Ireland's first ever 'big wave' surfing contest has been immortalised in a new documentary film (SEE TRAILER BELOW).

High Pressure – The Story of Ireland’s First Big Wave Surfing Contest follows the story of those hardy souls who took on the monster waves at Sligo's Mullaghmore Head in the inaugural Tow-in Surf Session last February.

Produced, directed and edited by Dave Mottershead and Daniela Gross, the film also examines the philosophy of big-wave surfing and the value of the waves to Irish coastal communities, and is described as a "must-see and must-have" by website Surfer Today.

"Local surfers believe there are still new surf spots to be found and challenged on the Irish coast," the site adds, noting that the film "opens the professional book of surfing in Ireland".

For further enquiries regarding High Pressure – The Story of Ireland’s First Big Wave Surfing Contest, contact [email protected].

As ever Rosses Point in Sligo was a beautiful spot to arrive to bright and early Saturday morning. Some may have been up at an ungodly hour, but it's well worth it to come to the top of the hill and look down on a line of peeling surf, a clear sky and a strong breeze.

Race officer Gus Henry had us out early because he had four races to run off each day, two for the Open in the mornings and two for the Youths in the afternoon.

Once a year owners lend their most precious possession to sailors under the age of 23,  the hope being they might get a gra for what we do. How could you not when it's blowing like that ?!
First race Saturday morning set off in a good breeze, nice square line, and enough room so we could all get away nice and clean. Steven and Jonnie looked to put the gold fleet to the sword and bet on the right hand side in emphatic style,no doubt what they thought would work. Having worked our way up the middle I'd like to think that they made that side look a lot better than it was just because they eat up the beats in a breeze. Those that had heavily split to the left came in looking just as good. As always if you could hook into a gust on the reach, you might just hold on to it and escape, and it seemed to be a feature of the day ,as ever, that a little bit of luck might put you in the path of something the others might not get.

The second beat found the leading boat having to try and cover a heavy right/ left split from the four closest pursuers ( guess which way Steven went ! ). But again, there wasn't much in it.

Some crews struggled a bit on the beats, and some even fell out but if they could hold even a slim gap, they would usually escape down the reach to set themselves a wee cushion. Coming down the final run the leader was going to need it. Paddy and Tania survived a late surge from the chasing pack to record a fine race win. Ah, the sound of gun...such a glorious thing....

Race two and the Race Officer raised the Black Flag, he had no intention of pissing about wasting time. This made some of us a little nervous and I know a bo.at that was very gun shy, Dessie and Keith however happily set off on Port at high speed and only one boat pushed them back into the middle of the course.Dashing their dream of owning the right hand side, and what they belived might have been eternal glory. It wouldn't have been. Niall with Oisin back in the boat, popped around the top in a good position having worked their way up the left late in the beat and set about reminding the fleet how good they can be. But they had the previous race winner and a few others besides to contend with. A fast reach, an exchange of opinions at the gybe, a climb on the next leg, no-one quite brave enough to go straight and risk others coming over the top ,the only real decisions came at the leeward mark. Paddy and Tania went left, and gained massively putting them right in contention, they protected their lead aggresivley down the final run, forcing a penalty on one of the competition, and in the process nearly losing 3, 4,5, and 6 who were nose to tail down the other side of the course and going faster. But they popped around the bottom just ahead and held on to record another bullet. Ha, who needs a six time National Champion in the front of the boat when you've got Tania !

Next up the Youths who were to bear the brunt of a strenghthing breeze, bits started breaking off boats and quite a lot of swimming interspersed a game of follow my leader, when someone took them all off on the wrong course....The RO gamely set them up for another one in the strongest breeze of the day. They all came ashore with grins on their faces , Especially Dan Gill who won the only Race.
A great feed was enjoyed in the Sligo Yacht Club , and a few dice were rolled to decide the fate of a nice new GOACHER spinnaker sponsored by the Grangecon Café in Blessington .
The spinnaker was a reward for those owners who had kindly lent their boats to juniors, thank you to all of you.

Next up the Hot Toddy in Mullingar. Fresh water to wash your boat in and the possibiity of new sails as prizes just by entering the event.

The New York Times recently paid a visit to the River Moy in Co Sligo, where angling has experienced a resurgance in recent years.

Since the ban on drift netting off Irish shores in 2007, salmon numbers in the Moy have risen to 75,000 annually, according to Inland Fisheries Ireland.

It's a welcome boon for the River Moy, which also suffered the effects of dregding for agricultural purposes in the 1960s which "cripped much of the integrity of the river’s substrata away, creating the equivalent of a featureless canal through much of its course."

Weirs and spawning gravel in tributary streams have helped the Moy to recover some of its former glory, and the river now welcomes thousands of anglers each year - especially to the top spots in Ballina town centre.

The New York Times has more on the story HERE.

Well-wishers broke out the champagne to welcome home Elaine 'Shooter' Alexander as she completed her solo circumnavigation of Ireland by kayak yesterday.

The first woman from Northern Ireland to complete such a feat, Shooter landed at County Antrim Yacht Club 71 days after setting off from the same spot on her 1,000-mile challenge to raise funds for local charity SHARE.

Shooter's skills were regularly tested to the limit. On one occasion she suffered severe sea sickness after getting caught in a large swell during a 12-mile crossing near Brandon Bay.

“I was fully committed with a cliff face on one side and a long paddle to America on the other, so I had to continue despite being severely ill,” she said. 

But the challenge wasn't all doom and gloom. One highlight was when Shooter was joined by a pod of six dolphins for over an hour near Easkey on the Sligo coast. And above all, the people she met along the way have left a lasting impression. 

“The support from the kayaking community and local fisherman has been great," she said. "Kayakers have paddled stretches with me, met me with tea and biscuits, gave me warm beds and hot showers, shared invaluable local knowledge – I can’t thank them enough."

From a wet and windy Fireball World Championships in Sligo, where another four races were sailed in a building SE wind, it became a case of the fittest having the most fun on the water. Granted there was a World title to be won but the weather took its toll on the fleet with many retrials before the day was done.

The role call of leaders at the first mark of each race was expanded today when Simon McGrotty & Tony Fitzgerald (IRL 14981), and Joerg Nolle & Roger Leeman (GER 14508) took the honours in Races 1 & 2 respectively.

The other races were lead around the weather mark by the "usual suspects".

The Provisional Results for the regatta have just been posted and the 1-2-3 reads as follows;

1. Matt Burge & Richard Wagstaff 16pts
2. Tom Gillard & Sam Brearey 16pts
3. David Wade & Simon Potts 19pts.

Burge/Wagstaff thus take the title on countback.

Burge/Wagstaff scored a 6,2,1,4 to Gillard/Brearey's 1,3,2,3 with Wade/Potts scoring a 2,1,1,2.

Best of the Irish, in 10th overall is Noel Butler & Stephen Oram, followed by Kenny Rumball & Seamus Moore in 12th and Simon McGrotty & Tony Fitzgerald in 13th.

Leading lady is Derian Scott in 14th overall.

The new Fireball World Champions Matt Burge and Richard Wagstaff

Best Irish boat (10th overall) - Noel Butler & Stephen Oram

As another day at the Fireball World Championships is lost to the weather, the plan now is to stage four races on Thursday writes Cormac Bradley. 

Today's racing in Sligo has not taken the regatta any further forward in terms of determining who will be the 2011 Fireball World Champion! Yes, for the second day in a row, no races were completed, but in contrast to yesterday, none were started either.

Sligo was grey and drizzly this morning and combined with a forecast of 1 – 6 knots from a variety of directions on XC Weather, the omens for racing were not good. For some there was an earlier start as the Council Meeting for the Fireball Executive and NCA reps took place this morning and while this might normally cause an anxious eye to be cast the way of the weather outside for those in the meeting, this was not the case today. There was rain and very little wind.

Rainwear by Pinnell and Bax. Taking cover on Day three of the Fireball Worlds in Sligo. Photo: Gareth Craig

As the morning wore on the prospects for racing were put into limbo! Indeed the Council Meeting was asked to consider the implications of the weather in terms of determining a plan of action for the day. A suggestion was offered but almost immediately Numeral 0 and D flags were flown – go afloat........to the outer race area, i.e. beyond the lighthouse.

The fleet launched under a postponement flag at 12:30 and was greeted almost immediately with a rain shower en route to the racing area. That brought some breeze but that died and what was left, in varying degrees of pressure went from SE to almost due N. The difficulty was that during this entire period the strength never stayed above the requisite 5 knots for long enough to consider a start. The consequence for the fleet was a 3.5hr sojourn on the water that ended when the N flag was flown under the postponement flag – abandoned – to be sailed at a later date.

Thus with three days gone, the regatta has two races completed! The plan how is to try and recover races on Thursday with a scheduled start of 10:00 and the prospect of four races on the day.

The perennial debate of using the lay-day to recover races has aired again here in Sligo – understandably – but the difficulty is that for the host club the volunteers may also have made plans for that day.

This evening Sligo is bright again. The Australians will be doing their bit to persuade us all to go to their Worlds in Mandurah, Western Australia, at the end of this year. Also here are Robin Olsen, Race Officer for the Mandurah Worlds and his wife Sue.

Tomorrow is a lay-day which may convince the competitors to rid themselves of the lack of racing frustrations this evening!

Early signs from Sligo this morning indicate it may be another non-sailing day at the Fireball World Championships. Currently there's no wind on Sligo Bay and a heavy drizzle. The forecast only 3knots from the north-west.

It's frustrating for the 120 sailors especially after yesterday's race three abandonment but also because the forecast for tomorrow (Wednesday) is good but that is the scheduled lay day of the event.

A 100% majority of competitors would be needed to agree to change it from lay-day to race day, according to regatta rules.

The forecast for Thursday and Friday is much more positive with moderate winds from the northwest.

Day 2 of the Fireball Worlds dawned sunny! However, the discussions of Sunday evening and this morning were of the forecast for the next few days writes Cormac Bradley. XCW was predicting 5 – 8 knots ESE, in stark contrast to a forecast that had been obtained by others that suggested as little as 1 knot the previous evening. However, as the morning progressed the wind there was disappeared prompting the flying of the postponement flag. Click HERE for Gareth Craig's pics before the wind died, some nice starting line shots too, showing a dip in the middle of the line.

The Race Management Team went afloat but permission for the fleet to do the same was withheld. They positioned themselves outside the lighthouse, probably in deference to the concerns expressed by many about the random shallow spots in yesterday's race area.

Permission to go afloat was given at around 12 noon, but the postponement was continued on the water. The day got greyer before a start was initiated at around 14:20 and aborted under General Recall. The Black Flag came out for the second start.

The Jury, on the water, also identified people transgressing Rule 42 on the start.

The left hand side of the beat appeared to be the preferred side, but a substantial queue of boats was coming in the starboard layline for the first mark. Out of the chaos came the usual suspects – Gillard/Brearey, McGovern/Capener and Wade/Potts who opened a gap on the balance of the fleet, who then provided a continuous stream of boats down the first reach. As the fleet worked their way round the course the wind initially dropped and then filled in from the left leaving a lopsided beat for round two. Of greater concern though must have been the fact that after the initial burst of energy the wind petered out. The downwind leg of the sausage was reduced to a crawl before three guns and blue and white coloured flags signalled a close to proceedings. Just as the call was made a slight breeze filled in from the East to provide everyone with an easy two-sail trip home!

For four combinations though, there was a final throw of the dice when they came ashore – as there had been a Black Flag start, there were transgressors; Ben Scallan & Dave Fitzgerald (IRL 14754), Diane Kissane & Finnbarr Bradley (IRL 14790), Claude Mermod & Ruedi Moser (SUI 14799) and Martyn Lewis & Richard Byrne (GBR 15056). They miss the start of the next race.

With two races lost today, the provisional programme is to race three tomorrow with a 12 noon start – an hour ahead of the original programme.

Tonight's entertainment includes a presentation by Marine Archaeologist Auriel Robinson on the wrecks of the Spanish Armada in this part of Ireland's west coast. Who says sailing can't be cultural?

Sail No	Helm	Crew	Nation	Race 1	Race 2
15036	Matt Burge	Richard Wagstaff	GBR	1	1
14801	Jonny McGovern	Max Capener	GBR	2	2
15065	Tim Rush	Richard Pepperdine	GBR	5	6
14907	Guy Tipton	Matt King	CAN	9	8
14954	Alan Krailing	Tim Saunders	GBR	15	4
14809	Jaroslav Verner	Jakub Napravniik	CZE	10	11
14934	Andrew Boyle	Brian Flahive	IRL	4	18
14917	Remy Thuillier	Loic Berthelot	FRA	7	15
14941	Derian Scott	Andy Scott	GBR	12	10
15070	Phillip Popple	Doug Shore	GBR	16	7
15045	David Wade	Simon Potts	GBR	8	16
15058	Kenny Rumball	Seamus Moore	IRL	14	12
15056	Martyn Lewis	Richard Byrne	GBR	13	13
15061	Noel Butler	Stephen Oram	IRL	3	25
14820	Barry McCartin	Conor Kinsella	IRL	11	17
14430	Hannah Showell	Barry Smith	GBR	6	31
14977	Jonathon Carter	Gareth Wilkinson	GBR	19	23
14981	Simon McGrotty	Tony Fitzgerald	IRL	25	19
14976	Stuart Hydon	Nigel Spurr	GBR	20	24
14894	Chris Owen	Steve Jobson	GBR	24	22
14508	Joerg Nolle	Roger Leeman	GER	21	28
14973	Pascal Anselmo	Jean Robillard	FRA	26	27
14937	Mick Creighton	Cillian Magee	IRL	17	37
15024	Joe Jospe	Tom Egli	CAN	18	38
14807	Graeme Grant	Hugh Butler	IRL	23	33
14790	Diane Kissane	Finnbarr Bradley	IRL	30	26
15066	Mark Maskell	Nigel Sheppard	GBR	27	29
15041	Tom Gillard	Sam Brearey	GBR	60	3
14938	Niall McGrotty	Neil Cramer	IRL	43	20
14713	Frank Miller	Grattan Donnelly	IRL	22	42
14775	Neil Colin	Margaret Casey	IRL	29	35
14755	David Ryder	Michelle Ryder	GBR	32	32
15015	Martin Peculier	Jean Francois Nouel	FRA	60	5
14765	Gavin Doyle	Richard Franck	IRL	35	30
15031	Alex Taylor	Richard Anderton	GBR	60	9
14691	Louise McKenna	Hermine O'Keeffe	IRL	33	36
14939	Ben Malone	Matthew Bennion	IRL	37	34
14990	Owen Laverty	Ed Butler	IRL	28	44
15020	Vince Horey	Andy Thompson	GBR	60	14
14916	John Jerrard Dunne	Matt Barnes	IRL	34	40
15062	Ben Schulz	Phillip Bowley	AUS	60	21
14754	Ben Scallan	David Fitzgerald	IRL	42	39
15007	Louis Smyth	Cormac Bradley	IRL	31	54
14921	Maja Suter	Thomas Boehm	SUI	39	46
15063	Mianne Erne	Clay Poulson	SUI	45	41
14854	Cariosa Power	Marie Barry	IRL	36	51
14945	Steve Patten	Brian Aldgate	GBR	38	50
15022	John Manson	Ivan Fraser	SHE	41	52
14706	Patrick Hughes	Aine O'Gara	AUS	47	47
14877	Cearbhaill Daly	Martina Michels	IRL	52	43
14853	Ladislav Vomacko	Jiri Gemperle	CZE	40	56
14872	Barbara Newson	Guy Newson	GBR	51	45
14748	Jonathan Evans	Aidan Caulfield	IRL	50	48
14407/740	Ian O'Gorman	Glen Fisher	IRL	49	49
14865	Mary Chambers	Brenda McGuire	IRL	46	53
15060	Beth Armstrong	Peter Armstrong	IRL	44	57
14781	Jonathan Nicholson	Vivian Bessler	IRL	48	55
14595	Brian O'Neill	Una l'Estrange	IRL	60	60
14799	Claude Mermod	Ruedi Moser	SUI	60	60

Daily Report: Day 1 Fireball Worlds: The saying goes that a difficult day on the race course still beats a great day at the office and on a day when the sun shone and the wind provided everyone with a challenge, it was infinitely easier to be racing Fireballs than contemplating work in the morning.

57 boats launched from Sligo Yacht Club’s slipway this morning en route to a 13:00 start. It was a great sight to see and must have provided the organisers of this event a hugh sense of relief. The sleepless nights, the speculation as to how many entries there would be evaporated in the sunshine of Ireland’s west coast.

Irish Fireballs competing in race one today of the Sligo World Championships. Photo: Gareth Craig. Gallery HERE.

Round 1 went to the Race Officer who, after two aborted starts, signalled by General Recall, brought out the Black Flag. 4 boats went over the finish line to silence and for Tom Gillard and Sam Brearey (GBR 15041) it must have been particular disappointing as they led for most, if not all, of the race. The front three of Gillard/Brearey, Jonny McGovern & Max Capener (GBR 14801) and Matt Burge & Richard Wagstaff (GBR 15036) seemed to have their own race such was their lead on the rest of the fleet. Behind them the chasing pack consisted of Tim Rush and Richard Pepperdine (GBR 15065), Noel Butler & Stephen Oram (IRL 15061) and Andy Boyle & Brian Flahive (IRL 14934) among others. An ebbing tide made course selection very important and right side of the beat seemed to pay in that respect.

Others to fall foul of the Black Flag were Martin Peculier & Jean-Francois Nouel (FRA 15015), Alex Taylor & Richard Anderton (GBR 15031) and Vince Horey & Andy Thompson. Winners from last week, Ben Schulz & Phillip Bowley had a horror first race eventually retiring to reset their rigging and sails.

Race 1 was thus claimed by Matt Burge & Richard Wagstaff, followed by McGovern/Capener, Butler/Oram, Boyle/Flahive, Rush/Pepperdine, Hannah Showell & Barry Smith (GBR14430), Remy Thuillier/Loic Berthelot (FRA14917), David Wade & Simon Potts (GBR15045), Guy Tipton & Matt King (CAN 14907) and Jaroslav Werner & Jakob Napravnik (CZE14809).

Race 2 saw the committee boat relocated to a more westerly location for two reasons – a wind switch and too much shallow water in the vicinity of the race track. The wind was also in decline, from an early morning high of 9 knots, it would eventually drop to 5 knots – in accordance it must be said with the website forecast that this scribe looked at this morning!

There was a 60/40 split between the right and left hand sides of the beat with those on the left being lifted around the outside of the course to their detriment and the advantage of those who had gone right. The leading bunch were the same as Race 1 – Gillard, McGovern and Burge – but others who were well up included the French (FRA15015), Taylor/Anderton, the Scotts, Andy and Derian, the No.1 Czech Team, Tipton & King, Rush & Pepperdine, Phil Popple & Doug Shore (GBR15070). The right side continued to be the favoured side of the beat. Due to the dying breeze, the significant switch in its direction and probably the lateness of the proceedings saw the Race Management Team shorten course to the 3^rd weather mark.

Burge/Wagstaff took line honours, followed by McGovern/Capener and Gillard/Brearey. Alan Krailing & Tim Saunders (GBR14954) claimed fourth, the French 5^th, and Rush/Pepperdine 6^th. First of the Irish boats was Kenny Rumball and Seamus Moore in 12^th place, followed by Barry McCartin & Conor Kinsella & Boyle/Flahive.

Thus with two races down, the top ten reads as follows;

 

For the home fleet, the pecking order in Boyle/Flahive, Rumball/Moore, Butler/Oram, McCartin/KInsella and Simon McGrotty & Tony Fitzgerald (IRL 14981)

Among the ladies, Derian Scott (Helm/9^th) leads, followed by Hannah Showell (Helm/16^th) and Diane Kissane (Helm/26^th).

 

With just hours to go until the first race of the 2011 Fireball Worlds, hosted by Sligo Yacht Club and the Irish Fireball Class Association, Cormac Bradley speculates on the riders and runners for this regatta. However, unlike most other forms of sport where there is the benefit of bookies to give some indication of what might happen, sailing doesn't allow one to go to the form book.....or does it?

 So, in an almost Who's Who of this regatta, lets speculate on who might be on the winners podium by Friday evening.

The least difficult part of this exercise is to identify those who had form during International Week. Ben Schulz and Phillip Bowley won four of the six races sailed, scored a second in another and deliberately didn't sail one race. In a small fleet they were able to sail low and fast to get to the front of the fleet. They have also had the benefit of three days of racing at the venue. Derian and Andy Scott won a race and were generally at the front end of the fleet, their worst score being a fourth place. Joe Jospe & Tom Egli took third last week and the last race of the regatta was won by Alex Taylor and Richard Anderton. Richard was a to finisher in Barbados last year so clearly their race win last week was no fluke. Of the Irish, Noel Butler and Stephen Oram, Barry McCartin & Conor Kinsella had a good week. So there are six combinations who will have had the benefit of time on the race track.

Of the late arrivals who missed out on any racing last week, the stand-out candidates for this week have to be Tom Gillard and Sam Brearey, the 2010 (and thus reigning) European Champions. They have enjoyed success this year on the domestic Fireball circuit in the UK which in numbers at least is the most competitive circuit in the World.

The Pinnell & Bax stable will also boast candidates who can win this regatta in Dave Wade & Simon Potts and Vince Horey and Andy Thompson. Matt Burge and Richard Wagstaffe were runners up in Barbados and are therefore no strangers to podium positions.

Tim Rush, sailing with Richard Pepperdine is a past World Champion and reports from the UK show that Martyn Lewis, sailing with Richard Byrne is enjoying Open Regatta success with a new boat and a 3DL Main from North.

Jaroslav Werner was the runner-up in the 2010 Europeans and brings a different crew in Jakub Napravnik to Sligo. Granted offshore Sligo is not the same as an inland venue in the Czech Republic, but success breeds confidence. Kenny Rumbal and Seamus Moore of the Irish fleet are a "newish" combination who got together at the end of last season and they will be pushing to be at the front end of the Irish fleet.

Of course there are other combinations that might consider that they should be included in this analysis, but as an avid reader of regatta reports from the UK, I can't think of any immediate candidates that need to be included. Of course there are names on the entry list that I know in their individual capacities but I don't know how they will fare in tandem with their crew/helm. This of course may mean I have set myself up for a substantial portion of humble pie later in the week. But rather than write nothing at all, I have decided to put my neck on the block! To candidates in this category I offer my apologies in adavnace and will be delighted to correct the record in subsequent reports.

Sligo is bright, sunny with a slight amount of cloud. The XCW website for wind is suggesting 8 – 10 knots of WNW winds, but as I have indicted in previous reports, Sligo weather only makes up its mind by about 11am!

Regatta briefing is 15 minutes away!