Pic: Mikey Clancy braves the elements backlooping at Rush Beach Dublin

Ireland Battered by Record Storms

Ireland was hit by record storms on Saturday with gusts reaching 170kph – just one level away from hurricane, reports Mikey Clancy.

Windsurfers in Dublin on their smallest 3.0m sails met the challenging conditions head-on at Rush beach in north Co Dublin. The wind at that location reached 50 knots with gusts up to 80 knots.

Many of the Dublin windsurfers had trouble getting their kit into the water, but despite the conditions some still pulled off great push loops OVG and backloops.

The undeterred Dublin sailors who normally head to the west of Ireland for  better conditions at weekends found they had made the right call to stay in Dublin as Belmullet in Mayo was off the chart according to the Met Office, which rated it 11 on the Beaufort scale with 13 metre waves!

Meanwhile down south in Dungarvan speed strip some windsurfers recorded speeds of 40 knots on their gps watches in far from ideal conditions.

One unusual feature of the strong winds was the sight of garden trampolines airborne causing damage to cars and other structures. As one windsurfer in Dublin said: “We like it windy in Ireland but that’s just MENTAL!”