January is the middle of the Atlantic storm season, and on this coast that means the ocean is never the problem. Something arrives every few days, usually more than anybody needs.
What a January week is actually made of is driving. The west coast runs from Donegal down to Clare with headlands, bays and islands facing every direction between north-west and south-west, so a wind that ruins one stretch leaves another clean. Bundoran sits inside Donegal Bay and wants a south-easterly; Lahinch, two hours south, faces straight out and wants a north-easterly. Knowing which of the two the day belongs to is the whole skill, and it is why people here surf with somebody local even when they can already surf.
The water is at 8°C, two degrees off Iceland in the same week. A 5/4 with hood, boots and gloves, and even then the session ends on temperature rather than on tiredness.
