Daredevil surfers ride ‘mutated’ waves in Sligo

Daredevil surfers had a great time watching so-called “mutated” waves triggered by Hurricane Epsilon.
It is believed that near historic heights, the waves reached between 10 and 15 meters.

The surfers at Mullaghmore, Co Sligo couldn’t withstand the pull of the tide and used jet skis to venture out to the mammoth waves.

Known as tow-in surfing, this technique enables surfers to catch faster moving waves than is traditionally possible with hand paddling.

The surfers arrived as early as 7am and rode the waves until 11am on Wednesday morning, which attracted a crowd of local spectators.

Hundreds of people watched the dramatic spectacle, but most stayed in their cars on the cliffs and obeyed the rules of social distancing.

The Coast Guard helicopter hovered overhead while three jet skis and paramedics served as security for the fearless surfers.

Éireann forecaster Gavin Gallagher said the “exceptionally high” waves were due to a perfect storm of high winds, heavy seas and high tide.

He said, “The waves are exceptionally high, and most of it is wave height. The three things that come together – the swell is technically very high, about eight meters or so.

“You have the wind waves above what’s a few meters.

“Then you have spring tides too. The full moon may have peaked on November 2nd, so we’re approaching the spring tides.

“So we are coming to a time when you would have both floods and floods.

“Then we will have very strong west / south-west winds today and tomorrow. Those three things, the wind, the swell, and the tide, were high. ”