IRISH surfer, author, scientist, and activist Easkey Britton will be appearing at the West Cork Literary Festival next weekend to talk about her new book, Ebb and Flow.
A native of Rossnowlagh in Co Donegal, she was named after a well-known wave off the west coast and had a meteoric rise to success in world surfing.
She was born into the surfing way of life as both her Mum and Dad surfed and her Dad actually started surfing from the age of 12, in the 60s, so she has become something of a ‘sea goddess’, thanks to her fascination with all things water.
‘I cannot remember a time before the ocean,’ she says. She remembers her Dad allowing her to experience her first ‘wipeout’ at a young age, without rushing to help her.
‘I got caught underneath the surfboard and came up coughing and spluttering, and I looked at my Dad and he was whooping and cheering. So he knew the importance of making it a very positive experience, so I didn’t experience fear. It was all part of the play.’
She was the first woman to ride the famous Cliffs of Moher wave Aill na Searrach that attracts surfers from all over the world to experience the thrill. She surfed it as part of a documentary called Waveriders and was towed out on a jet ski to access it.
The first time she went in she couldn’t let go of the tow rope, but on the second turn around, she did let go. ‘It was such a thrill, the experience will be imprinted on my body and memory forever. And after it, all the emotion and adrenaline hit me and I was giddy for days. So that set me on a course then to seek out that feeling again and pursue big wave surfing.’
She says she has probably been in more dangerous situations on land than on water, because she is drawn to the water and in surfing there is so much preparation beforehand that accidents have been few and far between – ‘until the ocean reminds you of your own insignificance.’
She says being able to stay calm and keep your heart rate low if you are about to ‘wipeout’ is crucial. ‘Now I feel I am applying that to so many aspects of my life, like giving birth last year. I have been able to call on the resources of big wave surfing.’
Nowadays she teaches surfing to women in developing countries, some of whom have never seen the sea before, let alone learned how to surf it. She wants to create a ‘cultural shift’ that sees women embracing the sea and seeing its benefits, rather than its challenges.
She recently spoke about her projects, as well as her new book, which is an ode to the sea and its potential, on the Southern Star’s swimming podcast, From A To Sea, presented by editor Siobhán Cronin.
Easkey will be in conversation in the Bantry House tearooms on Sunday July 9th at 10am, after which audience members will be invited to join her in a sea swim.
Tickets from https://www.westcorkmusic.ie/
