Bettystown hosts sandyachting championships at weekend

The Irish Power Kite and Sandyacht Association host a round of their National Championships on Bettystown Beach this weekend.

The Meath coastline has for generations been the location of choice for sand sailors in Ireland and its popularity with overseas visitors continues to grow.

Using only the wind to power their craft these sports enthusiasts are like a rarely seen but common bird, only coming out when it's windy and the tide is out -  the opposite to other beach users.

Sandyachting and kite buggying are environmentally friendly sports where the age profile of the practitioners is broad and all encompassing as can be seen by the diversity of the many visiting 'pilots' who come to the Meath coastline from far and near.

Every year Laytown and Bettystown beaches are visited by sandyachters from across Europe who come to explore the ideal long and broad coastline conveniently close to the Capital and transport hubs.

Since holding the European Championship in Ireland back in 1983 the requests for an international championship to be held again on an Irish beach keep coming from around the world. Meath could yet become the focus for such an event in the same way that Kerry beaches have hosted an annual week long International Sandyacht holiday for the past 21 years in succession.

This Saturday and Sunday the IPKSA (www.iPKSA.com ) will be facilitating people interested in finding out more or trying out Sandyachting or power kiting between 10 am and 3pm on on Bettystown Beach.

While not as extreme as the landsailing carried out on dry lakes in some countries, Ireland's landsailors have a good record in international competition and IPKSA members won two bronze medals for Ireland at this year's World Championships in Nevada USA.