The swell ain’t over yet but Erin sure came in hot to Europe and bearing gifts that ranged from perfect and fun-sized to heaving XL and proved that as far as swells go, she’s the gift that just keeps on giving. There will surely be plenty of footage coming out from all corners but it seems like Mullaghmore might have been the place to be if giant barrels were what you’re after.
The presence of chargers like Nathan Florence, Natxo Gonzalez, and Nic von Rupp only confirms that all of the spots that could handle the massive rebound of Hurrican Erin, it was going to be Ireland.
Of all the heavies, one ride has been touted as the wave of the day (maybe even wave of the swell) and that was Basque charger Natxo Gonzalez who said, “I would never expect to be in Ireland this time of year. Warm Ireland, like it’s warm water–4/3. Maybe no booties, that’s just weird.”
Post surf, Natxo was clearly psyching on what he had experienced. “That was the start of the season. Biggest swell I’ve seen in Ireland in August in my whole life! I just got an intense muy wave, so much energy. I love this place, these people–so humble.”
Local charger Gearoid McDaid doesn’t miss many (if any) XL days in his backyard and he’s assured us he has a full edit coming post swell–there’s still more to be had. He said, “It was a bit smaller than we expected but it was still a fun paddle day.” Cleary his definition of fun is a bit different than the average. Nathan Florence was seen knifing into multiple massive pits and we’ll be stoked to see his Slab Tour edit, as far as we know, he’s already surfed 3 more spots…
But there was certainly tons of fun to be had from England to Norway and beyond. With a swell of this magnitude, it’s easy to imagine just how many normally dormant spots could spring to life with playful-to-overhead perfection.
France and Portugal were certainly in the mix as well and I can only imagine what the Moroccan points looked like on the biggest sets of the day. We’ll be sure to keep sharing what has shaped up to be one of the wildest swell runs in recent memory.