Nominated for his record breaking Windfoil around Ireland.  

Many have sailed or walked around our Island. But for Windfoil, this was a first and all in the aid of the RNLI. Hannes Louet-Feisser set out to Windfoil around the coast of Ireland to raise money for the RNLI and complete this record attempt. He raised just short of €12,000 over his 41 days around Ireland. 

We caught up with Hannes to about how one of the highlights was getting to see and enjoy our beautiful rugged and wild coastline, but he can’t pick just one. 

“Starting out I was never sure it was possible to make it around on a Windfoil but I got a lot of support which made the trip very enjoyable.” 

“Every day had its highlights, ups and downs as the weather would change so much as you went around the coast. Also the support crew following me around, looking after me were amazing and people you would meet after coming ashore were great.” 

One particular encounter he remembers was getting to meet Rob Henshall in Portnoo, when they stopped for lunch on the leg from Mullaghmore to Carrickfinn. Rob windsurfed around Ireland back in 1992 on a longboard with a tent – with no support crew and no GPS. Prior to that he had gone around in a kayak twice and a laser. 

But a trip like this isn’t without its risk and hard decisions. Hannes comments that he had to make one hard decision in particular; 

“Stopping in Castletownbere. The plan was to go from Baltimore around the Mizen and Dursey but passing Sheep's Head the weather turns bad. Sailing west along the Beara Peninsula the coast line was white with the swell breaking on the cliffs. Had to U-Turn and come in the east entrance to Castletownbere as there was no way I was going through the west entrance with that swell. Was a hard decision but the correct one.” 

He goes on to say that on an adventure like this, while the reward is great, the risks are too.  

“The reason I picked the RNLI is because I have been windsurfing since I was a kid and being on the water a lot it is nice to know the RNLI are there to help out if you get into difficulty. The RNLI is a community run organisation and it was time to give something back.” 

A community that we all as water users are extremely grateful for in this country. Thank you to them for all their hard work. 

Make sure you register for the Irish Sailing Award’s on Saturday the 25th March. LINK HERE