RACE DAY 5 – 16 OCTOBER 2014  

Today has once again been a very successfulrace day = 4 more records!  

The wind speeds havebeen lower thanexpected but the course was smoother than ever. Despite   25-30 knotwindspeedsonly(with stronger gusts) the competitorsachieved *crazyspeeds*  

Remo Diethelm(Swiss Champion) openedthe race day by smashing his Swiss record (47.0kts) initially with47.62 kts andthen improved it on his next run with 48.31kts and ledthe race. 

Itwasthen the turn of Jacques vander Hout(Holland), who beathis best speed the day beforeandachieved 48 knots in most of his runs!  

The young talented Dutch rider Hans Kreiselshowed his skills by achieving an excellent 49.59 kts whilst competing alongsidethe highly experienced Anders Bringdal(Swedish Champion) who topped 49.6 kts then later exceeding 50 kts (twice) with 50.3 kts – the day’s best performance! 

South African & Africa Champion Mark Grinnelldidsome impressivespeedsby achieving anew National South African Record in Windsurfing with 49.92 kts (was 49.66 kts).

Czech Windsurfer Martin Tóthonce again increased his record starting the event with 44.63 ktsandis now at 46.73kts   

Many other riders also beattheir best times:  

Hennie Bredenkamp(South Africa) achieved46.87 kts yesterday and improved it 3 times today reaching 48.77kts  

Alain de Gendt (Belgium) was on 45.92 kts by achieving his best speed yesterday and twice today,exceeded 47 kts with 47.41 kts – his top performance ever!  

Erik Bealethe first to achieve40 ktsin the 80s, startedthe event with 42.35 ktsandfinishedthe day with an amazing 46.29 kts.

Matthias Rottcher(Namibia Champion) was really close to his record today with 47.23kts(Record@ 47.51 kts) and Franz Grabner(Austria Champion) reached 47.34 kts (his record is 47.88 kts). Christian Bornemann (#2 Germany) who was at 46.75 kts pushed his speed to 46.44kts  

Lena Erdil(Turkey Champion& Red Bull rider) the only lady in the 2014 race event achieved 44.33 kts – only1.5 knots short ofthe world record.  

French kite surfer Sylvain Hoceini, who started the event with 46.82 ktson the 1st day, achieved 51.5 kts and went over 50 knots 7 times!Sébastien Cattelan achieved 52.90 kts in kitesurfing and 43.55 knots in Windsurfing by borrowing equipment from riders, has also done a great job with the building of the channel this year.

All are now waiting for the perfect conditions of: strong, stable winds with the right angle to take their PBs/Records to the next level.

We will all enjoy the next few days with light wind racing in the lagoon and sharing a BBQ on the beach with local people thanks to SPAR, after a Ceremony at the fabulous Crayfish Bar & Lounge in the Lüderitz Nest Hotel to congratulate riders who are going back to their countries and welcoming others arriving.