38 AUGUST 2019
Paul Hunt putting in the lip work.
PAUL HUNT
Timo always seems to snag those rare sessions while the rest of us are totally
out of sync with the weather. This time round he had sent me a warning the
night before that K-Bay might be working but I couldn’t go due to work
commitments. Sure enough the next day, the message came through that it
was firing. I just could not resist, threw down my tools and jumped in the
van and drove full speed down to K-Bay. I quickly rigged a 5.3 Blade and
plugged it into my 88 Fanatic Stubby and clambered over the rocks to snag
a few waves. I could only be less than an hour on the water as I had to be
at school to pick up my son and if I missed that rendezvous my wife would
most likely kill me. Even with the three hours of driving factored into the
equation, that 45 minutes of water time was more than worth it. It was a
beautiful sunny day, the waves were firing and I managed to snag one or
two peeling waves at the ‘Ledges’ that made the journey more than worth it.
Next time Timo sends out the warning signal for SE at K-Bay I will make
my excuses early.
“THE WAVES WERE FIRING.”
KIMMERIDGE
TIMO’S TIPS
K
immeridge Bay faces SW, so the usual conditions that are best are
any wind with a bit more west in it - WSW, W, WNW and NW
are all pretty epic for starboard tack wave sailing. The infamous
‘Broad Bench’ is the jewel in the crown of wave sailing at Kimmeridge,
a right hand point break/reef that works with a big SW swell and NW
wind; on its day it can rival the likes of Ponta Preta and Ho’okipa.
Access is via a toll road and there are toilets on site. Closest town and
petrol station is Wareham.
Clavells Café in Kimmeridge village is open all year round and serves
excellent food. Kimmeridge is a private estate, obey the rules as they have
been known to ban surfers and windsurfers for flouting them!
Kimmeridge sits within an MOD firing range, the red flags mean they
are firing and they usually fire some pretty big rounds and shells, so obey
everything the range warden tells you!