I’ve just checked the report for the weekend and into next week. For some reason the Swell directio nand wind direction didn’t load up for me this time ???
Weekend looks a bit in consistents with 3-4 ft on the buoy at 6 seconds for all parts of the country. There are lots of spots that will generate a surfable wave in these conditons
Nice sized swell arrives on wednesday morn. 12ft at 11Secs from Bundoran all the way down to Kerry.
Swell predicted at about 7-8ft at 11 secs for the Cork area. Swell should be there for 2-3 days.
I wouldn;t decide your final destination till about 24 hours before you set off and I’d base my decision on the wind directions.
The great thing about Ireland is that you can Get off shore in 3 out of 4 wind directions at.
Well i’m going to be there all week moving around the dingle/kerry and cork areas in my van. Based in kerry at castlecove as my mates mom has a b&B there so should be kept stocked up on the perishables. Looking forward to it loads.
Got my first trip to Ireland all sorted for next week leave on sunday for what’s looking like a fine week of surf. Chipfish, don’t worry i’ve packed my camera for some road trip photos.
Cheers
KS
and , tha luck of the oirish ta ya !!
hope the upload attachment thingy is up and running by the time you’ve kissed the blarney stone in the land of leprechauns .
Back from ireland after having a cool road trip. Managed to get some surfing in and i think i’ve improoved both my surfing and kite wavesailing. Only managed to get 1 decent photo of the surf but it was a miserable day but here it is anyway, just for you chip.
Ireland is a magical place. I have had the best surf of my life at Bundorany at the peak. I normally hang around Donagel Bay. I have never spent a week there but would love to some time. Looks like you scored some good surf.
Man, great shots!! That pic of Brandon Bay really tugged at the heart strings. That was such a fun wave. It had size to it (some 8ft faces) but was somewhat mushy and very manageable.
I visited Co. Kerry 4 years back and had the best time of my life. The surf was fun, the country was beautiful, and the it was rich in local culture. The only place that was working the whole time I was there was Brandon Bay, so I ended up surfing there most of the time. My wife and I also did a lot of hiking around, sightseeing, and walking around towns. We also went to this great Celtic museum. When going on a surf trip it’s always a good idea to get the local experience and meet the local people.
Anyway, I can’t wait to go there again someday soon.
P.S. - that pic of you driving on the beach—is that Inch Strand? Was there any surf there? It was flat when I went, but I could see the potential.
Yep that’s inches strand allright. No surf there while i was there. Brandon seemed to be the only place getting anything. Met quite a few of the locals and they were all really friendly it was great.
The sandbars Inch strand are poor enough, but its a great longboard wave. A half mile up on the right is the real treasure. Inch reef a perfect righthand point. When its going off which is a couple of times a year its the place to be.
Brandon bay is a real banker and about 15 miles long with loads of peaks. Fun place to surf. At the top of the bay is Garrywilliam point can hold huge waves but at 4-6ft is knarly as hell with a take off right into the rocks and double wave hold downs common.
Sorry chip, heading back in october and will endeavour to find the real irish beauty! In the meantime here’s a nice photo of a cool irish tower. Burnsie, checked out inches reef at low tide looks like long rides followed by equally long paddle back outs would be order of the day! Is it experienced surfers only or could someone like myself who’s just up and riding give it a go?
on inch reef the wave is fine but the entry, exit and rips are pretty sketchy, you need to be a strong paddler. Quite often the only exit is to paddle down to the beach
On a slightly more technical note my new board 7’3" fun board so far everyone who’s seen it the first thing they ask is “Is it a single fin?”
Chipfish/anyone I know you’re a bit of a fin connoisseur and maybe a bit biased but what sort of shape/size would i need to go for? At the moment the centre fin is fitted using eurofin/fcs system but i could easily add another plug so that i could have a 3 plug attachement system. Any photos of possible fins and construction materials/techniques woulds be good. I intend to fit it with a single fin to see what difference it makes. Have attached a couple of photos of the board to remind you all what it looks like.
Well , I personally would go with a fins unlimited type box , if you have enough thickness in the tail to rout out those plugs and install it .
Otherwise , I’d go with FOUR plugs [two more] , to allow a decent degree of movement , and also a bigger base fin .
This is only me , others may vary . [I notice quite a few here have MUCH deeper fins than I ride] . On my 7’ single fin , for example, I use a 7.5" deep , 5" base thick fin . Serves me fine .
It will depend on your waves , your style and weight , where you place the fin , your stance , the rocker and rails of the board …see what I’m getting at ?
…probably one of the reasons why a box is good , though .
Blakestah and Halcyon and Bert and Finfection I’m sure would also have input on this . (If they don’t see this post , maybe a p.m. ?)
In the end , I say … experiment ! [ to find what works for you in your wave shape and size[s]. If it was my board for here , I would start with the fin I have [mentioned] , and take it from there .
You could make an 8" and even a 9" single fin for it , if you wanted .
A wood core , perhaps .
Or , if you’re game , lay up a solid fibreglass panel and cut and foil it yourself [good experience , if a little heavier and more expensive / time consuming than wood] . Wood at least floats, if the worst happens ! […will you be surfing mainly beachies or reef as well with that board ?]
Lastly , HOW did you like its performance as a thruster , and would you consider using a slightly larger back fin in conjunction with smallish side fins ? [like a “widowmaker” type setup ? [say , 3-4" side fins , with a 6" back fin ?]
… anyway , these were just some thoughts I had since the above post …
22" wide x 2 7/8" thick. I like the idea of putting some smaller thrusters on first to see what effect it has. I have a couple of longboard side fins kicking around which i could use. As for the centre fin a mate has just got some of that carbon copy glass i mentioned in a thread a while ago. So i think a wooden core and fake carbon fin is the way i’ll go along with four plug holes, good idea.
