Talk about brass monkeys! We've had gale force N winds all week, coupled with snow blizzards (nearly 200 people were rescued from their cars on weds night) and power cuts across much of the North.
I was sat in the back of a campervan seeing my own breath, wrapped in a duvet and still feeling it!
A castle near Portrush:
Sadly the swell took too long to kick in and when it did; was killed off by N winds. I managed a few surfs up north near Portrush though and was lucky enough to catch up with renound Irish big wave charger - Al Mennie and offered him a few pointers - 'Don't go left at 'Aileens, Al!' - that kind of thing ;)
I went back and watched 'Driven' later and that man has serious balls! Al's a gentle giant and lets his surfing do the talking.
It was a real pleasure chatting to him about what it's like to actually surf 20ft Aileens and get a first hand account of what that revered inside section is really like - basically there's no channel and if you surf there then, YOU WILL eventually be washed onto and across the boulder sized rocks!
Al surfs in anything from 2ft slop to 60ft barrels - hardcore to his very soul, paddling out in horrendous looking giant waves and having a go which is probably why guys like Occy have been singing his praises and Billabong XXL are sittng up and taking notice.
The journey contined - we drove north, we drove south, we drove sideways but everywhere was affected by that damned wind.
Not a surfer in sight! I did however manage to surf 2 new spots and had a fun surf at both.
Left hand point break:
We found a fun beachie which was eventually 2-3ft and pretty clean with a cross off wind on it. Al joined us and paddled out on his 9ft SUP and proceeded to show us how a big wave surfer can fall off in style ;)
I caught a few nice rights on my single fin and was beginning to enjoy my board again.
By the end Al was doing some crazy sideways take offs but holding his rail and chucking it around a bit.
Mark meanwhile was struggling on his McTavish long axe - not having surfed for a few weeks but eventually stroked into a few nice long rides and was well and truly stoked by the end!
Next stop was the Bushmills HQ.
The following day we hit a nice left hand point break which breaks in an unexpected place and as a result is fairly quiet so I won't be naming it on here.
We watched it for a while, thought about it, tried to imagine it was bigger than it was and searched some more before returning to find 4 guys already on it - damn!
Despite this we paddled out and got amongst it. I'd literally just reached the line-up when a nice 4 footer jacked up. No-one else was near so I stroked in and took the drop. A steep little beast but I made it and gathered some nice down the line speed, kicking out way inside - More please!
Onshore Easkey:
This was nice and just what I needed. The rip at this spot is insane and at times I was paddling for a solid 20 mins just to get back to the shifting peak that was the take off.
The winds were blowing us every which way but the waves held their shape and I bagged a few more nice long lefts before it was time to go.
Nearby, a mutant sponger wave was contorting into all sorts of vicious shapes and apparently it does get ridden occasionally!
The forecasts all showed a big N swell hitting but it never really materialised. We went out west to Bundoran country for a couple of days and scoured a few reefs.
Pollacheeny Harbour trying it's hardest:
Some old favourites were firing but the tides were against us so we opted for a seaweed bath in an old victorian bath house at Enniscrone!
Which is run by the mum of an Irish ripper who kindly gave us a discount - thanks Christine :)
A great craic to be sure, and made even better by a cool can of the black stuff.
The snow got heavier, the roads became impassable and my flight was cancelled but I made it back eventually. My flight the following day was delayed :(
Other highlights included a welcoming in the spring bonfire party where we burnt an effigy and narrowly avoided setting a garden shed on fire.
I also saw an up and coming band in Derry called 'And so I watch you from afar' - keep an eye for them...they may go big or stay underground!
No lead singer, but I've not heard noise like it and came out of the gig with bleeding ears. Amazing!
Muchos gracias to mark for putting me up and to sharon and col for the loan of their motorhome - thanks guys.
My 5th trip to Ireland and the first one where I've not scored decent waves so it had to come sooner or later. Next time!
At least the weekend looks nice for Wales and the temps are in double figures.
The Wilkinson Sword interclubs is on next weekend along with a retro surf comp which I'm going to enter so come down and have a go as we're short of entrants - it's only a fiver!
This weekend sees the 'border control challenge' comp between Porthcawl and Aberavon at Aberavon on the dropping tide, so pop over and watch if you have some spare time. There's a party afterwards too.
Gull
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