A world-class windsurfing competition gets under way in Castlegregory, Co Kerry, today, with "the early bird catching the wind", in the words of one leading Irish competitor.
This is the third time the Professional Windsurfers' Association Irish Wave Grand Prix is being held in the Brandon Bay area, between Tralee and Dingle. More than 60 men and around 10 women from among the world's top windsurfers have gathered for the seven-day "wave world champion" contest, worth €65,000 in prize money.
By noon yesterday, as some of the surfers practised, the wind had disappeared, but the beach was bathed in sunshine.
The marketing organisation, Cork-Kerry Tourism, plans to build a festival around the event, given its importance to hotels, guesthouses, restaurants and bars in the area.
The grand prix is sponsored by Bord Fáilte under the sports tourism programme.
Timo Mullen (29), from Co Antrim, got an early start yesterday, taking advantage of the morning gusts. He and his brother, Finn (30), are professional windsurfers. "We're keeping our heads down because Armagh beat Kerry in the football," Timo said. Conditions were ideal for Irish competitors - for those who got up early enough, he said. Timo, who was British Champion in 1999 and 2000, said Kerry was "at the minute the best locality on the world circuit for contests".
Other places around the world were under pressure to live up to commercial sponsorship and were not always chosen primarily based on wind and wave criteria, he said.
Leading contenders, such as current world champion Bjorn Bunkerbeck, who is based in Spain, were enjoying the laid- back approach in Kerry where there was "no hero-worshipping", Timo Mullen said.
All that's needed to make Kerry perfect today is a gust of wind, one local said.