Weather charts predicting big waves brought a gang of top surfers and film-makers to the Clare coast last week to chase a swell to a break called Aileens. Who would have thought we'd have waves - and surfer dudes - to rival Hawaii's best? Lauren Daviesjoins the pursuit.
A sharp offshore wind whips over the spectacular sea cliffs in Co Clare, sweeping across the ocean hundreds of feet below and smoothing the face of the waves curling along the reef. It is 5.30am and the sun is just a chilly speck of light. In the nearby harbour, a group of determined surfers brave the cold to struggle into armours of neoprene.
Less than 48 hours before, professional surfers Keith and Chris Malloy had been soaking up the sun in their hometown of Ventura, California, and British champion Gabriel Davies had been surfing the temperate waters of Indonesia. But then a weather chart predicted world-class waves off the west coast of Ireland and they dropped everything to chase a swell to Co Clare. There they would meet up with Richard Fitzgerald from Bundoran, Co Donegal, and the Irish senior champion, John McCarthy.
Covered from head to toe in a second skin of thick rubber and resembling a pack of excitable seals, these surfers are atypical of the blond beach boys in board shorts generally associated with surfing. Yet this scene is representative of the phenomenon that has spread along the west coast of Ireland in recent years to make surfing the fastest growing sport in the country. The surfer in Ireland has to be hardier, perhaps, than his or her Hawaiian counterpart, but according to the surfers in Co Clare last week, the quality of Irish waves makes the extra effort more than worthwhile.
The first tentative steps by surfers into Irish waters were taken in the late 1960s when surfing was at its heyday in California. WB Yeats may have foreseen the potential of Irish waves when he wrote The Shadowy Waters: "And you had spread a sail for home, a wind/ would rise of a sudden, or a wave so huge/ it had washed among the stars and put them out." Yet little did the first surfers imagine that Ireland promised exceptional waves in its bays and beneath its cliffs, both outclassing those shown in American magazines and spawning a new tourist attraction.
The history and development of surfing in Ireland are now being captured by Dublin film-maker Joel Conroy in a documentary to be called Waveriders for Inis Films. This is his second film about surfing: in Eye of the Storm he followed Gabriel Davies and Richard Fitzgerald as they conquered big wave surfing with the assistance of a jet ski, known as tow-in surfing.
Immense waves cannot be caught by human paddle power alone, so they developed a method whereby a surfer could be towed behind a jet ski and whipped into a wave at high speed. The boards are weighted with lead, the surfer wears a reinforced impact vest and the driver is responsible for positioning. Beyond that, however, the surfer is on his own with only a lung full of air and a heart full of courage for protection as he is propelled into a wave taller than a house. Davies and Fitzgerald were the pioneers of this technique in Ireland, pushing the boundaries of rideable waves.
With Waveriders, Conroy hopes to bring the unknown history of surfing and the death-defying pursuits of its modern-day pioneers to our attention. His research led him to Hawaii, where big wave surfing is entrenched in the culture, although missionaries in the 1800s tried to wipe it out. Hawaii's enormous waves still present a key rite of passage for surfers wanting to make their mark in a rapidly expanding sport.
It was while researching the growth of surfing that Conroy uncovered a little-known fact about the man responsible for spreading the sport from Hawaii via California to the rest of the world. This man was George Freeth, born to a Hawaiian mother and Irish father in 1883. An Irish descendant responsible for the rebirth of surfing? Conroy had found his "hook".
Waveriders tracks the evolution of the sport in Ireland. Simultaneously, Davies, Fitzgerald and the Malloy brothers embark on the same journey, charting the waves that culminate in the storm chase to Aileens, Ireland's latest and most awe-inspiring big wave location.
Aileens is concealed at the base of cliffs of such magnitude it is a wonder any surfer dared peer over the edge to check the surf conditions, never mind clamber down the narrow goat trail with a surfboard in hand to reach the break. This wave is not for the faint-hearted and should not be attempted by those with access to the equipment but without the talent of Conroy's cast.
Gabriel Davies is renowned as Britain's best big wave rider, having trained in Hawaii every winter from the age of 16. Richard Fitzgerald, his tow-in partner, likes nothing better than the challenge of giant waves and takes pride in the tow team's bond of trust, whereby one must rely on the other to save them in dangerous situations. John McCarthy is currently one of two Irish surfers on the long list of people hoping to take part in the world's most prestigious big wave event, the Eddie Aikau in Waimea Bay, Hawaii. This is the first time an Irish surfer has ever made the list and indicates the respect Irish surfing has gained in recent years.
Aileens is a barrel of unbelievable proportions. The surfer must contend not only with the size and speed of the wave but also with the shallow reef concealed beneath and the current that can wash you across a dangerous slab of rock and onto the cliff face. The Malloy brothers, who have a wealth of experience in surfing waves of this kind, have likened Aileens to the wave known as "Jaws" off the coast of Maui, which first brought the big wave phenomenon to the attention of a worldwide audience. Jaws has claimed lives in the past and the Malloys are in no doubt Aileens has the ability to do the same. Not that this threat is likely to deter these surfers from travelling across the globe to pick up the gauntlet.
Six years on from Conroy's initial research, Inis Films and co-producers Besom Productions, headed by one of Ireland's most respected film-makers, Margo Harkin, were within arm's reach of completing the project last week. With the scenic shots, interviews and some spectacular surfing footage already in the can, the Waveriders project needed one more big swell that would provide a fitting climax to a story of risk-taking and pushing boundaries.
The surfers were waiting for the call across the globe, as were 18 film crew members, who have had the enviable task of filming on the beaches of Ireland, California and Hawaii for the past year. The logistics involved in bringing such a big project together on the basis of a weather prediction are mind-blowing and make surf film-making uniquely complicated.
Contrary to popular belief that a windy day creates surf, the waves these surfers search for are formed by low-pressure systems spinning out to sea, pushing swell towards land. The magnitude of the waves depends on the location of the low and the opposing high pressure, the difference in their values, and the timed period between the pulses of swell. With the necessary weather system in place, this groundswell will then be pushed towards land, creating a wave when it hits a shallow shelf of reef or sand.
The shape of this shelf determines the formation of the wave and whether it will be a ripple most dolphins would turn their bottlenoses up at or whether it will become the cylindrical barrel that engulfs the surfers at one end and blasts them out of the other - the famous "tube-ride". Wind is also a factor, as an offshore breeze will blow the face of the wave smooth, while onshores and cross-shores can blow the wave out of shape.
The advances made in the science of predicting weather and the development of internet weather charts has made storm-chasing an important aspect of the professional surfer's routine. With knowledge of this - albeit still somewhat inexact - science, it is possible for the surfer to predict where and when a swell is likely to hit around the world and arrange to be there when it does. On this basis, Conroy had his team in place when it mattered.
Specially adapted jetskis and a boat transported the cast and crew to the foot of the cliffs while Conroy directed from above. The surfers estimated the waves on the day to be about three metres high, which puts the lip of the wave at three or more times the height of the surfer. As the cameras rolled in the water and on land, the surfers took turns to tow each other into the powerful waves that engulfed them like an angry beast crashing its jaws down on the reef.
At low tide when conditions were at their most perfect, Fitzgerald towed Davies into a smooth wall of azure water. Davies flew from the lip to the base of the wave, absorbing the impact of such a drop in his legs before powering himself into the barrel of the day. The crowd that had gathered to watch the spectacle cheered and the cameramen preserved the precious moment.
The surfers then exchanged their towboards for normal surfboards and used brute force to paddle themselves into the waves. This requires even more skill as the surfer must propel himself over the lip and freefall through the air while connecting with the board. The rides were incredible, the surfers clearly relished the challenge and the waves just kept coming. When the leash attaching Fitzgerald's board to his ankle was snapped by the drag of the powerful white water, his board smashed onto the base of the cliff, shattering as if it were made of glass. Davies was then washed across the reef by a huge set (series of waves), but his tow partner was there to save him.
After a six-hour marathon session, the director called "Cut!" on a phenomenal day of filming as the sun set. The surfers were exhausted and frozen but their imaginations had been fired. They had experienced the wave that had occupied their thoughts day and night and they now knew its potential. All eyes will be on the weather charts for an even bigger swell because Aileens has not yet been tested to the limit of its potential, they believe.
Of course, not all of us can surf waves of such epic proportions but the beauty of the sport is that there are opportunities for surfers of all abilities to ride a wave on a day when conditions are fitting. Surfing schools are booming on Irish shores and, every weekend from early spring, hundreds of beginners take to the water in Lahinch, just a hop around the coast from where Aileens is testing the world's best. Surfing now inspires a huge variety of people who perhaps want to get fit without pounding the treadmill or want a taste of a healthy lifestyle that immerses them in the elements. Irish surfing is a phenomenon on every level and the trajectory of the sport looks set to reach new heights - perhaps the height of the cliffs in Co Clare, which for so long concealed a wave that seems destined to be one of the new wonders of the surf world.
• Waveridersis due to be aired in 2008. It is backed by the Irish Film Board, the Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission, ICBAN/Interreg III, the BBC and the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland
THE LEGEND OF AILEENS
The Irish name for the big wave spot is Aill na Searrach or the "leap of the foals". According to the myth surrounding the spot, in protest at the arrival of Christianity and the loss of magic rituals, the Tuatha Dé Danann that once ruled Ireland turned themselves into horses and hid in the caves for centuries. One day, seven foals emerged and bolted, frightened by the sunlight. They galloped along the cliffs and met their fate at Aill na Searrach, where they tumbled over the edge. Local surfer John McCarthy then named the spot Aileens for ease of reference.
LEARNING TO SURF ESSENTIALS
Contact the Irish Surfing Association website for surf school information.
Always take advice from an instructor on ocean conditions and technique before first paddling out.
A snug-fitting, thick wetsuit will protect you from cold water in Ireland. In winter months this should be five or six millimetres thick with neoprene boots, gloves and a hood. This can be reduced to a combination of three and two millimetres in spring and summer.
Begin preferably on a foam, soft-top surfboard with a round nose at least two to three metres in length according to your size and ability. Attach the board to your ankle using a leash.
Never surf alone.
SURFING TERMS
DeckThe top of the surfboard. This is rubbed with wax to give the surfer more grip on the fibreglass surface.
Tow-in surfingSurfing with the assistance of a jet ski and a tow rope to pull the surfer into a wave too immense to be caught by human paddle power.
Barrel, tube, pitA powerful, hollow wave, which allows the surfer to ride through its centre and emerge from the cylindrical form. This is the most difficult type of wave to master.
Impact zoneThe critical area where the wave first breaks, turning from a green wave to a white-water lip. This is the powerful area to avoid on the wave. Also best avoided is the close-out, when a wave shuts down and becomes unrideable white water.
Wipe-outThis is very likely the first manoeuvre you will ever do on your surfboard! When surfers wipe out or fall off, they should cover their necks and faces beneath the water until they resurface to avoid injury from hitting the surfboard or the bottom.
RipA usually fast-flowing current of water moving sideways or out to sea. If caught in a rip, the surfer should not paddle or swim against the current but go with the force until it disperses in deeper water. The surfer can then head directly into the breaking waves, using their energy to propel the surfer back to shore.
Goofy footTerm used to describe the surfer who rides with right foot forward. As opposed to the natural or regular foot - who surfs with the left foot forward, as in the case of the current eight-time world champion, Kelly Slater. This is a question of personal preference, according to what feels natural.
Right-handerA wave that breaks and then peels to the surfer's right. This is the preference of the natural/regular foot surfers, who will surf facing the wall of the wave, which is known as surfing forehand. A goofy foot surfer will surf this wave backhand, which is more difficult to master. The goofy foot surfer will ride forehand on a left-hander.
GrommetA young, enthusiastic surfer.