Windsurfing near Gurteen Bay
- Dogs bay (1 km)
- Mannin Bay (14 km)
- Cross Strand (38 km)
- Carrowniskey (39 km)
- Bertra Strand (49 km)
Gurteen (or Gorteen) bay is an excellent windsurfing location for beginners and intermediates as it is a flat water location and is enclosed on 3 sides.
Best wind directions are anything between easterly through southerly to WNW. Northerly is rare and not so good as it is offshore and gusty. Prevailing wind is South Westerly which provides great blasting out to the point and back. In a southerly it can be a little difficuly to get out from the beach as this in directly on shore, best launching from either the extreme east of beach or the west end of the beach below the graveyard, but learn where the rock are. The east beach, below the campsite gate has some nasty rocks close to shore, once you get 10m out you are clear.
If you are lucky enough to get a strong WNW wind you can get great flat water speed sailing with the wind blowing directly off the long beach, though watch out for rocks near the top of the long beach.
In a Easterly wind you can get great flat water if you make your way upwind to the lee of Inishlacken, just watch out for the rocks off the tip of the island, you'll see the waves braking over them.
In a southerly you can also get a great long blast between Inishlacken and the mainland to the tip of Inishnee and back. Again there are a few rocks to watch out for between the island and the land at low tide.
Hazards - some rocks to watch out for on beach beneath car park. Sometimes fishing nets and lobster pots out in bay and especially down towards Inish Lacken. Watch out for beach anglers too, they have a habit of setting up at the best launch spots. Dolphins are a regular visitor here, seaweed rarely which is a big plus.
Tide makes no difference to conditions or beach, though in a big southerly swell the shore break can be quite powerful so watch out.
There is a well equiped campsite at the beach which is open from March to October. The fabulous village of Roundstone is only 2km away. O'Dowd's Bar for a pint of Guinness and a Chowder or crab claws with a view of the Twelve Bens is a nice way to round of the day.
Beach is suitable for Kitesurfing in all wind directions except westerly. Kitesurfers should only launch from the long beach, never from the beaches beside car park, westerly is off-shore, so go to Dog's Bay instead. Launching at high tide is less safe as there is very little beach.
Dog's bay can also be good for sailing in a Southerly and sometimes at low tide with a big swell you can get some big rolling waves at the mouth of the bay.