So you're out of practise and out of shape after final year in college, you've got two World Championships to train for, cash reserves are pretty scarce from funding trips to said competitions and you don't own a car...what to do? Easy, head to the west coast of Ireland with a tent, bike and surf kayak and spend as much time on the water as humanly posssible! What could possibly go wrong...
So that's what I did when exams were over and I had finished my end-of-college partying. Since there was the possibility of getting the odd day's work in Castlegregory and it has some of the most consistent surf in Ireland that's where I headed. I set up camp in a remote-ish sand dune, right beside the surf of Brandon bay and within cycling distance of a shop, toilets and other essentials. The first few days went to plan, I got out surf kayaking every day in mediocre onshore conditions, and whenever I wasn't on the water I was cycling, running or fishing; generally getting fit again and chilling out after a pretty hectic final few weeks in college. I also did a few hours work here and there running kayaking sessions for Jamie Knox Watersports, which was good fun and a nice injection of cash into the wallet. So far so good, I had everything I needed and there was no reason why I couldn't stay there until it was time to head to Spain for the surf kayak worlds.
Unfortunately the Irish summer weather had other ideas. Firstly the wind came up and the swell dropped off, meaning that opportunities for surf kayak training became extremely limited. This wasn't all bad news. I started windsurfing last year with the UL club, and between the UL people's and Jamie Knox's expert tuition I've been progressing and starting to fall in love with the feeling of flying that you get when you're up at full speed and planing across the surface of the water. Jamie Knox had said that whenever he had groups on the water for activities I could take a set of windsurfing kit out for a spin so when the wind started to pick up towards the start of last week I started having some awesome windsurfing sessions. Over the two weeks I was there I went from being just about able to get the board up and planing to being able to consistantly hold the board there with some element of control. So despite the lack of surf kayaking I was happy enough to hang around and wait for the surf to improve, windsurf all the time, and cycle as much as possible to keep the fitness going in the right direction.
As soon as predictions for Monday's weather started showing up on the forecast sites it was obvious that it was going to have an effect on my life in the tent. Windguru was showing 100 km/h winds and 8.5 mm of rain for Sunday afternoon, which pretty much made it a duvet and movie day! My tent was nicely tucked away behind a sand dune and had been very well sheltered from some strong westerly winds earlier on in the week, so I stocked up on chocolate and biscuits was happy enough to wait out the storm in relative peace. However on Monday the winds swung around south-westerly, which meant that they blew almost unobstructed around my protective sand-dune and struck my tent at an awkward angle. I spent several hours in the tent, holding it up as best I could and reinforcing it with paddles and other gear as much as possible but unfortunately just before the storm was due to peak it all became too much. My lovely little red tent, which has served me well on many journeys around Ireland, several trips to Europe and a month in Uganda was obviously weakened by all the exposure to the sun and developed a small split beside one of the poles. I went out to try to reinforce it with duct-tape but with no luck, the tent was too wet and the wind too strong for duct-tape to have any hope of staying in place. There was nothing I could do except lie in the tent and watch as the small split grew and grew and eventually split the entire tent clean in two.
So that was the end of that! I had to wait out the rest of the storm and bail out back to Limerick, to dry out all my belongings and come up with a new plan. So that's where I'm at now, with my gear almost dry, last week's sun and wind-burn nearly healed and getting itchy feet to get back on the water. With a new tent and a slightly better weather forecast I would head back to Castlegregory in a heartbeat as it really had everything I needed to survive for an extended period of time and maximise the amount of training I could do but we'll see what happens. I need a new tent before I head to Canada in August so if anyone has any suggestions for a two-man tent that has lots of room for gear and is good in storms let me hear them!
If anyone is looking for a new sport that gives a similar aaargh-I'm-flying feeling to kayaking or mountain biking, without mountain-biking's risk of colliding with a tree or rock and mangling yourself, then I highly recommend giving windsurfing a go! It can take a little bit of time to get the hang of it, and can be frustrating until you do, but my god is it worth the effort! If you decide to give it a try then go check out www.jamieknox.com. The best tuition from a champion windsurfer and passionate teacher, loads of great kit and a choice of locations nearby to make the most of the conditions on the day. What more could you ask for? I plan to keep it up over the next while, with the eventual goal of getting good enough to try wave-sailing! Combining windsurfing with waves and a big sail to prolong the air-time available looks like a reciepe for an amazingly fun sport!
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