There is a monumental occasion coming up in the windsurfing calendar. It is that time where the fastest men in the world meet at a small canal in the depths of Namibia to see who can clock the fastest speed ever reached on a windsurfer.

For those who were hiding in a hole last year, the world record was smashed, smashed again and then smashed some more by not just one, two or three speed windsurfers, but in fact a whole host of them. The final record reached was in excess of 52 knots by the now PWA Slalom champion that is Antoine Albeau. Amongst the elite crew was Jurjen Van Der Noord, perhaps a name not quite so familiar as the PWA slalom riders like Antoine and Bjorn Dunkerbeck, but certainly a name you should set within your mind. This man has held third spot ever since the record breaking runs last year and what’s more is that he tells Boardseeker that he thinks he has it in him to beat the outright record this time around…

We would enter the last past of the trench at almost 53 knots… kit was destroyed, completely obliterated… Zara Davies ended up with over 50 stitches

So what does Jurjen have to overcome? Well last year thousands and thousands of Euros worth of kit ended up completely disintegrated as the sailors made every effort to stop before the water ran out, on top of that more than 50 stitches were required amongst the crew and several broken ribs were covered up in an attempt to beat the guy in front. We caught up with Jurjen for a skype date to find out everything that the budding speedster needs to know about life in the canal.

However, before we speak with the man himself here is a quick Luderitz 2013 factfile.

Record Breaking period: 7th October – 17th November
Amateurs holding period (previous speed of 48 knots or less) dates: First two weeks
Professionals holding period (previous speed over 48 knots): Final four weeks
Number of people required to create the canal: 5
Canal setup time: 2 months
Canal season: 2 months
Canal length: A little over 500m
Canal depth: 30cm
Canal width: 5m
Entry fee: €1000 a week

Page 2: Training and preparations for Luderitz ’13
Page 3: Luderitz changing
Page 4: Only 95% good last year, what could happen if it is 100% this year?
Page 5: 60 knots
Page 6: Jurjen and the PWA
Page 7: Speed for Dummies
Page 8: Jurjen the world speed champion
Page 9: Final words