After yesterday’s account of Steve Thorp’s confirmed world speed record. It seems the UK sailors are continuing to push the speed bar higher and higher. This time Jim Crossley has pushed himself right up the world ladder to 6th overall in 2012, smashing his own personal best to stake claim as one of the fastest windsurfers of all time. This may well be the year for speed…

Read on for Jim’s account of the day

‘I got home on Friday night after a long week at work and I had a call from Ian Richards “West Kirby is going off tomorrow”. To be honest the 4.5 hour drive was the last thing I wanted but I know how it feels to miss out on an epic day. After all, speed sailing is about being in the right place at the right time.

We arrived and the wind was strong and at just the right angle. I quickly rigged the 5.2 North WARP, got on the 42 wide custom MOO with a K4 20cm asymmetrical fin and hit the water.

Due to the fantastic winter of wind the UK has been experiencing, I have been tuning this settup for some time. Suddenly the whole combo hit the sweet spot. I couldn’t believe it when I saw 46.63knots on the dial as my peak speed. The GPS takes the fastest 10 seconds from the run and averages the speed. The result for the day is the average of the best 5, 10sec runs.

Finishing with a 45.08 average I couldn’t believe it. Totally stoked! I couldn’t wait to upload the data to www.GPS-speedsurfing.com. It gave me a world ranking of 6th in 2012 and the 14th ‘all time’ time. In the UK I now have only speed legends Dave White, Farrel O’Shea and Steve Thorp above me. I’ll probably settle for that…or maybe not!

I’ve been windsurfing for 28 years and the GPS sailing has given me the biggest buzz ever. Its not all about ultimate speed. Its about getting the best out of your kit and improving your sailing…oh, and going faster than your mates! ‘

Jim Crossley K198 (Puravida boardriders, Fanatic, North)

A very nice video account of the day filmed by Alan Jones and Chris Bates, portraying the blistering speeds.