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Displaying items by tag: Battle for the Bay

#Kitesurfing - Fun, wind, water and fun are promised at this weekend’s Battle for the Bay kitesurfing and SUP competition on Dollymount Strand.

The best riders in the country and from around the globe will converge on Bull Island on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 May to compete in the first leg of the IKSA tour at what organisers say is one of the best kitesurfing spots in the world.

All ages are welcome to cheer on the competitors, whether taking flight by kite or standing tall on their paddle boards.

Instructors will also be on hand to show you the ropes, while the food village, funfair and biodiversity area means there’s much more than the action on the waters of Dublin Bay.

For more see BattleForTheBay.com.

Published in Kitesurfing

#BattleForTheBay - All ages are welcome to Dollymount Beach on the north side of Dublin Bay today (Saturday 28 May) for the 10th edition of kitesurfing weekender the Battle of the Bay.

Doubling as the first leg of kiteboarding's KBC Tour, the weekend will also host contests for stand up paddle boarding - with the action even branching out to the River Liffey tomorrow morning (Sunday 29 May) for the Dublin Bay SUP Classic.

Plus as always throughout the weekend there will be food and entertainment on the beach, including kiting and SUP lessons for kids, as well as beach volleyball and land yachting demonstrations.

For more details visit the Battle for the Bay website HERE. And see below for some of the action from last year's event:

Published in Kitesurfing

#Kitesurfing - The Sunday Independent profiles top kitesurfing prospect Katie McAnena ahead of next weekend's Battle for the Bay on Dollymount Strand.

Kitesurfers and stand-up paddle boarders from around the world will converge on Bull Island in Dublin Bay from 24-25 May for the annual championships, which are now in their eighth year.

And Galway native McAnena will be making her first appearance at the event, a year after becoming the first woman surfer to take on the infamous 'Jaws' wave in Hawaii.

But despite her world travels, the qualified doctor - who grew up windsurfing in Rusheen Bay - believes the Irish have "bigger, heavier waves here in Ireland right at our back door".

Independent.ie has more on the story HERE.

Published in Kitesurfing

Irish Sailing Classes and Association – There’s no shortage of one-design classes from which to choose and each gives its enthusiasts great competition, fun and camaraderie, writes Graham Smith in this review of the classes. 

One-design racing is where it all starts. It is, after all, where all the top sailors earned their stripes, battling away for line honours without a thought for a handicapper’s calculator wiping away a hard-fought victory!

Indeed, you could count on less than one hand the number of top Irish sailors who didn’t cut their teeth in a one-design dinghy! Just think of Cudmore, Barrington, Watson, Wilkins, Hennessy and Dix to name a few and you realise that they honed their skills in everything from Enterprises to Lasers and a lot in between.

At present count, there are a little over 30 one-design classes in Ireland, split almost evenly between dinghies and keelboats, a statistic which might raise a few eyebrows. They range from the long-established Mermaids, IDRA14s and Dragons to the newer additions like Fevas, Topaz and RS Elite. They all fill a particular need and give their owners and crews considerable enjoyment.

Many have attracted their World or European Championships to Irish waters over the years and while 2009 is notable for a lack of such events here, the following year will see the Etchells Worlds at Howth and perhaps a few other international regattas too.

In addition to the review, we asked each class to complete a questionnaire giving details of their fleet numbers, whether they were on a growth pattern or holding their own, so we could highlight those ‘on the up’ and those remaining static in terms of numbers. The older traditional designs, as you might imagine, fall into the latter category, although that’s not a negative!

CLASS REVIEW  The State of the Classes – League Table (as at February 2009)

S = Static; U = Up/growing

275     Optimist   U

200+   Laser   S

189     Mermaid   S

160     Flying Fifteen   S

130     RS Feva   U

115     Shannon One Design    U

100+   Mirror   S

100+   Topper   U

99       Topaz   U

94       Laser SB3   U

87       GP14   U

85       Squib   S

70       Fireball   S

70       Ruffian   S

60       J24   S

60       Shipman   S

52       Dragon   S

50       RS400/200   S

50       420    U

43       Multihulls    U

42       Dragon    S

40       Water Wags    U

40       Wayfarer    S

34       IDRA14    U

33       Puppeteer    U

28       Etchells    S

27       E-Boat    U

26       Glen    S

25       Enterprise    S

18       Sigma 33    S

18       Howth 17    U

13       RS Elite    U