Could Nazare be in mid-winter form? Or will the swell come in with too much west in it? Photo: WSL
“Never have I seen a storm this big in the peak summer of Europe,” big wave surfer Nic von Rupp said on Instagram.
Europe is bracing for unseasonably high surf, wind, and rain as the remnants of Hurricane Erin march across the Atlantic and park west of Ireland. After pounding the U.S. East Coast with swell, the storm veered northeast into the North Atlantic, now classified as a post-tropical cyclone.
The storm has maintained its hurricane-force winds, which are projected to impact Iceland, Ireland, the U.K., France, Spain, and Portugal with heavy surf starting Tuesday.
“Next week is going to be 4.5 meters at 20 seconds,” said von Rupp. “These are huge waves. These are the swells we wait for the whole winter, and it’s happening in the peak of summer. Usually, Europe is one to two feet during the summertime. Next week is going to be Nazaré at its maximum capacity, 60-foot plus. France is going to be massive, Canaries, Morocco, everyone.”
While strong local winds could make picking the right window tricky, expect the big wave spots of Ireland, France, Spain, and Portugal to be showing a warmer-water version of their wintertime selves.
Mullaghmore, open for business in August? Photo: Red Bull
The swell will first impact Ireland’s Mullaghmore Head, peaking early Tuesday morning with 14 feet of swell at 18 seconds from the west. Current models are calling for a west-northwest swell of 10.1 feet at 16 seconds to peak at Nazaré on Tuesday afternoon. France’s premier big wave spot, Belharra, will also peak late Tuesday afternoon with swell heights of 13.3 feet at 16 seconds.
Along with von Rupp, other European big-wave surfers, such as Justine Dupont, posted their preparation for the swell on social media. Accomplished Nazaré skimboarder Lucas Fink, however, is going to sit this swell out, saying that the direction is too west for Nazaré and that there will be plenty of opportunities to surf the waves this winter.
The high surf pounding Europe comes after Hurricane Erin made a journey across the Atlantic, from the Caribbean, to the East Coast, and now Europe. First, Barbados reaped the benefits of the storm, then Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic saw XXL surf as the storm skirted the islands. The U.S. East Coast enjoyed several days of solid surf from Florida to Canada.
