I hadn’t been there for years & slalom is a fresh new (old) buzz, so could hardly refuse Aidan Breslin’s invite to attend the 25th Downings Winsurf Event held in aid of the RNLI. The forecast was fair so I threw in a Naish Freewide 140 & Loft O2 7.4 & hoped for a bit of a blow. There was a slight feeling of Deja Vu as Denise packed boxes of T’s & Sweats to set up a stall on the beach on Sunday as requested .... some of you will remember Blue Planet ! We packed China in & hit the vastly improved road north . This used to be a bit of a trek but thanks to the EC a Friday lunchtime departure had us in Downings by tea time. Coming across the low road past the Rossapenna hotel we could see the flash of sails moving fast across the bay in the misty rain. A quick recce of the beach revealed some pretty BIG sails & more rain ! Off to the hotel for dinner so....
The totally rebuilt BEACH HOTEL offers some of the best service & cuisine around & we should know. Denise gave the restaurant “best veggie” of the year so far (or was it decade ?) & we both enjoyed the wine list (Top Tip.. check in the restaurant for non-listed bottles squirreled away by the owner !). A great place to stay for this event or any other time for that matter.
Surprisingly I was on the beach early enough to register for racing and was cheered by the wind speeds of 15 – 30 knots being recorded out on the course. Nick Fletcher & Gartan OEC’s team lead by John Boyce, had everything under control with a fleet of rescue boats ever present to bring the unfortunates ashore. Trying to decide what to rig shouldn’t be too difficult with a choice of 2 boards & two sails..... anyway I chose the 6.1 Zen & the comfortable AHD Rebound 93.... wrong choice as the wind inshore was all over the place and by the time I got out of the lee of the land I was nowhere near the course. Guess that’s why the big boys were on 8m2+ with 125 ltrs at least. Back to the beach for me .. grumble, grumble..know why I was glad slalom had disappeared for a few years !!
Two races gone and at last the 140 & 7.4 were ready for action. Surprise ! Planing down the first leg in the top 10 ! This might work .... The course was a massive 5 gybe downwind blast with plenty of time to overtake & be overtaken. The start was a massive 40 or 50 strong so there was some occasional chaos at the marks (hope your head’s ok Danny !). The array of kit out there was also huge & some great results were logged by Neil Sands on his trusty Pryde VX3 / Mistral combo ! I didn’t hang around either placing 6th & 8th before the lunchtime break. Hot stew, soup & rolls never tasted so good .. thanks ladies !
Another 4 races almost back to back finished off what was a cracking days sailing. I managed to pull a 7th but started to fade a bit & began dropping my gybes towards the end after some good starts .... must work on the old fitness ! Staggered back to the hotel for another slap up meal & out to the Harbour Bar with good intentions of an early night ! Good intentions got me all the way to the RNLI Disco & very late to bed !
I believe there was a bit of racing on Sunday too but I managed to miss that !! Winds were lighter but the competition was still fierce. Mid afternoon saw one of the biggest prize givings seen in a long time. I even managed to pick up 2nd Grand Master & a 14th overall .... all on a standard Naish Freewide & Loft O2 !!
The message here is simple .. grab your freeride kit & give it a go! Competitions like this are one of the best ways I know to up your skill levels & the craic at all levels of the fleet is mighty !
Alan.
The next event is in COURTMACSHARRY , CORK. 23rd – 24th Aug.
http://www.surfdock.ie/
The totally rebuilt BEACH HOTEL offers some of the best service & cuisine around & we should know. Denise gave the restaurant “best veggie” of the year so far (or was it decade ?) & we both enjoyed the wine list (Top Tip.. check in the restaurant for non-listed bottles squirreled away by the owner !). A great place to stay for this event or any other time for that matter.
Surprisingly I was on the beach early enough to register for racing and was cheered by the wind speeds of 15 – 30 knots being recorded out on the course. Nick Fletcher & Gartan OEC’s team lead by John Boyce, had everything under control with a fleet of rescue boats ever present to bring the unfortunates ashore. Trying to decide what to rig shouldn’t be too difficult with a choice of 2 boards & two sails..... anyway I chose the 6.1 Zen & the comfortable AHD Rebound 93.... wrong choice as the wind inshore was all over the place and by the time I got out of the lee of the land I was nowhere near the course. Guess that’s why the big boys were on 8m2+ with 125 ltrs at least. Back to the beach for me .. grumble, grumble..know why I was glad slalom had disappeared for a few years !!
Two races gone and at last the 140 & 7.4 were ready for action. Surprise ! Planing down the first leg in the top 10 ! This might work .... The course was a massive 5 gybe downwind blast with plenty of time to overtake & be overtaken. The start was a massive 40 or 50 strong so there was some occasional chaos at the marks (hope your head’s ok Danny !). The array of kit out there was also huge & some great results were logged by Neil Sands on his trusty Pryde VX3 / Mistral combo ! I didn’t hang around either placing 6th & 8th before the lunchtime break. Hot stew, soup & rolls never tasted so good .. thanks ladies !
Another 4 races almost back to back finished off what was a cracking days sailing. I managed to pull a 7th but started to fade a bit & began dropping my gybes towards the end after some good starts .... must work on the old fitness ! Staggered back to the hotel for another slap up meal & out to the Harbour Bar with good intentions of an early night ! Good intentions got me all the way to the RNLI Disco & very late to bed !
I believe there was a bit of racing on Sunday too but I managed to miss that !! Winds were lighter but the competition was still fierce. Mid afternoon saw one of the biggest prize givings seen in a long time. I even managed to pick up 2nd Grand Master & a 14th overall .... all on a standard Naish Freewide & Loft O2 !!
The message here is simple .. grab your freeride kit & give it a go! Competitions like this are one of the best ways I know to up your skill levels & the craic at all levels of the fleet is mighty !
Alan.
The next event is in COURTMACSHARRY , CORK. 23rd – 24th Aug.
http://www.surfdock.ie/
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