Check out this awesome video from the Mayo Mayhem event in Ireland edited by Malcolm Scott, filmed by Paola Chianese with Ross Gamelov handling the drone footage!

Rob Mulholland has also put together this detailed event report with photos by Marco Cavalleri and Kevin Walsh!

MAYO MAYHEM 2021
Autumn, that time of the year when Irish wave heads feel a gravitational
pull to the west. The wind and waves pick up. Traditions such as enjoying a
pint of Guinness, giving way to sheep on the road and someone getting their
car/van/converted ambulance stuck somewhere and needing a tow from a
disapproving Massey ’35 owner, are all eagerly anticipated.
All this can only mean one thing, it’s time for the 4th annual Mayo Mayhem
windsurfing wave event where windsurfers get together to test their skills
and enjoy the hospitality and crack on Achill Island. Regrettably, there was
no ‘Pure Magic’ festival this year but thankfully, restaurants and bars were
available to make the apres-surf festival.

Once again, this was a truly international event with all six rugby nations
represented and competitors from Canada, Poland and the Ukraine. Also worthy
of note was the presence of three female competitors. The Silver and Gold
fleets boasted a lot of talent. With thirty four competitors, the battle for
a coveted Mayo Mayhem trophy was sure to be intense, with huge support from
sponsors and wheels in motion all over the country. All that was needed now
was for the wind gods to decide that our three months and more of little or
no wind was at an end. Miraculously, after a fraught week of checking just
about every available forecast, the competition was a go for Saturday at

Drum beach Belmullet.

Drum beach on the Belmullet peninsula proved to be the ideal choice of venue
with enough wind and wave, which held for the whole day and allowed both
fleets to complete their heats.

First up was the Silver fleet; this wasn’t quite ‘do or die’ as third and
fourth placed sailors would have a second chance in the double elimination
heats. Scoring was counted on each sailors two best waves and best jump.
With tricky cross-on conditions, the first round was completed. There were a
few surprises as some quality sailors found themselves stuck downwind where
a frustrating combination of current, shallow water and light wind made
point scoring difficult. Elsewhere Aoife Roe, old-timer and first-timer John
Bedford, plus two others who are dangerously close to the ‘geriatric class’
Bob Hagan and Nick Fletcher, all went straight to the quarter finals.

The Gold fleet first rounds saw the wind and waves pick up as did the
tension. The quality on display saw Dan Gardner and Finn Mellon knocked out
to the double elimination. Elsewhere both Katie McAnena and Marine Hunter
put serious pressure on the men, while Julius Byrne proved the step up to
Gold fleet was well merited.

Returning to the silver elimination round, there was reprieve for Pawel
Bielinski and Cathal Clark, with both men making it through to the quarter
finals.
With little time between heats, the Silver quarter finals were hard fought
with solid performances earning Stephen Lawless, Leonardo Ferrara, John
Bedford , Bob Hagan , Phil T, Marco Saulo Nannucci, Tom Lotocki and Ross
Gamelov their deserved place in the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, in the Gold fleet, leaving nothing to chance, the elimination
heats saw Dan and Finn cruise into the quarters.The Gold quarter finals
produced some great sailing, but proved a step too far for 2019 winner Niall
Mellon and third-placed Katie. Meanwhile, Marine Hunter stormed into the
semifinals with some lovely wave riding and looping. Also flying high were
Scotty McDowal, Julius Byrne, Alex Duggan, Steve Liddiman , Dan Kelly, plus
the reinvigorated Dan Gardner and Finn Mellon.

After a short break, the Silver semifinals kicked off – first up, four
sailors all who were determined to secure a place in the final. Stephen,
Leonardo, John and Bob. Straight off, Stephen and Bob got points on the
board, landing jumps and scoring waves, leaving Leonard and John with a
mountain to climb. While battling hard to the very end, it wasn’t enough .
The second Silver semifinal saw equally determined performances from Phil,
Mario, Tom and Ross. However after a hard-fought round which saw all four
competitors scoring well, Tom and Ross had a bit more in their lockers and
progressed to the final.

With no time wasted, it was straight into the Gold semifinals with huge
tension mounting, as we had already seen some big names fall. The two Dans,
Alex and Steve made the lineup. The format still two waves and one jump,
Steve turned up the heat with a fantastic ankle-dry back loop. Not to be
outdone Dan (Kealy) nailed a very impressive forward. Both sailors backed up
their aerial heroics with some great wave rides. Meanwhile, Dan (Gardner)
and Alex Duggan fought hard but just couldn’t find the big scoring moves,
despite some top-class sailing.
The second semi boasted three gold fleet newbies, Scotty, Marine and Julius,
with one of the event favourites Finn completing the line up. Scott set the
scene with a huge back loop in the first seconds of the heat. Julius and
Finn also landed big jumps early. Meanwhile Marine grew into the heat with
some fine wave riding and a forward loop. As the heat progressed, Finn and
Julius gradually put enough points on the board to overtake Scott and hold
Marine at bay in what was one of the hardest fought heats all day.
So the scene was set, and with the sun rapidly lowering, the Silver final
kicked off. Tom and Bob set themselves apart immediately, landing some fine
jumps and scoring heavy with their wave riding. Ross and Stephen sailed well
but just couldn’t find the moves they needed. In the end, Tom won, Bob came
second and Ross completed the podium in third place.

So now to the Gold final of what had been the toughest Mayo Mayhem
competition to date – four top class sailors, two jumps and two waves needed
to claim the title. Julius, Finn and Dan all went big early, and all three
kept the pressure on with some excellent wave riding. Steve meanwhile scored
heavily in the waves but just couldn’t find the ramps to pin any big air to
keep in contention. Elsewhere, Julius and Finn were able to keep the points
counting up both in the air and on the wave to move ahead of Dan. This was a
hugely entertaining final with some top notch sailing which saw Julius
emerge as the 2021 champion, Finn second and Dan third.
With the light fading fast, Aoife, Katie and Marine took to the water to
compete for a first Mayo Mayhem ladies title. Katie made a great start
before getting caught in the break zone. Aoife, while riding a nice wave,
unfortunately collided with Katie. However, credit must be given to both
sailors as they both finished the heat with both scoring some nice waves.
Marine meanwhile, did what we had come to expect, nailing some lovely waves
and jumps to emerge as 2021 Ladies champion.

This year’s Mayo Mayhem was a huge success showcasing two extremely
competitive fleets; warmth, sunshine, wind, waves.
Finally, a huge thank you to all the competitors who made the trip to
Achill. Ultimately it’s your participation and enjoyment which makes it all
worthwhile. We hope to see you again next year as Mayo Mayhem continues to
grow.

Next year’s event will be held on the weekend starting Friday September
30th 2022. A rollover will take place on the following weekend in the event
of not having contestable conditions.

Keep it in your diary!