Chasing a Secret Slab
Have
you ever been standing, looking out towards the wild Atlantic and suddenly spot
this white movement in the distance? Thinking it may be a whale or
rock but it’s actually a wave.
A venture from Andrew Cotton supported by Red Bull is
a fascinating insight into what drives the big wave surfer to chase the
unknown. His Beneath the Surface project started in 2013, after
he caught a glimpse of a potential giant wave about 3km off St. John’s Point,
Donegal.
Five years and a lot of logistics later, Cotty returned to
this spot armed with a boat and a dedicated team of watermen to spend the
winter chasing down the elusive slab. The result of this venture can be seen in
Cotty's film Beneath the Surface.
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| Andrew Cotton gets set for his Donegal adventure. © OLAF PIGNATARO |
An area accessible only by boat launching from Killybegs, the
pursuit of the uncompromising and isolated wave brought with it a battle of
logistics. The wave situated just off the Cardinal Mark Bullockmore, which is
near a reef that if met by the perfect conditions, it has the potential to
offer 60ft plus waves, the equivalent of 4 double decker buses.
Cotty managed to
enlist an adventurous team of surfers and sailors who were equally willing to
put their lives on hold for six months and join him in the chase of the
unknown.
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| Andrew Cotton surfing the secret slab. ©JORGE LEAL |
The results were 30ft waves that the team were disappointed
with, they were on the lower end of the spectrum to them but still pretty big to us. Ben
Freeston from everyone’s favourite surf forecast site Magic
Seaweed, suggested that “we have to assume that 30ft would be at the very
lower end of the best you could expect in a typical winter. It’s hard to
extrapolate to larger swells from this. It is possible that at a larger size,
the wave would change shape or other factors could come into play that would
make it impossible to surf”.
If 30ft waves are at the lower end in a typical winter then
what could this secret slab produce in ideal conditions.
Check out Beneath the Surface here: https://www.redbull.tv/film/AP-1NN82RUJ91W11/beneath-the-surface
The story behind the wave can be found here: https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/beneath-the-surface-the-story-behind-the-wave
Credit to Red Bull and Andrew Cotton.
