I have been around boats of all types for my entire life. If I have gone over 40 knots, it would have been for a short moment flat out on a jet ski or while water skiing. While sailing, I have exceeded 20 knots a few times and to me it feels like 100. Now that I am doing a bit of foiling and can sail faster than the wind, my episodes in the 20s are getting more frequent. I still doubt I have ever sailed faster than 30 knots.
There is an elite and growing group of sailors that have gone over 50 knots – while sailing! Mostly on SailGP’s foiling F50s or the last few generations of foiling Americas Cup boats.
The semi foiling IMOCAs pictured here in the current version of The Ocean Race (ongoing right now with the stage 3 starting today from Cape Town), regularly sail over 30 knots – in ocean waves. These are all big elaborate and complicated boats with engineering teams and full crews of sailors.
Enter Heidi Ulrich. The 38 year old female windsurfer, that broke the women’s windsurfing speed record last November. Just herself, board and sail, going an average of 47.16 knots over a 500 meter course.
These windsurfing speed freaks do this in “the ditch” in Namibia during Luderitz Speed Challenge each November. The prior women’s record of 46.49 knots had been held by Zara Davis since 2017.
Now that is some awesome wind and women power!
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