15/10/13 - SURFING Keel Bay, Achill

That's me in Achill, No biggy ;) 

Weather

Today was a lot colder than last week. It was about 10 - 11 degrees celsius but stayed dry and sunny throughout the whole day.

Goals for Today 

My number one goal today was to surf out back all day and try and get the feel for green waves. 

Session Evaluation

Today Wayne started the session by testing us on what we remembered about his talk on tides and moon phases. This was really good as it gave us an even better understanding of this topic than last week. After this we all got ready and entered the water together. Wayne stayed out of the water and observed from the sand as he injured himself the night before. 

We were all trying to surf out back today so I felt that this session ran a bit smoother as we were all together. Wayne filmed us on his camera from the beach so this was really good to look back at and pick out what we need to change and what we were actually doing right. We all began by trying to catch green waves but as the surf was so small, we all ended up surfing in the white water for most of the day. When it was time to finish up, Wayne called us in and had a de-brief with us in the bus. 


Evaluation of Goals

Today I was disappointed with the surf being really small as my goal was to try and surf green waves for the whole day. At the same time I was still happy because I was able to practice some more basic skills in the white water.

Environmental Interest 

Today I saw a good amount of common jellyfish. Common jellyfish can be identified by their 4 purple rings in the centre of their transparent dome. Commonly found throughout the Irish sea. 

08/10/13 - SNORKELING Old Head, Co. Mayo

Weather

Today it was dry throughout with a lower temperature of about 12 degrees celsius. Visibility was only 3 - 4 meters but murky. 

Goals for Today

Today my goal was to get back into doing the basic skills of snorkeling such as surface dives, finning, and correct entries. Another goal of mine was to learn more about some marine life.

Session Evaluation

Today Mark O Connor (Weeman) brought us to Old Head to go snorkeling. He began by doing a pre snorkel brief on the pier with us which included telling us about some of the possible sea life that we might come across, the area to stay within while snorkeling, make sure we have a buddy who we stay with and look out for at all times and some potential hazards that we have to look out for such as shallow water, hypothermia, and Jellyfish. This was a really good, interesting way of starting the session as it was exciting to hear about some of the possible things we might see as well as it being serious telling us about what hazards to look out for.

Mark then decided to bring us down to the slip way and enter the water there. We were then told to stick with our buddies and meet at a point that he chose beside the pier. After this he showed us a small hermit crab that he found in the shallow water. He then told us to stay around this area and find 5 of our own hermit crabs. I felt that this was a really good, responsible way of beginning the session as Mark really concentrated on sticking together and beginning with an activity in the shallow water due to the bad visibility. After this he brought us out to a buoy and showed us some of the marine life living on it such as tube worms and limpets. I felt that this made the session really interesting due to it being a hands on approach to learning. After this we snorkeled for another half an hour and then finished with a snorkel de-brief on the pier.

Evaluation of Goals

Today I felt that I got to brush up on my skills as it was a quiet relaxed session therefore giving me loads of time to refresh my basic snorkel skills. I also got to learn a lot about the marine life we saw such as hermit crabs, jellyfish, tube worms and limpets.

Environmental Interest

Today I saw a species of Jellyfish that I had never seen before called the 'Mauve Stinger' Jellyfish. This species of jellyfish is commonly found in the Mediterranean, the Red sea, and the Pacific Ocean. In 2007 there was a massive invasion of these in Northern Ireland and the ended up wiping out massive fish farms.

01/10/13 - SURFING Keel Bay, Achill

Weather

Today we had an easterly wind which meant that we had a slightly cross shore wind but still offshore. Frequent showers throughout the day but fairly long spells of sunshine at a time. The temperature today was 12 degrees celsius. 

Goals for Today

My goal for today was to practice and hopefully perfect my basic skills in the white water and then try paddling out back if I feel comfortable. 

Session Evaluation

Today Wayne began the session by talking to us about the moon phases and corresponding tides. He explained that when it is a new moon or full moon we have spring tides and when we have a half moon we have spring neap tides. When we have spring tides there is a big movement of water between low and high tide but when we have neap tides there is a small movement of water between low and high tide. I felt that his was a really informative as well as relaxed way of starting the session and helped us to understand tides more as a result. 

Wayne then told us all to get ready and hit the water. As we got into the water, Wayne stayed on the shore watching us for about 15 minutes and then went surfing out back with a few of the better surfers. I felt that once again this was an irresponsible move by an instructor. I felt that this was especially irresponsible due to the swell being slightly bigger today and there being complete beginners in the water this week. At one point William had to go in due to a getting a bad cramp in his calf. In William's words ''What if there was blood pumpin from my head right now and Wayne is all the way out there''. After this we continued to surf for a while before going in ad having a de-brief with Wayne. This was again very annoying as he picked on things that the white water people were doing even though he was nowhere to be seen for most of the session.

Evaluation of Goals

Today I felt that I met my goals of becoming consistent when performing the basic skills of surfing. After a while of surfing in the white water and continuing to pop up and surf waves correctly Peter came in and showed me the best way of paddling out back. This was a big personal achievement for me as I thought I wasn't good enough to surf out back yet. 

Environmental Interest

Today due to a slight cross shore wind we were being blown up the beach towards the rip current that is straight out from the beach car park. A rip tide is very dangerous to be in as it can potentially pull you very far out to sea due to the strong movement of the water. Rip currents happen in areas with breaking waves. Rips occur due to water being pushed towards the shore by waves and wind and then having to travel back out to sea. Usually it travels back out to sea between sand bars. 

 

24/09/13 - SURFING Keel Bay, Achill

Keel Bay, Achill, Co. Mayo

Weather

The temperature today was 14 degrees celsius. It stayed dry throughout the day with a North Easterly wind making it and off shore wind. This created perfect conditions for surfing as an offshore wind creates nice clean breaking waves rather than messy dumping waves.

Goals for Today

My main goal today was to get back into practicing the basic skills of surfing e.g. correct pop up technique, paddling and correct stance.

Session Evaluation

Today the session began by Wayne talking to us about the surf. He explained what the necessary weather conditions are to have good surf in an area for different levels of abilities. These conditions included having an offshore wind but not too strong as well as a good swell. The next thing that he talked about was possible hazards. Some of the hazards he warned us about was the rip that was in line with the beach car park, another was the possibility of being pulled out to sea by the current, and another was the possibility of hurting ourselves if we didn't wipeout properly. I felt that this was a good way to start the session as firstly when he explained the surf to us, this got me pumped about getting into the water and overall excited for the day ahead. I also respected that he then followed up with a serious note by telling us some hazards to look out for.

Wayne then told us to get ready and meet down by the waters edge so that we could all go in at the same time. A few of us stayed in the white water as we were only beginners as Peter and Chris went out back. Wayne stayed with us for about 10 minutes and then decided to go out back with the lads. I felt that this was insanely irresponsible as an instructor as we couldn't even see him for most of the session. While I felt that the 10 minutes he did spend with us was very helpful as he gave me personally some useful tips, I was also shocked that he would leave a beginner group on their own. We surfed for about an hour and a half after this before going in and then had a de-brief in the bus with Wayne before going back to Castlebar. This de-brief really annoyed me as he had a lot to say about us in the white water even though it seemed that he spent no time with us at all.

Evaluation of Goals

I felt that I met my goals today as I spent the whole day practicing in the white water and felt that there was a huge improvement in my basic skills by the end of the day. One skill especially that I always had huge difficulty with was my pop up. I always had to use my knees but by the end of today I was by-passing my knees and standing up.

Environmental Interest 

Today there were a lot of 'Greater Black Backed Gulls' on the beach. The way to identify a greater black backed gull is by the thick white outline of feathers around their wings. When they're not in flight the way to identify them is by their distinctive black feathered back. This is the largest gull found in Ireland.