COAST – OUT OF THE BLUE

Many wave hungry sailors have faced those barren stretches of windless forecasts and then spotted a tiny glitch on the weather map hinting at a remote chance of a decent session. The big dilemma is whether to simply let those fifty /fifty gambits fly past  or do you take the bull by the horns and go chase it down. Even once you are committed then nothing is guaranteed, this is one of those sketchy ones that might deliver a few cracking waves or you may be sat on the beach cursing your decision to burn a £100 in fuel and waste a day. John Carter talks us through a couple of scenarios earlier this year that may well boost your confidence to keep faith in the weather gurus and roll the dice and go for it!

Words & Photos  JOHN CARTER

CORNISH CRACKERS
“Are you guys on drugs?” Was the reaction from Blacky when he heard we were driving down to Cornwall on one of Timo’s hairbrained schemes to cure a dry spell on his normally fully booked windsurfing diary. We were looking at a wisp of North West wind that promised to scratch the very far corner of Cornwall along with a 2.5m long range south swell that could easily be tiny if the forecast was slightly wrong. A couple of times before we had thought about chasing a similar situation and once I had even made the three hour trip to Poole, checked the Bantham web cam and headed straight back home after spending ten minutes on the platform. Today I was equally committed having travelled up to Timo’s the previous night and judging by Blacky’s call we were lining up for another potential catastrophe. With the rest of the country one hundred per cent windless, we were chasing the very  edge of a weak pressure system and possibly relying on some local acceleration for our gamble to pay dividends. The one thing the forecast was unanimous about was sunny weather at least; the rest was down to mother nature to cooperate.

“ Our wager was actually paying off, clean waves on a reef, no crowds, the sort of setup you would be happy to travel abroad for but we were scoring on UK shores ! ’’

Timo’s choice spot for the mission was a fickle reef break on the south coast of Cornwall that incidentally had a solid chance of being loaded with surfers at any hint of a south swell. The odds were certainly stacked against us. In order to pull off this crazed plan we left in the dark and were already in Cornwall by 8am staring out at some funky sets at Marazion and barely a breath of wind. We were both speechless, defiant to admit we had possibly blundered. Our first thought was damage limitation, grab a quick surf and then head back home to appease the wives at a reasonable hour. After a bit more driving around and now at Praa Sands, we were still deliberating when Blacky finally answered his phone, most likely just to rub salt in the wounds. But lo and behold, Blacky was slightly positive and reckoned the breeze was filling in down at Lands End and his brother had just checked the surf and some solid south sets were starting to hit the Cornish coast. Another half hour passed, the clock was ticking and we were now gathered on the cliffs looking down at this south coast secret reef break trying to guesstimate the strength of the wind.

“ on this rare occasion it was  west/north west , the perfect cross offshore direction at Niton, with head to logo high sets and going off ! ’’ 

Sure it had picked up and was feathering the tops off the waves but then we spotted a couple of kiters trying to launch their kites but they dropped straight out of the sky and they ditched their plan in exchange for surfboards. Enough was enough for Timo and he ran back to the van to  gather his light wind gear determined to give it a shot. After throwing his kit off the rocks and swimming it out to the wind line Timo was up on the board and planing straight off the bat, now it was Blacky’s turn to dash to the van ! Timo’s first wave was a half mast high pit, driving bottom turn and solid round house cutback, it was on ! Our wager was actually paying off, clean waves on a reef, no crowds, the sort of setup you would be happy to travel abroad for but we were scoring on UK shores ! Blacky was well up for a piece of the action and showed all the style on the water he is famous for. I am pretty certain Timo and Blacky were the only two guys wave sailing in the whole of the country on this particular day. So judge for yourself, was it worth it? Timo was pretty stoked to be out on the water catching waves and the alternative would have been zero action back at home, most likely checking the forecast down in Cornwall every half an hour wondering whether we were missing out or not. Plus we had the last laugh on Blacky who had probably missed the best of the conditions procrastinating about the conditions while Timo snagged the biggest waves of the day !

WIGHT WATERS
A couple of weeks later, I was at home in my office working away quite contentedly when my phone started buzzing with Ross Williams trying to contact me. As far as I was concerned today was out of the question for windsurfing, I knew the weather pattern had been calling for dying westerly winds overnight and had not even given the forecast a decent check over. Ross had different ideas and fair play to him, he was on it and reckoned that there was some good ground swell hitting the island and the wind was swinging west  to north west through the morning meaning Niton could be classic. I played along with Ross on the phone and told him I would come straight down if the signs looked good when he was almost there.So I carried on behind the computer, not even bothering to pack any camera gear or make any preparations to head out; you could say I was being lazy but I simply was not convinced in my mind that this day was worth bothering with. Ten minutes later a text came through from Ross with a message saying it was looking sick and that he could see swell breaking along the coast.  Finally I started to twitch and had a quick look at a few web cameras and channel wave buoys; just maybe, Ross was onto something !. Obviously this was an easy drive for me, half an hour and I would be at Niton, but all the same I did not want to waste my day on a wild goose chase, so without positive Intel I was staying put. But then my phone started buzzing again, it was Ross, now at the top of the track at Niton making one last call before the signal disappeared at the bottom of the cliffs. “JC, I hope you are on your way, please don’t tell me your still at home, Niton is on fire, its bloody epic!”

All of a sudden I had to shift through the gears, chuck all my camera equipment in the back of the car and blast up the road on a mad dash towards the southernmost point of the Island. For sure the forecast was one of those fickle ones but Ross had been hungry enough to believe it was worth a shot and I had been unusually caught totally off guard. By the time I had darted through every short cut known to man, I made it just in time to be at the top of the hill and see Ross launching and heading out to catch his first wave.

“ these sessions go to show, that just when you least expect it, windsurfing can catch you unaware and deliver some surprisingly magical conditions ’’ 

Normally westerly is a smidgen onshore while North West is a touch too offshore but on this rare occasion it was  west/north west , the perfect cross offshore direction at Niton, with head to logo high sets and going off !. In a blind panic I careered down the bumpy track that leads to the car park just in time to watch Ross flying through an aerial on his first wave of the session. Luckily for me the magical window with the perfect wind direction continued for the next bunch of waves before the wind backed to the west and a more regular more cross shore day at Niton. Having being brought up surfing and sailing around this stunning stretch of coastline on the Island, Ross really does know Niton like the back of his hand. He knows every little idiosyncrasy of this spot, where to be, which swells to gybe on and when to charge and smack it hard. Niton may not quite be up there with the best breaks in Cornwall but on its day, it’s a real fun place to sail or surf. I will be the first to admit that my finger was not on the pulse for this particular sojourn. Niton  is one of my favourite spots and I am not sure why I was not on the case. Thanks to Ross, at least I made it in time to shoot a few clean waves peeling down the point; if only I had been there an hour earlier; next time there will be no excuses !

Both these sessions go to show, that just when you least expect it, windsurfing can catch you unaware and deliver some surprisingly magical conditions. You just have to keep your goggles peeled to the forecasts and be prepared to keep checking that beach, whether its right on your doorstep or slightly off the beaten track. Next time you are in doubt, don’t miss out. JC

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