Friday,
October 8, 2004 13:29
Weymouth Speed Week |
|
|
 |
| Action
from Speed Week | | |
Some of the
fastest craft on water were put through their paces off Weymouth this week at
the annual Speed Week festival.
| |
|
| |
The rules to the event
are simple - competitors have to cover an accurately measured 500 metre course
on Portland Harbour as fast as possible.
Apart from that, there are few
rules and no restrictions on craft allowed to enter so speed-freaks from around
the world attend with everything from kite powered boats to sailboards to try
and smash some records.
 | | On
the waters of Portland Harbour |
At
this year's Speed Week, the conditions on Tuesday proved to be best for sheer
speed.
Over 800 runs were recorded (a record for the event) with more than
50 contestants on the water and more than 20 entrants bettering the 30 knots mark
- that means completing the 500 metre course in less than 30 seconds.
This week also saw the smashing of the Weymouth record set by Crossbow in 1980.
It was beaten by windsurfer, Bjorn Dunkerbeck at a speed of 36.18 knotts. The
10 times world champion has already confirmed he will be back at next year's Speed
Week to defend and beat his record.
The kiteboards also come into their
own, clocking the top three speeds over 30 knots on the Sunday - faster than any
sailboard.
 | | Kiteboarding
on Portland Harbour |
The
event also provides the ideal opportunity for vessels which are in the early development
stage to test how their work is coming on. Two craft widely regarded as record
breakers of the future, Sail Rocket and the kite-powered, Wind Jet have both been
on the course during the week.
Portland Harbour is the ideal location
for breaking wind records - if conditions are right, the winds whip low over Chessil
Beach and only hit the sea 50 metres out, leaving the inshore area with very few
ripples, and perfect for windsurfing speed.
Organiser Bob Downhill has
been at the helm of the event since the 1970s when big sponsorship made it one
of the major dates in the speed sailing diary. He described this year's event
as: "a fantasic week." In recent years Speed Week has been run by a
team of volunteers who plan to expand the event for next year.
|
| |
| |
|
