OH NO – IT’S CARTER CALLING …
I am sure whenever Ross Williams spots my name pop up as an incoming call on his mobile that he most probably senses that I have some sort of wild mission in mind. While he is back home we normally hook up for a windsurfing photo session and more often than not there is a twist in the tale with some hare-brained scheme of mine that involves him sailing outside his normal comfort zone. This time round it was a breezy September morning right before the Denmark wave contest when my latest plan came to fruition.
It was the perfect day for heading out to the Needles, although a certain amount of logistics were needed in order to pull this mission off. Although sheltered, The Solent is a very rough and choppy stretch of water due to its complex tidal pattern. The currents can reach as much as 5 knots when the waters race out to sea and then beyond the terrible teeth of the Needles are the hidden danger of The Shingles, a three-mile shoal of pebbles just beneath the surface.