Sebastien Cattelan was the first person breaking the elusive 50 knots mark - the holy gral of speedsailing.
| Luderitz, NAM |
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Spot Record: 50.57 knots With landscape similar to the moon, but warmer, Lüderitz is a speed sailor’s dream. It is a ten hour drive from Cape Town, easily done overnight. The road goes through the dry semi-desert area of South Africa’s Northern Cape province, to gradually enter the Namibian desert areas around mid-way. It slowly transforms into a steadily more and more incredible landscape. The adventure really starts on the road, and the images will stay for ever in your memories, because this is one of the most beautiful you’ve likely driven! The wind in Lüderitz blows consistently, in the same direction, from August to March every year. The wind is strong, and in spite of the surrounding desert, is not hot, which gives higher density to the airflow and contributes to better performances. It is accelerated by a funnel effect as it comes from the cold Atlantic Ocean waters, over the dry savannah of south Namibia, and into the Namibian desert. It is precisely in Lüderitz that the wind, channelled through a range of high hills perfectly shaped to increase its speed, reaches the sand desert, which high daytime temperatures amplify by creating an additional low-pressure “suction effect”. As a result, we benefit from extra strong winds, very regular in direction and strength.
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