Image credits Oisin van Gelderen.

The 5^th round of the Irish Speed Sailing Championships is due to take place this weekend Nov 17^th/18^st (Rollover 1). We are monitoring the forecasts and will keep you up to date as the week goes on. The initial forecast is looking changeable, so fingers crossed it will improve closer to the weekend

This is an early warning and NOT official notice of race, we will continue to monitor the forecast and will send out an official Go/No-Go or call on the rollover by Thursday evening (Nov 15^th).

Oisin van Gelderen Speedsailing at Burrow Beach

The event will be run based on GPS times, in order to compete you will need to use a GPS tracker that allows tracks to be downloaded, recommended devices include the Navi GT31 & GT11 as well as the Garmin Foretrex 201′s, other devices may be used if they are included in the recommended list on GPS-Speedsurfing.com and you have the relevant cables to download the data. (http://www.gps-speedsurfing.com/default.aspx?mnu=item&item=gpsdevice).

If you haven’t got a GPS, don’t worry, we have a limited number of spare one’s that can be shared out so everyone can have a go. However we would recommend that you look to purchase your own. The GPS units are great training aids and are not specifically for windsurfing but also very useful for hikers and cyclists etc. This year as well as using GPS devices for Speed events they will also be used in the Irish Slalom Series to show Race Replay’s and for use in race tactics training sessions.

As in 2011 we will have a split fleet, all will race at the same time, however the results will be split out depending on whether you are using speed/race/slalom or freeride/wave equipment. Further guidelines will be available on our website (www.IrishSpeedSurfing.com)

All competitors must be members of the IWA in order to adhere to the insurance requirements; entry forms will be available at the race site on the morning of the event.

So why not get yourself prepared and try to come down and give it a go.

More info will follow in the next day or two.

The series is run with a theory of: ‘fixed date/flexible location’, which is decided at the last minute to ensure getting the best wind on a designated weekend. With a run of NE winds for over a week though, there was no debating which spot would be chosen: Burrow Beach in Dublin, which is one of Ireland’s fastest speed courses. Burrow had already produced the goods on a few occasions in April, and Sunday 29th May was no exception, with 25-35 knots of wind blowing down the course across mirror flat water.

Oisín's GPS tracks on the Burrow Beach Speed course

Leading the charge from the very start, was BOARDS Magazine’s Spring/Summer Annual editor – Oisín van Gelderen, who set the pace with a 44+knot run on his first time down the course. The Irish Champion knows this local spot like the back of his hand, and wasted no time in getting on the water to try and catch the ideal gust.
Using a combination of 5.5 and 4.7m Pryde RS Racing sails on his JP Speed 45, Oisín clocked 6 runs peaking over 44 knots, and a dozen more over 42s and 43s. His highest peak of 44.75knots gave him the event win, and bodes well for the rest of the years rankings.

Oisín tells us the story:
“I’m getting tired of hearing myself saying this, but the course was ALMOST perfect. The run was unbelievably flat as usual in Burrow, but the angle was still a little square, meaning we only had the really broad run at the end of the course for about 5 seconds. Down there though, just as you wind up to 44+ knots, you run out of water in a scary heartbeat, and stopping is an issue. With the wind fully NE (we had N-NE), I’m convinced the course is even faster… but hey, thats speedsailing. 50% of the art of going fast is being motivated and on the case to hunt down the ideal place and time to sail. Thats how you improve your PBs.”

Oisin van Gelderen Speedsailing at Burrow Beach

And as if to prove the point, two very unlikely faces to be seen in this part of Ireland – but certainly no strangers to strong winds – Rob Jones and Jamie Knox made the trip up from Brandon Bay to trade mast-high atlantic swell for snooker table flat-water. Both sailors were keen to break the elusive 40 knot barrier, and like many, knew that Burrow could be the place to try and achieve this. Following Oisín’s tips on how to sail the course – Rob was getting closer – with every run breaking his PB, and getting agonisingly closer to 40. Eventually the magic started to happen, and 40 was gone, and soon 41+.

Job done, and Rob’s speeds gave him 3rd overall for the event.

Rob Jones on his way to the 40 knot club.

Dublin local and Speed Championships organiser – Steve Flanagan, also looked at home on the Burrow course, with a top speed of 42.59knots giving him second overall for the event. A number of other competitors also had their fastest ever days – Cormac O’Brien joined the 40 knot club, while Gildas Bechet & Jamie Knox also broke their personal records, and went home tired but with a big smile on their faces – vowing to return the next time more prepared and ready for battle.
Commiserations must go to Burrow local Guy Molyneaux, who crashed hard at the end of the course and broke his board, extension and two ribs. OUCH :/
Get well soon Guy !

Steve Flanagan Speedsailing at Burrow Beach

VIDEO:
To see how flat the course at Burrow Beach is, have a look at Oisín’s video of the day here:

RESULTS:

Irish Speedsailing Results - Round 2 - 29th April 2012

GALLERY:
For a full gallery of pictures from the event, you can check out these great shots from: Eoghan Redmond

For more information on windsurfing in Ireland, see: www.windsurfing.ie

Oisin van Gelderen, by Steven Cassidy

A message from Irish Speed Champion 2010, Oisin van Gelderen…

With the start of a new year, the 2010 speed-season is now complete, I’m happy to report that I have taken the Irish Speed-sailing Championships title for 2010.

The years results are calculated from all rounds of competition held during throughout year, and also from our best 2010 results posted on gps-speedsurfing.com. I had a clean slate of results, with bullets in every round!

Part of the trick to going fast is finding the best conditions (the flattest water with the strongest wind), and the Irish Championships runs on a rolling venue theme, where the event location is decided at the last minute to find the best wind/water conditions on the planned weekend. This worked well this year, with wind strong enough for me to use my favorite JP Speed 45 at each round.

Without a doubt though, the highlight of my speed year was smashing my own personal records during a trip to West Kirby in the UK, where I got a Max GPS speed of 47.17knots (54.3mph), and a 5×10 sec GPS average of 43.19knots. This also gave me the Irish GPS records, now becoming the fastest Irish Sailor.

It has been an extremely difficult year, both for me personally and many Irish Windsurfers, as we continue to mourn the tragic loss of two legends in Irish windsurfing. Alan Harris, founder of Surfdock and a very close personal friend was my biggest supporter for longer than I can remember.

Then very soon after setting my top speed, we also lost John Kenny, who to this day remains the Irish 500m Speed Record Holder. In life JK always pushed me to go faster, and now in death his record remains the goal that I want to try and better.

I would like to dedicate this Championship to the memory of Alan and John.

I am looking forward to 2011, and hope to improve my speeds, and spend a lot more time back in the waves this year too.

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