In Praise Of Speed HQ

Harty plots the evolution of the iconic Weymouth/ Portland Speed Trials

- Peter Hart

I only lived a couple of hours from Weymouth. Nevertheless, cresting the hill above Wyke Regis and getting my first view of Chesil beach and the speed course was as awe-inspiring as the first drive into Ho’okipa beach park. In this pre-internet age, I’d only seen these places on grainy videos featuring people you doubted were human.

The year was 1982, the year after German Jürgen Hönscheid had stunned the windy world by scoring 26 knots on a modified surfboard. With windsurfing reaching epidemic levels, it was impossible to overstate the fanatical interest in the Weymouth trials and the characters involved. Going up and down as fast as you could, seemed to resonate more closely with the common man in that era, than the antics of the Hawaiian wave riders.

Weymouth was truly the home of speed. The trials had been going since 1972 and had held the overall world record since 1975 when Tim Coleman clocked 31 knots with his catamaran Crossbow; and then took it to 36 knots in 1980 with his reworked Crossbow 2. This was absolutely where you needed to be if you wanted to go fast.

IMPOSSIBLY GLAMOROUS

A qualifying spot was as treasured as a golden ticket to Charlie’s Chocolate Factory. I’d blagged one of the few wild cards due to being English and because I’d been seen sailing a ‘sinker.’ So it was with a deep sense of impostor syndrome that I drove up towards the Portland Heights Hotel for the opening ceremony – which was only strengthened as I entered the reception hall and found myself drinking the sponsor’s green cocktails (thank you Johnny Walker) and rubbing shoulders with Fred Heywood, Baron Arnaud de Rosnay and his new youthful bride Jenna. It was glamorous on a Hollywood scale.

30 KNOTS