Surfing Miltown Malbay, Co-Clare

leblanc

Any one surfed Miltown Malbay? Spent a good bit of time in Lahinch, was driving through Miltown recently and thought it looked OK there.

Anyone?

CRenegade

I guess you mean spanish point?

Yep surfed there a good few times - its not bad. definitely known for surfing anyways, so give it a go!

OldGuysRule

A lot of choice in terms of waves in that area, what is your level. (Miltown Malbay is an town a mile or two from the coastal town of Spanish Point). On bigger swells, Spanish Point beach can be dodgy in terms of rips and a heavy shore dump. Not a place to surf alone.

seachto7

OldGuysRule wrote: »

On bigger swells, Spanish Point beach can be dodgy in terms of rips and a heavy shore dump. Not a place to surf alone.

+1 on the heavy shore dump! I experienced this a few times. I broke a fin on one occasion and the second time, I was lucky, I got dumped while using a bodyboard and it wasn't a nice experience. Just make sure there are others in the water and stick to the right hand side of the beach if unsure, just down from the lifeguard hut......

Radiosurfer

seachto7 wrote: »

Just make sure there are others in the water and stick to the right hand side of the beach if unsure, just down from the lifeguard hut......

Good advice.

dedon

Ya I would stay away from Spanish Point altogether. Very dangerous beach. Stick to Lahinch.

leblanc

Sound

Drove down there for a look t'other day... mean looking bitch of a wave

I guess I'm a low intermediate level surfer and I dont think thats for me.

TheBigLebowski

dedon wrote: »

Ya I would stay away from Spanish Point altogether. Very dangerous beach. Stick to Lahinch.

Good advice. Was down there recently and it looked dangerous. Lot of water moving around and dumping quite heavily. Maybe on a small swell, it's better but as a beginner, I'd be wary...

rodento

Have a look at the beach on a day when lahinch beach looks nice

NickDrake

rodento wrote: »

Have a look at the beach on a day when lahinch beach looks nice

No I advise to stay away from Spanish Point altogether. Stick to Lahinch. SP is VERY dangerous.

rodento

Guess you should check it on a day when lahinch is nice and glassy, just to see how dangerous it is:D

seachto7

I wouldn't necessarily say it's very very dangerous. I don't think it's any more or less dangerous than Lahinch if you stick to a certain part of the beach. I also think it's good to have an idea of the risks on each beach, the "where to go in" and "not to go in". It's good to know, "ok people don't swim there because ______".

Since I was a kid, I always heard that Spanish Point was a dangerous beach to swim in, and that you should only stick to a certain part. Again, I never go into the water alone anyways, just to be on the safe side.

When it's not full on, it's grand. I would usually hover around the rocks, but Yes , the further away you go the trickier it gets. I found it's when the tide was coming in, or almost in fully, that's when the problems arose. When I got dumped on the bodyboard, it felt like I had taken a few punches to the head, so when I came up out of the water, I was punchdrunk, and found myself wandering around on rocks trying to get out of the water......

I wouldn't let a small child near the water there though.....

The worst I experienced was over the golf course in Doonbeg. That was hairy, and I wasn't far out off shore...

Radiosurfer

I'm thinking NickDrake is a regular SP user and doesn't want it crowded. It's a fantastic beginners beach. Get onto Preacher here : www.whitewatersurfco.com for any advice. He runs classes there all summer (including for kids) and is one of the soundest lads you could ever hope to meet. Buy something in his shop too, he does great stuff at great prices.
Doughmore is the beach at Doonbeg golf course and it can be dangerous. It's got all kinds of mad rips but, as with anywhere, don't go in alone and talk to any locals you can about good spots along that beach. It's for the more advanced surfer but if you're an intermediate-beginner then you should be fine. Just don't go in the water alone and have a good look at the conditions for a consistant spot before you go in.

leblanc

Thanks man!

loctite

Very Dangerous beaches? WTF?

Take everyones advice (mine included) with a pinch of salt and use your own common sense. Spanish point is no more dangerous than Lahinch or Doug.

The "Danger" is relative to sea conditions on any given day! Like I said use your common sense. And if you don't have any of that, drop into Preacher and buy some in the form of a few lessons.

Sport101

Extremely dangerous if you happen to be a soldier with the Spanish Armada, otherwise similar to most other beaches.

loctite

Sport101 wrote: »

Extremely dangerous if you happen to be a soldier with the Spanish Armada, otherwise similar to most other beaches.

leblanc

Damn it! That rules me out then.

Yours,

Duke Medina Sidonia

ben bennett

think you need to be careful how people approach this question, beaches change regularly and you need to be aware that what might have been nice and manageable in the summer or even a few weeks before can be a different situation after a storm or on a big day. Preacher runs good lessons there but he also picks the right day and tides and has the experienceto put his groups in the right spot and knows when to leave it alone.I have run lessons there to and find at certain times can be well manageable but other times we just cant get in.

It dumps hard on the high tide so not really and option when tide high in Lahinch, and if the bank inthe centre forms well over a summer can be very rippy and hard to get on the right spot , with beginners getting pulled around a lot. As for more dangerous or not than other places, there have been two drownings there and a few scares in say the last five years and two in Lahinch, None in Doonbeg. But Doonbeg is a more dangerous beach because SP and Lahinch are preceived to be safer and more people use them more often, people take more risks there.

The point is if you are not sure about a place then why go there, increase your skills where you are comfortable and then you will know when you are ready for the next spot., as for " if Lahinch is good go check it out", If its good anywhere and you can manage it get in there, why leave good waves to look else where.

surf well , surf safe enjoy

leblanc

Sound Ben

After reading through the whole thread Im happy enough with Lahinch and a couple of spots in Donegal.

Have enough to be doing getting comfortable with my bottom turn and, much less often, my cut back to keep me busy