Brendan Lorho, the interview

06/01/2025

At just 19 years of age, Frenchman Brendan Lorho made a name for himself at the Lüderitz Speed Challenge in Namibia, entering the circle of competitors doing speeds in excess of 50 knots for his first participation in the event. For Windsurfjournal.com, he takes a look back at this unique and highly instructive experience...

Windsurfjournal.com: In what state of mind did you arrive in Namibia for your first participation in the Lüderitz Speed Challenge, given that you're not really cut out for speed at the start?
Brendan Lorho: When you're a speed racer, Lüderitz is your dream, your Mecca... A bit like Hawaii is every waverider's dream. We'd been talking to Raffaello Gardelli, the organiser of this event, for a while and the idea grew and grew. So we jumped on the plane and off we went. In the beginning, it was all about going on an end-of-season trip with my father. We took the opportunity to visit Cape Town and take the 1200 km road to Namibia, a magnificent and wild landscape. Yes, I knew that my size wasn't up to the task of going fast, but it was the experience of a lifetime, a first to finish off this fine season of fin and foil slalom. That was the initial idea behind the trip.

WJ: How did the first runs and the discovery of the canal go?
BL: We arrived at the beginning of November and the canal was being filled. It's a hand-built canal, and once it's dug out, they fill it with the tide and 4 or 5 pumps running full bore. This takes 3 to 4 days to 1 week, depending on the height of the tide. The first day you discover the canal, you have doubts, you say to yourself, it's not possible, I can't get through, I can't turn, I can't brake, it's too short, and this and that... You have a million doubts in your head, because you've never seen anything like it. And as the days and weeks go by, it becomes your personal garden, you know every centimetre, every slack, every gust, the depth, the sand, the flags... You've made every corner of this fabulous canal, the record machine, your own. I did a lot of runs in the first few days, but the idea is to become familiar with the canal. And there's nothing better than doing it in the best wind conditions, as well as in the worst, with light airs and not enough wind. Don't forget that the run is so downwind that you need a very strong wind to get it down to 5.0 for example. The first few days, I was in 6.0 or 5.4 a lot because the wind wasn't established with 25 to 35 knots. But it was necessary to get it into your head visually and your legs physically. This channel is far more technical than anyone imagines. The start is critical, because everything follows on from the slingshot bend, in which you pick up more than 20 knots of acceleration, and then the rush to the finish, not forgetting the fairly critical braking in the laydown comma or 360 down, all in a more or less choppy channel depending on the direction of the wind.

WJ: Had you set yourself the goal of reaching 50 knots and how did you feel when you achieved it?
BL: No, the initial goal was already to beat my time from La Palme in the south of France, 44.10 knots over 500 metres. I was aiming more for times like those of Ben Proffitt or Niels Bach, who are the same size, i.e. in the 47/48 knots range. November 26 was the first nice windy day, and I'm doing 48 knots. And so, joking around in the evening, the dream of 50 knots came true. There was a great atmosphere between me and Simon Pettifer, Jenna Gibson's partner, who was also coming to Namibia to do more than 50 knots and we got really motivated. And everyone pushed me to go higher. November 27 was also a great day, and I got very close to the 50-knot barrier with a best run of 49.86 knots on the AV Boards 40 production board. The dream was getting closer. Over the next few days, we worked hard on the gear, the trimming and above all the transition to the AV 38 Custom. On 1st December, the wind window was good and we sent everything out. We got off to a great start with my first run of the day at 47.78 around 11.30am. You can tell it's a good day. 1 hour later, at 12:24, the wind was there, and bang 50.17, my first run above 50, the run was super clean. You come back to the trailer, everyone congratulating you, those are magical moments. I did other runs at 48, 49, and it was soon all over. At 13:29 Antoine Albeau set his record, Karo van Tonder beat his record 2 minutes later, and the next run (3 minutes later) it was good for me too with this magical run at 50.62 knots. Sometimes it doesn't come down to much... Speed is also about being lucky enough to be there at the right time.

WJ: You set a record during this event for the number of runs, 189 in total, 60 more than Antoine Albeau. What was the objective behind this impressive figure?
BL: Well, I had to calm down! Pete Davis, the head of the WSSRC and husband of Zara Davis, the former speed champion, was a huge help with his experience of the canal and he calmed me down on the number of runs, otherwise I could easily have done over 200! But he taught me to build my experience on the quality of the run, rather than the quantity. So on the last few days, we were looking for the magic slot rather than doing 20/25 runs a day. But physically, I was in good shape after a great season, so I didn't really feel the fatigue on the canal. The hardest thing, to be honest, at the end of the day is the extra weight in the weight jacket, which puts a strain on your back, so as soon as you can, you put the weight jacket down. 12 kg for me maximum, that's already a lot. Antoine Albeau is on another level, the amount of equipment testing he has done is staggering. That's where you see the motivation he has to go for this record. You learn a lot by watching him work, changing his fins, his boards, his masts, his sails, it's impressive. Gunnar Asmussen was also very strong on these runs. Björn Dunkerbeck remains a legend, but after his hip operations, it must have been more complicated for him physically. It was still great to be alongside them and learn from these legends of the winsurfing world. Björn Dunkerbeck is an extraordinary sportsman. A little anecdote, at the end I finished ahead of him, because he had to go home after 27 November. And the evening he saw that I was ahead of him, he sent me a personal WhatsApp message to congratulate me on my performance, which was immense on his part and definitely the attitude of a great sportsman.

WJ: What lessons can you draw from this round of the Lüderitz Speed Challenge?
BL: First of all, congratulations to Raffaello Gardelli, he gave us a crazy channel this year. It wasn't easy given the location, the local resources and all the complications, but he fought hard and succeeded. Well done to his team too, Manfred Fuchs for the cameras and GPS and the local team. The main lesson is preparation. This is not your usual speed spot. It's not La Palme, nor any of the Dutch spots, Lüderitz if you don't have the right equipment for this configuration, you won't walk as hard. I've learnt so much about how to set up my equipment over the last few weeks, but it's still specific to Lüderitz because of the angle of the canal. An extraordinary trip, crazy landscapes, local food, biltong the favourite food there.

WJ: What are the next steps? Do you think 52/53 knots are within reach?
BL : First of all, back to university, I'm a bit behind schedule although I was able to do 2 exams remotely during the Lüderitz trip. Then we'll be preparing for winter training with the TWS Tenerife. After that there's the Prince of Speed in May, which should be another great event and that's it in terms of speed. 52, 53 knots, that's something to dream about. I did 52.96 Vmax on my best run, so you're bound to think that if I can push it over 500 metres, it's doable. But once you get above 50 knots, every extra knot is hard to gain. I'm going to continue working on my physical preparation and we'll see if I can push harder. It's clear that these good results in speed motivate me to give even more and go even faster. Sprint events will clearly be a higher priority on my racing calendar in 2025. A final word to say a big thank you to Raffaello for this event, then to Hervé Bastide, the man behind BAM Distribution - AV Boards, he gave me a huge support on the equipment used in Lüderitz, Phil Carbon for the fins Chopper Fins Asymmetric V3 that he provided me for this trip, Nicolas from Lisawindsurfing for the specific canal length tips, Julien from Waveschool for pushing me on the competition path, Marco MLSports, the sports department team from La Tranche-sur-Mer town hall, Giannis and Sascha Lange for the preparation and Roger from R-Tech Solution. Thank you all for your support, your kind words on social networks and your encouragement from afar...