Australia Weather News
Bryan Cook said the wild weather and strong winds may have put some people off, but the conditions were perfect for land sailing. - ABC
A Goldfields land sailor says he has broken the world land sailing record for the mini land yacht category, reaching a new speed of 110 kilometres an hour.
As wild weather swept across the region last weekend, keen land sailor Bryan Cook was in the thick of it.
Mr Cook said he set the new world record as strong winds whipped across the vast white surface of Lake Lefroy near Kambalda.
"I had three digits on the GPS that I could read, but I couldn't actually see the numbers because I was focusing on what I was doing," he said.
"When I pulled up, [it read] 110."
Mr Cook said the previous record of 108 kilometres an hour was set by his friend Ben Ashby, who was with him on the day to witness the new speed record.
He used multiple GPS devices to ensure an accurate record was captured.
The mini land yachts are a smaller, three-wheeled yacht build around a triangle frame, making them easier to operate than bigger, faster models.
Mr Cook said within the community of land sailors, both in the Australia and abroad, his feat will not be something written into record books, but no one else had come forward with a faster speed.
"It's not going to be in the Guinness Book of Records, but there's no one else that had a verifiable [record] that they've done 110," Mr Cook said.
In the meantime, he said he would be keeping a close eye on the weather and waiting for the perfect storm to roll through on a weekend when he is free to sail.
"It hasn't really sunk in yet; I just took off and went roaring across the lake, and got some new figures on the GPS," he said.
"I'll have crack at getting even more on it one day.
"It might take another year two before the perfect storm rolls in on a Saturday or a Sunday."
ABC