surf in strandhill

slimgsi

do many of you surf out at strandhill?? i stay in sligo a lot but not sure what its like and normally head to bundoran or rossnowlagh. id almost cal myself an intermediate surfer...

promethius

it's a beach break with a lot of rocks exposed at the moment. few different breaks along the beach but it changes with movements in sand and swell direction, it's jammed full of learners and intermediates if it's decent esp at weekends. a lot of the good guys hit the reefs when there's good swell.

it maxes out at about 7-8 ft and becomes too messy for most, reef time then.

easy to get to and find, waves not very heavy and easy to get in and out of the water

Ronnie Beck

any sign of the sand coming back?

slimgsi

does it even matter to us if theres sand or not?? i spotted a reef just a bit north of sligo and have been tempted to try it but i havent got the hang of duck diving, would i need to before takin to a reef?

rodento

Its a good break that'll get you fighting fit in no time, requires loads of paddling and duck diving/rolling

promethius

Ronnie Beck wrote: »

any sign of the sand coming back?

didnt notice to be honest. didn't seem to be anymore that i noticed

promethius

slimgsi wrote: »

does it even matter to us if theres sand or not?? i spotted a reef just a bit north of sligo and have been tempted to try it but i havent got the hang of duck diving, would i need to before takin to a reef?

it matters to a lot of people for non surfing reasons, been well covered on other threads

depends really on duck diving, some reefs you can paddle round, others you got to bust through. i wouldn't advise u to learn duck diving on a reef though.

reefs are a step up from the beaches be warned

slimgsi

think il stick to the beaches for another few months and nail the basics. loads of paddling at strandhill, thats all i need, as if my shoulders werent sore enought :P

Cecil Mor

Sorry to break it to ya Slimer, but if you ain't got basic duck diving down then you're not an intermediate level surfer.
I would'nt be going near any reefs yet for awhile either, no offence but it seems that too many young or beginner surfers give themselves too much credit as regards their abilities.
No shame in been a beginner; just aim on developing the necessary basics before going getting out of your depth.
Strandhill beach is a fine place to practice your surfing but be mindful of when there is a crowd and good luck.

slimgsi

i said id almost call myself intermediate. but duck diving is one thing i do need work on and i am working on it. anyone ever went on one of those intermediate lessons in bundoran, im thinkin they cud help me piece my duck diving together and let me know if ive bad habits.

rodento

I think level one lessons is complete beginners and level two covers everything else to pro

Cecil Mor

Ray McDaid in Point Break or Tom Hickey in Perfect Day surf schools, both based in Strandhill, will sort you out as regards such courses.
They'll also give you much better advice regarding the place.

Low Pockets

I always get a great laugh from people talking about their levels of surfing.

I'm surfing 12 ish years, maybe a few times a week depending (up until the last 12months or so) and I'd still be stretching to call myself intermediate.

I spose it's all relative.

promethius

Low Pockets wrote: »

I always get a great laugh from people talking about their levels of surfing.

I'm surfing 12 ish years, maybe a few times a week depending (up until the last 12months or so) and I'd still be stretching to call myself intermediate.

I spose it's all relative.

you're dead right. irish surfing standards would be low compared to southern france, california and of course hawaii and others. you go out in those places and you could fill a bus with the guys that rip better than any irish surfer. it puts things in perspective and makes me realise how sh1t im am

keryl

I think it's all down to how well you can deal with a bigger swell too.

Waves can look great but when you get out there it can be another story completely...

Definitely agree on the standard thing, I was in Torquay beach in Victoria, there were a class of school kids doing P.E, P.E! going out the back, they were no more than 10... lol
They probably looked over at me and thought who's that old wannabe lol

Ronnie Beck

slimgsi wrote: »

i said id almost call myself intermediate. but duck diving is one thing i do need work on and i am working on it. anyone ever went on one of those intermediate lessons in bundoran, im thinkin they cud help me piece my duck diving together and let me know if ive bad habits.

If your board is too big and your wetsuit too thick you'll never be able to duckdive no matter how good your technique. Personally I find duck diving more important on beaches to get out back. If your on a mellow reef break where you surf into a deep channel you may never have too duck dive. its handy though when a sneaky set comes in.

Low Pockets

If your board is too big and your wetsuit too thick you'll never be able to duckdive no matter how good your technique.


That's utter bolocks. When the need arose iv duck dived ten foot logs. It's 100% about technique. It's takes a **** load of effort but when you have to, you do it.

I was on a 8ft egg the other day and was neck and neck with a mate on a 7'0 kinda oversized short board paddling out, sneaky set came through and after 3 waves we were 20ft plus apart but he'd be the first to admit his duck diving technique is lacking.

Technique and timing are everything when it comes to duck dives.

rodento

Slimgsi all you need to worry about is weather the are east / south east with a little swell, strandhill will do the rest it's a great base and a great place to surf

Also worth keeping an eye on this

http://www.strandhillsurfschool.com/page/surf_forecast

It'll help you understand when it works and could save you a fortune in petrol

slimgsi

i actually love surfing rossnowlagh, have tried a few different places and think i prefer it best. i dont mind travelling there. reason im wondering about strandhill is that when i finish work i can go there, when the time changes that is. ive had a few lessons with tom hickey there before but that was before i understood about swell etc..
as for my board size, its a 7ft shortboard and im 6ft medium build. as for the rating of ability to surf, i think we should be chatting irish standards and not rubbish about how much better the rest of the world is at it.

Low Pockets

Increase success by lowering expectations, the irish way.

keryl

slimgsi wrote: »

i actually love surfing rossnowlagh, have tried a few different places and think i prefer it best. i dont mind travelling there. reason im wondering about strandhill is that when i finish work i can go there, when the time changes that is. ive had a few lessons with tom hickey there before but that was before i understood about swell etc..
as for my board size, its a 7ft shortboard and im 6ft medium build. as for the rating of ability to surf, i think we should be chatting irish standards and not rubbish about how much better the rest of the world is at it.

Don't think it's rubbish, they surfed quite well

Yeah I know what you mean but I've met plenty of people (and I'm only really a beginner I suppose in many repects) that would have the world believe they're ready for Pipeline...

I think that's what is being said, thats all...:D

slimgsi

believe me i know, as does many irish surfers that we wil never surf pipe... does anyone here surf in the sligo donegal area? finding it near impossible to find locals in the water, heard a saying about sligo before while i was in the water, 'the big surfing county, where no locals surf'??

keryl

slimgsi wrote: »

believe me i know, as does many irish surfers that we wil never surf pipe... does anyone here surf in the sligo donegal area? finding it near impossible to find locals in the water, heard a saying about sligo before while i was in the water, 'the big surfing county, where no locals surf'??

I get up to enniscrone the odd time, try longboardireland forum or westcoastsurfer, must be a few Sligo peeps on there.

Looking at bens surf clinic, he organises trips to morocco and weekend courses. Great idea, would be great to do that in the mayo Sligo area for people to meet up.

promethius

slimgsi wrote: »

believe me i know, as does many irish surfers that we wil never surf pipe... does anyone here surf in the sligo donegal area? finding it near impossible to find locals in the water, heard a saying about sligo before while i was in the water, 'the big surfing county, where no locals surf'??

i know you didn't say that and are just repeating what you heard. what a load of bollocks from whoever spewed it out! there are a lot of surfers in the water not from sligo as well as the locals. especially at weekends. that's because we have pretty decent road to dublin unlike the roads of other counties with good conditions like donegal and clare, ever visit lahinch from galway!

slimgsi

the good road up from dublin would be a fair explanation of the amount of non locals in the water here. i havent met a single person in the water from sligo yet all the same, im sure thatl change when i try out strand hill. how does ben run his surf clinic?

Mickeroo

promethius wrote: »

i know you didn't say that and are just repeating what you heard. what a load of bollocks from whoever spewed it out! there are a lot of surfers in the water not from sligo as well as the locals. especially at weekends. that's because we have pretty decent road to dublin unlike the roads of other counties with good conditions like donegal and clare, ever visit lahinch from galway!

There's a secret surfer action group in all the other counties that scuppers any plans for new roads in a very covert way.

promethius

slimgsi wrote: »

the good road up from dublin would be a fair explanation of the amount of non locals in the water here. i havent met a single person in the water from sligo yet all the same, im sure thatl change when i try out strand hill. how does ben run his surf clinic?

yeah you will for sure, loads of us out in the water. there's some cliquey types but in the main sound skins. strandhill is generally better on the pushing tide there's some friendly advice and all :-) it's been real good lately with the way the sand's been, it's been ok even on the full. lower water hasn't been good.

Mickeroo

The intervarsities are on in strandhill on the 3rd & 4th as far as I know.

slimgsi

so you reckon go to stranhill on high tide is it? i find all beaches have cliques. thats probably why its outsiders i keep talking to. people from other counties would be more willing to talk. nothing worse than a silent line up on a slow day.

Cecil Mor

Relaxed vibe in Sligo, probably more so than some of the other spots in other counties.
But of course fool's are no more welcome here than anywhere else but I've never experienced anything clique wise in my home county, only occasionally from visiting twats.
Some spots can get crowded as the days get longer and temps rise which doesn't help matters but still not as bad as further South.

Not everyone hates a quiet lineup either, for some its a chance to get away from life's demands & chill out.
Often its the annoying hooting & shouting that annoys the locals, esp if there is usually a nice chilled out lineup.

promethius

slimgsi wrote: »

so you reckon go to stranhill on high tide is it? i find all beaches have cliques. thats probably why its outsiders i keep talking to. people from other counties would be more willing to talk. nothing worse than a silent line up on a slow day.

sorry i didn't explain very well, strandhill is generally best on the push, up till maybe an hour before high tide. lately it's been working ok on the full tide as well which didn't happen a lot in the past. low tide at the moment is poor.

i like being out with a few of the lads and sharing a few waves and stories with them, but on another day i don't mind the quiet but everyone's different.