JENNA GIBSON
THE FASTEST WOMAN ON THE PLANET!
Dorset based windsurfer Jenna Gibson is officially the fastest woman on the planet, after clocking a run of 48.03 knots on the 500m course at Lüderitz! (Subject to ratification by the World Sailing Speed Record Council ‘WSSRC’) She is also the first woman to break the 50-knot barrier for peak speed. We caught up with Jenna to find out about her journey to Namibia and how she went about reaching her goals!
Photos: Peter Davis, 113photosport, Simon Pettifer and Jenna Gibson.
THE JOURNEY TO THE CANAL
It was a long journey to Lüderitz which took three days. We were helped out on the UK side by Holiday Extras, who helped make the travel details run smoothly, Although, we almost missed our flight by staying in the airport lounge too long! It took two flights to get to Cape Town. When we landed in Cape Town we spent a night with Mitch Wagstaff who kindly let us stay at his place. Then we set off the next day.
Our friends gave us tonnes of advice beforehand on which routes to take and which border crossings to use to reduce the problems with customs etc. We broke down the journey on the way to Lüderitz into two days, by staying overnight in Springbok in northern South Africa. There were many details that were important to know. Jim Crossley was an invaluable help, and gave us a handwritten map, where he had put notes on where to fill up with fuel and all that. You are not guaranteed that there will be fuel available at regular intervals and there could be many miles between service stations. It is a twelve-hour drive from Cape Town to Lüderitz but there are only about four turns on the journey. Other than that, it is just one straight road the whole way.
The journey to Namibia was unforgettable. We saw so much wildlife and amazing landscapes on the way that blew our minds. It felt like we had been on a safari. The scenery was mostly dessert but every time you turned a corner or went over the top of a hill the landscape could completely change. It was incredible to see how varied and dramatic the dessert can be. Though the three-day trip was exhausting, but it surpassed all expectations. While there was plenty of sand, the desert was surprisingly greener than I had imagined. None of the photos or the videos of that journey could capture the beauty of what we witnessed or do it justice! It was simply incredible. At one point we realized, we had been driving for ten hours without even thinking of playing music, we were that captivated by the views. The road trip alone made the journey worthwhile.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
When you first turn up in Lüderitz, you arrive at the finishing box of the canal. It looked absolutely tiny! It looked so short. I didn’t believe that I would be able to slow down from 45 knots in that short a distance. It looked really intimidating. We drove up the whole canal and it looked so much smaller in real life than it does on the videos. The longer we sat there and stared at it, it kind of felt like it was growing!
It did not seem as bad once we were there for a few days. When you are sailing on the canal you don’t even use most of the room that is available. You need to be on the windward bank to get the flat water. The canal is about six metres wide and I don’t think I used the bottom downwind three metres. Nevertheless, the canal is intimidating. It is also very shallow so you need to be aware of that.
When we arrived, the wind was light and we just wanted to go down the canal to practise, the starts and the finish. A few times when I slowed down, my fin was catching on the bottom by more boards sinking just a few centimetres. It was ridiculously shallow. Once you are used to it you are so focused on sailing that you don’t think about the size of it so much. There were definitely a few aborts at the finish when I had to fall in backwards to stop before hitting the bank.
We had a few warmup days at the beginning, where it was pretty light. They let us sail on the course so we could get used to it. If we didn’t get that warm up it would have been a lot more intimidating. If we had arrived on a high wind day, I am not sure if I had managed at all. There was so much to get used to. I had to build my confidence of sailing so close to the bank. But we were quite lucky with how the conditions turned up for us. Those first few days of light winds were so important for me to learn how to jump start. The start box feels quite short compared to what you would do for a slalom start. In slalom you get a nice long run up into the start. This was only a quarter of the size of that before you bear away onto the speed run. You had to get in the foot straps and get hooked in super quickly which took a bit of practise. The wind gods were definitely in my favour on this trip.
FEAR FACTOR
To begin with it was scary going down the canal so close to the edge. We built up to it, especially when we had some lighter days to tune in before the wind went ballistic. Sailing close to the edge is a lot less scary than sailing further away and in the chop. If you hit a big lull close to the edge, you can lose pressure in the sail and the board could carve up into wind and into the sandbank. I did have a few sketchy moments, but I did not hit at any point thankfully. As my confidence grew, I was sailing closer and closer to the edge. The sandbanks are not necessarily straight so in order to keep as straight a line as possible, there were some points where I was pretty darn close!
Windsurfing is a bit like meditation. You completely clear your head and focus on what is in front of you. On the strong wind days, I did get a bit more anxious. Especially handling the gear and I was just struggling to hold the sail. I did sit out some moments when the wind was strongest but looking back, I wish I hadn’t. I wish I was not influenced by some of the other people there. While I was sailing, I was not scared of crashing. It is only while you are waiting that you are scared of heading back onto the water. If you think about crashing or being negative in any way, then you are most likely going to crash! Keep that out of your head and then if you do feel a wobble do everything you can to prevent it.
SPEED RUNS
In total I had between 130-150 runs down the canal over the whole time I was there. On some days I had up to twenty runs down to only seven or eight if the conditions were not favourable. It completely depended on the wind, the energy I had and the forecast for the next days. I was trying to be a bit tactical with that. I was also trying to get as much time on the water and learn as much as possible. Some days I was focused on my technique, so I did more runs and other days I was more into equipment tuning. You would get a lot less runs but still get plenty of use out of the day.
The more wind there was, the more people there would be on the canal. When it was a possible record-breaking day, everyone was a bit more serious and focused on waiting for the right moment. On those days there were a lot less runs. There was an order in which we sailed, unless a rider would stop to change equipment. If you miss your start slot you would have to go to the back of the cue of the riders waiting to go. It wasn’t too bad where we only had a few riders during the holding period. Everyone was pretty easy going about taking their turns for a run. There was an aspect of saving your energy so you didn’t always want to go straight away so you could recover between runs.
STANCE AND HARNESS LINES
So in the lead up to Lüderitz, I did a load of research, making notes on different stances, trying stuff out on the flatter waters of Portland Harbour. I found shorter lines would help in some circumstances, so I took 3 different length harness lines out there with me, from 22-40, knowing that if I didn’t take it all with me, there wouldn’t be any chance of getting any out there… So I started off the trip with the shorter lines and the more upright stance that I had been getting used to beforehand, but eventually found that I was preferring them longer and longer, and in the end I was back on my full length race lines, and back to my normal race stance… moral of the story, try everything but do what you know works best for you!!
RECORD BREAKING DAYS
I broke the record on four different days. The first day I broke it, the forecast for the next day was even windier. A lot windier. People had said to me, as it gets windier the lighter sailors can struggle to go any faster. Lighter sailors often do their records on the lighter wind days. The first day I broke the record it was around 35 knots and the next day it was 50 knots and I did not go much quicker. Then the wind dropped down to around 40 knots and I broke it again. Windier was not necessarily faster. If you are overpowered it can be hard to keep everything locked in and push all of your strength into the kit, without struggling to hold it down. When it was a bit lighter and flatter, I was not getting as psyched out by the conditions. That helped me go faster as well. So, we had everything from 35-50 knots on the record-breaking days and I think it is possible to beat the record in all of those conditions.
THE FASTEST RUNS
Truth be told, you don’t know they are the fastest runs util you get to the end and you look at your watch. The slower runs can feel like the fastest. They can be scarier if you are out of control. The last run that I did break the record on, the wind had completely dropped. I was sailing for the sake of it. The wind was lower than the day before and we were not necessarily thinking we were going to break any records. I went down the canal anyway and out of nowhere this gust hit me. The water state had not had time to get choppy or anything. I had a beautiful smooth run down to the finish. I was slightly underpowered comparatively, but I was totally in control and it felt super-fast. By that point in the week, I was a lot more set up and dialled in. Everything just felt easy by then. If a run ever felt difficult it usually was not as fast.
GOALS
I definitely hit all the goals I set out to achieve in Namibia. To ask more than breaking the record four times would be impossible. Of course, I am always driving to improve and I would love to see how far I could take it. I don’t feel like I am done with speed yet and there is so much more to learn. Two more knots to hit a 50-knot run, is a massive jump in speed sailing. I really have this burning desire to keep pushing and progressing. I want to see how fast we, as women can go. I want to close that gap between the men’s world record and the women’s record. I will most likely have to wait until next year and hopefully I will be able to try again. There will be a lot to learn in the until then, but hopefully I can go a lot more prepared.
It was unreal to break my own record while I was there. You kind of get this never-ending desire to push. It felt like there was an unknown limit of how fast I could go. During the whole trip I was just trying to find that limit. From the very first day that we were there, we sailed at Diaz Point. That was already a personal best for me. The whole trip was PB after PB! After the first world record it was almost a case of me beating my PB again. That fuelled me onwards anyway as I felt very competitive with myself to keep pushing. I was competing against myself and I was pushing as hard as I could. I am so happy with the result of the trip and it was definitely an insane experience.
The WSSRC confirmation still hasn’t actually come through yet, so it is still not technically official! Apparently with the Guinness book of records, it’s something you need to apply for, rather than be approached so I need to get on that!
50 KNOT PEAK
After breaking the record, I had to tick a new goal off the list in order to keep up my competitive drive. I did not know if hitting 50 knots was going to be possible or not. On most of my runs over 500 metres I was staying pretty close to my average speed without many high peaks. I thought by improving my peak speed I could improve the average speed on the 500. I knew I was going fast on some of the runs and then at the end of one run I saw I had hit over 50 knots. I was super happy and super excited and just wanted to go down the run again. It is not like you achieve a goal and that is all done. You achieve it and then you want to do it again or set a new goal. I am now addicted and now I am back in the UK I will see what I can do here!
CELEBRATIONS
On the first day I broke the record we thought Antoine Albeau had also broken his own record. We had a meal planned with the whole group at the Nest Hotel. There were a few people that were leaving that night. We all went there to celebrate. But then Antoine found out he had not actually broken the record when they checked. You could see how gutted and disappointed he was. When he did break the record a few days later, we went out for a dinner with a small group of us. We signed the windsurf boards in the restaurant with our record times which was pretty cool. It was not really as big as a celebration as what he deserved but we were there to share it with him which was really special.
WINDY DAYS
There were a lot more people on the canal when the wind kicked in. On the lighter wind days, a lot of guys didn’t sail or they went off to Diaz to get more tuned in on the sails they would want to use on the canal. There is always a bit more wind at Diaz. On the higher wind days everyone was going for it at the canal. It took a bit longer to get your turn. There was more pressure to get the start right and to go straight away and not hold up the cue. It would have been nice to hold on and wait for the right gust but at the same time, starting is difficult and if you mess up the start you don’t want to have to wait for the next gust. On the windy days everybody was keen to get on the water and get as many runs in as possible. Most of us were sat around waiting for our turn and chatting amongst each other. So, it was still a super friendly atmosphere and everyone was cheering each other on.
LODGINGS
The Nest Hotel sponsors the event. We went there a few times for meals and to meet up with the other riders. They have a room dedicated to the Lüderitz Speed challenge. There are boards hung on the wall that all the riders have signed, pictures and rash vests hung up everywhere. We could use that room for all our meals and meet ups. We stayed in a self-catering apartment just on the outskirts of town. It was a bit less expensive, and I could cook for myself. I am gluten free, so it is nice to be able to organize your own food when you are competing. I cooked my own meals to take to the beach with me which suited me better than the hotel. There were plenty of nights when we were too tired to cook so would often go out to eat with whoever was up for it. Everyone was on their phones posting about their days action on the canal, so it was a super relaxed environment. I had quite a few early nights in Lüderitz because I was so exhausted. I wanted to be ready for the next day depending on the forecast. One afternoon when the wind was light, we all went to the local museum and we also had an evening watching Bjorn’s movie.
SPEED CREW
All the speed sailors were so helpful with tips and sharing knowledge both online and in person. There were quite a small group this year in Lüderitz. Myself and Simon, were definitely welcomed straight into the family there. It was much friendlier than in slalom for example where you are perceived as a direct competitor. In the speed you are only really racing yourself. Everyone was so helpful I can’t emphasize that enough. From Kit tips, to rigging, to which lines to take and all that stuff. I had a lot of messages of encouragement and congratulations which has been very heart warming. The speed scene was not secretive at all. It was honestly amazing.
SIMON PETTIFER
I definitely could not have done all this without Simon. It is difficult when you are trying to help each other but at the same time you must focus on yourself. It might be windy and you are in a rush, it was intense and emotions were running high at times. Simon is one of my biggest supporters and I am so glad that he was there to share those moments with me.
HOME
Since I got back, I have just been trying to catch up on university work that I really got behind on while I was away, and with the business of Christmas I have just very much been in rest and reset mode, so haven’t really worked on seeing what doors it has opened! I will be heading to the RYA Watersports Show next month to do some interviews with Peter Hart about breaking the record, so that should be fun!
