A kiteboarder who was swept out to sea in strong winds was rescued by Edgartown and Oak Bluffs fire and rescue boats Wednesday.

The Vineyard waters proved their worth recently as a speed sailing destination while hosting the North American Speed Sailing Invitational. Rob Douglas won 12 of the 14 races, and set a world record.

The North American Speed Sailing Invitational is coming to the Vineyard, from Oct. 21 through Nov. 4.

Rob Douglas from Vineyard Havenwon his third world speed sailing title at the 2018 International Kiteboarding Association Speed World Championships.

Brock Callen Jr. insists that sailing 67 miles in five hours on a kiteboard isn’t really that much. What it really is, he said, is amazing. There’s no other sport that fosters such interaction between sailor, wind and water.

The Vineyard’s own Rob Douglas won best speed and three out of four races at the National French Kitesurfing Speed Championships held last week in La Franqui, France.

If they were motorists, they’d surely be ticketed. Going over 45 miles per hour on the Vineyard is illegal.

But the dozen world-class athletes who competed in the second annual North American Speed Sailing Invitational attain their formidable speeds not on paved roads but on water. They raced on Sengekontacket Pond, Cape Pogue Bay and Katama Bay, depending on the wind conditions of each location. During the competition, which ended on Tuesday, the high-flying kites became familiar sights.

Vineyard resident and Black Dog CEO Robert Douglas placed first overall at the 2012 International Kite Association World Speed Championships held July 6-15 in Salin du Giraud, France. Mr. Douglas now has the distinction of holding and winning both the outright world speed sailing record (55.65 knots) and the 2012 World Kitespeed Sailing Championship simultaneously.

He is sponsored by The Black Dog, Edgartown resident Bill Lynch of Lynch Associates, Cabrinha Kites and CornerFive Surf Company.

Rob Douglas, 37, son of Black Dog Tavern founder Capt. Robert Douglas, earned the title of fastest sailor in the world Monday by breaking the world kite surfing record with a speed of 49.84 knots.

Mr. Douglas accomplished the feat while competing in the Speed World Cup, in a small African town famous for strong winds. Mr. Douglas started wind surfing in 1987 and picked up kite surfing in 2002. He has hired a coach, Olympic medalist wind surfer Mike Gebhardt, to help him train.

Sponsored by The Black Dog, Cabrinha kites and John Amundson Customs, Black Dog businessman Rob Douglas, in what was described as “one of the most thrilling kite speed races of all time,” recently set a new U.S. record at 40.21 knots, a record held since 2003 by Robby Naish.

Mr. Douglas placed second among all competitors at the Fuerteventura Kite Speed World Cup in Canary Islands, Spain, beating the current world champion and world speed record holder.