One of the charms of Weymouth Speed Week is the history, the memories and the nostalgia. In this weeks blog I speak to one of the competitions long standing legends Adrian Bugler and bringing it right up to date with Henry Bloodworth who topped this years table. As the organisational juganort that is Weymouth Speed Week sails out of town for another year, who were the podium toppers and who rose to the top of the rankings? The ripples of how inspiring the event can be to young windsurfers can not be underestimated as demonstrated by Henry Bloodworth, pictured below. As a youngster speed week formed part of his passion for competing and the flame was lit by taking part in this legendary annual celebration, as the watersports community recognise the importance of this event in bringing everyone together, shared interest, shared passion and shared advice! Annual speed competition is a watersports treasure! Here at The Official Test Centre and SurfDoctor we are proud to sponsor this epic event.
By Emma Nicholson.
Adrian Bugler, said: "Originally speed week was always organised by the Amateur yacht Research Association in my era. Crazy people but they loved it. We even did a bugler sails speed event. Unfortunately there was no wind. But they organised speed week and it actually cost the members to put it on. when I asked why they said it was only the price of a holiday and it was great fun They would have lectures about boats and speed. All wacky stuff.
"A main guy who I forget the name of was a software engineer and he wrote the first programs for speed week. He stayed in my house tweaking his program and was one of the guys on Icarus ( an important driver in the early days of speed week) years before.
"It's a shame I can't remember his name. He was not so young so maybe not alive now. But he told me that in the seventies he had a major stressful programming job in the US and had a nervous breakdown. His friend designed Icarus and asked him to sail it with him. He said it saved his life and so he was happy to spend his money in later years organising speed week, (we are talking 90s here when the whole thing dwindled a bit) An interesting bit of history.
"Another funny tale about speed weeks in the nineties. Amateur Yacht Research Society always had 'interesting' members. In one of the speed weeks a guy turned up with a parachute, an old wind surfer, which he attached a homemade hydrofoil to and a garden seat for him to sit on. Unfortunately he didn't think about his personal safety and got hypothermia so we found him a wetsuit. He got nowhere but was convinced it was the future(kite surfing did not exist then) we thought he was totally crazy. But he wasn't. He actually invented the concept of kitefoiling as we found out many years later!"
Henry Bloodworth, said: "Speedweek 2024 was an incredible event with a record number of attendees! It was my first time back since 2014 (where I finished 47th) Speedweek was a very special event for me as a young windsurfer, the community and event was such a fun one and looking back on my first years at Speed week I would’ve dreamt of being on top of the pro-fleet podium, so to make that happen this year feels awesome. Congratulations to Scotty for the 2nd place and close battles all week! And Simon pettifer in 3rd and fastest on the Fin! Keeping it alive. Also thanks to the huge team of volunteers and sponsors for making the event so special. I can’t wait for next year to defend the title!"
Aya said. My first Weymouth Speed Week 2024 is finished! Happy to be on the podium with two incredible young women Lily Young and Jenna Gibson."
Jim Crossley said: "2024 Weymouth speed week. It was a fun week but didn’t really get ideal speed windsurf conditions this year. I had to beg, steal and borrow bigger kit to get on the water in lighter winds. I even windfoiled one day, that was a buzz…felt fast even if I wasn’t. The different conditions gave other types of craft a chance to have their moment. I was impressed to have a foiling boat win one day and a foiling kite piloted by Lilly Young…almost to become the first female winner…insane speeds flying over the chop, just to be pipped on the last day. Great to be presented with UKWA speed champion trophy again. Thanks to Jenna, Simon and Will for the kit loans."
Jenna Gibson said: "Weymouth Speed Week not the strongest of winds but we had a great week as always, pushing hard for the fastest speeds - I finished 5th fastest Windsurfer and got my first ever 'Fastest of the Day' award."
James Longmuir said: "Speed week delivered a huge variety of conditions this year with both on and offshore wind from 5-25kts.
"It was tough racing with my smallest kite I used a 15m, despite putting in a good effort all week I came up short on the last day with me finishing second, being beaten for the overall event title, the British championships and the kite class win by Dave Williams who did that bit more when he needed too.
"It’s been amazing to have so many people on the water really well attended socials and a growing number of sponsors supporting the event indicating it has a very bright future. Thank you to everyone that made the event possible."
Scotty Stallman, The Official Test Centre Pro-Rider, said: "As always Weymouth Speed Week is one to look forward to. There is a great atmosphere and this year in particular you could really feel that. Lots of new faces and great times on the water. Unfortunately this year was a little different for me, I was carrying an injury into this event so perhaps my performance on the water wasn’t what I was expecting it to be but it was still nice to have some battles with Henry Bloodworth on the foil and also get some runs in on the WingFoil. Already looking forward to next year!"
Looking for a board, check out the Windsurfing Slalom Range at SurfDoctor by clicking here. At The Official Test Centre you can also get your speed sailing up to scratch with some 1:1 tuition from our expert team, iron out any niggles and give yourself the best chance to break your own records! Book online, click here.
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