On the way out, Kev recited various salty tales about the bizarre history of the forts, the treacherous currents in the channel and even the mysterious disappearance of a local drug smuggler, whose body is rumoured to have been dumped by locals near their footings. After motoring for the best part of an hour, we finally stopped about half a mile before the Red Sands forts where Kev suggested that Nik should rig up since the boat would drift closer with the wind. The breeze was still looking kind of light but, with an 8.4 and a large Freeride board, there was probably just enough for Nik to blast around. We were on! Five minutes later he was rigged and ready to go and gunning up towards the towers looking well-powered. Up close, the circle of turrets out in the middle of the Thames were way more surreal than looking at the pictures on a computer back at home. Spooky, majestic and astonishingly still there after all these years. For the next hour Nik blasted around, in front and through the pillars of the towers while the wind gradually built to a solid twenty knots. Even at just a force 4-5, the choppy conditions were pretty much on the edge of Kev’s boat’s capabilities and we rocked around in the short and bumpy swell. I really wanted to try and climb aboard one of the Forts and shoot from above, but the water was churning up too much for us to get close enough for a safe landing.
