BREEZY
Fast forward from Holyhead, Wales at 2:30 am, a 3 hour bumpy overnight ferry, a further 3 hour drive across Ireland from Dublin and by 9:30 am we pull over the hill into Magheroarty for that first revealing view of what the Atlantic had in store for us. I am not sure before this moment if Adam was already having regrets of what he had let himself in for, I knew I certainly was!
But the view looking down on the break was enough to wipe away the arduous journey with clean corduroy lines of perfect surf pumping into the bay. Not to mention that this famous Irish break is also one of the most beautiful windsurfing locations on the planet. Yep right up in the far northwestern corner of Donegal, this Irish gem is surrounded by mystical mountains, stunning sand dunes and pristine Atlantic coastline. It’s a picture postcard location as well as having one of the best setups for windsurfing you can possibly imagine with a reef, beach break and flat water all to hand!
At this stage we were not sure if it was windy enough to sail but certainly the potential was there for an epic day on the water. Down by the shore we could make out three lone surfers way out in the line-up of easy double overhead sets. The forecast was for the wind to pick up by noon but Timo was not going to wait around for the breeze to hit the water and declared that we were all going surfing. With the ground still frosty we apprehensively all suited and booted and headed out into the icy water just as a close out set broke the whole way between Magheroarty and Tory Island. Was this set one of the first forerunners of a massive building swell? I was already nervous! Fortunately we all survived, with Adam passing his first induction with flying colours after catching a few bomb sets. By noon we were back at the van defrosting just in time to catch the first southwesterly gusts to funnel through the mountains. We barely had time to rush down a few morsels of lunch before Timo was issuing orders to rig up float and ride setups ready for the next session.
RAW
In the raw breeze I could barely feel my fingers on the beach as I prepared my camera gear. In my books November hardly counts as winter time but this was a stark reminder of those unpleasant numb hands and ice cream headaches come January and February. As Timo and Adam putted out through the channel the wind seemed to flicker to the off switch and after persevering to catch waves for over an hour the boys were eventually forced to throw in the towel and admit defeat. A huge double rainbow framed the sky as the boys dragged their kit back up the beach but five minutes later the skies opened with driving rain. Typical Irish weather! We were warned that cold temperatures can mean fickle winds in Ireland and today the dice did not roll our way but at least we had scored a surf to clear our heads. If you don’t take any chances by chasing conditions then you will never get to reap the rewards so they say! Today was not our day in terms of scoring amazing windsurfing but now we were right on the spot and ready for what might come our way tomorrow. After little or no sleep the previous night we had booked into the Loch Altan Hotel just outside Magheroarty where a hearty meal washed down with a few pints of Guinness capped off a decent first day. So far Adam had just about scraped a pass on his Motley Crew induction but we still had plenty of time to break him down!
