The first round of the Irish Slalom Series was completed at Newtownards Sailing Club last weekend (March 27th - 28th 2010).  The overall event win went to bigsurf.ie team rider Pearse Geaney (MauiSails / RRD), who sailed consistently in winds gusting upto 30 knots using his 9.2m and 7.6m TR6-XT.

"We had a fairly poor winter here in Ireland for wind...cold conditions and gusty wind directions meant it was difficult to get any time on the water, let alone train for a race event.  One thing was clear, the racing was probably the toughest we’ve ever seen on the Irish Slalom Series to date, so I’m delighted to be able to take a win so early on in the season.  Having received my TR6-XT’s less than 2 weeks before the event and having sailed both the 9.2m and 7.6m only once each before the event, I had some concerns around kit setup, but was very happy to be able to comfortably(!) hold the 7.6m in the 30 knot gusts...and they were incredibly fast!  Acceleration out of gybes is fantastic, and there feels to be no top speed limit...the more power you have, the faster they will go.  Next event is on at the end of May, so I’ll have them fully tuned up in time for that and then we’ll see what they can really do!"

Pearse Geaney - www.bigsurf.ie