ROUTINE
Once your there you quickly drop into the fun and relaxed routine of the event. The organisers give us good notice when the course is running and timing will be open for official days based on fairly accurate wind forecasting. These days start at a very civilised 12:00 skippers meeting. The wind starting to kick in about 1:00 and builds all afternoon peaking around 3:00 to 4:00 when it can go nuclear at any point and you need to be on the water and getting as many runs in as you can hoping for that magic carpet ride. It’s normally all over by 5:30 when it starts to cool down and time for a well deserved drink after the adrenaline blasts from tearing down the canal and being sand blasted the rest of the time.
Taking part is not without its drawbacks however. Besides the obvious dangers of hurtling down a narrow, shallow trench at close to 100 kph with no brakes. This event is not cheap, with entry fees, accommodation and travel costs for four weeks, you are looking at a minimum of €8000. Plus it requires fairly specialist speed equipment, which is not cheap or easy to come by.