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BETTER LATE THAN NEVER! ROSS WILLIAMS NITON SESSION

Last Saturday, Storm Belio had given the south coast a proper battering and by Sunday morning the plenty of crews were already scoring sunshine, wind and waves. The Witterings were firing for the dawn session, Pagham was going off and the K-Bay crew were gearing up for another big one. Meanwhile, JC was on the Isle of Wight suffering a serious case of FOMO, with no plan and absolutely no one to blame but himself! Just when the day looked destined to end in disappointment, Ross Williams finally managed to escape his café duties. Cue a last-minute dash down the coast, a deserted Niton car park and a session that proved there was still plenty of action to be scored. Sometimes the early bird gets the worm. But at the same time, if you hang on for the late session, you can still score some epic conditions!

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JOHN CARTER

“It’s windy, wavy and sunny, and reports are flying in that the south coast is going off. WNW winds are cranking, with a solid south coast swell still pumping through after Storm Belio gave the coastline a battering overnight on Saturday.

The Witterings crew were up at the crack of dawn, scoring the early session at Joliffe Road, while further down the coast Pagham was going off with cross-offshore, down-the-line conditions. Timo Mullen and the K-Bay crew were lining up for another big day at the Bay, while the Southbourne boys were also getting ready to rumble.

And me? I had seen this forecast coming, knew it could be a good one, and somehow managed to make absolutely no plan whatsoever. By mid-morning on Sunday, I had developed a full-blown case of FOMO. When you live on the Isle of Wight, you can’t just jump in the car and chase the wind…unless you have your act together. Clearly, I didn’t.

My only hope was Ross Williams. We both live on the island, and Niton or Bonchurch could be firing, even if we’d already missed the best of it. There was just one small snag: Ross was on chef duties at his café, Trade Winds!

Ross has had a busy summer working and has barely sailed, so he was just as keen as I was to get a session in. The plan was to get the lunch shift sorted, find someone to cover the kitchen and make a break for it. Simple enough in theory. Anyone who’s worked in hospitality will know that the words “I’ll just leave after lunch” can be the beginning of a very long afternoon.

By 1pm, I had a message from Ross saying he was swamped and things weren’t looking promising. That sounded like the final nail in the coffin. I was going to have to write the day off as far as windsurfing photography was concerned.

Time for Plan B. Surfing it was.

I loaded up all my gear and headed for the beach around 2pm. Then, just as I’d resigned myself to a different kind of session, my phone pinged.

Ross: “I’m loading the van!”

What? Had the cooker blown a fuse, did Ross sabotage the kitchen, or had the kitchen staff staged a miraculous takeover? Whatever had happened, Ross suddenly had a window of opportunity, and he was taking it.

By 2.30pm, we were at Bonchurch, looking at waist-high sets. These were probably the leftovers from the pumping swell earlier in the morning, and with the tide still dropping, the waves can often disappear into the channel. The prospects weren’t exactly setting the pulse racing.

We’d made it this far, though, so there was only one thing to do: roll the dice and head for Niton. Hopefully, there would still be some bigger sets lingering. Ross whizzed ahead in his truck while I followed behind, still harbouring serious doubts that we’d missed the boat and would end up chasing scraps.

Then I pulled into the car park at Niton.

Ross was already in his wetsuit, arms loaded with his Tabou Da Curve 92L and a 4.0m sail. He actually looked quite positive…

“It looks sick, JC! It’s firing!”

Cue a mad scramble as I attempted to scramble my camera gear together. The really bizarre thing? There were just two cars in the car park… ours! Not a surfer in sight. It seemed the rest of the world had either packed up for the day or failed to receive the invitation.

For the next 90 minutes, Ross hit the water and scored some beautiful, clean, logo-high waves. The WNW wind was spot-on for riding, the light was stunning and Niton was delivering the goods.

After a frustrating day of missed opportunities, false starts and a near-abandonment of the entire mission, we’d somehow stumbled into a magic session at one of my favourite windsurfing locations.

Ross reckoned he was out of shape, off his timing and completely rusty. Looking at the photos, you’d be forgiven for wondering what he was complaining about. His wave-riding still had that powerful, fluid feel, with plenty of commitment and drive.

Of course, there’s a difference between looking good in a photograph and feeling good on the water. Ross knew he’d lost some of his timing, but the session had clearly reminded him what he’d been missing.

It also brought to mind Monday’s action at the Aloha Classic, where the wind filled in late in the day. Sometimes you can wait around for hours, convinced the opportunity has gone, only for the whole thing to come alive just when you’re about to call it quits.

Maybe Niton would have been even better in the morning. Maybe we’d missed the biggest sets. But perhaps the day had played out exactly as it was supposed to.

One thing’s for sure: we’d nearly written Sunday off and instead finished it with a pretty epic session. Ross got his wave fix, I got my photos, and I was reminded that sometimes you just have to keep rolling the dice.

Better late than never? Absolutely. Although next time, Ross, perhaps book a kitchen assistant and get us there before lunch!”

ROSS WILLIAMS

“I have not been windsurfing anything for ages. I haven’t been on the water since a few sessions before the summer, as far as I can remember. I’ve started going to the gym and was feeling pretty good, but then you get on the water and realise it’s a completely different kind of fitness. You’re using different muscles, and if you haven’t sailed for a while, you really notice it.

“My timing was terrible today! I was a bit apprehensive as well. I just need more hours on the water and hopefully wave sailing will feel like second nature again.

“There have been a few storms recently, but I haven’t managed to get out because of work. To be honest, I’m not necessarily looking to sail in 70 knots of wind these days. I don’t think that’s my thing anymore! I’d much rather have good wave-riding conditions, perhaps the day after a storm, when you get the last dregs.

“I actually had work today. I was supposed to be in the kitchen cheffing, so there was a bit of pressure to get everything sorted. It looked like someone might be able to cover me, but then things got really busy and I thought I wasn’t going to make it. Eventually, things seemed to quieten down, so I had a look outside and could see the lines at the café, which usually means it’s pretty good around this side.

“I thought, ‘F**k it, let’s go!’ I threw everything in the truck and headed off, leaving everything else up in the air!

“When I got to Niton, it was looking really nice. The wind was coming from a good direction, with just a touch of north in it, which helps because Niton bends away from you. But I was definitely out of practice, and my timing was terrible. I managed one or two little hits on the smaller waves, but I was probably avoiding anything too serious. I didn’t want to head out there and break a mast straight away! I just wanted to get my feet back on the board.

“I went for a big 360, but a few years ago I’d have done it much tighter in the pocket and projected out rather than just going up in the air. I felt like a right spanner!

“But I had a great time, and it’s definitely lit a fire again. It’s made me want to get back on the water and get water-fit again.”

Gaastra Windsurfing | GA Sails – The art to be ahead.