My New Pro Motion Wetsuits Have Arrived

My new wetsuits arrived from Pro Motion this week. I had a chance to use them and they are awsome suits so if you are looking for wetsuits for windsurfing i highly recommend that you get one of these wetsuits. I got the Men's 5/3 Storm Wind with ADV WindSkin - Red Trim winter suit and finally i now have a winter suit that has loose fit forearms so should mean i won't get forearm cramps any longer which i suffered from for a long time. I also got the Men's 3mm Storm Conv. with ADV WindSkin - Black/Red summer suit which is so comfortable to wear. The ADV windskin material is smoothskin on the outside to keep wind chill at bay and is a super stretchy material so getting in and out of the suit is a breeze. I'm looking forward to using these wetsuits for a long time and am stoked to be a team rider for Pro Motion.

Now my new wetsuits are here my old ones are for sale here as well as all my other windsurfing gear i am currently selling.

http://irl-250.blogspot.com/2009_01_01_archive.html

The O'Neill Psycho 2 has only been used a few times and is in excellent condition. The Neil Pryde 3000 4/3 Short Arm Convertable is 2 years old and the Neil Pryde 3000 4/3 full arm suit was bought last year when i was in the Gorge on holiday in america. The Neil Pryde 3000 shorty was bought at the same time in the Gorge and is brand new as i havn't had the chance to use it. All suits are in excellent condition with loads of life left in them.

You can contact me on 087 9704602 or email me at alastairnichol@gmail.com if you are interested in buying any of my windsurfing equipment

2010 KA Sail Range

KaRace Slalom/Formula Race
Blistering speed and amazing draft stability are the hallmarks of this "pro level" Slalom and Formula racing sail.If you are serious about winning look no further...

Available in the following sizes 5.4m, 6.2m, 7.1m, 7.9m, 8.9m, 9.8m, 10.8m and 11.8m
click here for Full details...

Koncept Speed/Slalom...
50.1 knot 2 second peak and the all time fastest average speed on GPSSS !!!. The Koncept just conquers, it's as simple as that...
Available in the following sizes 4.3m, 4.9m, 5.7m, 6.4m, 7.3m and 8.3m
click here for Full details...


Koyote Freeride...
Blistering speed with all the ease of a no cam sail.With it,s design based on the all conquering Koncept racing your mates was never easier....
Available in the following sizes 5.3m, 5.9m, 6.6m, 7.4m and 8.2m
click here for Full details... .



Kult Crossover...
The ultimate all rounder.Primarily designed as a Bump&Jump Maestro the Kult is equally at home flatwater blasting or as a power wave sail for larger riders...
Available in the following sizes 4.7m, 5.3m, 5.8m, 6.4m and 7.0m
click here for Full details...


Kaos Wave...
If hardcore wave sailing is your scene then the Kaos should be the weapon of choice. Built to withstand the harshest of conditions yet light and neutral on the wave face.This sail rips...
Available in the following sizes 3.7m, 4.2m, 4.7m, 5.0m, 5.3m and 5.7m
click here for Full details...




Please contact me on alastairnichol@gmail.com or 087 9704602 if you are interested in purchasing any of these sails in Ireland as i am now the distributor for KA Sails here in Ireland. I am based in County Kerry near to Brandon bay and can meet for you to try out the sails. I have KA Race, KA Koncepts and KA Kaos available for demo

Fenit Estuary, Friday 28th August 2009

I Headed to Fenit Estuary as i wanted to check it out in when the wind direction was South West to Westerly. Also decided to launch from the other side to where i usually launch from as i arrived after high tide and this spot is part of the estuary that has water in it the longest before it fully drains. If you launch by the sand dunes you only really have 2 1/2 hours before the water level gets to low and launching from this side gives you at least 4 hours of sailing after high tide.

I arrived and it was blowing 18-22 knots so i decided to rig my Starboard I Sonic 87 with 30cm EX Vector Maui Fin and my KA Koncept 5.8m. There is alot of rocks around here so you have to be carefull and as i was a bit downwind there was 1ft chop pretty close together and the wind for some reason was constantly up and down so was underpowered most of the time and i didn't get in any decent runs. I was hoping that this spot in the estuary might be good for a possible speed spot but this is now not looking likely. Looks like the best spot is gonna be closer to the dunes where the water is flatter.

Nice to get on the water though for a couple of hours and hoping we have some wind on it's way from the west for later in the week.

Fenit, Monday 24th August 2009

Well my back is alot better and have been looking to get on the water for the past week but unfortunatly up till today there has been little or no wind so when i saw there was wind today i was itching to get on the water. I decided to take the short drive over to Fenit and sail on the sea there. When i arrived it was blowing 14-18 knots so i decided to use my Lorch Thunderbird 110 with 36cm Vector Maui Rockit fin and KA Koncept 6.6m. When i was ready to hit the water i went to the car to get my GPS but in my rush to leave the house i forgot it so was pretty gutted i couldn't record my session.

Anyway i hit the water as the tide was coming in and was a little bit choppy but as the tide got higher so did the chop so it got a little interesting at times blasting through the chop so was good practice. Just wish i had my GPS to see what sort of speeds i achieved.

Had a good couple of hours on the water until it started raining which killed the wind so decided to call it a day and save myself for later in the week. Thursday is looking good for Scraggane over in Castlegreggory as it will be 20 knots plus offshore/cross offshore so the speed strip there should be working.

Not sure how much of the tail end of the latest hurricane we will get here in Ireland but i'm itching to get my small speed kit out and get some fast speeds

See you on the water

Windsurfer International Magazine

Brian McDowell for the Beach Telegraph has just brought out a Free online magazine called Windsurfer International. Had a quick look and looks like a great read. Check out the first issue here

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/ed749eab#/ed749eab/48

Enjoy

Current Irish National Speedsailing Rankings

The latest Irish National Speedsailing Rankings have been released that include the 1 event we have held and also the GPS 10 second and 500m ranking aswell. Currently lying in 5th spot with 2 events left this year. Hopefully i can get further up the ranking by the end of the year. Check the ranking out below.

Speed World Cup European Championships, Dungarven, Ireland

I've just registered for the Speed World Cup European Championships that will be held in Dungarven, Ireland this October. All the info for the event is here

http://www.speedworldcup.com/general-news/european-championships-speed-for-windsurfers-and-kiteboa.html

You can also register for the event on the same page

Can't wait and hopefully this year we will have wind and show everyone how good dungarven is when there is wind

Speed World Cup World Championships Karpathos 2009

Check out the latest action for the Speed World Cup World Championships 2009 in Karpathos

Kerry Speed Spots

We'll my back is still hurting me so have not been able to get on the water for the past few weeks but hopefully this week i will be okay to sail so been pretty bored the past few weeks. I got the chance yesterday to drive out to the spot just south of Ballybunion near to where i live to check out the entrance to the river to see if it is suitable for speedsailing. I got there 3 hours before low tide and on first impressions the spot looks good. The surrounding land is fairly flat so does not block the wind too much and there is a sand bar that dries out that you can see in the second video below which i took of the location. We will have to launch from the South Side as access on the North Side is limited

Now all i need is some strong wind to try out the spot and see if it works. Fingers crossed i have a speed spot on my doorstep so i don't need to travel too far.

I have also now been able to check out Fenit at low tide and unfortunatly the estuary completely dries out where i thought the speed strip might work so it is gonna be a high tide venue where we can have a crack at some nautical miles in the big winter stroms i can't wait to hit here this winter.

Ballybunion Speed Strip From North Side Of River

Ballybunion Speed Strip From South Side Of River