It’s always difficult to watch as the UK’s who’s who of windsurfing fly off to the more appealing climates of Cape Town or Oz to get their winter fix. Unfortunately, it’s not an expenditure a student budget allows for and never really an option anyway as I can’t see mum ever letting me escape over Christmas.

Fortunately enough though, some of the world’s best conditions can be right on our doorstep at this time of year! If anything, knowing that people have travelled the world in search of conditions like this just makes it twice as sweet when the home spots do come to life.

The perfect storm

Steve Thorp:

I had just travelled back across the Irish sea for the third time this month so the chances of me finding an excuse to go back again were looking slim, but I knew it would be difficult to watch the world’s media reporting that the home spots were going off so I was looking for any excuse to get my ass back there. When I got the call from Sam Burnett on Friday afternoon I didn’t think twice about joining him and Steve Thorpe on their search for waves. Challenge accepted!

It didn’t take long for me to explain to my manager in of how it would be “Goin’ off in Ireland!” and that I wouldn’t be coming into work for a few days and I hit the road. Easy! A quick stop off at Puravida HQ to pick up some new toys and I was ready to chase the storm. The forecast was actually very similar to one I had while I was at home for Christmas a couple of weeks back, so I knew Sam was in for a treat on his first trip to Ireland!

Sam Burnett:

With the ferry booked from Holyhead at 2.30am, we planned to meet at midnight leaving more than enough time for any delays; or so we thought! If Marcillio Browne could make it to Ireland from the Marshall Islands to catch the storm, surely we could get there from England!

The weather seemed to have other ideas though as we hit snow on the M6 like you couldn’t imagine. It was unreal. News reports claimed up to a foot of snow had fallen in a half hour; not fun! I called the others to get an update on their progress. They too were at a standstill. Things started looking pretty grim. Suddenly the three hours of extra travel time we allowed for seemed trivial. I thought our chances of making the ferry were nil.

There are many times on a trip like this where you begin to question your sanity, but sitting sideways in the third lane of an empty motorway knee deep in snow on your way to the beach is definitely up there with the best! As traffic began to move again, we passed abandoned vehicles and jack-knifed lorries left right and centre. Thorpey’s optimism that we could still get to the ferry in time failed to convince me, but we battled on anyway. The closer we got to Holyhead, the more it seemed like we might just make it! The chase was on again – cue Benny Hill theme!

The snow

It was a difficult blow to take when we arrived at the ferry terminal just as they were closing up shop. We must have missed it by two minutes max! The next ferry was due to leave at 8:00am so a few hours sleep in the car made sure we wouldn’t be late it this time. At least we would still make it to the west coast in time for the afternoon session…

Sitting in the queue for the ferry it became apparent that it wasn’t leaving any time soon. A few hours delay ensured that Saturday would be a write off. Great!

We arrived at the west coast as the sun was setting. Just enough light left for the pumping surf to give us something to talk about over a few of pints of Ireland’s finest.

We decided to ignore the wise local knowledge of Oisin Van Gelderen who was making his way to Magheroarty, telling us anywhere else would be closing out! Instead, we went for a dawn raid on a well known surf break in the hope of scoring some all time perfection. We arrived at the beach to find a disappointing head high wave but it didn’t take long at all for the start of the 28ft @ 21s to begin appearing in the sets! We rigged and watched as local ripper Andreas caught the first wave of the day – seeing that lip peeling over the top of his mast got me pumped!

Just as things started going our way Timo rocked up with JC – timed to perfection really as he pulled up just as a set began closing out across the bay. Never mind.. a quick spin down the coast there’s another reef which could hold the swell but the wind didn’t play ball. How could a force 10 storm disappear in an instant?!! I later learned this was down to a natural phenomenon called the “Timo Effect”.

It wasn’t all bad news though. As we packed up camp again, Timo suggested we have a look at this reef break a couple of miles down the road.. “You’ll have the surf of your life if you go there today” he told Steve. We took his word for it and made a move.

Surf’s up!

We couldn’t believe our eyes as we pulled up to this completely empty perfection. We seemed to arrive just as the rain cleared and the sun came out; I swear there was a rainbow behind the glassy clean, empty lines and peeling right handers as far as the headland, completely sheltered from the storm. Things started looking up! As I paddled out I watched Thorpey get some really nice waves!

Taking a clean set wave

We were now into day three of the trip and the harsh reality was that we still hadn’t all sailed! The peak of the swell had yet to hit though, and we had to make a decision. Do we go to one of the well established windsurfing beaches across Ireland, where we would at least be guaranteed a windsurf, (#RBSC!) but at the risk of missing out on some proper world class waves, or do we take another chance and try to find somewhere that could cope with the full brunt of the wind and swell the storm had been cooking. I think our decision was made when I bravely said to the others “We came to Ireland ’cause there’s a 30ft swell brewing. What’s the point in hiding from it!”

It’s probably worth mentioning at this point that Steve had one wave on his mind from the minute he left the house in England. Any time we took the map out to decide where to aim for, his finger kept pointing towards Mullaghmore Head. Even a few strong words from Timo about the time his bother Finn sailed it weren’t enough to dissuade him. So we went for a look.

The drive up to Mullaghmore head is scary enough in itself. The coastal road is lined with headstones of the unlucky few that have lost their life here. At the bottom of the cliff you see a huge explosion of water onto a shallow slab of rock, and behind you is a hill big enough to turn any amount of a gale into a three knot wind shadow. Maybe not today, but I somehow get the feeling that Thorpey will attack this beast some time in the future..

Steve Thorp:

Back on the road again, we had our eyes set on a location we had heard a few myths about. The problem with travelling on the west coast of Ireland is that there is too much choice. No matter which road you drive down, you are almost guaranteed a perfect wave at the end of it! It’s pretty difficult to drive away from a spot that would have any windsurfer around the world falling at his knees and go in search of something even better. But when we pulled up at this next spot, to see lines of huge rolling swell pealing down the coast as far as the horizon, we knew our luck was about to change. This is what we came for!

I have to admit I felt a bit nervous launching here, we seemed to time the tide wrong and the waves were becoming more unpredictable by the minute. Combine that with gale force offshore wind, double mast high lumps of water, bed of sharp ledges and a taste of Mikey’s “Go hard or go home attitude” and the result is a pretty fun day on the water.

At least it was windy though, mega windy. At my weight, in these conditions I wish I had a weight jacket and a speed needle to get me down the face of the wave!

When it got to the stage where the wind had swung more cross-shore and picked up enough strength to give two foot chop coming up the face, we decided to call it quits and head for a more ‘sheltered’ beach break.

I think I should explain. What I mean by sheltered, is 70knots, bolt offshore down the line speed sailing with punchy logo high waves rolling in. If I had a 2.0m sail I would have used it.  Trying to do anything on the wave resulted in the gale force wind firing you straight out the back door. Izzy, (Steve’s dog) has no fear, I watched her following Thorpey into mast high wave and take a rinsing better than any of us!

When we looked at the photos back at the hostel that night, we couldn’t figure it out; the relatively small beach break appeared to be twice the size of the double mast giants we had earlier that day. I guess it must be a perspective thing.

Thorpey….and Oisin?

This photo of Steve and Oisin and is one of my favourite. Have you spotted Oisin yet?? If you didn’t take the first wave of the set there was no chance of getting a decent shot. The waves in front were generally too big even from the top of the cliff.

I think we were getting a bit fussy now, as we still hadn’t got our full fix! Although we caught the full force of the storm, the wave riding wasn’t perfect by any means. We figured we had this location sussed out though, and better timing tomorrow, combined with a slightly more favourable forecast would give endless hours of down the line perfection!

Ireland definitely saved the best for last this time! We swapped perfect waves all day, even had some sun for a while which was a bit of a bonus I suppose.

Looking at the photos, I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you the camera actually ran out of battery before it got good!! The swell picked up a lot as the tide pushed in, but eventually the wind became up too much and we were all blown off the water on our smallest sails. When we came in to give Rob Jones a call for a lend of some of his child-sized customs, we realised that we had a ferry to catch! Another successful trip under our belts, and we for once we had a few of photos to go with it!

Thorpey slashing it up Still chasing the storm On the water Izzy looking on waves Jony lonelysurfer IzzyFoam Happy to have made the trip!

Steve Thorp:

“As it was we still scored some deadly wavesailing and surfing, a top trip which none of us wanted to end. We met some great friends and had some sessions together we’ll remember for years.  Can somebody please build us a tunnel!” 

The Chase has arrived at the beach of Dumps in Brandon Bay on Ireland’s battered west coast. The conditions are as gnarly as expected, vertical faces of a mast and a half high out back and early reports are suggesting that the wind is perhaps pushing just over the 60 knot mark already. With forecasts predicting the wind and waves to pick up be sure to stay tuned for all the latest throughout the day right here on boardseeker.com.

______________________________________________________________________________

The Competition

With 10 minute man on man heats the action should be thick and fast. If you notice any problems with the Red Bull Storm Chase website then stay tuned here as we keep bringing you the action as it happens, be aware that the RBSC website could be down due to over-usage, no doubt they are on the case and it should be back up soon – www.redbullstormchase.com/mission-1

______________________________________________________________________________

The Heats LIVE

ROUND 3

After changing spot, the afternoon saw the 10 riders face each other one last time. The conditions required the jet-skis to tow them out through the wind shadows that were created by the cliffs at the top of Hell’s Gate. Once at the waves, the winds gusted between 40 and 60 knots with mast to mast and a half high waves. Moves of round 3 were perfect 360′s, huge backies and rocket airs that saw the guys pushing 50ft+. Today windsurfing saw new boundaries as Swift stomped the most perfect pushloop forward ever witnessed by PWA Head judge Duncan Coombs, at the same time the competitors were reaching new heights as they tried to out step each other on the altimeter scale! In the end only six can advance to mission number two.

The Heli is in the house. We can’t work out what is more incredible, the shots that these guys will get or being able to fly this in a force 10!

Decision has been made already to move to Hell’s Gate, first possible start will between 14.30-14.45. Stay tuned for further updates in the meantime.

Whilst a short break is taken for the judges to decide whether to move to Hells Gate or not, the GoPro Expression Session is on. Allowing the team to capture some epic footage for the crew to present in the video round up later.

ROUND 2

Heat 5 – Kenneth vs Boujmaa

The wind has built throughout the last couple of heats and is back up to 60 knots or so. Bouj shows his usual flare and guts with super tweaked table tops on the way out and the way in! Meanwhile Kenneth sticks a pushloop and Bouj tries to answer with a wet pushloop forward. Super high one handed backloop from Kenneth.

Heat 4 – Danny vs Julien

The two open with backies, Julien sticks his, Bruch going down. Bruch shows quite a bit of repetition by stomping one backie after another. Julien will be coming in with a red back after crashing a huge stalled forward, pulling the sail shut insanely late. A reported 7 second rocket air from Bruch!! Fairly quiet from Julien during the last minutes of the heat whilst Bruch pushes hard for a backside 360.

Heat 3 – Robby vs Victor

Big moves in this heat. Victor opens with a huge forward only to be answered by Robby’s perfect pushloop forward! We have a feeling that is the first one on Irish shores… Head Judge Coombs states: “I think that’s the highest, most perfect, controlled push-forward I’ve ever seen”. That’ll be a 10 then, if not a 12! It’s not over yet as Victor pulls a Felix Baumgartner on us with a backie that should really require a parachute for landing – enormous! RBSC – ‘Swift changing boards, I think that push-forward landing punished the first one…’.

Heat 2 – Leon vs Thomas

Thomas Traversa is on fire. Landing incredible backside 360′s on the wave face as well as a couple backies. The conditions are a little lighter adn smaller in this one showing how squally it is in Ireland today. Traversa goes on to get a full house from the judges, RBSC state that “to put that into perspective, Brawzinho landed a perfect goiter but received only 8.5“. Leon seems to be struggling on his hunt for waves in this heat but has stucka few moves.

Heat 1 – Josh vs Brawzinho

Josh Angulo keeping it fairly tame during the start of the heat, whilst Brawzinho goes out with only one goal – to win. Big backies by Braw in the slightly lighter winds (around 40 knots) but his custom 3.4 makes his 75l board look huge. Braw continues with backies but as the sun shows its face briefly he sticks a nice tweaked pushloop. Angulo charging around for ramps and not getting too lucky. The heat comes to an end as we move on into the next.

The draw for round 2

Quotes from the riders – twitter.com/rbstormchase

These words just coming in from the riders.

Angulo: ‘It was scarier than the scariest we could’ve imagined’

Robby Swift: ‘It’s either more than 60-knots, or the wind is so much denser it feels much stronger. It was scariest walking down the beach!’

Between the rounds

A few minutes break now for the competitors to warm up and the judges to tabulate what just happened! Check out the boys in the bus grinning like children, Victor, Leon and Bouj (at the back, supporting a brilliant hood over all that hair of his).

ROUND 1

Heat 5 – Kenneth vs Dany

Again rocket airs are order of the day as Bruch boosts an enormous one, only to be answered by Kenneth’s very own. The waves are attracting some pretty cool moves on the way in. Kenneth trying a taka. Backies and big airs are still on the cards and Bruch tries to go even higher. The water state out there is extreme to another level, the wind is mixing the rain and the sea into one smoky mist the whips the competitors bare skin completely raw. Survival begins to play a part yet still these guys push themselves to the absolute limits.

Heat 4 – Boujmaa vs Julien

Julien and Bouj fight hard with a lot of ballsy moves. Julien pulling table-top forwards, backies, one handed backies, whilst Bouj clocks up one of the highest moves of the day with a table-top forward combo, pretty insane! Both are out there with full guns blazing, a tough call as the heat draws to an end. Julien shows a lot of variation and skill even in these ferocious conditions, perhaps it is something to do with the lucky shorts he is wearing over his wetsuit…

Heat 3 – Robby vs Brawzinho

Quote from RBSC – Brawzinho has custom Goya 3.2 and Swift a borrowed NeilPryde 2.9 from local Rob Jones.

More moves in this heat as both sailors push for backies and push loops. Braw launches into a HUGE rocket air and they both make the most of the waves all the way to the inside. Swift just slightly over rotating a pushie but sails away.

Heat 2 – Thomas vs Victor

Traversa before heat: “I’m nervous, I don’t know what to expect, we’ll see. I didn’t watch the first heat“.

Traversa at just 60 kilos launched into a huge rocket air straight off the beach pretty much. Victor replies with his own then Traversa bails from one over 40ft! Some riding going on, with a few backside smacks from Traversa, he is such a featherweight but with so much control!

Heat over, just in time as a hail storm tears through the competition area. RBSC is waiting for riders to return to the beach before allowing the next heat.

Heat 1 – Leon vs Josh

Leon opted for a 3.3 whilst Josh took a 3.6. Backies are order of the day for Leon as he launches into one after the other, pushing 40ft but mixing up the landings a little. Josh sticks some good moves too and some very clean riding. The conditions are crazy out there and it seems like just pulling a move is worth points!

______________________________________________________________________________

At First Light

Huge waves out back and a pushing tide to pick things up later in the day.

______________________________________________________________________________

The Travel

An impressive journey by many but no more so than Brawzinho and Robby Swift. Robby totalled an impressive 39 hours of back to back flights to get from Chile to Ireland, whilst Brawzinho flew all the way from the Marshall Islands to be here for this one day of action. No doubt many of the guys will be staying for a few extra days as the storm fronts will lash the west coast for the next week.

The chosen ones

The following riders are those selected and available for the Red Bull Storm Chase: Marcilio ‘Brawzhino’ Browne, Dany Bruch, Victor Fernandez, Boujmaa Guilloul, Robby Swift, Julien Taboulet, Thomas Traversa, Kenneth Danielsen, Leon Jamaer and Josh Angulo.

So what’s the forecast?

Well we’ve scanned the net and reeled in two very tantalising reports. In general all are agreeing on one thing, a huge swell with monstrous winds will whip Irelands west coast on Sunday/Monday, there will be a chance for the early arrivals to get a warm up session on Saturday but with much smaller waves. The question is, will the wind be so strong it blows the sea flat? Our experience from Ireland is that the underlying swell will still push through and we could expect between 30-40ft waves with wind-strengths up to storm force 10! Well that sounds like RBSC’s patients paid off. Take a look at our charts below that we grabbed from Bigsalty.com.

Wind strength

Swell height and direction

For those thinking of staying it looks like the fronts will keep on coming with 15-20ft swells right on through until the middle of next week.

We will do our best to bring some updates to this news post over the weekend and on into next week but if you are desperately seeking more then the RBSC website will go ‘Live’ tomorrow. It will change to a web-page which offers frequent updates, video clips, etc…

Stay tuned…

RBSC Facebook – “Forecast for Ireland has actually improved since yesterday! Probability for the first mission is getting better and better… Check MSW’s post for a great forecast analysis. Keep an eye on www.redbullstormchase.com for further updates, and your fingers crossed for this one to work out!”