Nate Florence just fought off dengue fever, but Mullaghmore was calling and he knew he had to answer. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
Hurricane Erin was a freakishly large storm. As it crossed the North Atlantic, it produced huge of amounts of energy that created more waves than anyone knew what to do with. The East Coast of the United States got slammed, and so did the other side of the pond. Nate Florence decided that he’d jump said pond and pluck Erin’s fruit in Ireland. Specifically, at Mullaghmore.
Florence wasn’t the only one to pick that particular spot in the world. Nic von Rupp was there, too. “Crazy late summer Hurricane Erin swell hit Mullaghmore, Ireland, delivering towering Irish slabs and massive waves, captured in super slow motion from the water,” wrote von Rupp. “The rare end of summer storm unleashed XL waves on Mullaghmore, calling big wave surfers from around the globe to this epic session.”
Nate is fresh off a boat trip and a bout of dengue fever that laid him out for days on end, so he was not as his best. Mullaghore is a wave that, when it’s really doing its thing, that requires 100 percent of your attention. That meant that Nate had to think long and hard about pulling the trigger.
“We’re just coming off of that,” Nate said. “Wasn’t sure if I was going to chase this swell, but I was recovering so definitely not 100 percent. But back to feeling pretty good, comparatively… We’re here to surf Mullaghmore, a really heavy wave; a really dangerous wave. Crazy power. Notorious for its power and the elements like the wind factor. It’s just a big wave that breaks like a super heavy shallow slab.”
When Nate sets his mind to something, he’ll follow through with it. Need proof? It’s in the pudding.
