Alastair: I haven't ever been interested in wind or kite surfing. I don't know why. I have however considered stand up paddling into big waves and I think Circle One are going to make me a board so I can do it. I watched Mark Alfaro and Haley Fiske doing it at Mavericks a few weeks ago in solid 35foot faced waves and it looked amazing but pretty difficult! I've tried it on my friend’s one and could barely stand up but I wanna work on it a bit more and eventually get out in some big surf on one.

datrip: I don’t have any experience with surfing really big waves and therefore have difficulties to judge how much power these behemoths really have. For me waves like the one you rode in Mullaghmore Head look absolutely deadly. I mean, with all that water moving and these giant masses of white water, is there a fair chance to survive a wipeout? Is surfing these waves still within a limit and one can regularly survive a wipeout, as long as he’s prepared physically and mentally? Or is this more a thing like free solo climbing meaning that you mustn’t make any mistake? Like, once you dropped into a wave you HAVE to finish the ride or you’ll have a huge chance to die?

Alastair: These size of waves are like cartoons.. Huge plumes of water exploding into the air, massive barrels that you could park a bus in, they're like the waves you used to draw in your school book with a wee match stick man on them. I'm 6'5" and I've never felt as insignificant in my life as when I'm going over the ledge into a monster wave. These waves dwarf us, make us feel like rag dolls and generally have our lives in their hands if something goes wrong. We take all necessary precautions and I think it is very important that anyone reading this is aware of how highly trained and experienced we are. This is our lives. We train, eat, sleep and do everything with one focus in mind, riding huge waves successfully. I personally think I've been lucky and never had anything happen to me that has ever made me think - wow that's enough, that was too close. Yes, I've been bumped on the bottom and rag dolled around for a long time under water but I keep surfacing wanting to ride another wave. Both Cotty and I are very experienced surfers. Before we got into tow in we had paddled big waves at Waimea, Mavericks, Madeira, Shark Island and numerous spots in Ireland. We are highly trained in the use of jet skis in high surf scenarios through K38 training and more importantly we are experienced in the use of jet skis in high surf. I wear a Gecko helmet and two Circle One impact vests over my wetsuit when it's really big. So basically yes, these waves are highly life threatening and most surfers would not be able to deal with what can happen out there but if you are trained and experienced then you know what you can and cannot get away with and learn about your own personal limits instead of the ones you create in your head through fear. I'm not saying we are invincible because the ocean will always win but training and experience help us a lot.

interception:

Alastair: Did you know about the film DRIVEN a documentary about myself and Cotty as a tow team?  www.drivendoc.com

datrip: Yeah, I´ve seen driven. Loved it! And the part when Doolin was closing out and you couldn’t get out despite the perfect conditions gave me a flash back, ´cause I’ve been around at that day and couldn’t believe how massive and at the same time clean the waves were.

continue >>>