| So the plan was hatched... |
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| By mid-way through the second week the lure of undertaking a proper 'trip' was on the agenda. Myself, my brother Rob and Jamie Knox planned that we would launch from Sandy Bay, sail around the top of the Maharees, back into Brandon Bay and get off at Stoney Gap and walk back across the road to where we launched...basically just as Rob had done before back in May. |
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So the plan was hatched and we decided to rendezvous at Sandy Bay for 5pm - a bit late to be ideal but Jamie had been working, Rob had to finish his bus run and get home to collect his 'course racing' kit, and I had to drop Dylan (who's is on a world tour) at Kerry airport. I must have driven past the launch spot 4-5 times that day and on each occasion I grew a little more apprehensive about what was to come - especially as Rob kept texting me about how good it was going to be...which is always a bad sign! I was there rigging up for 5pm with Rob and Jamie nowhere to be seen...yet just as I thought they had been winding me up both arrived and started to get set...doh! |
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| I thought I should 'man up a little'... |
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| Rob doesn't have any larger kit - his best board for upwind ability is a JP Speed 45 (only 53 litres x 45cm width) and he has a couple of prototype NP RS:6 sails (5.4 & 4.7m) so not my idea of the most favourable set-up for offshore sailing, but hey, who is the expert!?! But given a choice between that or a fully rockered 60l twin then I guess the SP45 would have also been my shout! |
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| All of the sailing I had done around the island was on one of the new 2011 JP gems, an All Ride, but for some reason given that Rob had been willing me to go on the same kit as him so we were evenly matched (yes I also had a SP45 in the truck with me) I thought I should 'man up a little' and opted for my small slalom board, a JP VI 56 and a 5m NP RSS MKIII sail. |
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| Whilst I was getting suited-up I watched Rob with some amusement as he busily tried to change his fin size to improve his potential upwind ability - but it wouldn't come out as the screws had seized-up with salt! Then he tried to move the power base back (for reasons that became evident later) and again that wouldn't budge as it had also seized! Oh well 'it will be fine' he said! |
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| I was well impressed with the airtime... |
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| Although there were some big gusts blowing out of Sandy Bay there was as many holes. Rob basically got on and dredged out a little way and I followed suit thinking that with the larger board and sail, and considering I weigh less, I'd be miles out in front of him (and probably stuck upwind) in no time. However he 'got lucky' and was burning out to sea so I had to use a bit of effort to actually get going and within a few seconds I was also heading out of the sheltered bay and into the ocean at quite a rate... |
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| With Rob firmly set in my sights I thought I would give him a good burning off then just like that he must have got launched literally 15ft in the air - I could clearly read all of the decals on the deck of his board he was that vertical!! It was all rather impressive...I was like corrrrr...look at that...! Seriously though I knew the swell was going to be big as whilst we were rigging we had been watching a massive tug steam out from the port of Fenit - it had had been there to assist a huge crane ship that had come in to collect some Liebherr equipment that gets shipped from there. Anyway the tug was steamrollering head on through the swells with spray busting out all over the shot! |
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Anyway I was so impressed with Rob's airtime that I duly forgot that I was also heading straight out there at probably getting on 30kts and when you hit a huge swell at that rate 'the only way is up baby'!! To be honest that kind of sailing on full-slalom kit is well beyond what I can comfortably handle...but with some of my tried and tested sheeting out and avoidance measures I managed to keep myself more or less in shape without too many life threatening crashes. We did a couple of runs on the outside of the bay just to scope out whether this trip was actually going to be 'a go' and we were also waiting for Jamie to come out as he had rigged a little bit after us. |
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| Unfortunately Jamie with his extra mass (all muscle like) and 80 litre board couldn't get out through the shelter of the bay so he had to swap his 5.5m rig onto a 100l slalom instead...great for getting out and upwind but not so good for control!! At the time I wasn't aware of this yet in what seemed like just a few minutes Jamie had literally motored most of the way upwind to Kilshannig and Rob was miles out in the bay having issues with his own upwind ability - that said every time I looked for him he seemed to be getting huge airs so I knew he was okay. |
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| I was somewhere in amongst all of this fighting with the size of my kit, ability failings, the aches and pains from the past few days of relentless sailing, and worst of all - weed! Yes there was thick kelp drifting everywhere as the massive tide and currents washed it around the shore line which is not the best when you're on the limit of your own ability and the kit taken - where was my rotational sail and freeride board? The last thing I needed was a wedge of weed grabbing at my fin! Anyway getting it off either by jumping or stopping just didn't work as in an instant more got hooked-on...instead I just had to sail on and pretend it wasn't there but that really caused more fatigue and further reduced the kit performance..so it took me more runs that I had anticipated to get up and around Kilshannig - maybe this is why Rob went right out? |
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| Anyone who knows Jamie will tell you that when he starts to air on the side of caution then the good practice is to generally take heed... |
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| Rob had warned me to be careful as we rounded the point as there's 'some' rocks so it was best to give the whole area a wide berth...well the swell by that point was huge and I was finding it difficult to stay on let alone have much sense for where I was in relation to the said rockage - the on water perspective was so different. I thought I had gone more than enough upwind but it wasn't until I started to sail around the area that I realised that every now and then huge waves were breaking onto the point so I knew I was closer in than I should have been...but it was too late to do much about that so I steamed on and hoped for the best - but my god the rebound effect the headland has on the swell was awful, it was like trying to sail across a 20ft egg box... |
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By this time Jamie was well ahead in the mouth of Scraggane Bay so I came across to where he had stopped waiting for us and we tried to remain in a quick waterstart position. Jamie was like 'hey bra, bra, I reckon we should go in as it's too dangerous and it will get bigger yet'. Now anyone who knows Jamie will tell you that when he starts to air on the side of caution then the good practice is to generally take heed of the advice... Given that I was already well up for going in anyway I thought that Jamie was talking 'sense'...but we had to wait for Rob to catch us up as he had sailed miles out across Tralee Bay to get sufficient upwind clearance to round the point. |
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The sun was now getting really low in the sky and I didn't think that Rob would spot us in the water...so I suggested that we both waterstart in an attempt to get to Rob's attention...but what did he do...yep you guessed it...he was on a full scale screaming reach by this point with a massive grin on his face! I suppose he thought the best bit of the adventure was still to come...or he like us had no real control so had few options other to carry on by with a grimace etched on his face! I don't think we will ever know - but with that I thought oh well if Rob's going on then so am I so I gybed (in a fashion) and went screaming off after him with Jamie obviously then following suit! |
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| I thought 'screw you guys I've gotta head in' |
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| What followed was one hell of a run as the swells were huge and in places a little bit more sorted out - so I actually started to enjoy myself slightly! That said I kept losing sight of the guys in front and it didn't take long before my already fatigued arms were getting so tired I could barely grip! Having to kill some rig power and board speed is harder work than just letting the kit get on with it the job in hand. I ended-up having to switch my front hand from an over to under hand grip and back again to use a different set of muscles just to get me through and into the bay area. |
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| This run literally felt like it went on for an age so as soon as I thought I was clear enough of Garry William Point I thought (pardon the language that went through my head) 'screw you guys I've gotta head in' so I gybed down a mountain only to then discover that I hadn't actually being going downwind at all (it just had felt like I was sailing balls-out off-the-wind) so quickly found myself screaming down more massive swells directly towards the death ledge that is Gary William... |
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Unknown to me Jamie had also followed so when I decided to gybe I went a little further than I had intended waiting for Jamie to make the first move as I thought he knew where he'd be going - the result was we got super close in to GWP and Rob who was just a spectator from his outside position reckoned we both so almost got cleaned-up there... To be honest I was completely oblivious but that was probably just as well! So from here the swells were getting a little bit more sorted out yet strangely bigger and I was again conscious that a) my body couldn't cope with much more, b) there was a squall pushing in to the bay, and c) it was getting dark rather rapidly. |
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I think by this time it had dawned on us all that heading all the way across to Brandon Point and back to our original finish goal was out of the question. I stepped on the gas with a series of three big downwind runs to get me back in close to the shore. One more run out and back saw me into the rocks at the bottom of Spillane's car park! I was so relieved to have made it around and in one piece. In all my gps logger showed that I had covered 48km in about 82 minutes - that is a decent session let alone one in such severe conditions and one where there was no opportunity to stop... |
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| So what did I get from the adventure? Well it gave me a real insight into how insignificant we all are in comparison to the world we live and play. It also really polarised how important it is not to take any chances with equipment (rust is best eh Rob!) as any kind of failure even if just something minor (and I am being serious now) could have potentially resulted in loss of life. Mentally it was very very tough and given the concentration required just to stay in one piece when navigating through all of the carnage (and rockage) out there I can tell you that it was almost impossible to keep a proper look out for the others. Full respect to Rob & Jamie (I wasn't worried for their safety at all) who made it look like a breeze particularly considering Jamie was on such a big board and Rob was on just the opposite - because of the ocean state I truly understood why he wanted that mast base further back to bring the nose up...bring a hammer next time! |
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| Would I do it again - probably - but whether I would take fast kit again is another matter! The speed everything wanted to travel at was about twice that of what I could cope with given the water state. Would I suggest anyone else try it? Only those sailors who are extremely experienced, physically fit and confident in themselves, their equipment and those around them should even contemplate this - realistically even when sailing together (in a fashion!) you're only as strong as the weakest member of the party. Seriously though (that's twice now) I have to say that it was proper dodgy and I am still questioning whether I actually had fun...but I'll still have the vivid memories of this adventure for the rest of my life so I guess I am sold...for now! |
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| I hope you have enjoyed reading about this adventure from my perspective. Thanks to my Dad, Dave Jones, for getting around as quickly as possible to snap some good photos from the various land based locations as this really brought it all to life! Thanks also to Rob & Jamie for their encouragement and to Rose for bringing a vehicle up for us to get back in! See more Ireland '10 photos. |
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| Rik Jones |
