Lord of the board bows out

Luke Wigglesworth in the Coastal Classic.

Three times is definitely enough, a weary Luke Wigglesworth declared last night.

The 35-year-old windsurfer, still feeling the effects three days after his gruelling and record-breaking journey on the HSBC Coastal Classic yacht race, said he would not be back next year.

He covered the course between Auckland and Russell in 9h 59m, clinging to the 5m-high sail on his 2.4m windsurf board.

Wigglesworth was the second monohull across the finish line behind the 30m yacht Konica Minolta, which set a race record of 8h 29m.

But his efforts went unheralded, as windsurfers cannot officially enter the race.

"It was the roughest I've ever sailed it," said Wigglesworth, who has competed in the Coastal Classic in each of the past eight years.

The gusty conditions and confused swells meant he covered 286km, 66km more than the official race distance.

He celebrated on Friday night with his support crew and a feed of fish and chips.

"I had a lot of hot showers and spent the rest of Labour Weekend taking it slowly."

Wigglesworth remains the only person to finish the demanding race on a windsurfer, a feat he has now accomplished three times.

The biggest challenge was filling his head with something interesting for 10 hours.

"About three hours into it you think, 'Why am I doing this again?' "

Last night he was still feeling the after-effects: "My legs are pretty sore."

Having beaten his previous best time by nearly two hours, Wigglesworth is ready to retire from the rigours of the Coastal Classic. "I think I'll finish on a high. I'm done now, unless someone beats my record."