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Displaying items by tag: Kitesurfing

Two new videos demonstrate the different sides of kitesurfing in Ireland.
The first shows Irish kiteboarder Ryan Coote taking on the intense big surf charged by the winds of Hurricane Katia on the west coast recently.
Meanwhile the second is a more reflective illustration of the kitesurfing scene in Northern Ireland this year.
Both show that Ireland can compete with the best in the world when it comes to quality waves.
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Two new videos demonstrate the different sides of kitesurfing in Ireland.

The latter below shows Irish kiteboarder Ryan Coote taking on the intense big surf charged by the winds of Hurricane Katia on the west coast recently.

Meanwhile the former is a more reflective illustration of the kitesurfing scene in Northern Ireland this year.

Both show that Ireland can compete with the best in the world when it comes to quality waves.

Published in Kitesurfing
The Irish National Kite Surfing Festival will be part of the action at the Wexford Kite Surfing Festvial in Duncannon next weekend.
Kitesurfers from all over Ireland will compete in course racing and a freestyle competition in their bid to claim the national championship.
But the two day event also offers entertainment for all the family - from archery and bungee trampolines for the more adventurous, to face painting, hula hoops and bouncy castles for the young (and young at heart).

The Irish National Kite Surfing Festival will be part of the action at the Wexford Kite Surfing Festvial in Duncannon next weekend.

Kitesurfers from all over Ireland will compete in course racing and a freestyle competition in their bid to claim the national championship.

But the two day event also offers entertainment for all the family, from archery and bungee trampolines for the more adventurous to face painting, hula hoops and bouncy castles for the young - and young at heart.

Published in Kitesurfing
A man was hospitalised with serious head injuries after a kitesurfing accident in west Cork on Saturday.
The Irish Times reports that the man got into difficulty in high wins while kitesurfing in Courtmacsherry Bay.
He was taken by Irish Coast Guard helicopter to Cork University Hospital, where he is reportedly in a stable condition.
Two kayakers and two windsurfers were also rescued in the Kinsale area on the same day in treacherous windy conditions.
A man was hospitalised with serious head injuries after a kitesurfing accident in west Cork on Saturday.

The Irish Times reports that the man got into difficulty in high wins while kitesurfing in Courtmacsherry Bay. 

He was taken by Irish Coast Guard helicopter to Cork University Hospital, where he is reportedly in a stable condition.

Two kayakers and two windsurfers were also rescued in the Kinsale area on the same day in treacherous windy conditions.
Published in Kitesurfing

A team of six kitesurfers are planning to cross the Irish Sea, from Cloghy in Northern Ireland to Silloth in West Cumbria.

Whilst not a record it will be the first time anyone has kited from Ireland to England.  Kirsty Jones was the first to kite from Ireland to Wales and Andreya Wharry almost kited from Cornwall to Ireland (130 miles), however she launched 15 miles off the coast and did not make landfall.  Some members of the team complete a crossing from the Isle of Man to England in 2008.

The current record stands at 140 miles. Kirsty Jones holds this from when she kited non-stop from Africa to Lanzarote.  

The team, Andrew Smith, Fraser Dooley, John Flinn, Martin Sandwith, Nick Elliott, Stuart Wood, are all experienced kitesurfers and are hoping to raise money for the RNLI and the NSPCC by doing the stunt.

Their site is kitesurfirishsea.co.uk and their promo video is visible below this post.

 

Published in Kitesurfing
Page 6 of 6

About the 29er Skiff Dinghy

The 29er is a one-design double-handed, single trapeze skiff for youth sailors.

There is an active class in Ireland, just one of the 38-countries from across all continents now racing the high-performance skiff.

The 29er is one of the latest dinghy classes to arrive in Ireland and has a 50/50 split between boys and girls.

The class like to describe the boat as "The most popular skiff for sailors who want to go fast!".

Derived from the Olympic class 49er class and designed by Julian Bethwaite the 29er was first produced in 1998.

Two sailors sail the 29er, one on trapeze.

The class is targeted at youth sailors aiming at sailing the larger 49er which is an Olympic class.


The 6.25-metre high rig features a fractional asymmetrical spinnaker; a self-tacking jib decreases the workload of the crew, making manoeuvres more efficient and freeing the crew to take the mainsheet upwind and on two-sail reaches.

The 15.00 m2 spinnaker rigging set-up challenges crews to be fit and coordinated, and manoeuvres in the boat require athleticism due to its lack of inherent stability and the high speed with which the fully battened mainsail and jib power up.

The 74kg weight hull is constructed of fibreglass-reinforced polyester in a foam sandwich layout.

The fully battened mainsail and jib are made from a transparent Mylar laminate with orange or red Dacron trimming, while the spinnaker is manufactured from ripstop Nylon.

The mast is in three parts - an aluminium bottom and middle section, with a polyester-fibreglass composite tip to increase mast bend and decrease both overall weights, and the capsizing moment a heavy mast tip can generate. Foils are aluminium or fibreglass.

About the ILCA/Laser Dinghy

The ILCA, formerly known as the Laser, is the most produced boat in the world, with 220,000 units built since 1971.

It's easy to see why the single-handed dinghy has won the title of the most widely distributed boat of all time.

The Laser is a one-design dinghy, the hulls being identical but three rigs that can be used according to the size and weight of the sailor.

The class is international, with sailors from 120 countries. The boat has also been an Olympic class since 1996, being both the men's and women's singlehanded dinghy.

Three rigs are recognised by the International Laser Class Association (ILCA):

  • ILCA 4: sail of 4.70m2
  • ILCA 6: sail of 5.76 m2
  • ILCA 7: sail of 7.06 m2

29er skiff technical specs

  • Hull weight 74kg (163lb)
  • LOA 4.45m (14.4ft)
  • Beam 1.77m (5ft 7in)
  • Crew 2 (single trapeze) 
  • Spinnaker area 15.00 m2 (181.2sq.ft)
  • Upwind sail area 12.5 m2 (142.0 sq.ft)
  • Mast length 6.25m (20.5ft)

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