Kate Smith reports for Good
Evening Ulster on the unusual sport of sand yachting, involving small
wind-powered sailing craft travelling on wheels on beaches. She speaks to
Irvine Campbell, a main driver of the sport locally, who explains that he was
so bad at golf in his native Newcastle that he took up sand yachting instead.
With access to excellent local beaches, he set up a local club in Newcastle
called the Sand Pipers.
Irvine
gives Kate a demonstration of how to rig out the yacht to prepare it for
racing. Unfortunately, the glorious day provides no wind to sail with, so Kate
has to return on a second, windier day for a spin in the yacht. There are a lot
of sailing shots against a beautiful Mourne mountains backdrop, and Irvine
details how successful the club has been in competition, with hopes that the
sport may be taken up on the Portstewart coast as well.