WINDSURF MAGAZINE 27ANDY KING
A
very long time ago when I was at Plymouth University,
Bigbury and Bantham were my ‘local’ windsurf spots. Over
that time and a few days since I’ve been lucky to score some
great sessions there. It offers a wide variety of conditions
on both tacks, but the most elusive score in my opinion is
port tack wind with a big south coast swell. I can count on one hand the
number of solid wave days I’ve had there with east wind, and maybe just
one with waves over logo high. The wind and wave starved summer finally
conceded to a stormy autumn and we’d already been spoilt with some solid
mast high down-the-line conditions in Cornwall, but something equally
intriguing was showing on the forecast radar this time in Devon.
The problem is not only do they put cream on the scone before the jam
in Devon, but there’s usually a 50% chance the fickle south swell or east
wind forecast will change, leaving you equally disappointed. But on this
occasion the stars lined up, for the sailing not the scones! I had planned to
sail Bigbury on Saturday, but a morning webcam check showed very little
in the way of waves or wind. My patience wore thin and instead I sailed a
local spot in Cornwall that offers good jumping in an easterly and ‘proper
job’ scones!
It was good, but the large SW swell never really arrived there, so I was
surprised and a little frustrated to see how good the conditions had got at
Bantham that afternoon. Having missed the Saturday I was determined to
get a piece of the action on Sunday morning so the alarm was set for 05:30
a.m. I had my passport ready to cross the county border and I arrived at the
beach just before sunrise. My early rise paid off, not only were conditions
firing but I blagged a free parking spot, £8 richer...right result. It was low
tide but solid mast high sets were pounding into Bantham. I rigged a 4.7m
and my Goya custom thruster 92 litre for a little extra float to help get into
the waves against the strong offshore wind.
A fair few other sailors were on it early too, and it wasn’t long till there
were several of us out in the lineup. The conditions weren’t easy, the wind
on the outside of Bantham was really fickle, dropping you off the plane
and leaving you pumping with all of your might to get enough speed to
catch or avoid the logo to mast high waves. In order to stand a chance of
catching the set waves in the very offshore wind you had to get perilously
close to the impact zone with sneaker sets poised to take you out if you
were unlucky or not paying attention. When you did get on a decent wave
and break free of the wind’s updraft you’d have a few moments to enjoy
stamping your own marks on the mast high lumps of sculptured water
curling their way to shore before you had to consider an exit strategy as the
right hander from the river mouth of Bigbury morphed with the Bantham
left hander we were riding to set up a do or die end bowl often complicated
with a surfer riding towards you!
I had a plan to catch the biggest set wave I could, for my own satisfaction
not photo glory. However, as with most of my plans, it went a bit pear
shaped. I managed to sneak late into a set only to start my bottom turn
and see a throwing lip shutting down in front of me. So I figured I’d ping
my kit over and out of the wave before taking a hold down. In reality I
just pinged my kit directly into a dropping mast high lip that hit it so hard
it sheered the stainless steel fixing on the deck plate, separating rig and
board. I’ve seen many a rig lost forever to the sandy depths at Bigbury,
so the choice was simple, save the rig and my board could fend for itself.
Thankfully for me the tide was pushing and after a 20 minute swim I was
reunited with my board for a swift deck plate pit stop before getting back
on it. As expected the swell and wind both started to ease, so I packed up
and headed home to Cornwall. I felt I probably missed the full brunt of
the swell as it arrived on Saturday afternoon, but at least I had a taste of it
early Sunday before the epic conditions hibernate for another few years!
“I HAD A PLAN TO CATCH THE
BIGGEST SET WAVE I COULD.”