This article is from page 9 of the 2014-01-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 9 JPG
TWO Clare surfers, who took to the water during the height of the Storm Catherine last week, are in the running for this year’s Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards.
Lahinch surfer Ollie O’Flaherty and Peter Conroy from Miltown Malbay both braved massive swells on Mullaghmore Beach in Sligo last Monday, during the height of the storm.
The waves on the day were between 20 and 30 feet in height but they were also incredibly powerful. Because there was a extended period of time between each wave, a massive volume of water is inside each wave making them incredibly powerful.
“It is kind of an addiction. It’s something you have to build up to over. You can’t just wake up one day and decided to go out and surf 30 of 40 foot waves. You have to build up to it,” said Ollie.
“There were maybe 18 or 20 seconds between each wave, which is unheard of in this part of the world. This means that even if the waves are not 60 foot, they are incredibly powerful and travelling very fast.”
According to Peter, it takes years of experience before surfers can safely take on big waves like those produced during Storm Catherine.
“It is all about stepping stones. You have to comfortable just being in big waters like this never mind surfing. You have to know what the sea is doing. You have to realise that the sea is in charge, not you. We catch the waves, we play on the waves but if the sea wants to catch you, you are dead,” said Peter.
“It [the Billabong nomination] is a list of the best waves that have been surfed in Europe so far this year and mine and Ollie’s are up there. This will be knocked down to a shortlist of five later this year so for the mo- ment this is really a recognition that us Irish guys are putting it on the line for big wave surfing.” A final shortlist of five surfers for this year’s Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards will be announced in March.