A JUNIOR windsurfing prodigy has excelled in his speed sailing, beating his personal best.

Scotty Stallman (14) gained a new top speed at ‘The Ray,’ Southend-on-Sea, a favourite location for attempting to break speed records. He achieved 40.5 knots, more than 46 miles per hour.

The conditions on the day saw winds from the south with gusts between 30 and 40 knots.

The Weymouth youngster was using his favourite mixture of equipment for speed which consisted of an iSonic W44 Speed Special Board and a Severne Reflex 6 – 5.1m sail.

This new top speed is impressive and Stallman is very proud of it. He said: “I was so pleased to finally break 40 knots. During my previous trip to Southend, my best three runs all registered at 39.86 knots, good but not fast enough.

“Even during this last trip, the wind was not as good as forecast and I was only managing high 38 knot runs, I was thinking oh no, not again, but it was okay as the wind picked up.

“We stayed out as long as possible and just before it got dark, my last few runs all just passed the 40 knot mark.”

Official rankings in this category are hard to verify. Stallman said: “It’s really difficult to know for sure, but looking at the GPS Speed-sailing website, it does look like I am fastest junior in the UK at present and probably third fastest junior in the world.

“I still have six months left in the junior category so I will keep on trying to get to the top.”

The next target for Stallman is to achieve a speed of 40 knots on home waters in Portland Harbour. He said: “I would like to reach 40 knots in Portland Harbour, then work on a 40-knot average speeds over 10 seconds in the harbour, and then more trips away to push my personal best to 45 knots.”

Given Stallman’s impressive windsurfing record and dedication, it is very likely that he will reach the forty-five knot target in the near future.