1.10am: JC: Phew, Timo Rolls in five minutes later, van loaded to the brim for our one day expedition. We hit the road and make it a mere two hundred metres from the ferry terminal before we spot the Golden Arches of McDonalds gleaming in the night. It’s a no-brainer at this time in the morning, so we load up with two happy meals, large fries and coffees to go.
3am: JC: Worst driving conditions imaginable. Lashing rain, howling gales and zero visibility! A Facebook update comes through from Steve Thorpe who is just leaving home headed for West Kirby – looks like it is going to be a hell windy day.
7am: Timo: After driving all through the night, an hour away from our destination we both start drowsing off. There is no choice to pull over for an emergency power nap. We set our alarms for 7.20am, no matter how desperate I am to get to the spot for first light, I am well aware that driving when your body wants to sleep is pretty dangerous. Time is precious with the tide situation so we can only allow twenty minutes for a sleep. It’s enough to fire up the adrenaline ready for what will surely be a crazy day.
7.25am: JC: Loaded with coffee we are back on track with the sat-nav calling for an 8.30am arrival.
7.35am: JC: Forced to pull over at the next garage, the coffees kicked in and toilet stop was imperative before arriving at the beach.
8am: The first rays of light are about peak through a low blanket of clouds as we close in on the coast but up above the sky is totally clear, looks like it’s going to be one of those beautiful sunny, wintery days.
8.20am: JC: Our first glimpse of the coast has Timo shrieking “It’s massive!” as he spots pluming waves breaking on distant reefs offshore. Suddenly the adrenaline is kicking in. Our mood totally changes from my pessimism to a nervy adrenaline rush that the reef is going to be smoking. Now nobody has told us not to mention the location of this reef, but from the fickle amount of information available on its whereabouts we kind of have an inkling that the local surfers don’t want the masses to show up at their home break. We have to respect that and keep the exact whereabouts of the reef under closely-guarded lock and key.