The fishing village of Kilmore Quay is taking a real hammering lately. In fact, coastal towns all along the South and West coast of Ireland are suffering the effects of winter storms and huge swells that seem to be timing their arrival in synchronisation with spring tides. The result: Amazing display of the power of mother nature.
I knew a set of big waves was coming in but I was too busy trying to get a good photograph. This one gave me a good soaking.
The surges were so powerful that I couldn’t help but think of the Tsunami footage from Thailand in 2006.
A local fisherman watches, and waits.
Never before have I seen such powerful torrents inside the harbour. Huge amounts of water swirled and flowed, while the boats and ropes heaved and groaned.
The image above is a 100% crop of the previous image. The small Saltee Island lies approximately 4km offshore. I don’t know the height of its peak, but the breaking wave looks to be at least equal to the height of the Island, which I’m guessing is around 50-100m high. The wave in the foreground is probably around 5m high.
We are due another storm this weekend. Batten down the hatches….
Simon Bates Photography 