Jason Polakow is well known for his big wave exploits - often travelling the globe to search out the biggest and best waves on the planet and he's just completed his latest mission.

With El Niño producing a colossal winter of pumping swells the Australian couldn't resist the opportunity to become the first windsurfer to sail Nazaré, Portugal, and the first footage of him doing just that is starting to emerge.

#Surfing - A long-time professional surfer from Mayo is set to make waves in politics in the upcoming General Election, as the Clare Herald reports.

Fergal 'Ferg' Smith, who can count starting an organic farm in Lahinch among his achievements as one of Ireland's first internationally regarded pro waveriders, is set to run on the Green Party ticket in the Clare constituency.

And making the most of Clare's natural environment to push for sustainability in all aspects of life is at the heart of his manifesto.

"Politics was never my intention, but there is a responsibility on us all to be part of the solution," he says.

The Clare Herald has more on the story HERE.

#Surfing - He's the Irish surfing hall-of-famer who "came out of nowhere".

And now Joe Roddy is the subject of a fascinating radio documentary about his decades of aquatic exploits and ingenuity on Newstalk, both online and broadcast tonight (Saturday 23 January) at 10pm.

As TheJournal.ie reports, Surfing at the Crossroads brings the now 80-year-old Roddy to Valentia Island, where he recounts building what's regarded as Ireland's first surfboard – way back in the 1940s.

But even before then he was assembling his own makeshift vessels and gadgets to enable him to go canoeing, snorkelling – even spear-fishing.

The latter of which Roddy excelled at enough to represent Ireland at the World Championships in Cuba in 1967 - recording a incredible 32-metre dive in the process.

TheJournal.ie has much more on Joe Roddy's story HERE.

#Surfing - Big storms bring big waves, as professional surfers in Ireland can attest on a regular basis.

It also means that the current El Niño conditions in the Pacific have attracted the cream of the world's big-wave surfers to California to take on a bounty of record-nudging monsters.

But such extreme sport comes with a high risk, as Irish-American surf pro – and record-breaker – Garrett McNamara knows only too well after wiping out last week on "one of the heaviest waves a human being has ever attempted paddling into", according to Outside magazine.

Video of the jaw-dropping moment has gone viral online, as McNamara is thrown like a rag doll from his board when the Mavericks break crashes over him.

Surf rescuer Frank Quirarte, who was watching events unfold, described it as “literally one of the worst wipe-outs I’ve seen in big wave surfing in a long time."

And the effects on McNamara were severe, as he required immediate surgery on a badly broken arm and shoulder – though he was lucky to escape with his life, let alone avoid more serious injury.

Outside has much more on the story HERE.

#NorthCoast - Ireland's North Coast – one of the island's emerging surfing hotspots – was the big winner at the 2016 OutdoorNI Awards, as the Coleraine Times reports.

A third of the accolades presented on the night went to activities and locations around the Portrush coastal region, as voted on by the public.

Among them was the song for Best Coastal Experience, awarded to Troggs surf school in Portrush – while the Causeway Coast & Glens was named Best Adventure Destination for its abundance of opportunities not just for surfing and sea kayaking but also hiking and coasteering.

The Coleraine Times has more on the story HERE.

#StormDesmond - With many parts of the country still recovering from the effects of Storm Desmond earlier this month – and Galway in particular facing a €12 million clean-up bill – it might be surprising to learn that some people turned the conditions to their advantage.

But that's exactly what a group of intrepid kayakers did in Ennistymon, Co Clare, as the floodwaters turned part of the Cullenagh River into raging rapids – and local TD Timmy Dooley happened to be there to record it all on video, as the Belfast Telegraph reports.

Elsewhere, Northern Irish big wave surfer Al Mennie wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to paddle out to the 20-foot swells generated by the storm, captured in all their glory in a photo gallery on Uproxx.

#Surfing - An Irish wave enthusiast's 'surfing' video on the streets of Manchester has gone viral.

As the Belfast Telegraph reports, Manchester University student Sean-Caio Dos Santos Corr from Derrylaughan made the clip for the craic after spotting traffic splashing barrel waves onto the pavement on a flooded street.

Waiting for another downpour, Corr and his friend Christian Berger pounced with surfboard, camera and Bermuda shorts at the ready – and the results caught the interest of online viewers across Europe.

"We didn't even intend to take a camera with us we just grabbed it on the way out of the house for a laugh," says Corr.

"And now it's quite funny that people are actually interested in seeing eejits on the side of the road getting splashed in the face by a puddle."

In other surfing news, one of Cornwall's most prominent big-wave surfers has set up shop on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way to be in prime position for the giant walls of water the current stormy season is bound to throw up.

Tom Lowe tells the Western Morning News how chasing the biggest and best waves for a living often means sleeping on friends' floors – and jetting around the world at a moment's notice - while keeping in peak physical and mental condition

“It’s a complete package," he says. "Your heart has to be in it, your mind has to be in it and you have to be physically stable.”

#Surfing - The history of big wave riding at Mullaghmore is the focus of the latest episode of Threading Edges, the new surfing video series from EPIC TV.

As championed by JOE.ie, last week's first episode introduced a number of regular visitors to the Sligo monster describe what makes the swell so special.

But the second part delves more into the relatively recent history of the must-surf destination for the world's most extreme surfers – and one that's helped put Ireland squarely on the world surfing map.

#Surfing - One of big wave surfing's best kept secrets off the Clare coast has seen the area named among the top surf spots in the UK and Ireland, as the Clare Herald reports.

Easkey in Co Sligo and The Peak in Bundoran, Co Donegal also made the grade alongside Aileens, a renowned offshore swell only accessible to those in the know, in the list put together by Surfholidays.com.

The Clare Herald has more on the story HERE.

#Surfing - Only two surfers retained their titles at a delayed Irish Nationals that saw 13 new champions crowned in Bundoran last weekend, as the Irish Examiner reports.

Marginal surf was forecast for the third of three possible windows for the competition, and indeed the contest director stepped in to move the action to Tullan Strand due to inconsistent waves at The Peak early on Saturday 10 October.

It proved a change for the better, providing "tightly fought" surfing action in the men's final especially, as Sligo's Geared McDaid clinched the title from defending champ Stephen Kilfeather.

The women's division also celebrated a new champion in Sophie Pigot of Lahinch's West Coast Surf Club.

The Irish Examiner has much more on the story HERE.