Speedsurfing is a windsurfing discipline. Many windsurfers are recreational going for higher speed, by using the hand held GPS devices. It is really fun to see how you progress and go faster. Read what is needed to start speedsurfing, what the fun is all about, etc. Speedsurfing is a lot of fun, if you have ever windsurfed or not, you can learn the beginnings of speedsurfing in a few lessons at a windsurf school. Speed is about 50km/h on normal days with no extreme wind. Pro speedsurfer can do near 90km/h in extreme wind strength.

There is a lot of gear available for speedsurfers, with over 20 different big manufacturers there is for everybody enough choice. Speedsurfing is done by people aged from 10 to 70 years old, although the speed can be quite high it is not super dangerous. Most sessions are in a safe environment, the water is not really hard. This makes crashes even fun, but some crash training is advised to crash safe.

What do you need for speedsurfing? Open water at least 1 x 1km, wind between 12-40kn, windsurf gear. And some lessons to learn how a windsurfer works. In the beginning you can start on freeride gear which is easier to use, after having enough experience the formula 1 gear “slalom gear” can be used to gain extra speed. A nice place to learn speedsurfing is Karphatos Greece, if you already have some windsurfing experience. Without any windsurfing experience any windsurf school will be OK to learn the basics. Try to learn on modern windsurfing gear, the newest gear is much easier to be handled, within 1 hour most can windsurf and turn. Gliding is learned in some more lessons.

Being exceptionally tall has many advantages, but what about when it comes to sporting endeavour, in particular when it comes to water sports. So just what are the plus and minus points of height when it comes to Swimming, rowing, water polo, canoe sports etc. How can a competitor use extra height to gain a competitive advantage over an opponent who has a different physical make up.

First and foremost is the ability to reach further. Being taller implies longer arms and legs, in turn meaning longer reach ability and longer stride ability. This is a tremendous advantage in many sports, but in particular water sports. One of the key factors to swimming is to generate long arcs with the arms and legs. This is only possible with long levers. The front crawl swim stroke requires that you have a long stroke i.e. your arms are powering through the water longer for every stroke than a shorter competitors. The longer your arms are in the water the more time you have to propel yourself in forward motion. Taller swimmers (and just take a look at who lines up for the next Olympic 200 metres Freestyle final) tend to have the textbook long, smooth stroke, whereas the shorter swimmers have a shorter, snappier stroke. Shorter swimmers, if powerful enough do however tend to excel at the more explosive and shorter events, such 50 metre breast stroke, where the long smooth stroke is overpowered by the more powerful short sharp strokes that generate forward momentum quickly.

Rowing is very much the domain of the taller athlete. Take a look any elite rowing crew and they will be tall. Even the lighter weight crews tend to be long and lean as opposed to short and muscular. Rowing is very much a team sport where all action and movement must be simultaneous to maximise effort. This is much easier to acheive if your crew of four or eight are of a similar height. Then to achieve a long stroke, maximising the oar time in the water, longer levers are required. Canoeing and kayaking can favour the shorter or longer paddler depending in the particular event. Some disciplines, such as slalom, white water event favour the shorter more balanced and powerful athlete who can generate power in a short number of strokes. Other events are more favourable to the taller athlete as they require long smooth stokes to generate forward momentum and maintain it for long period of time.