BINSURFING IRELAND TRIP

While October and November may not have been the best choice weather-wise, it was certainly the best decision in terms of our chances of getting a decent swell and more consistent surf conditions.

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And so we set off for the land of steep, sheep-strewn cliffs, rugged coastlines and endless waves. We gathered a remarkable group of people to enrich our experience. On the way, we picked up Julian and later met Jonas and Finn at the ferry in France. Jonas, who was no newcomer to the Emerald Isle, came well prepared. About a dozen boards on his old Mercedes, which he shared with Finn, set the tone for our venture. And the forecast wasn't bad either, fuelling our hopes of finding some real waves.

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After arriving in Rosslare, we crawled up the coast bit by bit. Due to the onshore winds and rain on the first days of our trip, we saw our best chances of getting into the west surf there. When we reached the first spots Jonas had visited earlier, the waves were not yet as big as the forecast had suggested, but they picked up noticeably within the first session. We had high hopes for the next few days, but the expected swell would have had to wait much longer. So we spent the next few days doing seemingly endless spot checks and driving for hours on narrow Irish country roads, slowly but surely further and further up the coast to find more exposed reefs.

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After a few days on the road, change was finally in the air, and when we set up camp one night near some ideally exposed rocky reefs, we got our first glimpse of what Ireland had to offer in terms of surfing. The waves were still small, but perfectly formed, and so Jules and Felix put in a little surf session in the last hours of the day. As darkness fell, we sat around the campfire while the sound of the waves breaking in the background made us optimistic about what was to come. That night, we snuggled into our sleeping bags, buoyed by the thought of pulsating waves.

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The next morning we got up before sunrise and soon the whole landscape was bathed in a warm orange light, while the waves rippled beautifully on the edges of the reef. It was hard to guess how big they were, but they were definitely bigger than the night before. After a quick breakfast, we put on our wetsuits and paddled out to the top one by one. This was what we had come for: big and playful waves.

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The following days were extraordinary and so we ventured along the coast to explore the endless potential of Ireland's diverse surf spots. Seemingly around every bend of the coast, there was another surprise for us. Whether it was in the form of a beautiful wave, gnarly slabs or simply the sight of the rugged rocky coastline and magnificent views of the hinterland with its rugged mountain landscapes that wanted to be explored.