Sandyachting or Landsailing as its called if you live inland is what it says – sailing on sand or land !
Three wheels, a sail and Gods foot on the accelerator and you are off on a clean, green and environmentaly friendly excursion.
There are many different types and manufacturers of sandyachts from small mini sand yachts called miniyachts, to large Class 2 Sandyachts which are over 3.5m wide !
Also catagorised as sandyachts are Class 7 which look like skateboards with windsurfing rigs (aka speed sail) and Class 8 which are Kite propelled buggies.
In Ireland we focus on Miniyachts , Standart yachts and Class 8 / Kitebuggy
Miniyachts are small and can easily be carried in a car boot. While small in size they are big in fun and performance as well as being perfect for all ages. Miniyachts can be adapted in many ways to suit individuals stature or preference and indeed they are perfect for adjusting to allow individuals with restricted mobility participate. This is always the best way to get into the sport and people just dont sell them so dont even bother trying to find a second hand one! Any IPKSA member will be happy to show you around their miniyacht, just ask.
The inexpensive mini-yacht is the perfect introduction to land sailing. pack it into the boot of your car, find a suitable sailing site and have some fun. The characteristics of a ‘mini’ make it an ideal first yacht, but it will put a smile on the face of more experienced hands too. just about anybody can learn to sail it and it is perfect for outdoor family-sport. the mini is simply constructed. a frame supports three wheels, a seat and a mast. the sail is fixed to a sectional mast (for easy packing), the boom controlled by a simple rope and pulley system. steering is performed with the feet. with a minimum of parts and simple construction, the craft is designed to provide a lifetime of land sailing pleasure with quick and easy maintenance.
Miniyachts are real fun & those interested in the competitive side of the sport should be aware that the racing is fantastic !
The Standart sandyachts- What is different about the standart landyacht class? answer : They are not different they are the same ! This is not a riddle it is totally logical; the concept of the standart class was that there should be a ‘one design yacht’ where all pilots had the opportunity to sail on equal terms.
Standart yachts are manufactured (by seagull landyachts in france) to a strict specification and individual yachts are scrutinised prior to the races to see that they conform to the agreed specification.
The benefits of an ‘international one design yacht’ are that pilots of standarts race on equal terms with other pilots; no-one will arrive at a competition with a newly designed sail capable of beating all other competitors! so those engineers and designers who excel in designing faster lighter weight yachts in the other classes do not have an advantage here. Nor do those who constantly buy the latest equipment force others to continually play catch-up as they dig deeper into their pockets. alan watson the ipksa chairperson was 6th in
IPKSA members have been competing successfully on a high level in the Standart International race circuit for many years now with some of the older yachts in the fleet. Competing on a par with other nations is something that would have been virtually impossible for Irish pilots in any of the other classes which are more expensive as they make continual advancements in the design of yachts.
The yacht design is controlled by the members of the international standart sandyachting association the class association to which all standart pilots are entitled to join, so control of the class remains in the hands of the majority of the pilots.
There are two main options when sourcing standarts. Present pilots may be a source for second-hand yachts as some pilots may wish to trade up to a newer model. As the class has been much more popular in france and belgium there are more second-hand yachts available there.
IPKSA has use of two club Standarts for training pilots if you are interested join our facebook page !
Kitebuggy – Class 8
Ever fancied harnessing the power in your kite ? Well thats what Kite Buggying is about . There are many different types of buggies available which go fro being truly compact right up to they type of large buggys used by the IPKSA National Team. Different conditions of beach and different wind speeds influence the pilots choice of kite size and as the wind increases the kite size decreases but not the speed or power. Kiting is something that everyone should try at least once just to feel the power of the wind and to imagine the fun that can be had by harnessing that power. IPKSA members provide training on the Saturday of each event and on other occasions too , so if you are interested in finding out more join our facebook page and just ask !