New Sponsor

I am very pleased to announce that i have been offered a deal with Chinook through the UK importer. I have been using the Chinook carbon booms for a couple of years now and they are excellent booms so i am stoked to be offered the oportunity to become a team rider for Chinook. You can check out the Chinook products here

http://www.chinooksailing.com/products/

My old carbon booms and old mast extensions are now available for sale, please check the For Sale section of my blog here

http://irl-250.blogspot.com/2009/01/2004-11.html

for pictures and prices

If you are interested in anything please contact me at alastairnichol@gmail.com

New World Speed Record - Macquarie Innovation breaks 50 -hits 54 knots

Check out this link

http://www.seabreeze.com.au/News/Sailing/New-World-Speed-Record-Macquarie-Innovation-breaks-50-hits-54-knots_2438424.aspx

looks like the MI crew in australia have smashed the 5o knot barrier aswell so thats now both kites and boats that have done it now

Windsurfers unofficially were the first to get a peak speed over 50 knots but hopefully it is only a matter of time before a windsurfer officially breaks 50 knots

Exicting times ahead

Malahide Tuesday March 24th

I arrived at Malahide (Kilcree) late on in the afternoon at 4.15pm as i had alot of things i needed to get done before i could go windsurfing. There wasn't too much wind when i got there so was going to rig my 9.0 KA Koncept, but while getting my gear off the car the wind started to pick up so i decided to rig up my 7.5 KA koncept and Lorch Thunderbird 75 with 42cm Vector Maui Canefire fin.

I was having a great time on the water very powered up but not really overpowered as the wind was around 12 knots gusting 16 knots. Just after 6pm the wind picked up again and now there was gusts of over 20 knots and by now i was fairly lit. As there wasn't too much daylight left i decided not to change down to my 6.6 KA Koncept and have a few more runs and then pack up.
I made it across the estuary alright but was maxed and having trouble holding down the sail so turned round and headed back to the other side and call it a day. About halfway across the i had a big wipeout, getting catapulted into the sail where i managed to break the batten above the boom with my head and hurt my hand. I got back to the beach and that was me finished for the day.

The next day my hand was all swollen and still hurting so i ended up having to go to the doctors who refered me to the hospital for an X-Ray. I was told nothing was broken, but i had bruised the bones in my hand.
I then had to go back to the doctors who strapped up my hand and then gave me my bad news, No windsurfing for 4-6 weeks :-(((((

Hopefully i won't be off the water this long as i am taking part in the Sunrise Sunset charity event on May 3rd but i will try my best to be on the water for that but i will not be able to race in Round 1 of the Irish Slalom Series unfortunatly. At least my hands not broken but i am still dissapointed. I will still be there with my camera so i will get loads of photos of everyone

New Sponsor

I am very pleased to announce that i have been offered a deal with Vector Maui Fins

You can check out the fins here

http://vectorfins.com/new/index.php

I will be using the EX Speed fins for speedsailing and the Rockits and Canefires for Slalom. I was using some of these fins last year and i am very happy to become a team rider because they are some of the best fins i have used

Malahide Sunday March 22nd

Had a great day at Malahide on Sunday. It was blowing 12 to 16 knots but the wind was very gusty with big holes with not alot of wind. I was using my Lorch Thunderbird 75, 7.5m KA Koncept and a 42cm Vector Maui Fins Canefire. The more i use this combination the more i like it as it is perfect for this windstrength. Just wish the wind had filled in a little bit more so i could have got on my Lorch Thunderbird 64. Starting to get the fitness back after the winter and looking forward to getting on the water alot more. Here is a picture taken of me by Mikey Clanceys father (thanks)

Sunrise Sunset

On Sunday 3rd of may like alot of other windsurfers all over Ireland and England i will be taking to the water in aid of Cancer Research. This charity event is the idea of David Tuttlebee who while attending Weymouth Speed Week last year was told he had been diagnosed with cancer for the second time. Please check out the link

http://www.sunrisesunset.ws/

pass the word around, register and take part for a great charity cause

Further information on the charity can be found at

http://www.windsurfing4cancerresearch.org/.

I now have my sponsorship page set up on the Sunrise Sunset website. Here at

http://www.sunrisesunset.ws/alastairnichol.htm

Near the bottom of the page you will find the donation link so if you could please make a donation towards this great charity cause i would be very gratefull

See you all on the water

Events I Plan To Compete In This Year

With the first event of the season only a few weeks away now i have just finalised the events i plan to attend this year. If you are at any of the Irish Slalom events and want to try out any of my KA Sails or Lorch Boards come and find me and you are more than welcome to try them out

APRIL

Round 1 Irish Slalom Series Malahide, Dublin
04/04 – 05/04

MAY

Fleadh Shoeil Festival Malahide (KA Sails Demo)
02/05-04/05

JUNE

Round 3 Irish Slalom Series Castlegregory, Co Kerry
13/06 – 14/06

JULY

Round 4 Irish Slalom Series Downings, Co Donegal
18/07 – 19/07

European Championships Karpathos, Greece
31/07-05/08

AUGUST

Round 5 Irish Slalom Series Coolmaine, Co Cork
15/08 – 16/08

SEPTEMBER
Round 6 Irish Slalom Series Silver Strand, Galway
12/09 – 13/09

OCTOBER

British Championship Weymouth, England
10/10-16/10

Irish Championship Round 2 Dungarvan, Ireland
03/10 – 04/10 or 17/10 – 18/10 or 07/11 – 08/11

Production Worlds Dungarvan, Ireland
17/10 – 24/10 or 31/10 – 07/11 or 14/11 – 21/11

Windsurfing Paddys Day

Had a good days windsurfing in Malahide on Paddys Day. It was blowing 8-12 knots so i was using my KA Formula Race 10.7 and Lorch Thunderbird Formula. Here is some pics