The desert is quiet, hot and dry - at least normally. In Namibia, on the west coast of Africa, there is one place where it is also hot and dry - but also extremely windy. Lüderitz, the name of this small town of 12,000 souls, has emerged as the perfect speed windsurfing spot. Here you can surf on the open sea, if you are not afraid of the masses of sharks.
But the real special feature of the place is inland.
Here, resourceful speed surfers maintain a narrow channel, with a water depth of 30-40 centimeters, which allows one to fly over the water at speeds of up to over 100km/h. This is life-threatening, but also absolutely unique. Every autumn, all those windsurfers who intend to break the world record in speed windsurfing gather here.
Here, resourceful speed surfers maintain a narrow channel, with a water depth of 30-40 centimeters, which allows one to fly over the water at speeds of up to over 100km/h. This is life-threatening, but also absolutely unique. Every autumn, all those windsurfers who intend to break the world record in speed windsurfing gather here.
Our Wind Lounge team rider Nils Bach recently took on exactly this challenge. The trip, which cost an incredible amount of nerves (and euros), began with the flight to Africa. Of course with him: several windsurf boards, sails, masts, booms, speed fins and accessories. Fun Fact: to transport the luggage by plane alone cost several thousand euros.
Arrived in Africa, it then went via detours many hundreds of kilometers through the desert to finally arrive in Lüderitz. Nils took four weeks to get an official rating on the canal. Why does he need four weeks for this? Well, also in Lüderitz the wind does what it wants. The first two weeks we only went on the water with minimal winds, which was hardly enough for record attempts. In addition, Nils suffered from a severe cold and was flat for the time being.
At some point, however, the wind came and Nils was able to beat his own best times again and again. From the world record still far away, but at least a little closer. The experience of windsurfing at well over 80km/h on a narrow channel is something no one can take away from him. The club of desert speed surfers is small and exclusive - all the more we are happy about the detailed reporting of Nils.
For details and exact information about the trip, the channel & of course the material, we recommend the video series produced by Nils on YouTube. We are proud to have supported Nils on his journey and hope that he will be drawn back to Lüderitz in the coming years. Then the mission is to break the 50 knots barrier and enter the top 10 fastest windsurfers!
