At 9am I received a message from Ross that he was already on his way to Niton and simultaneously a text from the rest of the crew that they we all on time to catch the 10 am ferry; unbelievable! Surely one of the muppets was bound to be late and hold up the schedule! Without further ado I loaded my trusty 1999 VW estate with my camera gear and held my breath as I turned the key for the first time in nearly three weeks. A few splutters and a cloud of smoke, but lo and behold she fired up first time and obediently purred into action. This day was already working out too good to be true. En-route every traffic light was green as my trusty V-dub roared towards the southern tip of the island like it was out for its first ever test drive. I finally hit the track down to Niton and at the half way point where you are treated to your first glimpse of the break, the view revealed perfect half-mast high rights peeling down the point. The day it all went right? Something weird was already happening on this November Friday the 13th that’s for sure! Down in the normally cramped parking area there was one glorious space awaiting me and I parked up and headed down to have a chat with Ross and check the conditions. As I was shoving my phone into my jacket pocket, which I had last worn about seven months ago, I felt a rustle of paper, which turned out to be a crisp twenty pound note, long since forgotten about; hmm, now this was really getting freaky. Ross had already rigged two sails and was smiling ear to ear. “JC, it’s going to be sick later, and they are calling wall to wall sunshine all day long”. A few minutes later Timo, Jamie and Lecky rolled up bang on schedule and all raring to go sailing. Bearing in mind I had just returned from nearly three weeks in Hawaii, shooting the very best wave sailors on the planet battling for the world title, to be honest I wasn’t expecting too much from the boys in the murky brown water on the Isle of Wight.
On the positive side, Niton is one of my favourite places in the world and for me there is a special magic down at the end of this bumpy lane. The beautiful southern tip of the island feels remote, wild and relaxing all at the same time and even when you are not in the water it is an awesome place to wind down and soak up the atmosphere. The lookout over the break is the perfect auditorium to watch the action and exchange the banter; sure it is no ‘Ho’okipa’ but it does have its similarities. Niton is a sanctuary of nature, open to the mercy of the elements that can serve up some amazing sailing and today, sure enough, the stars were perfectly aligned for a decent show!