BJORN DUNKERBECK – NEED FOR SPEED

If you want to go fast, there are few better men to follow in the wake of than Bjorn Dunkerbeck. So when the leader of the pack laid down a speed challenge, John Skye was keen to compete. In our exclusive diary, John tells all about his bid for glory down the speed strip, while Speedster in Chief – Dunky – gives an insight into his event.

Words  John Skye // Photos  John Carter

My quest for speed started around 3 years ago when we introduced the first Firewing to the RRD sails collection. Originally I bought the GPS unit to help with testing, but it quickly became clear that in the gusty conditions we have over here, it didn’t give conclusive test results. However the speed seed was planted and together with the GPS-Results program and GPS-Speedsurfing.com I started logging results and getting competitive with myself to go faster.

In 2014 Bjorn was already on my case to enter his event, but unfortunately my travel plans meant it was impossible. However for 2015, the event was in the diary nice and early and there was no way I was going to miss it. Not only did it look like a great fun event, but it also would provide the perfect testing ground for the sails. I had numerous proto types to try and with the free format of the event and hour-long heats, it would allow me to experiment and learn. Having never done any sort of speed contest before it was pretty hard to set a goal, but I was desperate to get over 40 kts, even if it was just a peak speed. Twice I had hit high 39’s, with the last effort peaking frustratingly close at 39.95 kts, but with the mirror flat waters of Fuerte, surely that would give me the edge to cross the all-important barrier.

Day 1 – Originally I had hoped to head over early and test the conditions and gear combinations, but in my first ever parental compromise I made the decision to stay for my daughter’s end of year party and mini-graduation from nursery school. This meant the only option was an overnight ferry, arriving on the morning of the contest at 6am. Furthermore I made the huge mistake of choosing a yoga mat on the floor rather than a comfy cabin; and paid the price with one of the worst night sleeps I can remember (and that is saying something with a 3 month old crying baby in the house!!)

Arriving at the event site the wind was light, which thankfully gave me a couple of hours to at least relax a bit before the contest kicked off. The wind finally kicked in after lunchtime and I hit the water straight away to test the different gear combinations. With light winds for a 7.8 I had 3 board possibilities and after trying the X-fire 105, 90 and 80, I found very little difference, so opted for the middle one. Then a quick test of various fin sizes with a 32/30/28, I again opted for the middle one with my trusty 30cm RS-3 F-Hot proving to be the most comfortable.

Round 1 was the Canaries Championship and I hit the water with the 7.8 Firewing, 90 X-Fire and 30 RS-3. The race director had set a number of buoys in the water to help to order things, with 2 buoys marking an entry gate, a no overtaking zone up to the next buoy, and finally just before the start of the course, a zone where only 1 rider can enter at the same time. Unfortunately in this 1st round the buoys were in completely the wrong place. It meant that to enter the course correctly you almost needed a formula board! I stuck to the rules but as a consequence I never entered the course with any speed, struggling to get over 32 kts. Following the Canary round, we went straight into Round 1 of the European championships. This time the course was much better, and following a couple of good runs on the bigger gear (7.8/90), I changed down to a 7.0 on the 50cm speed board. Speeds turned out to be more or less the same, with the 10 second average slightly higher than the morning and a best speed of over 34 kts.

Having taken part in just about every format of windsurf competition, GPS speed was a new and very different experience. Unlike waves or freestyle which are subjective, speed events are very clear with who beat who, with the best 2x 250m runs counting over each hour long round. The only problem is that you have no idea how you are doing compared to the others. You have your machine on your arm and can check it every run, but you have no idea if you are 2 kts quicker or 2 kts slower than the rest of the competition. That makes for a really interesting moment when at the end of the session everyone is checking with everyone else “what speeds did you get?” to try to gauge your success. At the end of the day, you hand in your SD card and wait to find out if you are fast or slow!

Day 2 –I arrived in the morning desperate to know how it had gone, only to see my name missing from all the results. The guys told me there was a problem, that they had lost my card. There was only one other possibility, and sure enough when we checked my machine, they had forgotten to take it out the day before. So after checking the data, I jumped up to 6th in the euros and 2nd in the Canaries. Very happy for the first day. Bjorn was in a league of his own, with speeds over 2kts quicker than the next. Bjorn is one of, if not the fastest sailor in the world, and in these lighter, more slalom orientated conditions, that advantage seemed to be multiplied.

With no wind I spent the morning chatting and picking people’s brains, particularly Pete and Zara Davis. I have known them since I first started windsurfing on Brogborough lake at 13 years old, and they were incredibly open and helpful. To be honest everyone at the event was the same. Being new to this world it was fascinating talking about which board/sail/fin combos people used, both for the previous day, and for the real speed days at places like West Kirby/la Franchie or even Luderitz.

Also I spent some time studying my tracks on the computer and this turned out to be very useful. It was pretty clear I was always losing speed in the middle of the course. There is a gust at the beginning and a gust at the end, with a lull in the middle. The best speeds I had were always when I could keep a good speed through the middle. I also noted that actually all my best runs were a little out to sea. I had spent the previous sessions trying to get as close to the beach as possible, onto the flattest water, but actually the wind and times were better 20m out. Armed with this info I opted to put a bit of weight on my shoulders to help carry me through this lull and not worry so much about getting close to the beach. Plus having seen the consistent speeds of Roberto Hoffman I also opted for an asymmetric fin in my speed board.

Finally the wind came in very late. They started Round 2 of the Canaries leg and the first 10 minutes was really windy. I set 2 pretty good speeds of over 32kts on the 7.8/90 combo, and then came running in to the beach to grab the speed board. That turned out to be a total disaster. Firstly in the rush to rig, I hadn’t closed the clip properly on one side of my boom, so as I entered the course and sheeted in, the boom shortened and I had to abort the run. After sorting that out I made 2 more runs, but it quickly became clear that the asymmetric fin I had was too small in these conditions.

So back to the beach and running around to change fins. Had a much better feeling with the 28 RS-3, but by then the wind had dropped considerably. So back to the beach and again more running around to grab my 80 and try it on the 7.8. Eventually they closed the round early due to light winds, but I finished absolutely punished. Running around on the beach with 3kg on your back really takes it out of you. End result eventually turned out to be 2nd place on the day, and second overall for canaries. More importantly I was getting a better idea of what kit was working and more crucially, what wasn’t.

“ Speed is also a discipline where you can mix professionals with amateurs on the same course ” ^{Bjorn Dunkerbeck}

Day 3 – With strange Calima weather, the wind was all over the place. Picking up for a few minutes, before swinging around to the other direction and leaving people swimming back to shore. Eventually the racing was called off and I went out for a few runs to get some photos. I grabbed my 90 X-Fire and 7.0 and ended up with my best speeds so far. I made a note to give that a try next time.

Day 4 – Still some very strange wind, but finally it kicked in late in the afternoon with very similar conditions to the other days. Zara had made a comment about small sails being quicker on the tight course, and after yesterday’s good runs in the evening I opted for the 7.0/90/30. This turned out to be a killer combo. Plus with a small wave running through the course I could use this to get an extra knot out of the board, especially helping to get through the lull in the middle. I did try the speed board again towards the end, but it was clearly not as effective.

At the end of the session and following the usual “How fast did you go?” conversations, it was clear that I had had a very good session. Keen to be able to check the data, I ran to the van to download the card before handing it in. In my haste however I pulled the card out before turning off the machine, resulting in a very worrying loud beeping noise! That meant that the all important file from the afternoon session was missing! My heart almost stopped and I searched and searched to see if I had made a mistake. At that point I honestly thought I had wiped the whole session and was pretty devastated. With my face white with worry I found Zara who reassured me me the data was recoverable. Sure enough the wonderful guys at GPS-Speedsurfing found the data and later that evening confirmed I had finished the round in 2nd place behind Bjorn, and was sitting 3rd place overall. I already had had a beer night planned with JC, and after that result there was even more reason to celebrate.

Day 5 – Arriving at the beach, the results were on display to confirm my position.  Suddenly my perspective of the event changed massively. I had arrived to test and learn, but now I was within touching distance of the podium. Conditions were the same again, so I made sure the 7.8 and 7.0 were rigged and ready 5 minutes before the start. The wind was looking light with people struggling to get down the course with power. I opted for the 7.8, but the wind picked up very quickly. I had a couple of good speeds with the 7.8, but I was getting pulled around too much and changed to the 7.0. The speeds were OK, but I never found the flow of the previous day. I couldn’t get a clean run, people kept getting in the way and in the slightly stronger winds, I couldn’t quite stay locked down. Maybe it was the after effect of the JC beers, but coming off the water it was clear that there had been a couple of really quick runs from the other guys. When the evening results were posted I had finished 4th, with an average speed of 35.4kts but having seen how close it was to 2nd I was a bit gutted. The 2 guys ahead of me had both had 1 killer run each, but their second best run was actually slower than both of mine, meaning I was only 0.35kts too slow on the average of the 2 runs, which is nothing. I was still lying 3rd overall though, but that result would turn out to be crucial!

Day 6 – More of the same on Day 6, with light and gusty winds on the course. This time I made the correct decision and started on the magic 7.0/90/30 combo first, clocking a few 35kt+ times on the 10secs average. After 20 minutes though I couldn’t seem to go faster and lacking power I came in for the 7.8.

Interestingly despite having more power through the course, the speeds were very similar, proving to me what Zara had said about the smaller sails. At the end of the day I finished 2nd again, with an average speed of 35.0 kts, which consolidated my 3rd place and actually brought me level in points with second. The tie break goes to whoever has the fastest speed of the week, so with his one killer run the day before of 36.2kts, Dylan De Jong had the edge. Still however there was one day to go and literally everything to play for.

Day 7 – Unfortunately that turned out to be all the weather gods had planned for us. Day 7 looked really good at first and we even started a round, but after just 10 minutes the wind switched off and left us swimming back to shore. At 2pm the Race director called it off and put an end to this fantastic event. I had to settle for 3rd, with Dylan De Jong in 2nd and Bjorn miles ahead in 1st.

That afternoon in a bid to get over 40kts I set off with Jim Crossley down the coast and gave it my all despite the horrifically choppy conditions. Turned out to be a fruitless mission as I failed to get even the best time of the week despite being maxed on a 6.2. Jim hit 39.9 on his slalom board which had it been 0.1kt quicker would have been devastating!

In conclusion the event was a huge success. The GPS format lends itself perfectly to this type of Pro-Am event. Everyone is battling with themselves more than against others and therefore there is competition for everyone, for the 50kt+ club as well as those just trying to get past 30kts. We were extremely unlucky with the conditions. Fuerteventura normally produces an excess of wind, but this week the venturi effect failed to deliver. It meant conditions were more towards speed slalom rather than all out speed. I have a feeling the results would have been very different had we had 6.2/5.7 weather everyday. The final results showed Bjorn with the top run of 37.8kts. However the day after the event finished it was a solid 30kts and people were hitting over 40kts with ease. Still it is the same conditions for everyone and in the end speed is simply about going as fast as possible whatever the wind. So for me I left the event 2nd in the Canaries Championship and 3rd in the European Championship. I went home very happy with the performance of the Firewing sail and having learnt a huge amount over the week. Unfortunately I got nowhere near the 40kt peak I was looking for with a max of only 38.5 kts, so the dates will be back in the diary for next year and hopefully a bit more wind!

Bjorn Dunkerbeck

I have always liked speed windsurfing. My first contest was in 1987 here in Fuerteventura; my father and my sister competed in their first one also in 1986. I had many records both on the 500 metre course and the nautical mile. Always I have believed that speed windsurfing is something anyone can do at any age. What we have done with this event is really prove that the young ones have fun and the older guys can stay involved forever. My son is ten, my father is seventy, that is sixty years of age span and there are lots of guys in-between. I think everyone has had a great time here.  We have this awesome R2 Hotel where most of us are staying, so it is a great social scene in the evenings. Coming with the family is no problem at all as the speed beach is also very close and within walking distance.

Speed is also a discipline where you can mix professionals with amateurs on the same course; it is basically only speed and long distance where you can do that. Wave sailing, freestyle and slalom are all too complicated to mix too many different levels together. That is the main reason why I am pushing so much to establish this event and more events like this going forward, because I think it is good for windsurfing and it is a lot of fun. We are working on getting more GPS sailing out there. There is a motivation to see how fast you are going in different conditions, different sail sizes and different water textures. With GPS you can tune yourself and you are motivated for good days so you can improve your speed from previous sessions. The devices are so good that they are very close to video timing, so we don’t need that in Fuerteventura, it takes a lot of budget and a lot more manpower. I see a lot of potential to get lots of windsurfers interested in this and on the GPS page they have over 2500 people posting their times on it. Interest is growing tremendously and I am pretty sure it will get a lot bigger!

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