How Fast Can You Go?

The JBU Speed Trials are pioneering the way we look at surfing.

Around the time of the Xcel Pro Showdown At Supertubes it was announced that there would be a R5000 award for the fastest surfer at Supertubes. Many people were curious as to how this was going to be worked out, and the JBU hinted that it was ‘new technology using GPS.’ There has been continuous testing at Supertubes, and there have been some amazing results. Zigzag has been privy to the whole process and while the concept and the actual testing is being done by JBU, they have revealed some more about the concept and what has really been going on at Supers.

Koffie Jacobs from JBU is the man behind the testing, and is excited about the results so far. Speaking exclusively to Zag, Koffie explained what was going on.  “We are just in a testing stage right now,” said Koffie. “While this unit is giving some incredible readings already, there is a new unit that will be released soon and this is going to be the real deal.”
Originally designed for windsurfing, wakeboarding, kiteboarding and snowboarding, this is the first time the concept has been applied to surfing, with some startling results. Dan Meyers from the SBOX company was excited to hear about the application being applied to surfing and that Koffie was recording and doing tests. “It’s great to hear that it’s being used it for surfing. The new version has a faster GPS and 3D terrain mapping, as well as the ability to detect an aerial move, and will be great for surfing.”

The SBOX is actually a remarkable piece of tech. It can record movement on a much finer scale than GPS alone and can be used to replay the 3D trajectory and orientation of any object it is attached to. Due to the cost of gyros and accelerometers there has never before been possible to place so many sensors into such a small space, the size of a deck of cards. A surfer can download data, run the application and watch his or her ride after the fact. Average speed is calculated. There is a measuring tool so you can measure any part of the wave or the whole wave. You can measure fastest speeds and height, in the air, of moves. The actual recording allows you to watch your ride, and pause and analyse exactly how you rode the wave. The program visuals are quite technical at this stage but this is set to improve dramatically with the release of the new model. Koffie is the first to admit that, as mentioned, this is purely testing before the new model is released. “The SBOX has already changed the way other boardsports are viewed,” said Koffie, “There are still lots of things we need to work out in order to be consistent. The actual position of the unit on the board changes the readings, and there are all sort of related anomalies. For now we are concentrating on speed trials.”
What has been recorded so far? “Well, on the best wave tested so far the reading showed me surfing with an average speed of 62kph and a top speed of 83kph.”

How does it work though? The waves are moving and there are other forces at play. “This recorded speed is including wave speed,” said Jacobs. “It must be noted that certain swell directions are also way faster than others at Supers, which adds to the fun.”

Distance? Does the unit measure distances well? “On the same best wave tested I travelled a distance of just over 306m,” said Koffie. “From the take off at the top section and riding all the way to the bottom gulley. This was recorded on a five-foot day, so rides can possibly be way longer.”
This is just the start. Imagine if you were to consolidate all the GPS and ride information with a video shot from the beach of the same ride? Imagine if you were to add it with a GoPro?  You’d have easy-to-observe visuals combined with all the hard information from the GPS recording.

What does this all mean? When the program runs on the computer you can see where the board gets the most speed, and where it is most utilized? The highest speed recorded has been off a bottom turn, reaching the 83kph as mentioned. All the top speeds measured so far have been out of the bottom turn.

Apart from being able to find the fastest surfer, some of the other possibilities are such -
i)    Board design. It can now be seen where the board gets the most speed and where the board decelerates. This could be used to refine board design. A rail could be tweaked and worked on over and over again until a faster turn is achieved. A shaper will be able to see exactly where the water is coming off the rail.
ii)    Airs can be measured for height, as well as for technical ability. A wakeboarder can achieve, for example, a spin of over 760 degrees per second. (A kitesurfer set a new record of 73ft jump recently in Maui.) The actual height of the move can be worked out as well, which could be interesting for competing. At this stage air moves are judged on a number of variables, but judges award them on a number of combined technical criteria. Now we could have a contest strictly looking at The Highest Air, and we can see exactly how high the surfer got in the air.
iii)    The SBOX equipment could really help surf coaching, and can show top surfers exactly where they are decelerating or where their boards might be bogging.

Other interesting ideas are putting the unit on a board at Chopes or at Pipe. Imagine recording a massive G-Land speed run, or a giant Sunset west peak ride. Some of the stats and figures that come out are going to be amazing.  For now we are concentrating on testing how fast you can go at Supertubes, Jeffrey’s Bay with the SBOX.