JC: What about your local breaks we heard Niton and Ventnor have been on fire this winter?
Ross: It has been a pleasure to score those sessions. With the forecasting being so accurate these days it is possible to look on the internet, pick those two or three hours that will be the best, go, have fun and then get back to work knowing you scored it. As usual in the UK, we have had a lot of these low pressures moving over us, so I reckon most of the winter I could get in the water for good surfing and wave sailing at these spots three to four times a week. For sure we had a great run up to Christmas and most of January without it being too cold. I remember having a really fun session at Ventnor while the tide was low and pushing, with the wind being south west, lots of sun. So we knew as the day went on the waves would get bigger and the wind also was due to swing more Westerly, which it did! So towards high tide we drove around to Niton and surfed it at high on the drop, and later when there was less water, we sailed again! It was brilliant, and you could pretty much guarantee that you would be able to do this every time a low pressure would pass over.
JC: Do any sessions stand out in particular?
Ross: You know what, there has been so many that I really can’t pick one out. Maybe it was a sailing and then surfing session at Niton when Jamie Hawkins and Neil Gent were over, I had so many sick waves that day. We even went for a pint in the Buddle Inn up the hill; you know it has been epic when everybody wants to stop for a pint on the way home to relive the best moments of the day!
JC: What about Surfing, we heard you have been building up quite a quiver of surfboards?
Ross: Yes, it is my little collection thing I have going on. I have a rather large section of JS boards that my brother’s shop, ‘Earth, Wind and Water’, has been dangling in front of me like a carrot in front of a donkey. In all honesty I surf all the boards I own; I like some for small front side waves and others for backside or heavier waves. It’s actually helped me understand a lot more about board shapes and rockers, so hopefully I can put some of those feelings across into some new windsurfing shapes for Tabou.