing Record

Anders Bringdal

The fastest sailboarder in the world - at least this week - Antoine Albeau

Antoine Albeau on the course of the Luderitz Speed Challenge

Anders Bringdal on the course of the Luderitz Speed Challenge - of all the speed sailboarders in the world, Bringdal seemingly has the best chance of lifting his friend Antoine's world record.

Zara Davis on the Luderitz Speed Challenge course earlier this week

Antione Albeau on the Luderitz Speed Challenge course earlier this week

Dream Team - Frenchmen Cédric Bordes and Antoine Albeau try for the tandem record

Zara Davis on the Luderitz Speed Challenge course

Dream Team - Frenchmen Cédric Bordes and Antoine Albeau try for the tandem record

Anders Bringdal used a standard Mistral Speed 41cm board, just as you can buy over the counter, to achieve over 51 knots at the time this article first went live, and perhaps more within the next few weeks.

Zara Davis on the Luderitz Speed Challenge course

Zara Davis - the world's fastest female sailboarder

Frenchmen Cédric Bordes

Anders Brigdal

Antoine Albeau gets a lift back to the starting line at the Luderitz Speed Challenge course

Frenchmen Cédric Bordes on the Luderitz Speed Challenge course

Jurgen Honscheid was the fastest sailboarder in the world in 1981, though sailboarding was still in its infancy and his speed of 24.75 knots was roughly two-thirds of the speed of Tim Colman's Crossbow II which held the outright speed sailing record at that time.

The world speed record for sailingboard has been broken nine times in the last week.

Anders Bringdal on his over-the-counter Mistral board and l'Hydroptere, the fastest open-water sailing boat in history

Macquarie Innovation became the fastest sailing boat in the world over 500 meters in December, 2008 Image copyright Steb Fisher photography

L'Hydroptere Info Graphic - part 1

L'Hydroptere Info Graphic - part 2

L'Hydroptere Info Graphic - part 3

L'Hydroptere Info Graphic - part 4

L'Hydroptere Info Graphic - part 5

Alexandre Caizerges at the Luderitz Speed Challenge 2010

Rob Douglas at the Luderitz Speed Challenge 2010

Alexandre Caizerges at the Luderitz Speed Challenge 2010

Seb Cattelan at the Luderitz Speed Challenge 2010

One of speed sailing's superstars, Charlotte Consorti, became the fastest woman on water at Luderitz 2010

The venue for the Luderitz Speed Challenge - a man-made canal in Luderitz Namibia

Currently the second fastest female sailor in history - Sophie Routaboul

Sebastien "Catman" Cattelan is one of the driving forces behind the Luderitz Speed Challenge and runs the Catman Kite School in South Africa. Sebastien "Catman" Cattelan is one of the driving forces behind the Luderitz Speed Challenge and runs the Catman Kite School in South Africa.

Charlotte Consorti at the Luderitz Speed Challenge 2010

Alexandre Caizerges at the Luderitz Speed Challenge 2010

Charlotte Consorti at the Luderitz Speed Challenge 2010

Finian Maynard reclaimed the outright world speed sailing record with a windsurfer at the French Trench in 2004

Australian Simon McKeon piloted the radical trimaran Yellow Pages Endeavour to the speed sailing record in 1993 with a run of 46.52 knots

The VESTAS Sailrocket 2 - the fastest sailing boat yet built

The VESTAS Sailrocket 2 design

The Walvis Bay course which was the venue for the new record

The VESTAS Sailrocket 2 design

The Luderitz Speed Challenge effectively represents the democratization of speed sailing record attempts

Tim Colman (later to become Sir Timothy Colman for his exploits), was the first to claim a world record with his Proa, Crossbow.

The history of the Kiteboard World Speed Sailing Record as measured over 500 meters.

Article Summary

NEWS FLASH - The outright world speed sailing record was smashed this afternoon (November 24) by Paul Larsen in the Vestas Sailrocket 2 with the astonishing time of 65.45 knots. It's the third time in eight days that Larsen has piloted the Vestas Sailrocket to a new outright world record, raising the bar from 55.65 knots to 65.45 knots. It has been a spectacular week for sailing in general, with more than a dozen world speed sailing records broken at two different venues in Namibia. The outright speed sailing records for both 500 meters (initially 59.23 then 59.38 and now 65.45 kts) and one nautical mile (55.32 kts) were set in Walvis Bay by Australian Paul Larsen and the British-designed, inclined-rig hydrofoil Vestas SailRocket 2. Simultaneously, 600 km away, the annual Luderitz Speed Challenge has seen nine world outright speed records for sailboards established in just a week, including surpassing 50 knots (92.6 km/h) and 60 mph (52.14 kts) on a sailboard. The breaking of world records is almost certain to continue over the coming weeks, with Larsen now seemingly capable of pushing the outright record within reach of the 70 knot barrier and the now legendary Luderitz Speed Challenge continuing until December 16, with kiteboarders joining the event on December 3.

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