user said...
I remember the hubub when Fred Haywood set the benchmark at Weymouth Speed Week,back in...mumble,mumble...with his radical windsurf sail with camber built into the luff.
One thing to note though,is that the old records were set by (from memory) two runs down a 500 metre course,and then the average taken. So peak speeds were not recorded.
Not sure how it works now,but the GPS method gives a much higher reading.
Actually the GPS does give a higher reading but can't always be used. A number of the top riders have broken 50knots on GPS but it doesn't stand unless its an official event. The GPS units used are also not the standard units as they have to be more accurate than the standard units.
The speeds taken are an average over a 500m so its not peak speeds either, its the average speed over a 500m distance (and as someone mentioned before, with at least 50cm depth which makes it difficult)
