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COMPTON: WEST SIDE STORY

Ross Williams reaps the rewards of being in the right place at the right time as he scores Compton on the west side of his native Isle of Wight. He tells us more about the session.

WORDS – ROSS WILLIAMS // PHOTOS – JOHN CARTER

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PRELUDE

I knew there was a big swell coming at the weekend and I am always on the lookout to sail different spots when there is unusual conditions. In the winter I am normally ready to go if the opportunity arises.

The wind was forecast southeast which meant that Compton was most likely the best place for epic conditions. So with that in mind I was trying to get my family stuff done in the morning. We had an open day at my daughter Sienna’s nursery to go to. I was trying to play it cool with my wife and enjoy that before hopefully heading to the west side of the island later. I had one eye on the surfing chat on my phone and the boys were saying that the surf was pumping. It was sunny and there was a bit more wind than forecast. It was a long period 15-second swell, so likely to be some decent size sets. The day dragged on a bit and I was not able to leave until around 3 p.m. to head west. I didn’t even know if JC was back from his trip to Cape Verde and Fuerteventura, but sent him a message just in case. Poor Carter had planned an afternoon with his wife at home, but my call sparked a call of duty and he managed to negotiate a two-hour pass. Just to complicate matters he wasn’t sure if he had enough fuel to make it to the west side as all the garages were sold out due to panic buying after rising fuel prices!

COMPTON

Most swells that come up the channel hit Compton Beach bang on, so that was where I was planning on heading, although breaks like Chiltern Chine also work in the same direction. Compton is also a port tack break, which I like as I am a goofy foot surfer and it is nice to be on my forehand. It was just one of those lush afternoons in the winter with the sun shining, swell pumping and a decent south east breeze blowing side-offshore. To be honest this combination of wind and swell rarely happens so I was quite excited as I headed over. As I hit the Military Road, where you can see right up the coast to the Needles, I was shocked to see how big it was. Chiltern was probably bigger, maybe mast and a half, but Compton was perfect side-off and cleaner. I just had it in my head that Compton was going to offer quality sailing, more down-the-line than just a big drop.

I arranged to meet up with local kiter Tom Court to share the session. We have both been back on the island a lot more since the lockdowns. He is a top kiter and also a sick surfer. It is nice to go out in big waves with somebody else rather than just sail by myself. We are two island boys that love the water, riding waves and share the same passion. We both have made careers out of doing what we love in the water, so that is cool.

GEARING UP

I decided to go with a 4.8m sail and my 88-litre board. It looked a little bit windier than what it was. I was barely planing any of the session. I did struggle a little bit, but I had plenty enough power on the wave. I did not want to be overpowered when it was so cross-offshore. I like to have that surfing feel when I am sailing those conditions. Once I was on a wave, I didn’t need too much sail and a 4.8 felt small enough to still throw around a bit.

MAKE OR BREAK

On the way out there were some pretty daunting sets, so it was not easy punching through. The current was going against the wind, which was actually helping me a little navigate through the waves. I just had enough wind to creep out and the way the current was working it was pulling me upwind away from the worst of the impact zone. I was kind of drifting out and around through the area where the rip takes you out to get out the back. Experience comes into play in these situations. It was almost the perfect setup to be able to take a smaller sail than normal. There were some chunky barrelling closeouts, but somehow I never got caught out. I had to climb over a few whitewater sections, but it all worked out fine. The best wave riding is often when you are struggling to get moving, so I was happy with the setup I took.

SCORING THE GEMS

Out the back it was really difficult to read which waves would be the gems. There were kind of two swells running, so some sets were doubling up, while other waves snuck through and were the best shaped walls for riding. A few waves that were not really showing on the outside just scooped out when they hit the sandy reef. These were the real dredging hollow ones and nicer looking waves. I did not want to break anything out there, but I did hit a few chunky airs. I would love to have two or three days like that to really dial into those conditions. Those chances are few and far between, but at the end of winter we sometimes score these rare days when the stars align. The weather has been settled after the big storms and this was a high pressure backing off a low pressure and we were kind of in the middle.

So all in all it was an epic session to cap off a decent winter. I loved it and wished we had these type days more often. I was juggling family time as well so was just content to score that amazing session with Tom.