On the second day of our trip the crew sailed all day at Magheroarty in county Donegal; truly one of the jewels in the crown of Irish wave sailing. If the man from Carlsberg ever sat down and tried to sketch out your perfect wave sailing setup then ‘Maghers’ would pretty much be the picture he’d be hoping to achieve. A stunning horseshoe bay with awesome beach breaks to the right and then a perfect reef setup to the left. The fact that this gem is surrounded by stunning Irish mountains, a flat water lagoon and the islands of Inishbofin and Tory out to sea and you really could not ask for more in terms of a beautiful and typically Irish location. It’s no accident county Donegal was named the coolest place on the planet by National Geographic Traveller for 2017, describing it as “a land that feels undiscovered.”
Aside from the awesome sailing, there was never a dull moment in the van. The banter was rife from the moment we loaded up in Poole until we arrived back in Wales before the final sleepy stint home. To gain a true classification as a real road trip we always stipulate that there must be an ‘overnighter’ involved. A mere day trip to Cornwall and back simply does not cut it. So while in Magheroarty we checked into the nearby Loch Altan Hotel, a friendly establishment who have latched onto their proximity to the wind and waves and even offer a windsurfer’s rate on hotel rooms! Guinness was consumed, a full Irish breakfast was devoured and a night of relative luxury was had before all squeezing back into Timo’s van where we were almost up to our necks in crisp packets, empty chocolate wrappers and various other debris. Yep there is no doubting Xmas came early for the Motley Crew and despite the price tag of all being cramped up in Timo’s van and countless hours on the road, that part of it made the trip all the more satisfying. We’d conquered logistics, researched the forecast, driven to the optimum location and reaped the rewards. But with all the laughs and good memories involved, the ‘Crew’ returned home with far more than just a handful of wind and waves!