The bay is pretty small and the predominantly right hand peak sits on the far right hand side, I’d paddled into what I thought was a good spot to suss the line up out for a few medium sized ones – it’s a pretty slabby take off just out from the tip of the outcrop of the hexagonal stones with a few dry rock boils for good measure just inside. Even on a flat day it’s a pretty intimidating place to be and exactly why Al Mennie and Cotty deserve all kudos for pioneering surfing here. It was choppy with a lot of backwash but looked just about within limits until I saw the horizon quickly darken. I guess it’s something that’s hard to explain to people about big waves is the speed with which they move at as people tend to look at photographs and focus on the size when it is in fact that speed that makes them so difficult to catch or in this case, out run. I know I’m horribly out of position, too far inside and about to get pasted, but the further I can try to paddle out at this late stage the further I will be from the rocks. It’s now 6:30 in the morning; I haven’t caught a wave, and am about to get three set waves on the head. My Mum and Dad always told us it’s not a perfect world so I laugh and just get on with it. I never try and plan too much for wipeouts; for sure others may have a different approach but for me I find if I’m relaxed then that’s what hopefully works. I take a beating but keep it together just enough to stay off the point which was my main priority as my bones are allergic to getting smashed on rocks, even if they are super important and hexagonal. Just as I make it out to the line up again another set looms even larger on the horizon, I still haven’t caught a wave, it’s still not even 7 and I’m about to get even more cleaned up but on the plus I can’t help but smile at just how heavy and world class the wave is and its right here in Northern Ireland at one of our most atmospheric settings. Quite what my brother Tam was thinking at this point I’m not quite sure as I’ll admit things weren’t quite right in Toytown, another three wave set smashed into me and by now I definitely was wishing I had a bigger board …and a flotation vest, helmet and oh yeah a jet ski would be nice too.
