Hi Paul and Gloria,
First up, your care package of T-Shirts and art
is en-route – give me a shout when it lands so I know it got there are
didn't somehow get "lost" by the Irish or US postal service. This has
happened before! There's another to come too...Farewell to Ireland for now – the past three years of empty or sparsely patronized line-up at long points, hairy reefs, gurgling slabs and fun beachies has scarred me for life. We'll be back at some stage in the future but for now, the new horizons of Australia, first Queensland and eventually Tasmania, are only a week away.
Cheers,
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Hi Paul,
I really doubt you remember but I got a mat
off you a few years back. Unfortunately, I've been pretty much outta the
water so its never gotten the water time it deserved but I did come
across another of your mats in the wild the other day over here in the
very SW of Ireland (down where they're filming the next star wars
movie!) and I snapped a couple of picks I thought you might be stoked
on.
Speak soon,
John
John
www.johnbeasley.ie
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More from Ian...
It was a pity John and I didn't get to share
a few together - always fun seeing some photos of yourself riding. I'm
not sure it's possible to look like a kook on a mat but I'm loving the
feeling of being that stoked grommet again every time I take it out!
I
originally came to Ireland for my sister's wedding in 2005. It was only
supposed to be a two week trip but work fell though just before I was
due to leave. I had a week to organise a one-year work visa and
landed with about four hundred Aussie dollars. Before leaving
Australia I had no idea there were waves to be found and, as it turned
out, I've since had the best waves of my life here. I ended up in the
north west in County Sligo. The north west has so many incredible
setups, some easy to find but so many more that are rarely surfed. It
really pushed my surfing. Total immersion is the best way to experience
it but that means installing yourself. Winter can be hard. A mate today
said that this last winter was the worst he'd had in ten years. Yes,
cold. But the wet... And the wind, sleet, hail, storm after storm. So
much rain! But the waves.
I've left about four
times now and I keep finding myself back out here. I had my final
session this morning. It's Spring now and I had borrowed a mate's
wetsuit, a 3mm...to put under my 5mm. I thought I might have hardened up
to the cold by now. I admit that I've been cheating a bit the last two
or so years, since getting on the mats pretty much full-time, by wearing
my dive suit. A two piece 7mm - 14mm around the vitals has been a game
changer for the cold. I might look like a looper but I'm a UFO anyway
riding the mats here.
The decision to head back
to Oz however, has been a tricky one. My wife is from here and the
parents on both sides aren't getting any younger; we've a little fellah
now too. We're not making it easy on ourselves or them. Ah, on the
flipside we've no mortgage, no big assets to worry about, no credit
cards to pay off... There are advantages, disadvantages and compromises.
Muireann's visa for Australia came though in March. It was tough and
epensive to get so we had to lay things out and make a decision. Off we
go.
So Tassie?
I spent four years down there after returning from the first stays
in Ireland. I did a marine science degree down there. The island of
Tasmania is roughly the same size as the Republic of Ireland; population
about five hundred thousand and around a third of the State is
wilderness. There could still be dinosaurs in the southwest -
predominantly untracked, wild country. When I first got there something
about it reminded me about Ireland. Couldn't put my finger on it, might
not. Empty beaches, rugged coastlines, the mountains, the weirdos...
It's
the marine science that has pulled me back down there this time. I
looking down the barrel of a PhD. Tassie is at the bottom of the map and
there's nothing much south until you hit Antarctica as such it's a
prime spot to study climate change. I'm going to be looking at how well
habitat-forming seaweed are going to cope with the rising sea
temperatures and acidification. The reseach should help us understand
how these ecosystems are going to respond to the predicted changes and
how these areas might be managed and cared for. It's going to be
challenging work.
Time off down there will
certainly be spent exploring the coastline. Similar to Ireland there's a
rugged coastline to explore and not too many folks. There's a few spots
in particular down there that I have unfinished business with. Some of
them fickle enough so being installed for for a few years will
offer ample opportunity to revisit a few haunts and explore others. I'd
like to find some, crikey, at least one, other inflatable enthusiasts
down there to share some sessions and go exploring with. Ah, I'll take
it as it comes.
You'll have another head to
visit if you find yourself down there. I'll do my best to keep the odd
report sent out from the wilderness.
Cheers,
Ian
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More from John ...
Ian is such a lovely dude and it's infectious just even talking to him about mats! I'm in the middle of prepping for a wedding tomorrow, but I will have another look through the images and see if I have any more you might be stoked on.
I actually have a friend interested in getting a mat for himself after seeing the pics of Ian, I think it opened his mind a little. He's tried mine a few times but never "got it" but he's gotten the sniff of it and is looking for more :)
Could you recommend which model would be the right one for him? He's about 5'10 maybe 90kg ish, a fit bloke and a handy enough surfer. He was thinking of the fatty as he hopes to use it with his two young girls come the summer months?
Speak soon.
John
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2 comments:
Hey Ian,
I'm in Qld at the moment, surfing the GC points with 250 plus of my closest friends, on a mat.
Heading down to Tas in about three weeks time to look at a few things before hopefully relocating down there in six to twelve months time. I'm still finding my 'sea legs' down there, location wise, having only surfed down there on my last three visits.
If you want someone to slide with when you land back in Oz, feel free to touch base.
regards
Mike d
Hi Mike,
Sounds good. We should be able to sort something out either up on the Sunny or Gold Coast. Else Tassie. Hobart is where we'll be based. It'll be good to have another mad matter to go hunting with.
Cheers,
Ian
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