SNOW PATROL: NORTH-EAST RAID
SNOW PATROL: NORTH-EAST RAID
SNOW PATROL: NORTH-EAST RAID
Words Timo Mullen // Photos: Timo Mullen (plus friends)
What started as a casual forecast check on New Year’s Eve turned into a solo winter raid to the icy northeast coast of England, chasing a pumping North Sea swell and brutal north-west winds. Timo Mullen reports from a frosty start to the year, chasing waves through snow, cold and empty line-ups.
SPOT CHECK
TIMO MULLEN: So, on New Year’s Eve evening, I checked the forecasts for the new year. I was looking everywhere and it was all looking cold and pretty flat, mainly focusing on the west coasts. I wasn’t really paying attention to the east coast of England, until I noticed severe weather warnings for the east coast of the UK.
That got my attention. I dug a bit deeper and saw strong north to north-west winds blowing solidly for nearly three days. That kind of wind pushes a serious North Sea swell and this one was particularly big…around 4 metres at 11 seconds. That’s huge for the east coast. Like, really huge.
At about 9 o’clock on New Year’s Eve, I was out with friends, but in my head I was already planning. If I got home by midnight, I’d grab three hours of sleep, get in the van at 3am …and be on the east coast by around 9am…right on time for the low tide at one specific spot I had in mind.
EARLY KICK-OFF
My alarm went at 3am and I was straight up. The van was already fuelled, so I hit the road immediately, starting the long drive to the north-east of England.
It’s about a six-hour drive, mostly motorways, so not too bad. By around 8am, I was pretty tired and had to pull over for a 40-minute sleep, knowing that would eat into my tide window.
There was also a supermoon event coming up, which meant bigger tidal movement combined with the swell.
That increased the chances I’d miss the exact low tide window and sure enough, when I arrived, the tide had already pushed in past the point where the original spot was sailable.
So, I had to make a quick change of plan and opted for a backup spot I’d sailed maybe four or five years earlier. It’s near a huge river mouth estuary, one of the busiest shipping estuaries in the area. The waves were absolutely pumping…mast high plus…but there was nobody else windsurfing, kitesurfing or wing foiling.
SAFETY FIRST
I’d tried to get a few friends who foil or kite to join me, but no one was really up for it on New Year’s Day. So, I ended up sailing on my own. I was on my Duotone 5.0m sail and a 95-litre board, and I sailed for about an hour, catching a few waves that were insanely good. Still, for some reason, I didn’t feel super comfortable being out there alone. It’s a pretty remote spot and nobody knew I was there. If anything had gone wrong, it could have turned serious very quickly.
So, I decided to come back in and use the rest of the day to explore the coast and check out potential new spots. As it turned out, it was the right call…just as I was sailing in, the wind dropped.
FREEZE FRAME
By then, I realised I hadn’t even mentioned the temperature. It was cold. The air temperature was reading around 2°C. Not exactly ideal for windsurfing, but I was wearing my new ION 6/4 hooded wetsuit and, honestly, I was almost too warm.
TOASTY
I headed further down the coast, scouting new locations…always good knowledge for future missions and noticed the forecast for the next day was showing an even bigger swell. I’d just had a new diesel heater fitted in the van, so I decided to stay overnight by the beach.
With the heater running all night, the van stayed at a comfortable 20°C while the outside air temperature dropped to around -8°C. The heater worked perfectly.
SOLO MISSION
The next spot was Fraisthorpe Beach, a popular windsurfing beach in the area. Again, I couldn’t convince anyone to join me…some people were working, and others were put off by the cold.
The north wind was coming straight out of the Arctic with this particular low-pressure system, but the conditions were absolutely pumping.
Cross-offshore wind, 4–6 ft waves, some of them logo high…it really doesn’t get much better at that beach.
I rigged my 5.3 Duotone Super Hero D/LAB and sailed my 106 D/LAB Ultra Grip quad. The setup was perfect for floating out and catching endless waves. I later went out on the 118L when the wind dropped.
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I didn’t manage to get anyone to take photos, but hopefully what I managed to capture gives a sense of how good it was.
It stayed like that all day, and I sailed until around 2:30 or 3 p.m. before the wind started to go light.
I watched a friend surf for a bit, took some photos, and then had to decide whether to head home or stay another day.
DECISION TIME
The forecast was showing just as big a swell for the following day, but with even lower temperatures, around 3°C, which with wind chill would feel closer to -5°C….toasty!
My friend was keen, so I decided to stay. Snow was forecast and sure enough, it started that afternoon and didn’t stop until late the next morning.
SNOW PATROL
We woke up to a full blanket of snow. The beach was completely covered. At 8 a.m. it was firing…cross-offshore again, head-high to logo-high waves…but the blizzard was so heavy you could barely see the beach.
I noticed a possible gap in the weather around 10:30am, so we aimed for that. It did clear briefly, but at the same time the wind completely dropped.
HOME BOUND
With more snow clearly on the way, I made the call to pack up and head home before dark. It was definitely the right decision.
A drive that normally takes about 20 minutes took nearly an hour and a half, with roads thick with snow and totally unprepared for the conditions.
GUIDING LIGHT
All in all, it was an amazing trip. It was also a poignant one for me. My dad passed away two years ago on New Year’s Day, and I always try to get away somewhere at this time of year, like the road trips we used to do together. I still feel his presence on trips like this, reminding me to make sensible decisions…something he was always very good at.
A pretty special way to start the new year: epic cross-off wave sailing, a winter road trip, and the raw beauty of the north-east of England.
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