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The downwind dash was conceived by three keen windsurf enthusiasts who had just started the Saldanha Beach Sailing Club which has headquarters on the beach in Saldanha and is still running the event.

The first Dash was held around 1986 and attracted an entry of around 40 competitors and was won in light winds by Jonathan Fisher sailing a Mistral division 1 board. In those days the division 1 was a round bottom board quite fast up wind but a nightmare downwind. The competition was over two days with the dash being held on the first day and a long distance race on the second day.

To win the event competitors had to sail both races and do well in both. Over the years as the racing boards became less popular, the long distance race was abandoned and the Dash only sailed. The race grew in popularity and at the peak of the Windsurfing craze, there were over two hundred entries. The popularity has since reduced with around 30 competitors, but it has been held every year without interruption since the inaugural event.

In the early days, with the sponsorship of Sea Harvest, a mega party was held on the Saturday night, but with the reduction in entries and few people staying over, the party has not been well supported – maybe it will be revived this year.

The Dash is a reaching course over 17 km. The course has changed a bit from the first event, but has now settled down and for the last eight years or so has been a le Mans start off the beach at Langebaan, across the entrance to the lagoon to the Donkergat peninsular, try to stay out of the Military area or you are liable to be warned off with a shot across the bows, a starboard reach back to the beach near Lientjies klip, just South of Club Mykonos, screaming port reach – the longest leg – to the end of the iron ore terminal, a semi reaching run down to the beach in the corner of Saldanha Bay, jibe round and along the beach to round Dial rock and in to the finish on the beach in from of the club house.

Wind conditions are known to be variable over the course with the wind at the start usually the strongest. So rig the largest sail you can handle and hope it gets you through the hole at the ore jetty, but does not wipe you out on the reach from Club Mykonos.

The fastest time for the race was done by Peter Slate who screamed down the course in a gale in 18 minutes. The winners have mostly won the event more than once and the names that spring to mind are Peter Slate, Marlon Weibel, Cameron Bruce, Matthew Swart, Craig Gertenbach who all have a few wins under the harness. In the last two years the event has been opened up to the kites, but the boards have still taken the first three or four places with a bunch of kites coming in behind the leaders.