Text: Malcolm McGregor. Photos: DO IT NOW. Article from the April/May 2012 issue of DO IT NOW Magazine.
The 27th running of the prestigious Langebaan Down Wind Dash, from Langebaan to Saldanha, was held on 14 January. Reputed to be the biggest kite and windsurfing event in the world, it lived up to its reputation with 260 entries, including a large contingent of international participants.
The popularity of this event can be attributed to the fact that it’s a competition between all kinds of sailing craft, kites, windsurfers, Hobie Cats and any other form of craft that wants to enter. This year also saw the stand up paddlers (SUP) take part for the first time, adding yet another exciting element to an already thrilling lineup.
Although the competition is always stiff, the overall feeling of the event is also a relaxed one in which families are encouraged to enter and pit themselves, for fun and a challenge, against the best in the world. Past winners include local sailors the likes of Matthew Swart and Peter Slate, both with five wins under their sails. In recent years, the race has been dominated by overseas competitors such as Alex Caizerguers and Seb Cattelan, world record kiters, and Bernd Flessner, Ross Williams and Alberto Menagatti, who all compete on the international windsurfing scene. This year’s event saw Alberto Menegatti, Matthew Swart, Matthew Busse, Collen Heckroodt, Arnion Dragon, Andrea Rosati, Tyler Ryan and Jac le Roux all in hot contention for the shield.
Amongst the ladies, Sjoukje Bredenkamp, the world speed record holder for women, has dominated for the last few years, and the top contenders, Megs Janse van Rensburg, Sophie Routaboul and Candice Daley, breathed a sigh of relief when Sjoukje did not enter the 2012 event.
On the day of the event, Langebaan’s beach began to hum from early morning, and with such a large number of competitors entering the race, registration was hectic. As a result, and from a safety perspective, there were two starts so that the front runners did not crowd the first mark, as they took the first gybe. Once the briefing had taken place at the DO IT NOW stand (thanks for the PA system), the competitors were rearing to get on the water. The weather conditions were ideal for windsurfers and kites, but difficult for the SUP because the wind swings west and they have to paddle on one side only for the whole course.
All the races started from the beach ‘Le Mans’ style, and it was the SUPs who were out of the starting gates first, setting sail on a different course half an hour earlier than the rest of the field. Next were the kiters, windsurfers and Hobies, who all got off to a flying start behind local jet ski pilot Abbi Lindenberg. With the kiters having won the event twice and the windsurfers showing a better turn of speed in the last three events, it was anyone’s guess who would cross the finish line first. However, it was the top windsurfers that led the field from the start and continued to dominate as they passed the finish mark near Saldanha’s beach, at an average speed of 52 kph, in the top three positions, and within three minutes of each other. The first kite home was a minute behind.
DINfo box
What’s a gybe? A gybe or jibe is a sailing manoeuvre where a sailing vessel, which is sailing in the same direction as the wind, turns its stern through the wind, so that the wind direction changes from one side of the boat to the other. For square-rigged ships, this manoeuvre is called wearing ship. In this manoeuvre, the mainsail will cross the centre of the boat while the gybe is pulled to the other side of the boat. If the spinnaker is up, the pole will have to be manually moved to the other side, to remain opposite the mainsail. The other way to change the side of the boat that faces the wind is turning the bow of the boat into, and then through, the direction of the wind. This operation is known as tacking or coming about.
Race statistics
Windsurfers: 36 Kites: 193 Hobies: 7 SUPs: 32Â Ladies: 25 Â Youngest age: 10Â Oldest age: 61
Overall results
Alberto Menegatti          Windsurfer        00:23:15
Arnon Dagan              Windsurfer        00:23:30
Andrea Rosati             Windsurfer        00:25:18
Colin Heckroodt           Kite              00:26:20
Eugene van Niekerk        Windsurfer         00:26:25
Cameron Bruce           Windsurfer         00:26:32
Matthew Busse            Kite              00:27:06
Matthew Swart            Windsurfer         00:27:11
Tyler Ryan               Kite              00:27:13
Peter Lumley             Windsurfer         00:27:26
Ladies results
*Megs Janse van Rensberg  Kite              00:35:30
Candice Daley            Kite              00:35:39
Amanda Landon          Kite              00:36:28
Sophie Routaboul         Kite              00:36:57
Caroline Hossack          Kite              00:39:00
Terri Kidson              Kite              00:41:27
* Megs was the first lady to finish, but was not recorded as the winner as the finish judges could not record her passing the finish line.
Junior results
Oswald Smith            Kite               00:28:02
Oscar Armstrong          Kite               00:28:13
Keegan Lester            Kite               00:30:30
Carl Ferreira             Kite               00:31:10
Burts Jarrod              Kite               00:36:48
Eric van Zyl              Kite               00:37:47
Greg Wilcocks            Kite               00:43:11
Simone Swanepoel        Kite               00:47:47
Jason van der Spuy       Kite               01:05:15
LucaGuerrini             Kite               01:27:51
DINfobox
The original Dash course was a giant slalom around three marks and over a distance of 17km. The record for this course was 18 minutes, set by Cape Town star peter Slate. Three years ago the course was extended to 20km rounding four marks, and the new course record is held by Bernd Flessner in 22 minutes 25 seconds.
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