Ross Williams
“Niton is one of those spots that you can have a really amazing session or a really terrible one. To narrow the chances of having a disappointing time you need to know the forecast, and know the tides. Niton is a spot that can change within an hour and there is nothing more disappointing then rigging up just as others are packing up telling you that you should have been there earlier.
I think this was about the fourth day that I had been sailing at Niton during the same week. I was pretty confident by the law of averages and my constant studying from hour to hour of the wind guru/magic seaweed forecasts that this day was going to be one to remember and it would be a solid one to have the boys come over to enjoy a whole day on the water. I also had a feeling that there would be a magic hour where the tides, waves and wind and even sunshine would all line up!
Earlier in the week it had been a pretty average session till this one moment in the tide, as it started to become slack on the drop and the waves were able to push into the bay with more force but without the strong current of the pushing tide to mess it all up. This would be the moment that I hoped would be “the magic hour”, as the forecast was calling for bigger waves and a better wind direction. I decided to arrive early, rig up and be ready for the conditions. It was a beautiful day, not too cold and sunny. Parking down at Niton can be a nightmare but my forward planning had provided me a front row parking spot with my big van. I was first to arrive and set up, just the way I like it; it is nice to have a bit of relaxing time to watch and see how the conditions shape up.