The opening week of Driven by Wind is over and was blessed with 35 to 40 knots of wind on the 2nd day which allowed Finian Maynard on his first visit to the Ray at Southend to set a blistering 44.32 knot run. Even more amazing it was only 0.4 of a knot off the new production record.

Due to the fact that no record attempt had been held at the site an open week was necessary to comply with the WSSRC (World Speed Sailing Record Council) rules.  So to get strong winds was a real bonus for the organisers. As well as Finian setting a new British waters record. 10 out of the17 competitors also achieved personal bests and over half the fleet went over 40 knots… undeniably the Ray has proved without doubt it has the capabilities to take the worlds best riders signed up to over 50 knots.

If you want to follow the competitor’s progress you can do so on the official website www.drivenbywind.com where you can also see the action live on line thanks to gps transmitters worn on the arms of competitor. Supplied by Dutch GPS timing specialists ChampionChip .
The spots boasts 3 courses to cover Westerly through to South Easterly and includes a Nautical Mile run which the team believe could take the overall Nautical mile record back for windsurfers.

The big head to head to look out for will be between Finian Maynard and Bjorn Dunkerbeck. Bjorn is really looking forward to making his mark on this open water spot.

All the riders now move into stand-by mode for the next 3 months. Where based on accurate forecasting they will be flying in from all over the world to do battle with the elements with only three days notice.