The weekend of the 25th and 26th of October saw the some of the biggest swell iv ever seen!
The competition began on Saturday 9am. The swell forecast for the day before had been OFF the scale on Magic Seaweed (for those of you that don’t know, that means it was above 25ft!).
The venue was Portrush, Northern Ireland, and the competitors had travelled from Scotland, Wales and England to surf the break. This beach break is renowned within the Northern Irish surfing community for being hollow and heavy, even on nice days. This weekend was no exception.
Saturday morning, and the swell had dropped to about 23ft. The heavens had opened and the winds were high, all the necessities you need to make a good comp, lol. As the first heats of the day went out, competitors such as Gerry McGahey and Darren Bassen really showed their talents as they took on the barrelling break.
Gerry McGahey who organised the event, and to whom i must say a big thank you to, it was a great event! decided to postpone the Ladies heats until the Sunday due to the heavy conditions.
The first Ladies heat on Sunday was at 10.40, and consisted of myself (Robyn Pearcey), Elaine Alexader, Shalene Ward, and Jackie Ferguson. The winds had dropped, and dare I say it, we actually had some sunshine :)! Everyone paddled really hard as we battled against the 10ft faces on the way out. Elaine got one of the nicest waves of the whole heat.
Both Shalene and I made it through to the Final along with Tamsin Green and Tracy Sherrington from the other heat. The Final was held at 1.40 that afternoon, by which time the winds had really dropped and the surf was a lot cleaner.
The Hooter went! We all started paddling for waves, Shalene had an awesome first wave, shortly followed by Tamsin and then myself. Everyone in the Final surfed exceptionally well and made the most out of the waves that were to be had.
The Final Hooter went, and as we got off the water, I really didn’t know whether I had done enough to secure a place in the top three.
The announcements went as follows. Shalene Ward 4th Place, Tracy Sherrington 3rd Place, (and this was when the nerves kicked in) Tamsin Green 2nd Place, Robyn Pearcey 1st Place. I couldn’t believe it, I was over the moon!
I would just like to say that everyone in the Final paddled really well and I would like to say a special thank you to Tamsin who has always, and continues to encourage and support me, it means a lot. Thank you hun.
I would also like to thank Mega. If it wasn’t for you dad, I wouldn’t have an amazing boat to surf :). A big thank you to both you and mum. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for you two, Big Hug!. And last but not least I would like to thank all my friends, both at home and at uni, for their ongoing support and encouragement, cheers guys! :)
Robyn A.K.A Miss Mega!
