LAKE George has sailed into the world record books.
Victorian windsurfer, Craig Hollins, broke the 24 hour distance record for windsurfing on the waters of the lake last month.
In his 33 years of windsurfing this is the third time Hollins has held the record.
Hollins sailed 16 hours before he took his first break, in an attempt to clock up as many kilometres as he could in the allocated 24 hour period.
He stopped at 22 hours, windsurfing a whopping 660km.
Despite his recordbreaking distance Hollins said he was “frustrated” because he “would have been able to do more if the wind had not stopped”.
“It was a funny challenge because everyone was congratulating me on sailing 660km and breaking the record, but I was disappointed because I only added 30km to the previous record and I could have added more,” he said.
All speeds and times were recorded with GPS’ to ensure accuracy and witnesses were provided during the 24 hour period.
These were submitted into the windsurfer’s record committee, an off shoot of the GPS Speed Surfing Group, as well as the Guiness Book of World Records.
Hollins praised Lake George, describing it as a “really special spot” for windsurfers.
“There are yachts that travel over thousands of kilometres,” he said.
“With windsurfing it’s harder to go the longer distances in the ocean because we are restricted.
“That’s why Lake George is special to us.
“You need the right weather, the right water level and the weed has to be right because it stops the water from getting rough.
“It is also quite large, meaning we can do up to 3-4km runs, which is good when it comes to the distance stuff because it means we can turn around.
“It is an amazing spot you guys have and we are keen to make sure we still get access to it.”
In the last month Lake George has hosted windsurfers from across Australia with people travelling as far as Harvey Bay in Queensland to sail.
