The Causeway Coast is an area of rugged beauty on the northern Coast of Northern Ireland, famed for its natural attractions and history but most recently rising to global prominence as a filming location for the ‘Game of Thrones’ series. For windsurfing, the area is also rich in wavesailing due to its coastline facing the North Atlantic and at its western end lies one of its jewels – Benone beach. Timo Mullen talks us through the spot and his last session there in the company of Adam Lewis and John Carter.
I was born and raised in Northern Ireland, so it feels really strange to think I have not written an article about wavesailing there for a very long time! I frequen`tly travel from England to catch a good swell on the west coast of Ireland, and often stay on for a few extra days to sail the north coast of Northern Ireland. It’s a pretty common scenario for a low pressure to hit Ireland’s west coast bringing with it S and SW winds and then track north east with winds veering to the W and NW which is side-shore on the north coast of Northern Ireland, add in some NW or N swell and this is a wavesailor’s paradise!
REWIND
My last windsurfing trip back home was with Adam and JC and was pretty laid back as far as Motley Crew trips go! We had no fixed plan for the day other than our Stena Line ferry from Belfast to Liverpool, which departed in the evening at 2200. We woke up that morning in NW Ireland at Magheroarty, county Donegal, having had an epic wavesailing session the previous day. As predicted the swell had dropped slightly and the wind had swung more onshore, not ideal for Magheroarty but looking perfect for the north coast of Northern Ireland. From Donegal it’s a pretty easy 2½-hour drive to get there and is along one of the most beautiful coastlines in Europe. A ‘cheesy’ tourist tip on the way is to visit the most photographed road sign in Ireland in a small village called Muff. Yes, the “Welcome to Muff” sign is 100% genuine and does seem to attract many people for a photo opportunity for some unknown reason!
However, unlike years gone by, none of us were here for Muff, we were here to score classic wind and waves, so we bypassed any tourist distractions and headed straight for Benone Strand which was the beach on the north coast most suitable to the W/NW swell and freshening west winds.
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