ARE WE MAD? JC AND TIMO’S DAY TRIP TO IRELAND
ARE WE MAD? JC AND TIMO'S DAY TRIP TO IRELAND
ARE WE MAD? JC AND TIMO’S DAY TRIP TO IRELAND
WILD MAGHEROARTY
John Carter and Timo Mullen, AKA the Motley Crew head out on a ridiculous day trip to Magheroarty on the west coast of Ireland chasing a monster 4.9m swell at 16 seconds combined with nuking SSW winds. Here is the timeline of how this lunacy unfolded!
Sunday 2nd February 2025
3pm: Call from Timo Mullen. ‘JC, I have just booked my flights to Belfast, I’ve got it all worked out we can get to Ireland and back all in a day, simple! Its going to be epic’.
3.05pm: ‘Are you absolutely off your rocker’, I retort. ‘That would mean 20 hours travelling for about four hours at the beach, for god’s sake! No way I am doing that!’
4pm: We are both booked.
Monday 3rd February 2025.
12.30 am: My alarm goes off and the wife scowls at me for waking her up. Then I wake up the dog as well, she growls at me too…This ridiculous mission is about to start. My trusty VW Polo is frozen up outside but luckily it splutters into action!
1.30am: Bleary eyed, I catch the Red Funnel ferry from the Isle of Wight to Southampton…no going back now!
2.50am: Timo arrives in his tiny Renault Twingo, a vehicle that could double as a shoe box. The passenger floor is a black hole of discarded snacks and general filth. I wedge myself in.
5am: We arrive in the long stay car park at Gatwick. The weather outside is icy cold and dubious thick fog. Ideal conditions for a flight delay!
6am: All checked in with EasyJet. My bag is overweight by a mere kilo, meaning I now have to lug a massive jacket around the airport. I start the day with porridge and a latte. Timo, in true elite athlete form, goes for a sausage sandwich and black coffee. The breakfast of champions!
6.30am: We are on our way, both score rows of three and fall asleep for whole flight! Bliss!
7.50am: Land in Belfast. I grab my bag while Timo heads to get the rental car. Small issue: he forgot to book one. Panic ensues. Thankfully, Hertz has a spare car, and we are back on track. Crisis averted.
8.30am: Arrive at Timo’s mum’s house. A hero’s welcome: sausage and bacon sandwiches. We wolf them down, load up, and hit the road.
10.30: Road diversions due to fallen trees from the last storm, delay our arrival time by twenty minutes. Not ideal!
11.00am: Message from Finn Mullen who is already at Magheroarty… ‘It is small and tide too high!’. Not exactly what we wanted to hear! Fabulous!
11.30: Call from Jamie Hancock who is at Mullaghmore to shoot surfing. Some big sets starting to hit and it is hell windy down the coast. Maybe?
11.50am: Stop at fuel station just outside Magheroarty to load up on snacks. I was almost tempted to buy some cans of Guinness just in case the conditions are a total write off!
12.05pm: Finally arrive at Magheroarty to the site of half mast high sets pluming in the offshore winds.
12.15pm: Timo and Finn rig up 3.7m and 4m respectively, while I change into waterproofs and wellington boots.
12:30pm: After 12 hours of travel, Timo finally hits the water. Swell starts kicking in. It’s go time!
1:00pm: Conditions fire up. Side offshore winds make for super-clean waves. Massive aerials. Hollow bowls. This is what we came for!
1.30pm: Finn has to come off the water for a work zoom call…doh… but not to worry his wife Katie is subbed on to take over on the water. Katie is on a 3.7m and looked maxed out on the wave.
2:00pm: More aerials, more hollow bowls and more epic rides…You have to make the most of these days when you have travelled all this way!
4pm: Lars Peterson rocks up to join the party and hits the water just as some of the biggest sets of the day start to roll in.
4.15pm: Myself and Timo and locked and loaded back in the car, racing to return Timo’s gear and catch our 8:50pm flight. No stress at all.
6.45pm: We make it to Timo’s mums where there is some lovely brazing steak, mash potatoes and pees on offer, followed by apple pie and ice cream. There is not much time for niceties, and we have to leave for the airport by ten past seven.
8.00pm: Checked in at Belfast with Easyjet. Security done. Ready to collapse.
8.50pm: Planes departs. Both fall asleep immediately for the duration of flight. 10.00pm: Land at Gatwick. Retrieve bags. Then spend 30 minutes trying to remember where we parked the car.
10.30pm: Found the car in the long-term parking and hit the road bound for Southampton.
11.15pm: Hit a diversion that takes us backwards 10 miles! Just what we needed!
1.00am: Timo drops me at the Southampton ferry terminal where the waiting room is closed. I have not alternative but to sleep outside on the concrete until my boat goes at 3am! A true low point!
3am: Finally on the ferry home. Fall asleep and am waken up by staff as we arrive at 4am in Cowes.
4.10am: Back in my car and homebound. Almost there!
4.40am. I stumble back into my house. Dog wakes up and barks, wife scowls again…finally home. Was that all worth it? Hmmm tough one!
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