COLD CALL
What I’ve learnt over the years with winter storms like these is that when the air temperature is cold, less than 6° Celsius, they rarely bring good winds from the Atlantic in Ireland. Unstable air = unstable winds. I’d chose a 4.7 because although every forecast was calling for gales, the wind speed I was observing between the squalls was anything but. This system had brought record low temperatures and huge snowfalls to the east coast of America. Named winter storm ‘Grayson’ there, it was described as a “bomb cyclone colder than Mars”. It wasn’t that extreme in Ireland but the cold was definitely reducing the strength of the wind. Snow however was in abundance and the drive to even get to the beach was a mission. I had hugged the coast road where the sea air had moderated the snowfalls somewhat, but even at that I’d passed several cars that had slid off the road. I have a 4×4 with winter tyres and carry tow straps, snow shovels and traction ramps as well as plenty of warm drinks, clothing and food just in case. It can seem overkill but windsurfing on the Atlantic coasts of Ireland and the UK doesn’t always take place in areas with high levels of infrastructure and it’s best to be prepared for the worst. As I look around, the local houses are all entrenched with mounds of sand bags, ready for just that as coastal flooding was predicted for the evening. Timo and Tam pull into the car park later than expected having been stuck further inland where the snow had reduced progress to walking pace at times even in a 4×4. The squall I had sat out in my van had actually torn one of their windscreen wipers clean off. Timo was keen to get straight out as not only could he see we were in a break in the worst of the weather but he also had done the maths and worked out with more snow forecast for later on, he would have to leave even earlier to have any chance of making his return flight accounting for a safe driving speed given the expected road conditions.
