Strike Mission with Leon Jamaer: Ireland road trip with highs and lows

There are no more flights to and from Germany - there is another strike. Fortunately, Friedel and I were able to rebook our flight tickets to the Netherlands free of charge, otherwise we would have had to cancel our spontaneously planned trip to Ireland straight away. Around the first weekend in February, the weather forecast for the north-west of Ireland promises strong south-westerly winds, two consecutive swells, mild temperatures and dry weather.

Friedel and I are no longer planning any major winter trips, and we've just about had enough of the four-degree air temperature and always the same grey North Sea or Baltic Sea waves. The prospect of long-period groundswell, clean reef waves and dark beer is reason enough to book a holiday at short notice, pack up the camera and windsurfing equipment and set off on what is already a somewhat strenuous journey.

Action despite arrival day

We cross the Dutch border at around midnight. Sleeping on the bare airport floor at Schiphol is not at all comfortable. After almost two hours, I'm pretty chilled and awake again. A coffee brings some warmth and then we take off. The day is well planned: arrive in Dublin, pick up and load the hire car, drive across Ireland with a short stop at the drive-through and arrive in Magheroarty, in the far north-west of Ireland.

Two hours of daylight remain, so it's straight onto the water. A clean swell, blown smooth by the strong side-offshore wind, breaks on the reef to the left of the harbour pier. The conditions are somewhere between perfect and very difficult - it's not easy to read the waves correctly. My sail is a little too big and I've got something wrong with the trim of the board. As well as some great moments when I catch the lip at the right moment for an aerial, I also keep getting wiped out. At some point, the lip breaks into the shothorn, the wave washes my board towards the wave trough and my body in the opposite direction - usually not a good starting position for the joints and ligaments. When I emerge, I briefly wonder when the next flight back to Germany will be.

As I can perform reasonably normally on the beach, I can at least be sure that nothing is really broken. I also have to think of the windsurf photographer Pierre Bouras, who always says: "Arrival day is arrival day - there's no action". This time, however, we don't have time for "arrival days".

The wave washes my board in the direction of the wave trough and my body in the opposite direction - usually not a good starting position for the joints and ligaments

Dark forces

We order two full Irish breakfasts at the Loch Altan bed and breakfast - one of the few places open here in winter that even offers a windsurfer discount. We indulge in the bacon, sausage, beans and egg because we know we have a long day in the fresh air ahead of us. As unbalanced as Irish cuisine may be, the fats and calories get you through the day - you have to give it that. And that's exactly what we need, plus ibuprofen, because on the sea it's already rattling for the 4.2 sail.

When the heating in the accommodation breaks down in the evening and we watch the rainy footage, the mood hits rock bottom

Friedel, who last set foot on an aeroplane ten years ago, has left his windsurfing equipment at home on this trip so that he can concentrate fully on photography and filming. It's storming, but unfortunately, contrary to the forecast, it's pouring down from the sky that day. While I have a good session on the reef with my feet taped and the neo protects me like a magical cloak from any weather influences, Friedel struggles with the adverse conditions on land. The camera's complex technology starts to go haywire in the constant rain, and hardly a single shot turns out the way he wants it to. When the heating in the accommodation breaks down in the evening and we look at the rainy shots, the mood hits rock bottom.

Silver lining on the horizon

The next day, the forecast is finally for sunshine, wind and a new, much bigger groundswell. Timo Mullen, the Irish "windsurf die hard" from the very beginning, writes to me: "Magheroarty is going to be epic, you're going to love it!" Full of anticipation, we arrive at the spot early and I wait with my equipment rigged for the wind to pick up and the new swell lines to approach the coast. We enjoy the few rays of sunshine that make their way through the clouds onto our pale faces.

Magheroarty is to the Irish what Klitmøller is to us northern Germans.

In the meantime, we are no longer alone. Almost a dozen Irish and British windsurfers have been lured to the north of Ireland by the favourable forecast. Among them are ex-worldcupper Phil Horrocks, who won't be able to make it to Cape Town this winter, and Dane Lars Petersen, who regularly travels from Klitmøller to Ireland and has found a kind of second wave home here. Magheroarty is to the Irish what Klitmøller is to us northern Germans. With wind directions between SSW and WNW, you can actually always find windsurfable conditions - whether on the reef edge to the left of the pier or in the elongated sandy bay. In addition, the embracing bay conveys a feeling of safety and security and makes this place particularly popular.

Ireland denies us its magic - for now

Massive wave crests are now rolling into the bay, but the wind has shifted more onshore. Although the wind would be strong enough, the conditions look so unpredictable that I don't want to expose my ankle to the risk of a hard wipe-out today. When it becomes clear that the conditions are not going to change, we use the remaining daylight to explore a few other spots in the area and get a feel for windsurfable swell sizes, tide levels and wind directions. Ireland's magic will be denied us today. Day three of the trip is over and we have hardly any usable shots in the can. The weather service promises more wind and waves from now on, but also dark, grey weather again.

I wrestled with the decision for a long time: Stay here or head towards Sligo, where the rain clouds are less cloudy in the mountains and other spots offer great potential. We can't face the meat-heavy Irish breakfast at the B&B any more, and everything in me longs for a change. On the other hand, I want to experience Magheroarty when it really turns up. I was able to enjoy this at Storm Chase in 2019, but it was actually too windy for down-the-line riding back then.

Pole-high sets with pithy sections

When I go out on the water, it is still relatively gloomy. We have come to terms with the weather. As little as Friedel's camera likes moisture, the high-tech camera copes all the better with poor lighting conditions - ISO, aperture and shutter speed are adjusted, and the aim is to capture every single raindrop in sharp focus. Over-mast-high sets line up at the edge of the reef and break in an orderly fashion from left to right. With a 4.2 mm sail and my asymmetric 82-litre board, I finally feel at home. I can push the longer inside edge as hard as I like into the bottom turn, and at the same time the cut-off swallow tail allows me to turn vertically in the pocket of the wave. Nevertheless, I find it extremely difficult to catch the throwing section of the wave at the right moment, and the wave reminds me a little of Margaret River in Australia. Phil Horrocks and I have the spot to ourselves today, are happy about the absence of kiters and enjoy taking apart one set after the other. A broken mast ends the session and we get in the car and head south.

Mullaghmore - fun meets adrenalin

In Mullaghmore - a place notorious for the monster barrel that breaks there - a choppy Atlantic awaits us. Massive wave crests break on the rock formation, but the tide and wind direction are not quite right today - nevertheless a good day to test out the spot. In the meantime, Timo has arrived again, together with John Carter. At the harbour, a group led by Megan and Aleksy Gayda are setting up their equipment and launching the safety jetski into the water. They look as if today is just another ordinary February day when a few friends meet up to go windsurfing. And that's exactly how the session feels: a wild mix of fun and adrenaline. But the spot today only gives an idea of what it is capable of. The burger and Guinness taste particularly good to Friedel and me after a long day in which everything has finally come together. We make an appointment with Timo and John Carter for the next day at another spot where I've always wanted to go out when the conditions are right.

All's well that ends well

On the day of departure, we only have time for a short morning session - then we have to get back to the airport. Unfortunately, contrary to the forecast, there is hardly any wind and the wave pattern is still very choppy and less organised than I had hoped. I manage to catch a few good waves with great equipment, but the patchy wind and some current in the sea emphasise the hangover mood.

I am grateful to be part of this sometimes absurd but also uniquely fantastic sport

On the journey to the airport, I still feel grateful above all. For having the opportunity to get away from it all for a few days with Friedel and explore the Irish coast together. For being able to share the stoke with other windsurfers after a session. For the fact that my feet and body survived the exertions in one piece. For being part of this sometimes absurd but also uniquely fantastic sport and being supported by sponsors, dancing in the waves with their equipment and documenting the whole thing in pictures for the magazines. Grateful for the luck of the Irish that accompanied us on this journey, at least in part.

On the YouTube channel surf also has a video about the Strike Mission Ireland - click here!

Also interesting:

• Windsurf photographer Frithjof Blaasch alias "Bulgenslag" - the dream catcher
• Big wave surfing - Leon Jamaer & Thomas Traversa on an Atlantic tour
• Leon Jamaer reports on the dream event in Cloudbreak