In wild conditions at Sandy Point in Victoria, Australia, Chris Lockwood proved the new Carbon Art Speed 44 has the capability to blow away the scoreboard.
Reaching peak speeds of over 48 knots on several runs on the natural inlet, Lockwood’s 5×10 second GPS score of 46.3 knots fell 0.3knots short of Maynard’s GPS average times he set when he first smashed the outright sailing speed record back in 2004. Lockwood’s best 500m run on GPS was just over 46.1 knots. The fastest officially ratified 500m time set on a production board is 44.03 knots, set by Dave White on the Sts Maries de La Mer canal in 2004.
“It was totally unexpected. I was feeling a bit disappointed with having light wind for the trip and the forecast was diminishing in the days leading up to my last day at Sandy Point. After waiting around at Namibia for a couple of weeks to get a single round in, I was really eager to prove the capability of the new boards, and although 5th overall in Namibia against the speed giants wasn’t too bad, I felt I hadn’t had a real opportunity to demonstrate how good the boards really are.
I had to fly back to Perth that evening, and was a few hours drive from the airport. The forecast was for 22 knots of wind, expected to peak around lunchtime, so it would be a mission to get a sail in, pack up the gear, and get to the airport. I couldn’t believe it when I got to the inlet at around 9.30am to see the wind cranking a solid 30 knots in the gusts and building.
By the time I got on the water, the wind was gusting up into mid 40s and occasionally 50. So I used my new 4.4m sail. I felt completely in control at full speed. Even over the rolling chop at the end of the course the board was really stable and slippery. It did everything it was designed to do. The trim was magic. No instability at all. Seeing run after run over 47 knots on the GPS was a great experience. The setup was so comfortable I was able to look back and watch the gps on 47.5 before accelerating into the chop at the downwind end of the run, at 48.3knots.
There’s definitely more to go with this board. Looking at my GPS tracklogs there was no speed wall at all. It was the first time I used my new 4.4m, so with some more time to tune, who knows.
It was great to have the opportunity to prove that such a versatile design, available to the masses, can achieve such levels of performance.”
Information on Chris’ GPS session can be found at
http://www.gps-speedsurfing.com
