Jerome is now able to walk unassisted for the first time.

Well done Jerome for your perseverance and courage !  
You can read the full article about Jerome HERE

Updated : 31 January 2010

Ever wondered what speed spots there are out there, or perhaps you're visiting a country in the near future and want to know where you can speed sail. This article aims to answer these questions for you.
There are thousands of potential speed spots around the globe, so I will focus on those with a proven track record that you are most likely to want to try out at some stage.

I will try to get detailed information about each spot so that you know when and where to go, as well as the technique and equipment required at each spot.
I'll start with my local spot and expand from there.

BTW, if any of you ever visit Johannesburg (especially around May or August), then please let me know in advance so that I can arrange a trip to Sterkfontein Dam. It gets world class wind at times, and over the years I've learnt exactly when conditions will be ideal for speed sailing.  

Sterkfontein Dam (affectionately known as "Sterkies")


Looking NW over the dam

The dam is in the Free State Province of South Africa, and is the closest speed spot to Johannesburg (330 km's). If coming from overseas or another province besides KZN, you'd fly to O.R. Tambo, then drive to Harrismith on the N3, then take the alternate route to Durban via Oliviershoek Pass, and the dam will be on your right hand side 17 km before the end of the escarpment, it is clearly sign posted.
There are 2 toll gates along the way that charge R29 (Heidelberg) and R41 (Villiers) respectfully.
Watch out for speed traps, there are a whack of them.
There are 5 fixed cameras, the 1st is by the Villiers toll gate, then by Warden, then in the dip by the Meul River, then +-20km from Harrismith by a row of trees, then in the 80 km zone just before Harrismith, and one by the bridge in the 100 km zone passing Harrismith. There are also some manual laser traps and recently they've started with unmanned, movable camera traps. So WATCH OUT !

The dam is at 1700 meters above sea level and lies within a nature reserve (18000 ha) which is located at the foothills of the Drakensberg mountain range.
This is a massive dam with clear blue waters that covers 7000 ha, and it has spectacular scenery. 
The reserve includes and array of wildlife and birds, some of the game include mountain reedbuck, oribi, zebra, gemsbok, springbok, and several others; birds include the vulture, secretary and eagles to name a few; there's also meerkat, dassie and several species of snakes.

There are 17 chalets (4 - R400, 5 - R500, and 8 sleepers - R800 per night) that overlook the dam within the reserve, and if they're full, then you can try the Caterpillar and Catfish (incorporating Windmill bungalows, and has a decent pub and restaurant) which is 17 km away at the end of the dam. There are also numerous B&B's in and around Harrismith, and at the bottom of Oliviershoek Pass.
See this accommodation link for more details.

Sterkies Chalets on a windy day

What makes this dam so special is that there's a local effect along the edge of the escarpment which accelerates the wind, so it's not uncommon for there to be little wind nearby, and Sterkies is blowing 20+.
Windguru gives you a good indication of when it'll blow, but never gets the strength right as it doesn't factor in this local effect. A forecast of 7-9 knots NW often equates to 15-20, and a forecast of 19 in May 2009 resulted in a 60 knot lashing. I've even heard stories of caravans being blown over.

Besides the dam having the best wind inland, the water is so clean that you can drink it. The reason for this is that it's not fed by any rivers which is the norm, instead water is pumped up the mountain from a holding dam at night during off-peak (fed from the Tugela River) and run down the mountain during the day to generate hydro electricity.

The best wind direction for sailing is NW to W, as this is when the local effect comes into play; this is when the wind blows off the escarpment and this creates a localised low at the foot of the mountain which increases the gradient.
The strongest winds occur there in Winter when there's a high pressure inland (which is the norm) and a front passing by along the coast or about to hit directly.
BUT beware, conditions during Winter can get freezing at times, so be prepared for this and wear the appropriate kit. I'm talking hoodie, gloves, 5mm wetsuit (plus Ti vest), and maybe booties. Even dressed like this, you can still easily get hypothermia if you end up swimming for a while. So try to have a buddy on hand in case something goes wrong.
There have been several deaths at the dam over the years from drowning and hypothermia, so please take care.

A typical day at Sterkies when a moderate NW-W is predicated is as follows :

1. The wind usually starts out blowing a light-moderate Northerly.
2. The wind gradually swings to the West throughout the day. Sometimes this can happen abruptly, but usually the wind will die down a bit before it swings.
3. The wind usually peaks around 2-3pm (slightly earlier in Winter), but this is not always the case, especially if a front is baring down. 
4. The wind often blows dead West in the late afternoons, which makes for the flattest conditions inside the bay.

In Winter there's very seldom anyone around, so congestion is the least of your worries, the cold is.

Northern Bay in 25-30 knots West

The bay measures 300 meters in total, measuring diagonally from the point (rocks) to a third of the way along the curve (trees in line with ablution block).
The bay curves a full 90 degrees, so at the start of the run (just past the point) you will have square wind in a West, and run almost straight downwind towards the end, so one's line is very important to maximise the length of the run without running into serious chop.
There's over a 4 km fetch to the point resulting in some big swell running in stronger wind (up to 2m). This swell then hits a shallow rock shelf (from erosion of the cliff faces) and the waves jack up. I therefore don't advise you come into the point with too much speed else you'll wipeout before your run even begins. I usually approach this point wide and edge in towards the bank after the breakers. I only put the hammer down after further 30-50m when the swell dies down. This does not leave much time for the proper speed run as there's a bank of trees perpendicular at the end of the run, so you need to slow down in time.

Example of point wave hitting rock shelf, and this is in only 25 knots

Here's the LINK to the article I wrote about that day. 

Spray from waves hitting the cliffs in 60 knots

I started hosting a speed event at Sterkies in May 2008, which is now held twice a year; once in Autumn and in Spring. I purposely avoid Summer and Winter, and there's too little wind in Summer and it's very cold in Winter. This is the first inland kiting speed event in the world to my knowledge.
I open up entries and issue the race notice 2 months prior to each event on this site.
Look on the top-left of the site for past event results and links to the entry form when it's time.
In Autumn the water remains fairly warm as it's one of the deepest dams in South Africa, but the opposite applies in Spring and the water remains cold up until October.

The goal of the event is introduce intermediate and advanced riders to the thrill of speed.
GPS's and speedboards are available for hire, and you can compete in the twintip and/or speedboard divisions, but you may only win one division.
You can compete on standard equipment (kite & board), the only requirement is that you abide by the rules (right of way, etc.) and wear a GT-11 or GT-31 GPS (Locosys). These are the most accurate handheld GPS's on the market at present. There is talk of a GT-35, but they're not available yet.

There's a series of ridges to the West of this spot, so it becomes very gusty in a Westerly; therefore the ideal wind angle there will be a NW I reckon, as more North is required than the Northern Bay.
I'm sure this Southern spot will yield an impressive average when the conditions are right.


Southern Bay spit

---

Lüderitz


Seb tearing down the strip in 2008

Lüderitz is known for it's legendary wind; what makes it so windy is it's where the hot desert and cold Atlantic converge. All that's needed is a high pressure system to the West or SW and it's going to blow the paint off cars (literally).
It's windiest between October and February; usually November is the windiest month, but in 2009 this did not prove to be the case. 
The beauty about Lüderitz's wind is that is very predictable; as a high pressure system approaches it'll get progressively windier each day, then it'll peak on a given day and subside once again as the high moves South and slides eastward along the Cape South coast or dissipates.
There are a few speed spots around Lüderitz, the best spot at present is "Second Lagoon" which is starboard tack and where the event is held. Then there's "Diaz Point" which is port tack, and "Storm Vogel Bucht" which is starboard. There are other speed spots further North which have not been tried yet.


How hard does it blow in Luderitz, a fair whack !

On an average windy day there'll already be wind in the morning with some white caps pouring out second lagoon. It'll get windier as the day progresses and usually peaks around 4pm depending on the time of the year. But this is not always the case.
The wind is usually very steady, which helps instill confidence as there's seldom a sudden gust to throw you off guard.

Tide plays the biggest role at Second Lagoon, as the shape of the bay constantly changes.

At high tide there are 4 inlets into the lagoon which become your mortal enemy when the barrier is not in place, as they spew out enough chop to dash any hope of going fast, and you'll almost certainly wipe out trying to do so.
The gap between these inlets is too short to get a decent run in, so you either need the barrier at high tide to kill the chop by the inlets, or you must wait for the tide to subside.
The ideal time to do speed runs when there's no barrier is as the water level reaches the inlet openings, as this gives you the straightest run in shallow water, and there's minimal chop to contend with.
As the tide recedes further, the shape of the bay become an "S" which is not ideal for speed as you have to edge coming into the run and then bear away, and edge again at the end.

Second Lagoon at low tide

Get the timing right and you have a chance to clock some impressive speeds.
Seb recorded the best peak speed there in late October 2009 without the aid of the barrier.

Here's Seb's GPS display after the fastest session to date. Above is his peak speed, and below is his 10 second average.


Here's what Seb's fastest tracks overlaid in Google Earth look like

There are 2 important aids Seb put in place in 2009 while the speed event was running, one was a wooden barrier, and another a 2m wide trench he dug so speed runs could still be done when the tide receded below the barrier. The WSSRC requires a minimum water depth of 15cm throughout or half the beam of the board. So these are needed to allow "official" speed runs to be done in sufficient water depth for longer.


The barrier during the event, a necessity when it's high tide and blowing


"Le Trench" in the making; this allowed runs at lower tide and helped make the new kite world record possible (Alex 50.98)


"Le Trench" in use by it's creator, Seb

Aside from second lagoon where event is held, there are other options.
They have not been considered for use during the event as they are too short and the run is too curved to fit a decent 500m within them.
But this aside, they are still an excellent training ground and are long enough to clock super fast 10 second speeds there.

Diaz point juts out to sea and therefore gets massive wind, it's the outer edge of second lagoon.
The downside to this is that it's not safe. If you have equipment failure, you can end up in desperate trouble by being blown out into the Atlantic with no nearby shoreline to swim to.
It's hard to pass up though as it has flat water conditions, even in the strongest wind. It can be gusty at times, but it's still well worth a try.

Diaz Point, what a setting, what a spot; it has huge potential on port tack

Storm Vogel Bucht is nearby Diaz Point (a little South) and also gets stronger wind than second lagoon. It's a slightly safer option than Diaz as there is a rocky point you can swim for if things go wrong.
But be warned, the waves are bigger here than Diaz, so you need to negotiate your way through the run carefully to make sure you don't get caught on the inside.
It's lovely spot for many reasons, and it's got a rugged appeal. 

Storm Vogel Bucht on a light wind day, but this spot gets raging wind at times

There is a lot to write about Luderitz, and I still have many unpublished photos, so I'll create a separate article dedicated to Luderitz nearer the next event to let those planning a trip there know what to expect.

MORE TO FOLLOW SOON . . .

Other spots that'll be covered soon are Velddrift, and Langebaan (Shark Bay).