PRECAUTIONS
Safety is always something that has interested me coming from working at sea where following high profile disasters, such as Titanic and Piper Alpha, the maritime industry sought to improve their safety culture and procedures. As I stare again at the liquid caverns that are unfolding on Mullaghmore’s shallow slab, I run through a risk assessment in my head, because while the club of which I am a member is there to protect me, I am the person foremost in charge of my own safety and so it is incumbent on me to make the right calls. I’ve SUP’d and windsurfed here before, so I know to a degree how the break works. I say degree as every wave here breaks differently and so I respect how I’ll always be a learner not a master. Boils appear mid face, mellow curves turn to ferocious guillotines in the blink of an eye; the power to ruin your day is ever present. I think about the other days I’ve sailed here, each is memorable; some pains don’t fade. I’ve broke bones here, tore ligaments and tendons, humbled constantly. I’m not alone, regulars have all paid a price, the wipeouts are so violent, and each leaves an indelible mental mark.
“The best days I’ve had in Ireland have been completely by chance, never forecast.”
