Mad Dog McClure

Headed up the coast today with "Mad Dog" McClure.

Weather was pretty bleak and just as we got down to the Whiterocks car park surfers were starting to leave the water. All had the same story; that the wind had suddenly done a u-turn and transformed a clean small wave to mushy ankle-snappers. It was pretty much confirmed as unsurfable when even John McCurry didn't seem to be able to catch anything.

We checked out Portballintrae but it was very full and totally exposed to the onshore wind, which seemed to be stronger than at Whiterocks.

Surfers were still bailing as we suited up at Whiterocks but the size did seem to be picking up even if the wind was too.

Despite all of the above I had a great session, the water felt colder than last week but that only made it more refreshing. It was especially invigorating for Mad Dog since his gloves were back in Belfast, in the boot of my car!

It was almost dark by the time we came in and I think the only people left in the water were a couple of spongers.

Anyway, apart from the surf, what made the trip worthwhile was listening to the yarns from McClure. Some great memories from his "Mad Dog" days. That moniker gets conferred all too easily around these parts but this man is truly deserving of the handle.We talked a bit about blogging so I said he should blog those memoirs, they'd be worth reading!


Looks like it's going to stay onshore for tomorrow but the chart looks intense for early next week. More on that tomorrow.

b.