INTO THE EMERALD ISLE
7.30 a.m. We arrive in Belfast, one hour late due to the rough seas that wouldn’t normally be a problem aside from the fact it gets dark at 4 p.m., so the clock is ticking …
8 a.m. A quick stop at Timo’s parents house on Loch Neagh, just outside Belfast, where we grab a bacon sandwich and pick up his brother Finn, who’s joining us for the excursion. Now Finn is well known as one of Ireland’s big wave Gurus, so I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing when I see him load a bag full of buoyancy jackets, a fin belt and First Aid kit. I guess you’ve got to be prepared for anything if they’re calling for 30-foot waves?
10 p.m. Just a wee four-hour drive across Ireland as we head to the tip of the North West coastline. It’s overcast and hell windy, with the morning surf
reports at Bundoran calling for massive, blown-out wind swell.
Where we’re headed is open to the same swell, but is tucked away where hopefully the NW wind will be blowing cross-offshore – not much to ask for!
11.45 a.m. I pop the question to Timo before we reach the beach. You have the choice, turn back time and be back in the comfort of your own home, or be in this van right now on a 50/50 gamble with the conditions, still another full day’s travel away from Poole? Of course Timo would rather be part of the chase. He lives for these days and knows you have to be ‘In it to win it’. Fingers crossed, here we go!
