sun surf 54

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Sun, surf and seaweed

Louise Tickle masters the 'porn star' and other surfing techniques before treating herself to an organic seaweed bath, on a cheap and cheerful surf-n-spa trip to County Sligo

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* Louise Tickle
* guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 30 August 2006 15.16 BST
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Surf and spa in County Sligo

Seaweed harvest ... Ireland's western seaboard offers enviable surfing and some kooky natural spa treatments. Photographs: Celtic Seaweed Baths

The sting came as I joined the tail of a queue that wound its way slowly and grumpily through Knock Airport towards a till staffed by a single harried cashier.

Given the squillions of EU money from which Ireland has benefited over the last decade, it felt a bit rich that this extended Portakabin was now charging a 10 euro "development fee" as well as the standard airport tax to travellers departing through the country's scruffy portals.

But that was nothing to the annoyance of reading the corporate display boards next to the lengthening queue, boasting of Knock Airport's "streamlined customer service". After half an hour's shuffling in line, and with rising panic as my departure time neared, I finally handed over my euros and ran in a screeching hurry towards the gate. As the last element of a relaxing couple of days amid the natural beauty of Ireland's western seaboard, it could have been bettered.

I'd headed to County Sligo to sample the surf, which beats most in Cornwall, Pembrokeshire and Anglesey. The waves at the famous Strandhill beach are tidal rather than wind-generated, so no messy air swishes over the top of each crest to unbalance the beginner surfer. Testament to the quality of the surf was Ian, our toned, tanned and expert instructor from the Perfect Day Surf School. He had fetched up from Australia one winter and found the waves so thrilling, the vibe so chilled and, importantly, the sharks so absent that he'd never bothered going back.

Not being the most sprightly of students and already somewhat knackered from sprinting up and down the beach as part of our warm-up, we performed rather floppily when it came to practicing the bouncy move that gets you up off your tummy and onto your feet on the board. Demonstrating, Ian leapt sinuously into the classically elegant surf dude position, his entire performance executed cleanly and without a single extraneous muscle movement. Those that did move, rippled.

We practiced assiduously with our boards resting on the sand - we had yet to contend with anything remotely liquid - but there was a fair bit more heaving than leaping going on. As a trio of women with virtually no upper body strength between us, it was clearly time to master the easier way to get up, locally known as "the porn star". This is a nifty little move that involves hoiking one knee up and to the side, glancing conquettishly behind (to see the wave, natch) and using the traction that is thankfully thus gained to haul one's sorry ass into something approaching a