Farrel O’Shea was windsurfing when the 20 knot barrier was broken, let alone the 50 knot! In 1983, whilst building a name for himself on the wave tour, Farrel and his mates decided to enter the Sotavento speed event in Fuerteventura. He got hooked and remained in the world’s top 20 for several years. He stopped competing in the early 90’s to concentrate on his surfboard and clothing business. Fast forward 10 years and Farrel is back in style, taking the UK speed record with a speed of 44.34 knots.

After Christophe Simian, now it’s time for Pascal Maka, Masters of Speed coordinator and race director, to tell Windsurfjournal.com his side of the 5 months spent on the canal at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. The net result, personal memories, regrets, his view of the future !

After 5 long months and 4 official speed record attempts, the Masters of Speed 2007/2008 paid its final respects on the 5th April, boasting a new world record for a production board, but also, and more importantly, a new all-category world water sail speed record … Official timekeeper but also the chief conductor of the infamous speed canal, Christophe Simian takes time out to talk about the net result of the event, even if the 50 knot target remains unbeaten !