North Atlantic Skyline - - Photographs from the west of Ireland (Galway, Mayo, Clare, Limerick, Roscommon and even Leitrim)

Clare Surfers

You need to be a hardy soul to go surfing in Ireland. At 9am on Saturday morning, surfers (mostly foreigners, judging by the accents) decamped from their jeeps and campervans on Doolin Quay, pulled on their wetsuits and headed for the waves breaking off Crab Island.

Even wearing cap, gloves, fleece and over jacket, I soon got cold [and I was standing on dry land]. It must have been freezing in the water. I had particular sympathy for two Australians, who presumably learned their skills in much warmer waters (on the other hand, they don't have to worry about sharks on the Clare coast).

The Clare coast is a good spot for surfing. The same coastline that scuppered the Spanish Armada 419 years ago attracts surfers from all over Ireland and abroad (the outstanding pub life in many of the coastal towns probably doesn't hurt either). Last year, for a brief period, Lahinch held the world surf record.

For some, a greater challenge is required. A couple of hours later, I was a few miles down the road, at the Cliffs of Moher. There, I watched a group of surfers take the narrow (and very steep) path down to the base of the Cliffs so that they could surf the impressive swell that is slowly but surely chipping away at the cliffs.

doolin, lahinch, cliffs of moher,surf,clare, burren, galway, ireland, irishblogs, photoblogs, photography, galwayblogs, monasette, Canon, 5D, march, 2007

Posted by Monasette at April 2, 2007 10:00 PM