First surf competition of the year

Last weekend saw the first Paddlesurf Ireland competition of the year take place in Clare. There was a sweet swell forecast for the weekend but the wind was always going to be a problem at about 20 knots onshore. We weren't sure where the best waves were going to be so we all met up in Spanish Point on Saturday morning and went looking for surf.

After checking out Cregg and stopping in O'Looney's for a coffee while we were waiting for the tide to rise and the wind to drop off a bit we ended up holding the competition in Hegarty's, which is a sweet point break there on the Clare coast. The waves were big and powerful, with a bit of chop and wedgy sections in them because of the wind, always good craic and it adds to the entertainment factor on the beach! I was up first in the mens HP. The waves that came in were nice but there was a very long time between sets because of the wave period. I got one savage wave in the middle of the heat but I couldnt get a decent second wave to back it up before the heat ended so I finished in second behind Mick Barry.

The IC competition went better. I got lots of waves and managed to pull some cool stuff on them, including an attempted end move which I think turned into an exit-air-barrel roll thing and another attempted end move which turned into a huge slash/top turn thing off the close-out section! Happy out! I ended up winning the IC class, and a few of the lads that I brougt up got to see a surf kayak comp for the first time so it was a good day overall!

Results:
HP Class

1st Mick Barry, 2nd Eoin Keyes, 3rd Anthony Coyne.

IC:

1st Eoin Keyes, 2nd Mick Barry, 3rd Anthony Coyne.