It looks like Graham Ezzy is storming UK waters. Well near enough UK waters, as we see the BWA stop there each year. He hooks up with Mikey Clancy to begin the trip that he has been planning for some time. Was January really the best time of year though…
Words from Graham…
“Ahhhhh. The adventure begins to begin.
Seated beside Mikey in his van, I set out for County Sligo to catch my first Irish waves and wind. The drive from Dublin to the west coast takes about 3 hours, possibly 2.5.
We arrived at the spot around noon and the car’s outside temperature gauge told us the air was a balmy 6 degrees Centigrade. Lovely.
Ireland loves its rain. Clouds cover the sky and showers pop up without warning all the time. This makes everything a wonderful green. But the rain combined with the un-Hawaii temperature made it a bit cold for me.
Against the elements, I did have 2 main weapons: a 4/2 Matuse wetsuit and a Helly Hanson thermal (?) shirt to go underneath. No gloves, no boots, no hat.
But once the feet go numb, it really doesn’t matter how cold it is. And for the hands, I find that they never stop hurting but if I constantly wiggly my fingers or tap along the boom, they never go too stiff from the cold. Performance is key.
That day was fun and the waves beautifully glassy. The wind was gusty which frustrated me. And the current was a hell of a lot stronger than it looked, but it wasn’t much of a problem with the strong wind (gusty as it was)….”
Follow more of Graham’s trip on his blog – surf-matic.com
