Interview with Production Board Speedsailing World Record Holder Patrik Diethelm

Not content simply with being among the 6 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 3 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 !?!?

Interview by www.windsurfjournal.com

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