Interview - World Record Holder Patrik Diethelm

by Markus Schwendtner on 14 Mar 2008 Not content simply with being among the six fastest sail-powered people in the world with his 46.57 knots, Patrik Diethelm made his run on F2 manufactured production equipment. One of the three windsurfers to have really shown last Wednesday 5th March on the canal at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, ITA-120 tells us his story of the day, and how he’s started dreaming of the absolute record…

Windsurfjournal.com : What is your feeling about this incredible March 5th?
Patrik Diethelm : To be honest, I am hungry for more and faster speeds ! I was the whole day on production Missile 43cm wide and it was a very big board. Unfortunately I crashed at the first run I tried with my small prototype 37cm and I think it was because there was a lot of seaweed in the water. My mast, sail and board were broken and both my shoulders hurt so I decided to stop for the day and I could not find out how fast I could go with my prototype.

WJ : What equipment were you using for this new production world record?
PD : For a rider of my size, I am 183cm high and I weigh 94kg, plus I had about 15kg lead with an extra life jacket to be sure that the extra weight floated, those are the rules. My equipment was a regular production board F2 Missile XS with a 22cm custom fin, and the sail was a North Sails Warp 5.0.

WJ : Can you tell us about some of the wipe outs during the day, they were incredible?
PD : It was a very windy day and the direction of the wind was too much down wind and just sometimes it changed direction for a couple minutes, and this was always the moment to get on the run. Because of the strong wind and the deep angle it creates a very steep short chop which is very difficult to pass without having spinout. Antoine crashed 5 times and we all had a hard time to get started as the strong wind pushed down even sails as small as 4.5m2. My first crash was not so bad as I had time to react and I could hook out in time and let go my equipment, so I just slid on top of the water for a couple metres until I stopped. My second crash was quite hard as I had a spinout and crashed immediately at full speed. I believe it was over 45 knots as I had a pretty good run the first 350-400metres before I crashed. My mast and sail broke and I ripped out the strap plug of the board as well. My shoulders still hurt a couple days later - hope I will be alright for the slalom season this year.

WJ : How do you explain such a big gap between your old and new production records?
PD : My first 3 records where in average conditions and every time I went to the canal in Saintes-Maries I had wind from east, max-ing 30-35 knots. This was my first time speed sailing in such strong conditions, 60 knots of Mistral wind with gusts. I believe the reason is because I finally got some strong winds.

WJ : New production record, new Italian and personal record, this must have been a great day for you?
PD : Yes, I am very happy with the result and I am looking forward to use custom boards from now on. I hope my shoulders recover soon and we all pray for another good session before the end of the MOS the 04.April. We need to break the 50 knots !!!

WJ : After such a great speed with a production board, what is the next step for you in speed sailing?
PD : I never had a full run on a prototype so I don’t know what is possible. I hope I will get some extra knots with the prototype to get closer to the 50 barrier. Who knows, maybe I will break it, he, he, he !?!?

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