MOTLEY CREW! IRISH XMAS MISSION!

MOTLEY CREW: IRISH XMAS MISSION!

John Carter and Timo Mullen (Aka the Motley Crew) set out on a crazy festive mission to hunt wind and waves on Ireland’s wild west coast. With a tight window and a plan that demanded military precision, the crew drove and flew through the night to reach Magheroarty right on schedule and were rewarded with four golden hours of logo-to-mast-high perfection. JC looks back on the mission, while Timo explains why his 106L Duotone Ultra Grip helped save the day.

Photos: John Carter…Click on any shot to enlarge and scroll through whole gallery!

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NIGHT MISSION

JC: When your alarm goes off before midnight, you know it’s going to be a long day. Yep… somehow I’d been roped into one of Timo’s famously ridiculous schedules…the kind that defies logic and any reasonable sense!

This sojourn happening just weeks before Christmas too, so as per tradition, our road trip turned into the annual Motley Crew Xmas party by default. This one was what we call a ‘one-dayer’ as we were both under the cosh to be back home for the weekend. Having snapped my Achilles back in July, one day of Motley style manic travel was probably all I could manage for the time being.

FAST FORWARD

Let’s breeze past being woken up by an 11:45pm alarm, catching the 1am ferry from the Isle of Wight to Portsmouth, a 1.5-hour drive to Gatwick, the 4am EasyJet check-in, airport lounge breakfast (we smashed it), on-time (phew) one-hour flight to Belfast, picking up our Hertz hire car (free upgrade… get in!), drive to Timo’s mum’s, load the gear, quick photo opportunity, down a cup of tea and then back in the car for a two-and-a-half-hour drive to the beach. You can’t beat a Motley Crew travel schedule!

So now it’s 11:30am and twelve hours of frantic travel later, we’re twenty minutes from the beach. It’s wall-to-wall sunshine. There’s barely a breath of wind.

Uh oh.

The forecast promised a 5m swell at 17 seconds, so at least the waves should be firing. We pull up for the obligatory spot check and reef photo, and suddenly everything looks much better. Logo-to-mast-high waves are peeling beautifully across the bay. There is wind…gusty, cross-offshore, but definitely there.

“Is it windy enough?” I question.

“Absolutely,” says Timo without hesitation. “Especially with my 106L Ultra Grip… I’ll be flying.”

GAME ON

We head down to the beach and waste no time rigging and prepping camera gear. With conditions like this, we expected a crowd….but the car park was eerily empty. For now…

Timo wasted no time rigging his 5.3 Super_Hero D/Lab and jumping on his trusty 106L Ultra Grip. For warmth, he was wearing the latest ION 4/3 Seek Core front zip. Considering it was mid-winter, near the shortest day of the year, on Ireland’s west coast…with sunshine and perfect waves…it felt like Christmas had come early for the Motley Crew.

Wetsuit Men Seek Core 4/3 Front Zip | ION Water

Super_Hero D/LAB 2026 ᐅ high-end wave sail | DUOTONE Windsurfing

ULTRA GRIP D/LAB 2026 ᐅ high-end wave board with focus ground swell | DUOTONE Windsurfing

The waves weren’t quite as big as we’d hoped for, but with beautiful light and incredibly clean conditions, this was still a stunning day and not one anyone would want to say they missed.

I set up base near the new sauna just left of the harbour and it wasn’t long before Timo was dropping into butter-smooth logo-high waves on the reef. In Ireland, you’re usually lucky to get ten minutes of sun between rain squalls and hail, but today the clouds only drifted in briefly. A December session with sunshine at Magheroarty? Madness.

Timo scored wave after wave, completely alone on the reef. The 106L Grip 3 was doing its job….keeping him mobile and wave-catching…though the cross-offshore gusts occasionally pushed the limits of the setup.

By 2:30pm, a small but hardy crew joined the party: two wingers, Thibault Peigne and a Dutch windsurfer, plus a lone kiter. As the tide drained off the reef, the waves grew hollower, serving up some tasty aerial sections. The 17-second swell wasn’t huge, but what it lacked in size it made up for with plenty of punch.

GAME OVER

Late in the session, Timo spotted a meaty section and sent it…launching skyward over an emerald wall. He landed with so much speed that physics took over, and he went down into the white water, washing into the inside.

He didn’t stay down long, but fate had one more trick lined up. While threading back through the reef, the biggest set of the day detonated right in front of him.

No escape. After a heavy beating, a lot of swimming, and a lengthy rescue mission, he finally made it back to the beach almost an hour later… absolutely knackered.

It was time to pack up and face the three-hour drive back to the airport. A long day, we were both exhausted but definitely worth it? Without question.

TIMO MULLEN

“So… my stats are; if I go sugar-free, I get down to about 85kg, which is really the optimum weight for a wave sailor. But my usual weight is about 93–95kg, so I’m pretty big.

So, quite often I use big boards. But I think the boards nowadays are so well designed, that you’re not disadvantaged by having to sail a larger volume wave board.

For example, on a really light-wind day anywhere like Gwithian or Magheroarty, I’d say I’m probably getting more waves than the lighter guys. And I think being heavier is actually an advantage in light winds, because a heavier guy can turn a big board. Whereas a light guy, on the equivalent volume…so say a 70kg guy using an 80L board, finds those rails huge.

Whereas, when I ride a 106L board (the Duotone Ultra Grip), don’t find the rails a major issue. I can turn them, I’ve got the weight to turn that board.

So yeah, I think particularly Duotone have really focused on their bigger boards. They’re a game changer. And I think nowadays, especially with quads, people can use a massive board, which gets them more waves.

I’d argue that the general public wave sailor shouldn’t be as concerned about how well they’re going to be able to turn a board that’s slightly too big. It’s more important to be catching lots of waves. That’s essential, because the more waves you catch, the better you’ll get.

The biggest volume board I need is a 106L board. You’d be able to float in pretty much anything. But if I were on, like, a 90L, I would be sinking around.

But if it’s windy, I’ll always be on a 95L or an 88L. Actually, my favourite board this year is the 88L Ultra Grip Quad in the D/Lab construction.

And I’ve also got this amazing Grip, which has almost got the rocker line of a slalom board, but it’s more like a Duotone onshore, European-waves board. It’s insane. The 84L…it’s one of the best windsurfing boards I’ve ever used.

So yeah, gear is massive. People shouldn’t be shy about spending money on windsurfing equipment. You sail so much better on good gear, and if that’s your passion, I’d say invest in your passion.

The amount of fun you get out of windsurfing…spend that little bit of extra money. Stop drinking, you know…don’t drink for four months and you’ve saved enough money to buy a really amazing wave board or a carbon boom.”

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HOMEBOUND

All that was left now was the reverse journey home…yep, another 12 hours of hectic cars, planes, and boats until I finally stepped back through my front door at 4am, a mere 28 hours after I’d left the night before. Total madness as usual….but it was a memorable trip, and a very worthy Motley Crew Xmas party despite the fact we didn’t have the time or energy to have a single beer….until the next time…

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