Irelands Round 3 of their Kitesurfing Tour

Held in Dublin on Dollymount Beach the round 3 of the IKSA Tour is hosted by Puremagic.

Having been invited over for the craic by Fraincois from Puremagic I couldnt refuse an action packed weekend of sun and fun.

So having accepted the invitation of I went for the weekend to see how far the IKSA Tour has come since my last venture to Irelands shores sometime in late 2006. Picked up from the station early in the morning (6.30 am) by Alex was the first reminder as to the hospitality that is always shown to visitors to Ireland.

The event site was more professional too. With Red Bull coming on board they had two markees, the old American Ambulance with speakers and video screens, and two Red Bull mini's as well and tables and Parasols dotted around the area. A large Gazebo hosted the registration area and photo exhibition from local photographer Treasa Lynch as well as another smaller Gazebo for the BBQ area. Sponsors including Kelloggs who had provided energy bars were going to be very happy!

On the Saturday the wind started to come through around 1 ish, heats were started but the men couldn't quite get enough power to do their tricks so the race was started with as many kites on the water as they could get.

At around 4 the competition was called for the day with the hope that the wind would appear in the morning. A few of the hardcore stayed around as the wind came in in the evening with enough for a nice sunset session on Dollymount beach.

Well with the day over it was time for the real event to begin.

Ireland is well known for its parties and when thei hosted by the Puremagic team you know your in for an eventful night. The usual vodka ed bulls were on the table after the free booze that was provided for the competitors and the party carried on back at the Puremagic house .... infact it didnt finish.

We went straight from the party  back to the beach !!!

The Sunday wind was a massive dissapointment....... it just didnt arive. With games and stunt kite displays the competitors and crowds were kept occupied until the final call.

It was a shame after all the effort that the wind didnt arrive but it was obvious that the Irish Tour Events were at the next level and next year they probably be even bigger!