January waves, surfing and the environment.

Hi there. It has been a pretty good month of surf here in sunny and windy Bundoran. The swell has been consistent for the last few weeks but there have been quite a few windy days also. The trick is to keep a close eye on the ever changing wind charts and the tides. The water has been cold since Christmas but that does not deter the hardiest Irish surfers. As long as you have got good equipment you are fine for a surf lasting a couple of hours. I have recently ordered an Axxe wetsuit from Japan. These are supposed to be the best wetsuits available so I thought I would out their claims to the test. They only make custom fitted suits and the neoprene is limestone based rather than petroleum based, so they are more environmentally freindly than regular mass produces suits. Anyway, should have the suit by the end of Feb so hope to the be the warmest, most flexible surfer around. Apparently they have already sold 6 suits to Irish customers? Click here

There is a lot of talk about the impact of surfing on the environment. If you are a beginner surfer then you can definitley limit your carbon footprint by using public transport to get your destination and by using a surf school. Most Irish surfing locations are accessible by public transport, such as Bundoran, Strandhill and Lahinch. It becomes more difficult to go to some of the more remote locations such as west Mayo and west kerry, but with planning and persaverence you can do it with public transport. For Bus Eireann click here

Many surf schools are located on the beach so you dont need any transport once you get there. Other schools provide diesel minibus transfers to and from the beach from their students. Many of them have 16 seater buses so this helps reduce the carbon footprint of getting to the beach and back.

Most Irish surfing destinations are small towns where you can walk or cycle to most facilities and services. You could opt to rent a bicycle when you are there, and check the surf conditions that way, or just walk - its usually not too far to the beach. Once you are in the water then you are in a priveleged position of enjoying nature in a way that cannot be explained. If you have never surfed then I urge you to get out there and experience it. The feeling of catching your first wave will stay with you for a long time. You can also see a lot of marine life when surfing. Seals, porpoise and dolphins are regular visitors in the line up. Over Christmas in Bundoran we were treated to an amazing display of big dolphins surfing the waves at the Peak and inside left. You never forget something like that, seeing the dolphin in front of you in the wave. The Irish Surfing Association has a list of all approved surf school and clubs. Click here

Surfboard construction is probably the most environmentally damaging part of our chose sport. The foam and resin used in the construction of the board is non-biodegradable so that is a big drawback. The good news is that surfboards are strong and durable so your first board can last a long time. Most surfers have one board and that does them in most conditions. If you do snap your board then you can use it as a canvas for artwork. Surf art is becoming an increasinlgy popular way of recycling damaged boards. One local Bundoran surfboard shaper provides such a service. Click here

If you are going on a surf trip at the weekend then just get a set of straps and tie all the boards on the roof and you can easily fill the car. You could also consider buying some carbon credits to offset your trip.

Surfing is a great sport and Ireland is a great destination for surfing. There are some environmental drawbacks but overall it is reasonably low impact sport that you can enjoy at home all year round.

Gisborne

Hi heres a few pics and words about our trip. We moved south from Mount Manganui and headed to Gisborne which has often been said to be one of the most consistent areas for surf in New Zealand. Gisborne has beaches which pick up east and south swells and work on different winds.There is normally swell at one of the spots.
When you drive to Gisborne you start to understand its remoteness. The drive is through gorges and gullies and along rivers that meander between mountains. The landscape is beautiful but its not the sort of road you are going to drive everyday. The town sits quite isolated from the rest of New Zealand by these physical barriers which means there isn’t loads of visiting surfers. This along with the fact it enjoys a ‘Mediterranean’ climate makes it a great surf trip destination

I had heard a fair bit about Gissy before I arrived and was initially surprised at its size (I was told it was about the size of Ballyshannon). The town is actually a small city which is fairly featureless apart from a nice harbour. Palm trees aside the town is actually quite dull with its wide streets and its new world blocks and avenues. Works great for driving around but it lacks any vibe as there is no real centre. Initially I was temped to move on as it looked nothing special but the longer you stay the more you appreciate its charms. The campsite in town is great for access to the Midway/pipe beach which was a little like a good day at Rossnowalgh while I was there but is supposed to turn on in bigger south swells when it turns into an insane barrelling beachie. Why cant Rossnowalgh do that. The campsite is right on the beach in Gisbone and is great value with all the facilities. A tent site is just over €10 and a cabin €18 euros which is cheap when split between 2.
The east coast beaches were huge when we arrived and looked like the North Shore in Hawaii but were onshore. The waves jack up on outer sandbars quickly and break on shallow banks which means they can barrel. They reckon the beachies can get like hossegor as the swells arrive out of deep water. The beaches to the North picked up the east swell which tends to come in January to March from Tropical Cyclones dropping from the tropics. The east swell and wind died after the first day and the beaches shaped up. There were a lot of closeouts while we were there and waves that missed the outer banks broke in deep water and could go fat. There was a good few surfers about but there were loads of peaks. The atmosphere in the water was fairly like an average day at the more popular waves at home. Kiwi surfers tend to be friendly and a few words in the line-up go along way. There is quite a decent standard of surfing in New Zealand but not that much higher than the better spots in Ireland and there are lots of beginner/intermediates as well. There are also heaps of breaks up the coast which would be empty but require a bit of trekking and a lot of driving. Great if you up for feral camping. There were other reefs such as the island which didn’t work while I was there that looked great and it seemed Gisborne would be a great place to go on a surf trip any time of the year.

For more Surf Travel info check out www.surfbreaks.ie

New Zealand surf trip

Hi guys thought id drop a line from NZ. Plenty of swell over here combined with a heat wave making a good combination. They have east and west swells here which is good but can leave you chasing your tail if you are not careful. The west of the island always seems to have swell but is often battered by the winds while the east tends to be cleaner but you can be waiting for swells.

The pics on the left are a west coast day when there was light east winds and the west coast calmed down. The beachies are so battered by the roaring forties the beachies often look like a bomb hit them but check out how many lines there is on a smallish swell. Definitely not a spot (the west side) for those without a bit of knowledge. Seems like there are reports daily of swimmers drowning here.

At the moment there is an east coast swell so we have zoomed over to Bundorans Kiwi contingent, Josh, Karl and Nathans home town Mount Munganiwi. Its a bit like a mini gold coast with looking good seeming to be high up alot of surfers priorities. The actual towns beaches are dissapointing but with a little looking arround and driving quieter nice beachies can be found.

The beachie on the left setup resembles France. The vibe in the lineup is pretty relaxed and the waves real fun. With the swell sticking arround we are hoping for a few more surfs now we are tuned into surf forecasting kiwi style. We are aiming to head south to Gisbourne and Taraniki in the next few days to continue the search and will keep uploading the blog. For those interested in doing there own surf trip and keen for info check out http://www.surfbreaks.ie/ which has info on loads of spots and more info will be updated soon.

Waves on the way

Hi there, it has been a bit smaller than expected the last few days, never really getting above head high at the Peak, and a bit bigger at Tullan. Those SW swells just miss us by a bit sometimes. Some reports of heavy waves being surfed down in Clare by Fergal Smith and others. Not for the average surfer those heavy slabs dish up some heavy beatings. Fair play for taking them on. These guys are really pushing Irish surfing to the next level. You can see a clip of the type of waves at this link The DVD is called Relentless and maybe available again with future issues of Carve magazine.

Fins magazine has been published for the last time. The most recent issue had loads of Bundoran stuff and was all surfing and nothing else. On the cover is Glen Hall who is Aussie/Irish and doing well on the WQS under an Irish passport. Could this guy be the first Irish person on the WCT? Keep an eye on him. Glen is currently ranked number 46 on the WQS.

There is a new Irish surf and weather forecasting site online called AskMoby. Click here to try it out. You can get forecasts sent to your mobile.

There is also a new surf travel website set up by Irish surfers. Although still in its infancy these guys have a lot of surf travel experience and know what they are talking about. Click here.

2009 starting to look good

Hi there. The recent flat spell is over and today the surf is about 4 to 5 foot at Tullan Strand and about 2 foot at the Peak, with some bigger sets. Plenty of people down at Tullan getting waves. Nice and clean with very light SE winds. About 20 at the Peak and long waits for the sets. Reports that Clare is bigger, in the 4 foot range at some of the reef breaks.

The week ahead is looking good. Looks like the swell is going to stay in the 3 to 4 foot range and the winds are looking offshore all week, so good times ahead.

Came across a good interview of Andrew Kidman interviewing Simon Anderson on the developmet of the thruster. Click here