|
Check out the beaches on the Irish South Coast
Get back to
The Ultimate Wave
index page
Get back to the
South Coast Surfing Journal
Home Page
Check out
December '98
Surf Reports.
Check out
February '99
Surf Reports.
|
January 9th, 1999
Inchydony, Ireland
The Winter sank its teeth into Ireland for the weekend and we hit the road with the temperature below freezing and only Larrys first law of aquathermodynamics to keep out the cold(One cubic metre of water dropping one degree celsius gives up enough heat to heat up 1300 cubic metres of air by one degree). We weren't expecting much of a swell so we headed to the 'dony hoping that the sandbar might throw up something on the low tide and true to form it was working a treat, conspiring with the offshore to form perfectly glassy 4-foot backhanders out of a weak but regular swell. So I spent my first surf as a father trading waves with Eddie as the rookie worked on his goofyfoot straight-liners on perfect waves.
January 16th, 1999
Inchydony, Ireland
The wind didn't seem too high in the city, but by the time we reached the coast it was roaring. Spurred on by two lonely souls struggling far out we decided to head in. The tide was rising, the swell was big and the wind growing so our decision wasn't taken lightly. We stood on the slipway for a few minutes before myself and Eddie jumped in. Despite paddling furiously out, wind, current and waves conspired to send us careering towards the rocks. Luckily we managed to send a signal to the rookie to stay out of the water. For the second time in a month we thought we were doomed, until a lull allowed us to clamber onto the rocks and escape along the cliff. This January surfing is no joke.
The South African boards are in transit so should be debuting next week. A chance to see who's really King.
January 23th, 1999
Inchydony, Ireland
All has changed, changed utterly. This momentous weekend sees :
- The demise of the original surfmobile. Yeah, the Corolla's gone to spend the rest of it's days with some elderly farmer in Tipperary and has been replaced by the Laguna. It's too new yet though so the straps are on Eddies Cavalier for the time being.
- Tomorrow I'm 30. I'd rather not talk about it.
- The South African boards are here. Eddie's has a bit of a ding at the back so while its healing we're off to Inchydony with my one. They look great and despite the messy water it handles like a dream and is so much more manouverable than my old slab of plastic. Now give us some decent waves.
The rookie gave me a book to read called 'The Perfect Storm' and if you want to get a feel for the power of the sea, it's a classic.
January 30th, 1999
Inchydony, Ireland
It's baptism day for Eddies new board but he doesn't get the waves to do it justice. Despite the promising conditions all week, only a 2-foot swell comes rolling into the 'dony . The rookie claims that he's catching more waves than us and we try to explain to him that he's riding the equivalent of a Ford Escort around a carpark while we need Brands Hatch to get the most out of our high-performance machines. Afterwards we find the Hotel is closed for a few weeks so we get to change under the shelter of the entrance arch - posh. So off back to Cork for Bonnie Prince Billy in The Lobby tonight with talk of a possible trip to Kerry next weekend. Stay tuned.
The boys with the new boards (except for The Rookie in the middle with the barge)
|
