“It’s pretty crazy what we do, just to get one barrel,” says big wave surfer Nic Von Rupp, conspiratorially leaning in to the camera. He has just managed to get on an airplane after spending 12 hours trying to catch a flight from the Lisbon airport, in his home country of Portugal. “Hopefully our boards will make it,” he adds.
So, what wave is worth getting a full 12-hour runaround? Mullaghmore.
Located in the northern part of Ireland, the wave has had a fearsome reputation, since it started getting surfed in the ’90s. if the freezing water and shallow reef don’t get you, then the massive, hammering slabs will. For those who feel like giving their stomach a churn, there’s any number of incredibly intense clips for you to check out. It’s a break that is not for the faint of heart or weak of lung.
But Von Rupp is neither of those, so he cheerfully grabs a coffee and jaunts off to Mully for a surf. However, when he arrives, the playful mood turns to wonder. The sight that confronts them has even a vet like Rupp in awe.
“I’ve never seen it so big and clean,” he says from the beach, after donning his wetsuit and inflatable vest. “This is the best fucking waves I’ve ever seen in my life. Insane. So, worth it, all the traveling to get here, to see this freaking amazing morning. It’s insane.”
Once in the water, the excitement was validated and then some. However, though Nic and company conquered their fair share of massive emerald barrels, Mullaghmore also took its pound of flesh. “It was like survival mode,” said Rupp after returning. Shortly after, Torrey Meister showed off a head wound he received at the hands of the Irish giant. You win some, you lose some.
