Since January 16, 2009 the official Laser sailboat speed record of 16.8 knots has been held by Mark Denzer of Honolulu, Hawaii. Mark noted that the record-breaking day was a bit unusual for sailing: high wind warnings, civil defense alert, schools closed, State government closed, and gusts up to 60 knots – a perfect day for Laser sailing… Although, during the record setting, he admitted,”The wind never got past 30 knots or so.” and, they had no help from waves. “We were overtaking the waves.”
What makes the record official? Mark contacted International Laser Class Organization, World Speed Sailing Record Council, and Guinness Book of World Records and all claimed that they do not maintain such records. So, he had to rise to the challenge of being the record holder and keeper. “Somebody has to keep track, might as well be me.”
As of this posting Mark has had no real challenges to his claim to the record. “Lance Miller here in Hawaii showed us a GPS with 18knots on it he did in flat water in town. It seems the Laser Full Rig has some natural limitations up in the high teen.”
The Mark Denzer challenge: If you want to beat us, find some flat water, take an accurate GPS, get three reputable witnesses and go for it. ‘Till then, we hold the world record.
Contact Mark Denzer at: mdenzer AT Hawaii DOT rr.com
Witnesses that day were, Jesse Andrews, Kea Ho, son Gavin Denzer, and wife Betsy Denzer.
Additional sources: http://archive.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0119/ and http://horsesmouth.wordpress.com/2009/01/18/a-dispatch-from/
Below – reference video for Laser speed potential:
Fishingmickey on Lake Travis, Austin, TX. December 22, 2007. Wind blowing a steady 25+ with max recorded gust 41+ knots. Max speed 12.72 knots during this pass.
