Southeast winds and south coast swell prove the perfect ingredients to fire up Dorset’s finest wave, Kimmeridge, for some rare port tack down the line action. On scene to score it with the lucky locals were Timo Mullen, Andy Chambers and Paul Hunt. They tell us just why it was a day to remember.
TIMO MULLEN
Since moving to Poole in Dorset nearly 24 years ago, I have had the pleasure of calling Kimmeridge Bay my home spot. Kimmeridge or K-Bay is well known for its amazing windsurfing conditions, epic surf, and stunning scenery. Kimmeridge lies within a World Heritage Site and with its far-reaching views along the spectacular Jurassic Coast, it’s easy to see why Kimmeridge ranks as one of the UK’s most beautiful windsurfing spots.
RARE JEWEL
Kimmeridge faces SW, meaning a SE wind is pretty much side shore port tack, and so can randomly produce epic wave sailing when most other places on the south coast are bolt onshore. Now SE wind is not exactly rare, but a combination of SE wind and a groundswell is! In fact, I reckon in 24 years of sailing at Kimmeridge, I have probably only scored this combination a handful of times, but have been skunked a lot more times than that!
This forecast had been brewing for a while, there had been a really solid few days of swell on the south coast as a stubborn low pressure had parked itself in the Bay of Biscay and wasn’t moving thanks to an equally stubborn high pressure sitting over the UK, providing offshore light easterly winds. The surfing had been pretty epic with some locals calling it the best week of surf they could remember. As the high and low-pressure systems began to try and squeeze each other out, the isobars began to tighten just enough to give a glimmer of hope of some stronger wind. Unfortunately, the margin for error in the wind direction for Kimmeridge is minimal, it has to be bang on SE, too much east and it is too offshore as the wind bends away from the land due to the cliffs, too much south and it is basically onshore!
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Issue 388 - August 2019 من Windsurf.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Issue 388 - August 2019 من Windsurf.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
New School
Slingshot’s windsurfing brand manager, Wyatt Miller, has noticed that kids are drawn to playing with wings and puts forward an interesting case as to why he thinks this could help entice them and others into windsurfing.
Changes
Wave sailor Flo Jung reflects on our changed world during his lockdown in Germany.
THE LAST WAVE
Lockdown stirred the creative juices of reader Björn Alfthan, who peers into the future to present a fictional story set in the wild waves of Norway, five years from now.
STILL IN THE GAME
After a horrific fracture in his leg from a crashed aerial in 2018, Alessio Stillrich is back! John Carter talks to the highflyer from Gran Canaria about his move to the Simmer team, recovering from injury and how he learned to windsurf in Gran Canaria!
MOVE ON UP - GET ON THE FRONT FOOT
This month we look at how our front foot weighting can affect and improve different aspects of our main windsurfing moves.
SOUTH' KIPA
Nik tweaking it over home waters.
A NEW NORMAL
On a trip to La Tranche-sur-Mer in France last year, Tris Best estimated over 80% of the windsurfers were foiling. This summer in Portland Harbour, foiling activity has increased dramatically too he reports. With the market offering plenty of choice to recreational windfoilers, our test team check out some of the latest foil offerings.
TACKING – THE SEQUEL
Having given you time to practice, Harty concludes his tacking series by critiquing various tacking options, including the carve tack, as well as offering solutions to common slip-ups.
‘NO VAPOUR TRAILS TO SCAR THE SKY' *
Realising we may be about to enter an extraordinary period in our lives, Harty decided to keep a windsurf-centric lockdown diary. Here are some of his choice excerpts.
REDEMPTION DAY!
Renowned for its windsurfing and variety of spots to sail at, Kimmerdige Bay is a wave sailing jewel on the south coast of England. Timo Mullen gives a guide to its shores while reflecting on why a recent session there was a reminder that there is no place like home!