John McCarthy and the boyuz at Lahinch Surf School want their record back – and the weekend after next they plan to take it. Unofficially, the record stands at 77 surfers on one wave, but in the Guinness book, Ireland still has it with 44. Every surfer needs to stay standing on the wave for 4 seconds at the very least to be counted, meaning the video referee makes the call, and a small wave and long boards are what’s necessary.

Best of luck, lads. Interested parties should sign up here.

Full post-facto report to follow in the next The Irish Echo, out May 23.

Dangerous travel is fun. I’ve dodged Maoists in Nepal, been threatened with guns and knives in the Caribbean (not to mention dodging tropical storms while sailing through the islands), travelled some of the world’s most dangerous roads in South America, gone rally-driving in the Sahara, and had to ditch off-road whilst driving at night in Tanzania. They’re all happy memories.

But they don’t really compare to sleeping through a missile attack on a train in Thailand, a la Ben Groundswater of the Sydney Morning Herald blogs.

Someone always goes one step further.