Unconfirmed at this stage, but rumour has it that Kato just clocked over 550 km in a single session at the Pit.
Awesome does not begin to describe that effort!
Man MAchine Kato is a legend. Well done. Bob Hawke gave the nation a day off perhaps we should get Julia to declare a national holiday KATO'S DAY
pfft! - we do that distance every time we drive to the Pit for a day Trip!!
Bloody hell my arms hurt just thinking about it..
I grabbed an interview with him fter he had got home. Here's a transcript:
KATO, WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO DO IT?
I’ve had this trip in mind for about 5 years, ever since I saw a post about Luke Wigglesworth from NZ doing big distances on a windsurfer while racing against ocean boats and I wondered how far I could go. First attempt was a 312k and the record was a bit over that (unknown to me). I always just go for a sail and stop when the wind does or the light goes, so to do a 24hr is no different to the marathon, just a tad longer. This is why I started playing with the Ay-Up Bike Lights and learning to night sail safely. Windsurfing for me is my mediation, I don,t think about anything else but what I,m doing at that particular moment. So a long sail just leaves me relaxed and full of engery. Sandy Point is the best place to sail with it stunning views of the Prom.
TELL ME ABOUT THOSE FIRST FEW RUNS?
The dawn sunrise was great but the first runs were horible, not a lot of wind and very gusty. I,ve had many attempts at this 24hr record with some ending at 360k with no wind. This one nearly stopped at 490k when the wind disapeared at 1.3am. Once the wind came in i spent some time getting into a rhythm and searching for that flatter water that place less strain on your body and board.
WHAT DID YOU EAT DRINK AND HOW?
For water I have a camel back and food I would stop every 3 hrs. The diet wasn,t something I would normaly eat, donuts,chocolate bars, glucose tablets, Tinned Spag. Anything that was easy to eat in the 15mins I allowed my self for the break. As the car is close to where we sail we don,t have to carry the food.
HOWD YOU FEEL AS YOU GOT TOWARDS THE END OF THE SESSION?
Stuffed!!! But Stoked that after many failed attempts we did it. Sometimes it was the weather other times it was life stuff that took a priory. My family have been amazing in giving me the time to pursue this crazy idea. Maybe nows the time to suggest a Tasmanina and back trip. Maybe not.
DID YOU KNOW YOU HAD THE RECORD IN THE BAG?
As we measure our distance on a Personal GPS I knew when I was close to Dave Morehead,s 512k record. Once I reached his mark it was just a matter of sailing fast untill the 24hrs were up. To make sure of a good distance i sailed 25hrs in total
Well done, a true sportsman, Any one who`s ever done any sport would appluad this metal and physical acievment. And I thought the Melb marathon was tuff. A walk in the park by comparasion.
cheers Lozza
Congrats again Craig, great achievement indeed, u should b buzzing on a high for awhile after that mammoth effort. :)
) this is a HUGE acheivment.
check out page 10 of today's Age (Friday)- Kato gets a guernsey!
Of course, now he;ll be doing the talk shows and shopping centres in time for Xmas. I'd imagine a book and movie deal is only just around the corner!
For those who can't get a copy, here's a reprint:
THEAGE.COM.AU
Windsurfer's marathon effort
by Daniel Lawler
December 3, 2010
Craig Hollins
THEY say you can achieve a lot in 24 hours, but only Craig Hollins can claim to have windsurfed more than 500 kilometres in a single day.
The Wonthaggi windsurfer was on his board from 6.30am on Tuesday until 7.30am on Wednesday as he set the world record for distance over 24 hours. In total, he travelled 553 kilometres in 25 hours.
Hollins said he never felt exhausted.
''The conditions I had were ideal and everything came together at the right time,'' he said.
The park ranger broke the previous record of 518 kilometres by doing laps around Sandy Point in Gippsland, which he called the MCG of windsurfing. Every three hours he took a 15-minute break to rest and eat.
The record looked in doubt when the wind died down at 1.30am, when he was just 28 kilometres shy of it.
''To come so close and have the wind die, you can yell and jump up and down, but there's nothing to be done,'' he said. The wind picked up again about 4am and he beat the record by more than 20 kilometres.
Amazing stuff.
How do you ride in pitch black darkness????? Without hitting sandbanks and the like?
I wonder if there is team group world record. We could get a number of us under Kato wing to try fro group effort.
Awesome effort Kato.
Can you lay your tracks over google earth and post it as a pic please.
Congrats.
Its a shame Daffy only sailed 70 something km's that day…..
….it brought Pit Crew's average down!!!
