Rob Douglas, one of the Island’s most notable figures in watersports, has always been drawn to the ocean’s high-speed winds.
Douglas, 55, set a new world record for the top kitesurfing speed on July 1 in La Palme, France.
The record marks Douglas’ eighth world record in kitesurfing. Douglas averaged 42.75 knots (49.10 mph) over a one-nautical-mile open-water course at Plage du Rouet during the Prince of Speed world record attempt.
“I’m super-lucky to be able to continue to compete at my age, at 55 years old,” Douglas said.
But what he said was more valuable than any record, or the joy of competing, is seeing his 8-year-old son, Robert Douglas III, fall in love with the sport, too.
“He has taken an interest in the sport. Being able to continue to compete and see him interested and getting him on his path has probably been the biggest joy I’m receiving,” Douglas said in an interview with The Times. “Being able to pass that down to an excited son, who wants to visit France and kitesurf, that’s the biggest plus that’s come out of continuing to compete.”
Douglas said he previously thought of taking a step back from competing as he was getting older, but changed his mind because he was still having fun and continues to feel healthy.
“I’ve been doing it since 1987, so it’s just a continuation of doing what I love to do,” Douglas said. “For some reason, windy conditions have always been very attractive to me, I just really enjoy it.”
Douglas said he’s traveled to La Palme to compete since 2011, and he has set a new record in the mile four times now, in 2019, 2023, 2025, and now 2026.
On July 1, in France, Douglas said the forecast was perfect. It was on his very first run of the day that he set the record.
“We saw a good forecast and went over there, and I got it on the first run, which is crazy,” Douglas said. “Usually it takes the first couple runs to get the feeling back — I thought it would come later in the day.”
High winds and calm waters create the perfect conditions to travel as fast as possible: The force of the wind pulls the kite away from the beach, and the weight of the kitesurfer, with his body angled low, pulls back toward the beach. “Primarily, we call it ‘square condition,’” Douglas said. “It creates a lot of wind in the kite, and a lot of pressure in the body, and it just comes with sailing windy conditions.”
Douglas said on-Island, he typically uses kites that are nine to 10 square meters, and when chasing records, the kites he uses are around 12 square meters. “We try to maximize the size of the kite and be in the windiest conditions possible,” he said.
Douglas said that to prepare for this record attempt, he spent a lot of time mountain-biking and going to the gym for strength training.
On the Island, we don’t have a clear one-mile stretch of calm water with strong winds. “It’s hard to replicate [La Palme’s conditions], because it’s a mile-long run. We don’t have a mile-long straight run on a regular basis [on Martha’s Vineyard],” he said. “But I know what’s expected from a physical standpoint; I try to replicate it on the Vineyard.”
Edgartown resident Bill Lynch has sponsored all of Douglas’ world speed-sailing record attempts since 2008.