Last weekend Irish heifer Mullaghmore bore it's unsavoury fangs with a solid swell that registered in at 26ft at 15 seconds. Our very own ad man Duncan Scott took time out from his high flying role to meet up with fellow chargers Andrew Cotton, Al Mennie, Paul o' Kane and Mikee Hamilton. All Photos copyright of Aaron Pierce, for more on this check out http://liquid-storm.blogspot.com/
Mullaghmore Head goes XXL in size and carnage in the heaviest session ever in Irish waters, on November 7, 2009.
The sleeping giant of Mullaghmore Head re-awoke with a vengeance on Saturday November 7, dishing out a violent cocktail of bombs and beatings to an experienced tow crew of Mikee Hamilton, Paul Okane, Al Mennie, Andrew Cotton and Duncan Scott.
It would be a bittersweet session for the intrepid teams, as alongside huge bombs came the heaviest beatings ever seen out at Mullaghmore, and a trail of bruised and buckled bodies in the wake of the session.
"We were watching the charts a few days ahead, and although it was forecasting gale force onshores, the swell was definately going to bethere - 26 feet at 15 seconds. Mullaghmore is a strange beast, and needs just so much deep water juice to get it going. Still, the prospect of some bombs was enough to take a gamble on the winds being manageable," recounted Duncan Scott.
Al Mennie continued, "The last monster session we had out there on 1 December 2007, the winds backed off slightly for an hour or so, giving us just enough time to get out there in between the gales and storm fronts, and we just had a feeling that we might be lucky again this time round.
"So Duncan came over from Cornwall, Cotty jumped in his van from Scotland, I loaded up the ski in Belfast and we met Paul Okane, Mikee Hamilton and Dave Lavelle down there in the dark."
Big wave photographer Aaron Pierce went down to Mullaghmore the night before, to watch huge beasts rumble through in the darkness. Noting lighter-than-galeforce winds, he called the boys with the news 'It's on!', and arranged a RIB to take him out to the line-up.
"I've wanted to shoot it from the water for so long now, staring right into the pit, and finally we had a chance to get out there amongst it, thanks to our experienced skipper Dechlan," he said.
With the winds holding back, the lads were soon on it and pushing the limits.
Mikee Hamilton and Cotty played and paid hard early on, with Mikee pulling up into a cavernous, warping barrel which cruelly collapsed on him. The lip buckled him into his board, and pushed him deep. Shaking it off, he saddled up again for a few monsters on the ledge.
Cotty was next, coming from deep on a bomb set, driving off the bottom, his rail stuttered as he crossed the boils and an entire 20 foot section crushed him, ripping his knee brace clean off and tearing his groin. The pain was written all over his face when he finally popped up on the inside. 'I had that confidence, from our last tow sessions at Aileens and Oregon, but Mullaghmore is full of surprises. I thought I was good but that lip just came down and took me out,' stated Cotty, after having his brand new knee brace wrenched right off, almost taking his kneecap with it.
Paul O'Kane, who has refined his jetski driving and rescue skills in Ireland to a professional level, also showed some flair on the rope, jagging two bombs and riding them out clean. He was also the only one who could walk properly after the session!
Al Mennie was his usual solid self, coming in from deep on 'the squarest wave I've ever seen out there', according to Aaron Pierce.
Al's bomb took him down on the last session, where his board hit him in the head, breaking his Gecko helmet and sending him to Letterkenny Hosiptal's A & E room for a few hours afterwards for an examination for possible concussion.
Newquay surfer Duncan Scott found an equal mix of pleasure and pain, making some solid waves and taking three heavy crushings. "I haven't fallen off my towboard in about two years, but I definately paid full price today - with interest!"
On his last wave, Scott hit the jetski wake at the apex of the peak, flipped out and went over the falls on his back, twice. After getting forced down deep, he washed in 400 yards and came up unable to hear or see clearly, and with blood gushinng out of his nose from the pressure in his ear canals.
When the chaos and adrenaline subsided, the boys reflected on one of the biggest, and certainly heaviest sessions in Irish waters
Sligo's Paul O'Kane summed up the session well:
"For the guys out there today, it's not about who rode the biggest wave, or who is the greatest. We all love being out there in huge waves together, looking out for each other, it's a full team effort. And these kind of waves demand that respect, working together, watching each others backs."
" It's going to be an interesting winter, I can tell you that for sure," he chuckled.
Videographer Lorcan MacFadden was equally excited about the session "Those were some serious conditions on Saturday morning. I had been waiting all week, and was delighted when I rounded the headland, and saw three skis and a rib buzzing around in some monster surf! The boys did some amazing surfing"
Mullaghmore once again proved its ability to handle the biggest of swells, and surfers in the know point to it as holding the biggest waves in the British Isles. "It will never close out at Mullaghmore, with the reef's bathymetry, the more swell you throw at it it, the bigger, and better it gets. And, the heavier it becomes,' commented Scott, in between gushing blood.
Stay tuned for more of the exclusive shots on www.wavelengthmag.co.uk by Aaron Pierce, and for the "in the pit" water video footage, with all the carnage up close from Duncan Scott - to be uploaded shortly.
I'm proper cornish and when my grandad was alive he would support Ireland over England, saying the Cornish had more to do with Ireland than England. So now it's cornwall first for me then I'm as happy for the irish to win things as much as I am England. So I was cheering on Glen Hall as much as Stokesy in the Boardmasters. were all on the same bunch of islands in my opinion.
That wave is freeking awesome! we surfed at Margaret River in Western Australia the other day, just got there in time for a week lull in the surf- should have just gone to Ireland! I know where my next travels will be now! Cheers Wavelength.
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