Fearless Derg surfer conquers big wave that almost killed him

TYRONE surfer, James Garvey, survived one of the world’s most ferocious waves when he was spat from ‘the belly of the beast’ off the coast of Mullaghmore, Co Sligo last week.

In doing so, the Castlederg man confronted and overcame the monster that almost swallowed him whole last year, and raised £1,500, as well as donating £500 of his own to Irish Tow Surf Rescue – the guys who rescued James on that fateful day last March when he was forced to stare death in the face.

The Tyrone Herald spoke with James to find out about big wave surfing, his near-death experience at Mullaghmore last year, and how it felt repaying his rescuers and once again riding the wave that nearly killed him.

CALCULATED RISK

When you see the photo of James in eye of the gyre, a phrase like ‘not wise’ springs to mind. But there is more to it, as he explains…

“It’s definitely about taking calculated risk in this game and you want to make sure you are physically and mentally ready,” observed James, “but what you get from surfing waves like this is unfathomable; the energy of waves that size is incredible.

“You always know in the back of your head things can go wrong when you are surfing big waves, and that day last March in Mullaghmore, they did!”

When you picture Mullaghmore, you probably see an idyllic beach, overlooked by the protective monolith of Ben Bulben. In summer it looks like the divine design of some romantic landscape artist.

OCEAN SWELLS

But in the autumn and winter months, the heavens unleash the beast beneath, as deep ocean swells summon thunderous walls of water to the surface. This is the Mullaghmore James is talking about.

“It felt like we were definitely pushing the limits. It was nearly on the verge of being too big to paddle surf… You usually would use a jet-ski to tow you into these mountain-like waves, which sling-shots you in at speed and allows you to get down the face nice and early.”

But James took the more dangerous option of paddling in.

“This particular wave sucked a lot of water off the reef and I ended up going down; I was knocked out, unconscious under the water for a full minute.”

James’ board got wedged in the razor sharp rock at the bottom of the ocean and he was tethered to it by a ‘leash’ running from his board and secured to his ankle. The telling term for this in surf-speak is ‘getting tombstoned’…

“Luckily I had two heroes with me,” said James, “Taz Knight and Dillon Stott, who were doing ski rescue that day; they saved my life.”

James spent a while recovering and then, to the surprise of the sane, got back in the water.

SAFETY

“I spent the year training, brushing up on safety courses, and last week was my first time back at Mullaghmore since last March.”

“I didn’t put any pressure on myself to surf. I was just out on the jetski to do rescue and to watch my friends getting some of the waves of their life.”

James found being in such close proximity to his drug of choice, well, irresistible.

“Things felt good, I felt very comfortable and conditions were pretty huge but perfect,” grinned James. “So I decided to roll the dice again and asked Peter Conroy to put me into ‘a small one’.

“He whipped me into this giant, and it was a ride of a lifetime!” said James.

If you fancy trying this epic sport of surfing, you could start your journey with James’ Rossnowlagh Surf School. They are located on Rossnowlagh beach in Donegal – a safe beach where the sea is generally placid. Book in and under the watchful eye of of James and his team, you could learn this amazing sport. www.rossnowlaghsurfschool.com @rossnowlaghsurfschool