Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta showcased the dynamic new sport of Kiteboarding off Seapoint on Saturday.

This year's regatta sees the launch of a brand new class, Kiteboard Course Racing. Many of you will be familiar with the mutlicoloured spectacle of kiteboarding, or as its sometimes called kitesurfing. Its not unusual to see 100+ kites in the air as you cruise or race pass Clontarf's Dollymount Strand. The sport has moved rapidly over the past 10 years with a vibrant community in Ireland, and is probably one of the most affordable sail sports available today. Now with a budding race scene, you can expect to see kites in large numbers vying for podiums all around the country.

The Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta has a history of being at the forefront of sail racing, and is proud to showcase this new dynamic class. Kite Course Racing was held this morning (first Start 10.15am) and depending on the wind will race again tomorrow Sunday 10th July.

The latest technology drive in kiteboarding has been towards course racing. Kiteboarders on race specific equipment fly upwind as quickly as an AC45, and achieve fully powered up racing from 8kts upwards. As you would expect, it has all of the hallmarks of high octane sailboat racing, as riders fight tooth and nail for every boat/board length, screaming for water at the mark, while searching for wind shifts and the fastest route around the cans, all this is done with breathtaking speed and agility. Heres an example of kiteboards pitted against hydrofoiling Moths, and 49er's ( http://www.pureracing.ie/ikite​r-tv/ )

Among the many hopefuls on the starting line, you can expect to see Francois Colussi, owner of Clontarf based kiteboard store & school Puremagic. Look out for Francois riding Cabrinha, he has been at the top of the sport for many years, competing at international level before settling in Ireland to open Puremagic Dublin & Achill. Jade O'Connor also on Cabrinha is no stranger to finishing line honours, a stalwart competitor in dinghy classes and catamaran's for many years.

The format is olympic / triangle courses, and ISAF rules under appendix BB, races are about 25 minutes long, raced back to back, with an event carrying the usual discard rules. A strict box rule governs the boards, keeping costs down and competition up. Kite size's range from 6m to 16m, as you can imagine the power to weight ratio is quite phenomenal. The class has a professional tour and recent world championships in Sylt, Germany, which was attended by over 70 competitors. Recent showcases have included the Rolex Miami OCR, the class is also in the mix for inclusion at the Rio 2016 Olympics Games.

2011 VDLR Kite Boarding Race 1 (Saturday 9th July)
Full Results as follows;
1. Francios Colussi
2. Jade O'Connor
3. Colm Murphy
...4. James Hayden
5 Eoin O'Connell
6 Melissa Evans, Carl Jordan, Catherine Etienne, Ross Harte, Charlie.

With marginal conditions the kiteboard course racing completed two races on Saturday. Enjoying cross onshore conditions at the required minimum 8kts limit at the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta.

A hard fought contest saw the PureMagic Team take first and second. Francois Colussi in first place on a 13m Cabrinha Crossbow, followed by Jade O'Connor also riding Cabrinha. In third place was Colm Murphy riding Nobile. A short but fantastic day's racing in Dublin Bay