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 Irelands 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 CarterClick on any shot to enlarge and scroll through whole gallery!NIGHT MISSIONJC: When your alarm goes off before midnight, you know its going to be a long day. Yep somehow Id been roped into one of Timos famously ridiculous schedulesthe 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 FORWARDLets 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 Timos mums, 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 cant beat a Motley Crew travel schedule!So now its 11:30am and twelve hours of frantic travel later, were twenty minutes from the beach. Its wall-to-wall sunshine. Theres 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 windgusty, cross-offshore, but definitely there.Is it windy enough? I question.Absolutely, says Timo without hesitation. Especially with my 106L Ultra Grip Ill be flying.GAME ONWe 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 nowTimo 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 Irelands west coastwith sunshine and perfect wavesit felt like Christmas had come early for the Motley Crew.Wetsuit Men Seek Core 4/3 Front Zip | ION WaterSuper_Hero D/LAB 2026 high-end wave sail | DUOTONE WindsurfingULTRA GRIP D/LAB 2026 high-end wave board with focus ground swell | DUOTONE WindsurfingThe waves werent quite as big as wed 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 wasnt long before Timo was dropping into butter-smooth logo-high waves on the reef. In Ireland, youre 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-catchingthough 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 wasnt huge, but what it lacked in size it made up for with plenty of punch.GAME OVERLate in the session, Timo spotted a meaty section and sent itlaunching 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 didnt 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 MULLENSo 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 9395kg, so Im pretty big.So, quite often I use big boards. But I think the boards nowadays are so well designed, that youre not disadvantaged by having to sail a larger volume wave board.For example, on a really light-wind day anywhere like Gwithian or Magheroarty, Id say Im 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 volumeso say a 70kg guy using an 80L board, finds those rails huge.Whereas, when I ride a 106L board (the Duotone Ultra Grip), dont find the rails a major issue. I can turn them, Ive got the weight to turn that board.So yeah, I think particularly Duotone have really focused on their bigger boards. Theyre a game changer. And I think nowadays, especially with quads, people can use a massive board, which gets them more waves.Id argue that the general public wave sailor shouldnt be as concerned about how well theyre going to be able to turn a board thats slightly too big. Its more important to be catching lots of waves. Thats essential, because the more waves you catch, the better youll get.The biggest volume board I need is a 106L board. Youd be able to float in pretty much anything. But if I were on, like, a 90L, I would be sinking around.But if its windy, Ill 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 Ive also got this amazing Grip 3, which has almost got the rocker line of a slalom board, but its more like a Duotone onshore, European-waves board. Its insane. The 84Lits one of the best windsurfing boards Ive ever used.So yeah, gear is massive. People shouldnt be shy about spending money on windsurfing equipment. You sail so much better on good gear, and if thats your passion, Id say invest in your passion.The amount of fun you get out of windsurfingspend that little bit of extra money. Stop drinking, you knowdont drink for four months and youve saved enough money to buy a really amazing wave board or a carbon boom.DUOTONE Windsurfing | High-end equipment, lifestyle & moreHOMEBOUNDAll that was left now was the reverse journey homeyep, 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 Id 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 didnt have the time or energy to have a single beer.until the next timeThe post MOTLEY CREW! IRISH XMAS MISSION! appeared first on Windsurf Magazine Online.