Great Fleadh !

A very belated congratulations to Colaiste Dhulaigh for the excellent job they did in running this year's Fleadh Sheoil. Blessed by what has become "Festival Weather" we all enjoyed sun , wind & craic for three days.

A memorably windy session on Monday produced a couple of good GPS speeds. Oisin took a Neil Pryde V8 & a 5 year old 74 ltr AHD Slalom board to 35+ knots . Yours truly eased a JP Freestyle Wave 92 & a 5.9m Loft O2 Freeride to 32.5 knots. Nothing particularly high tech there so !!

Denise would like to thank everyone for buying her burgers in aid of CARI & her trip to Machu Pichu in October. As a follow up Denise is holding a "silent auction" in Poolbeg YC on the 27th June. There is a huge range of goods & services to be auctioned ... from surfboards to hair cuts & beauty products to wetsuits ! More in a full newsletter soon.

Just into stock is a very nice range of Loft masts. Check out all the info here http://www.surfdock.ie/wind.php?cPath=27_42 . All come in their own bags and prices for a 50% RDM start at €219 & €249 for SDM.

The 2009 Loft Lip Wave & O2 Freeride range is now back in stock in most popular sizes. There are a few 2008 sails still on offer if you fancy a bargain. There are a few Blades available too in FAST sizes ... perfect for burning off your mates on the GPS strip ! Speaking of Blades here's a pic of JK being presented with a Loft Blade 2009. John beat allcomers last autumn to take the Irish Speed Record and win this fast sail ! Although sponsored by other brands JK has promised to at least give the Blade a try... keep me in the loop please John !!

http://www.surfdock.ie/

Sponsor me Please

I am going on a trek to Machu Picchu in Peru in October to raise much needed funds for an organisation called CARI who help children who have experienced sexual abuse. I have set up my own website http://www.denise.netii.net/ for cash donations. I am going to hold a silent auction in June or July to try and raise this sum, with some great prizes donated already. I know that it's a difficult year for everyone but this is a well deserving charity and as our wonderful government only give CARI 30% of the funds needed to operate they could do with every penny they can get. If you have any other ideas how I can raise some cash please help me out.
Thanking you in anticipation and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Regards Denise
http://www.surfdock.ie/

FLEADH SHEOIL

The 2009 FLEADH SHEOIL Windsurfing festival will take place in Malahide on the 2nd-4th May. As ever Surfdock will be involved, and look forward to another great weekend of windsurfing.

For further details about the FLEADH, see www.windsurffestival.ie

www.surfdock.ie

IRISH SLALOM SERIES ROUND 1

The Irish Slalom series kicks off on April 4/5th in Dublin, hosted by Surfdock and NEIL PRYDE /JP-AUSTRALIA.
The event will also be part of the JP / Neil Pryde Irish Sea Challenge.

The 2009 Irish Slalom Series promises to provide even more action than last years performance. New events, sponsors and an even bigger number of competitors. As Round 1 draws closer - its time to get your skates on. Every competitor will be strictly required to have IWA membership (apart from those already members of the UKWA) for insurance reasons. JP/ Pryde in association with Surfdock.ie will be hosting the event. The event organiser is Mr. Fintan Day. Have a look at the Event Poster and also the event Notice Of Race - which includes the event schedule, directions and accomadation. Details on Saturday nights entertainment to follow. Any questions please contact info@irishslalom.ie This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Extra info and deals click here

For more info, see: www.irishslalom.ie

www.surfdock.ie

End of January Special Offers Newsletter

ONE WEEK TO GO !
To avail of the Surfdock JP / Neil Pryde / Cabrinha STERLING ADVANTAGE DEAL !!!

Sterling has been all over the place BUT the deals available will still save you money for EXAMPLE:
IF YOU'RE AN IWA MEMBER a nice little package for racing in the Slalom Series could consist of :-
JP XCite Ride ES 130 with 7.2m Hellcat, X3 460, X3 160-210, UXT 34, PowerUbase all for €2069
JP Supersport FWS 127 with 7.5m V8 , X6 460, X6 180-230, UXT 34, PowerUbase all for €2579
JP FunRide 125 with Loft 5.9 O2 Freeride, 430 50% RDM Loft Mast, Loft Alu Mono Boom, Loft Skinny Ext,
B3 Deckplate all for €1819

KITESURFING EQUIPMENT
Cabrinha Convert IDS 12m Complete with 148 Prodigy Board €1299
Cabrinha Crossbow IDS Complete with bar & lines €1199

MORE WINDSURF DEALS
JP Funster 145 inc fin & footstraps: €859 / inc. 4.5m Solo Rig (X3 Mast/Boom/UXT/UBase) €1559

Offers apply until 31st January 2009 ......... NEW JP / PRYDE/ CABRINHA PRICES APPLY FROM 1st February.

SURFDOCK BACK YOUTH SLALOM SAILORS
The winner of the U-17 (or Youth ) category of the 2009 Irish Slalom Series will get the use of a Loft Sail Quiver for the 2010 season (3 Sails O2 Freeride / Loft 75% RDM Masts / Loft Monocoque Booms).
PLUS event entry fees. Plus a free Race Coaching Session. Courtesy of SURFDOCK.
Some terms and conditions apply... don't they always.
Only open to non sponsored / shop supported sailors
Winner must commit to competing in at least 3 Irish Slalom Series 2010 events
Check out [Irish Slalom Website] for full details.
More info on [The Loft 02 Freeride]

OISIN GETS THEM LOOPING
If you’ve been putting it off for years (like me !) then get in touch with Oisin, pack your “PMA” and be prepared to have a head cam capture it all in glorious detail ! Apparently with the right attitude and coaching, everyone can loop.... and this proved to be the case when a group of likely lads & one lass took the Looping Challenge with the man himself in Rush on the 10th of Jan '09.

Check out the evidence here on [our Vimeo page].
You can contact Oisin through the details on the video if you want to finally make your Looping Resolutions come true.

Judging by the very positive feedback these coaching sessions will be well attended in the coming months so book soon !!

One day in January... the Video.
And Speaking of Rush Beach... Regular Blogger and budding Spielberg.. maker Andy Radley has been up to it again, this time capturing a very stormy windy day in Rush Beach in January. Most of teh guys didnt bother going to the West Coast... why bother when you can get winds upto 50 knots in Dublin. Apparently hard to sit in the van and video... never mind windsurf !! A few more nice loops here too from OVG. [Check out the video]

IT’S ALL GOOD NEWS.....Surfdock passes it on !
With the strength of the Euro and being supplied mostly in Sterling & to some degree Dollars has made the last few months a challenging period. Most of our suppliers have suffered massive hits on exchange rates and some are initiating in season price increases.
So where’s the good news ?
Well now that the dust has settled it appears that practically all SURFDOCK prices are LOWER than in 2008.
Some of these changes are already apparent on our site and others will change as 09 product arrives in depth. For the best deals keep checking in as we are laoding up new products and prices every day! Here’s a few examples to whet your appetites !

WETSUITS PRICES FALL
Neil Pryde, Circle One & O’Neill Wetsuit prices are down at SURFDOCK .
Neil Pryde E3 5/3 now €299
Neil Pryde E1 5/3 now €189
Neil Pryde ELITE 5/3 now €459
Neil Pryde Combat 5/3 now €219
Circle One 5/3 Icon now €159
Circle One Noir 6/5/3 now €219
O’Neill Epic (Mens / Womens) 5/3 now €169
O’Neill Heat 5/3 now €199
O’Neill D-Lux Womens 5/3 now €205
O’Neill D-Lux Womens 6/5 with Hood now €239
O’Neill D-Lux Womens 6/5 with Hood now €239
O’Neill D-Lux Womens 6/5 with Hood now €239
Psycho II 5/3 now €309
Psycho II 6/5/4 with hood now €319

SURFBOARD PRICES DOWN TOO !
HiFLY 7’2/7’10 now €289
Circle One Retro Range from €385
Circle One Heritage Range from €369

NEW KITEBOARD PACKAGE
Coming soon Cabrinha Convert IDS with NEW Rival Kiteboard (12m/145cm) ...... €1325 !

WINDSURFING EQUIPMENT
Prices won’t be finalised until the end of the month BUT all indications are for LOWER board & sail prices than expected !

CHECK OUT ALL PRICE REDUCTIONS AT WWW.SURFDOCK.IE

SURFDOCK KIDS SUMMER CAMP ’09 PRE PAY SPECIAL OFFERS
To ease the financial strain in the coming year Surfdock is offering TWO special prepay offers for it’s popular Kids Summer Camp !
Normal rate €225 per week.
BOOK AND PAY BY 31ST MARCH ONLY €180
BOOK AND PAY BY 30TH APRIL ONLY €195
Phone us on 01-6683945 with credit card details to book or download our booking form and return with a cheque.

Have a great windy February,
See you soon... Alan & All the crew in Surfdock.

Go to www.Surfdock.ie

One Day in January

Check out Andy Radley's latest video, of Oisin and a few guys sailing at Rush Beach on Saturday in 45-50 knots of wind. Oisin was mexed out on 3.6m FLY and JP Twinser 68, but still managed to pull off a few tricks for the camera... and a few crashes too!


One Day In January from Andrew Radley on Vimeo.

www.surfdock.ie

Circle One Booties tested

I'm no fan of wearing booties, particularly when it comes to wavesailing, but when it comes to going out in 4 and 5 degrees celcius at this time of year... then there is not much choice but to get rubbered up!

Anyway, my main issue in wave-sailing is that I really want to be able to get out of the straps quickly if I really have to - when I'm jumping, but most importantly when I'm waveriding. Same thing goes for getting twisted and contorted when freesytyling.

The inability to be able to bail from your gear if you have to, can lead to very nasty injuries - and my knee is the victim of such an accident. Not being able to ditch my gear from a big aerial wipe-out in Kerry years ago, has left me with a crushed meniscus and the need to drive an automatic van, as I have constant pain in my knee, which is aggrivated by using the clutch.

Many boots do the job fine.. but I feel hold me back as they have too much padding and rubber around the sides of the foot... creating too much grip to the board and the footstraps (for my big feet anyway)... and this means I will get my feet stuck.

The 3mm Pryde booties were doing the job great for me, but out of interest I got a pair of the Atan Boots, which are like a bootie that has been dipped in latex, esentially a smoothskin boot.
These were working better, but I found they started to stretch, and because they didnt have any strap to over the top of your foot, I found the heel would contstantly twist, which bugged the hell out of me, and started getting really uncomfortable. Also the smoothskin made them a sticky in the straps.

So Alan gave me a pair of the Split Toe Circle One boots to try out, and I am really impressed. They are basically a neoprene sock, with some kevlar on the sole and slight bit of stick-on Kevlar reinforcing.
The fit is really good, and they are the most flexible I have tried (even at 5mm)
As they are just double lined neoprene, they slip in and out of the straped really easily, and feel quite like being barefoot (in terms of ease of getting in and out). They also have a great strap over the top of the foot, which keep them tight and no movement on the heel or anywhere.
Best of all, I feel as confident as if I was sailing barefoot, which is the most important thing.

Bit of a rambling post.... but as you can tell, I'm suitably impressed!
10 out of 10, I'm keeping these ones!

Oisin.
ir777.

See them in the shop [here]

www.surfdock.ie