Power!!
The weekend just gone was all about power! A lack of electrical power some of the time, and plenty of power from the Forces-of-nature.
The Forces-of-Nature
Saturday saw strong wind here at Ynyslas. 50-60mph all day long and with temperatures close to freezing it was quite an adventure just going outdoors. Anna and I took a walk around the dunes in the afternoon. I’d already done 90 minutes on the turbo trainer and run straight off the bike so a nice stroll was just the job. The strong winds and the rapidly outgoing Spring tide could be seen hitting up against the waves over the bar. The opposing powers meant that the waves were pretty much stopped in their track. They were just stood there barely moving as stationary waves. More impressive was the fact that the winds howling up the faces were whipping 20 foot plumes of spray off their tops. The spray was never-ending and looked amazing.
After warming up in front of the fire I managed to get Morgan to pop over to the beach a little later in the day to take a look as well. He managed to get a few photos on his phone, but they don’t really show the power of the waves. They still look nice though!
Power Cuts
We were having power cuts all day Saturday as well. That’s part of the reason why I managed to get Morgan out of the house! The power had been going on and off all day and then just before it got dark it went off for good. Once candles were lit and head-torches were at the ready we settled down in the dark and quiet.
We did think about cooking potatoes in the wood burning drove but in the end decided that a quick trip to the Chip Shop in Bow Street would be easier. It wasn’t of course as first we had to jump start the car. We also asked the neighbours if they wanted anything as they too were without electricity. We were soon back with fish and chips that we ate in the dark.
The power did come back on later in the evening, so it wasn’t too bad.
The Power of Surf
Sunday saw the wind ease a little, but the surf had picked up. A decent sized swell was pounding the pebbles at high tide while I was out for a run. I waited for the tide to drop and then headed out for a surf. The waves were lovely. They were a little difficult to catch due to the strong offshore winds. However, the ones I did catch were holding up for ever and were even trying to barrel at times.
I didn’t catch loads of waves in the time I was out – not in comparison to when I’m on my surf ski anyway. However, just being out there in amongst so much power was fun in itself.
More Power Cuts
Once back at home, we had brownies in the oven and were cooking dinner when we had an 8 minute warning by way of a phone call from the electricity company to say that the power would go off again at 6:30pm. Sure enough, a few minutes after finishing cooking dinner and getting the brownies out of the oven we were once again plunged into darkness. There may have been plenty of power in the sea this weekend, but not much in the form of electricity for us!
It’s looking nice on the beach this morning again – I might just have to go surfing again this afternoon.
