Donegal Delivers for Irish Slalom Series!

Tushingham’s Paul Simmons reports on a superb weekend of racing

The weekend of 18th & 19th July saw Round Four of the Irish Slalom Series up on the north-west coast in the picturesque setting of Sheep Haven bay at Downings, Co. Donegal.

Tushingham and Starboard were the new sponsors bringing demo kit and plenty of prizes. Events here in previous years have been well attended and this was no exception; in fact, there were over 130 competitors, making it Ireland’s biggest windsurfing event of the year. About fifty less experienced competitors raced in the sheltered waters inside the bay, with the remaining 80 or so racing en-masse in giant slalom with six legs, each a mile long.

Saturday started off with very light winds, providing everyone with plenty of time to rig and prepare for the racing. By mid-morning there were gusts out in the bay in excess of 12 knots so the organisers sent us out for the first race. The conditions favoured those with good pumping technique and those on bigger kit. I was able to take a second place in the first race behind lightning-quick Pearse Geaney and it looked like a repeat in race two until he fell under pressure at the final hurdle, stacking it at the final gybe and letting me through for the win. Unfortunately Pearse's lack of uphaul meant he slipped back to fourth when a second place could otherwise have easily been salvaged. With the wind in the lulls dropping below the minimum, Saturday's races were deemed "fun" races - not counting towards the ISS overall rankings.

Stronger winds were promised for Sunday and the weather really did deliver! Moderate winds blew for the first race, won by the Pearse, who was giving the rest of the fleet a masterclass in flying starts and demonstrating superb board speed. In a freshening wind I stuck with the big board (85cm wide iSonic 133) which proved to be the wrong call as the wind and chop continued to increase. The 8.3 sail was fine but keeping the board on the water proved tricky at high speed. A quick change to the 7.6 and iSonic 111 and with the wind yet stronger, I was at full power with better top speed, allowing me to be competitive near the front of the fleet for the remaining races. Not enough to match Pearse, who won all but one race on the Sunday, but I had plenty of good battles with places won and lost on the nail biting last gybes. My partner Marie's excellent 9th place overall put a few bigger guys to shame whilst making sure I wouldn't have the option of changing down as she held on to the 7.0 in 30 knots!

There were a few things that made the event really special: a simple format, friendly, unintimidating atmosphere for all levels of windsurfers, a superb social combined with brilliant racing conditions ensured a memorable weekend. Young and old(er), male and female were competing in good numbers, with an impressive local contingent of young sailors who highlight that windsurfing has a bright future ahead in Ireland.

Big thanks to the ISS team plus local orgniser Nick Fletcher who ensured the whole event ran smoothly (while even finding time to compete in one of the races!)  Furthermore Downings and the whole region are absolutely beautiful and well worth a trip whether you windsurf or not. I spent a week in the area after the event and took in the stunning scenery, visiting numerous beautiful beaches, even managing a bit of windsurfing in several spots!

Best of luck to everyone in the rest of the Irish Slalom Series. The next event is coming up at Coolmaine in Co. Cork on 15th & 16th August. If it's half as good as Downings it'll be well worth the trip!

Visit www.irishslalom.ie for further info on the Irish Slalom Series and www.bigsurf.ie for more photo's.

Thanks to Bigsurf for the above photo, featuring Marie Buchanan battling her way around the course!