Sorry I haven’t posted anything lately, I was doing a bit of
research down in Kerry for the annual Kerry Week where a few of us head down to
the Dingle peninsula and sail on Inch Beach and Kilcummin for a bit of land
sailing.
On the south of the Dingle Peninsula, lies Inch Beach. From above
it looks like a thumb sticking out from the land. Some might know it as part of
the set for the famous old Irish film Ryan’s Daughter. It is one big massive
dune. But it is land sailing joy. Once you get a westerly off shore wind you
can sail up and down at great speed. It is really good fun when during May or
August when the beach is not full and the sun is splitting the sky. Just
recently people I knew were reaching 60 kph with small storm sails. If you get
the wind speed and direction right it is a really good jolly along the straight
which is good for racing. The beach is mainly smooth along the straight which
means it is very comfortable to sail on especially when you are going at high speeds.
One thing to say is that during high season, I do not recommend sailing on the
beach at speed and if you do, do it at the far end because it can become very
crowded with people quite quickly. As you turn the corner the beach starts to
get rougher with more ripples and a noticeably big moon country (craters)
filled with water which is not fun to enter. As you move along the beach along
the corner the wind will come from behind you meaning that to get back, tacking
is the only option (using the
width of the beach- going to the sea front and turning up to the dunes and back
again repeatedly until you move yourself up the beach.)
One thing to notice is the tides in Inch go out far but also can
come in quite quickly. So park up on the hard sand as close to the dunes and
don't leave it to late to pack up because you could find the sea around the
wheels of the car. You must also not park in the soft sand as your wheels could
spin as you try to leave and they could dig in and leave you stuck. There is a
nice restaurant on beach called Sammy's which serve good food. They also have a
cafe and small shop which sells from Ice Cream to gifts to wet suit rentals. He
also has a guest house up the road if you are stuck for accommodation.
Inch Beach
Pros: Smooth, good facilities, good speed, length, width,
straight.
Cons: Soft sand, fast incoming tide, busy during summer.
Congestion on beach during high season.
Accessibility: ***
Busyness **** (the lowest the better)
Length: ***
Width: ****
Smoothness: ****
Difficulty: **
Overall: **** (4)
Inch beach is a pleasure to sail on it is comfortable, smooth,
fast and good fun.
 |
This is a photo of my dad and me on Inch beach, I am the one in front. This photo was taken by Alan Watson. |
No comments:
Post a Comment