A DAY TO REMEMBER!
As the days progressed, the big forecast for my final day was holding firm. I was already apprehensive about heading out at One Eye, since the last time I was on the island there was a 5m swell at 20 seconds and it was un-sailable, too big, too much water and no way out for the safety boats. This time round a 4m at 17 second swell was on the menu so I was crossing my fingers that this swell would not close out the channel. My transfer from the hotel to the airport was at 6pm so I already knew I’d be cutting it fine if I was going to be out in a boat at One Eye anywhere past five! The last morning finally arrived and when I peeled back the curtains to check the ocean all I could make out was one huge line of white water closing out the horizon; yep it was massive! As the day progressed it was soon obvious that the conditions were maxed out and all of the guests were advised not to sail out to the reefs. We eventually found a boat driver possibly willing to venture out, but he wanted to assess the conditions in the afternoon to check if the swell was still rising and if the channel was negotiable. Even the thought of being in a boat in these seas was pretty nerve racking, any mistake from the driver and no bones about it we would be in a world of trouble once anywhere near the entrance to the channel. If you ever see an aerial shot of Le Morne it is easy to see the way all the water from the lagoon exits through this channel, especially on a big day and once outside the reef the wind blows offshore along with the currents. Klaas was adamant that he was up for a session, although Victor was looking slightly apprehensive, especially considering his world title campaign would be on the line a few days later in Crozon.
Around 1.30pm, I spotted a lone sail heading out through the Manawa channel and it turned out to be Uli, venturing out to meet a Russian sailor who had hired his own personal safety boat for a session at One Eye. Seeing Uli disappearing through these huge swells in the channel put a real scale on the size of the waves out there and now my nerves were really tingling at the thought of our upcoming boat ride.