Displaying items by tag: KSP World Tour

19th October 2012

Kite Surf Pro Kicks Off in Achill Today

#KITESURFING - Ten days of top-class kitesurfing action kick off today (19 October) on Achill Island at the Aer Lingus Kite Surf Pro.

Some 36 riders from 19 countries have converged on Galway Bay to tackle the cold Atlantic waters in what marks the first time the tour has been hosted in Ireland.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, current world number one Patri McLaughlin will be looking to retain his tour lead in the coming days, but may face a stiff challenge from local wildcard entrants Ryan Coote and Keith McGewon.

Meanwhile, local female wildcard Jade O'Connor will join a field topped by championship leader Ninja Bichler from Germany.

The contest is the penultimate stop on the KSP World Tour for 2012, and will be streamed live online via the official tour website.

It will operate with a mobile format, with riders based at the Pure Magic Lodge on the island and heading out to whatever spot produces the best possible combination of wind and waves on any given day.

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Esailing & Virtual Sailing information

The concept of e-sailing, or virtual sailing, is based on a computer game sailing challenge that has been around for more than a decade.

The research and development of software over this time means its popularity has taken off to the extent that it has now become a part of the sailing seascape and now allows people to take an 'active part' in some of the most famous regattas across the world such as the Vendée Globe, Route du Rhum, Sydney Hobart, Volvo Ocean Race, America’s Cup and some Olympic venues too, all from the comfort of their armchair.

The most popular model is the 'eSailing World Championship'. It is an annual esports competition, first held in 2018 and officially recognised by World Sailing, the sports governing body.

The eSailing World Championship is a yearly competition for virtual sailors competing on the Virtual Regatta Inshore game.

The contract to run the event was given to a private company, Virtual Regatta that had amassed tens of thousands of sailors playing offshore sailing routing game following major offshore races in real-time.

In April 2020, the company says on its website that it has 35,000 active players and 500,000 regattas sailed.

Virtual Regatta started in 2010 as a small team of passionate designers, engineers, and entrepreneurs gathered around the idea that virtual sailing sports games can mix with real races and real skippers.