Last year’s World Landsailing Championship (Campeonato Mundial de Carrovelismo) was staged on La Pampa El Leoncito near the small village of Barreal in the province of San Juan in western Argentina.

Landsailing has become increasingly popular throughout Argentina particularly where there are vast sandy beaches and flat plains such as those near Barreal where winds can sometimes reach up to 120 kilometres per hour in the afternoon, possibly making it one of the best landsailing locations in the world, 14 km long and 5 km wide. It was here that Jaime de Lara set the world record in 1986 when he sped along at 137 km per hour.

The vehicles are smallish with three-wheels and a sail, a sort of cross between a motorbike side-car no more than three metres long and a windsurfer with a sail seven metres tall. The Spanish word carrovelismo comes from carro a velo meaning windcar. It is possible to rent a carrovela in Barreal and take lessons from land sailors.

Rada Tilly, a semi-circular 3 km-long sandy beach, is another popular landsailing location close to the Patagonian town of Comodoro Rivadavia in the province of Santa Cruz.  For more information see www.carrovelismo.com.ar.