They then end up with sponsorship deals and free skis for telling a story and not actually doing very much and being lucky enough to get away unscathed. I am all for tow in, in the right conditions. There are so many waves here that are inaccessible by land and sometimes a ski is a necessary tool to get to them and in some cases surf them safely. Aileens for example can be paddled at a fair size but sometimes you get stuck in at the foot of the cliff and a ski can help get you out in a situation like that. I have put a lot of time into tow surfing with Cotty over the past few years and we have definitely towed some sessions when we could have been paddling but that was purely from a training point of view. It is necessary to train in all kinds of conditions so that when it gets really big, we know how our equipment and most of all each other, works and reacts to various situations. I love paddling in and it really is scary taking big drops but putting yourself underneath an approaching wave and making yourself turn around and paddling into it is the scariest moment in paddling big waves. I’ve just come back from my third trip to Mavericks in California and it is awesome to see some of those guys doing it out there, it's like a whole different level of courage!  Towing into waves too big or too gnarly and shallow to paddle is scary too and often the scariest part is knowing that this wave I'm letting go off the rope to catch is bigger than human power can surf and I think sometimes should I really be surfing these waves if they are too big too catch. I do a lot of weight training and when I was about 16 I was starting to get a sore back from lifting too much weight. I said to my Dad that I think I should get a weight belt for supporting my back and he said maybe if you can't lift the weight without support you shouldn't be lifting it at all! The hardest part of tow surfing is driving the ski. The surfing comes naturally but all of a sudden you go from having yourself and your board to look after to a jet ski, two tow boards and two people. Learning how to drive and operate a ski safely and knowing its limits are the key to tow surfing successfully and safely. 

datrip: Talking about the wind that so often blows in Ireland. Do you have tow boards specifically designed for windy conditions?

Alastair: I have a lot of boards in my quiver specially designed for the wind here. Four of my paddle boards from 7'6" to 10'0" are doubled glassed to add weight and keep the nose down when paddling in. Circle One and I designed them so that the extra weight would be enough to weigh them down but not allow them to under perform. My tow in boards are much like a lot of boards around the world -heavy!  I have learned that the bigger the waves get, the heavier the board needs to be, not so much for wind because the wind doesn't really affect a 6'0" board the same way as it does a 10'0" gun. The weight in a tow board is to allow you to let go of the rope and glide into position before the wave picks you up and also to make you go as fast as possible and kill any face bumps. The boards I use in tow surfing range from 8kg to 12kgs in weight. I thought the 12kg one was too heavy as I struggled with it in a lot of sessions but when I rode it on December 1st, it went amazingly! Circle One have recently made me another one with a slightly wider tail template and a quad fin set up. The idea is that it will allow me more manoeuvrability and not just point and run for your life type board.

datrip: Did you ever consider using other methods than motor assistance, like windsurfing ore kite boarding to get the speed necessary for the drop into those behemoths?

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