‘Broad Bench’ in Kimmeridge Bay is one of the south coast of England’s wave sailing gems, but extremely rare to catch, not least because access to it is controlled by the Ministry of Defence! When the elements do combine though, waves rifle down this point with sniper like consistency. With a huge storm firing up the southwest approaches, a green light was given to mount an attack on the ‘Bench’! John Carter assembled a troop of sailors last autumn to launch an assault on the iconic wave and following declassification of the files, now brings us an account of the mildly daring raid!
Ross Williams airs out ofa meaty section
LOSING ITJohn Carter – “My alarm wakes me up promptly at 05:30 on the morning after ‘Brian’, one of the biggest storms of the autumn last year. Personally, the previous day had been an utter disaster. I had gambled on staying at home to shoot Niton, one of the Isle of Wight’s premier wave spots, on the outgoing tide in the afternoon with Ross Williams. Having thrown all my eggs in one basket, the plan totally backfired due to huge surges of water and waves off the Richter scale! The nuclear winds didn’t quite swing as forecast, leaving me totally dejected having seen shots online afterwards of epic sessions at the likes of Hayling Island, Avon Beach, Branksome Chine, and to cap it all, Thomas Traversa’s ridiculous big wave session at Red Strand on the south coast of Ireland. My part in the ‘Life of Brian’ had been an enormously frustrating mission which had totally failed; I was on the brink of losing it! The only possible saviour was to try and make amends by catching the fallout from ‘Brian’. Surely after 22 foot waves were recorded in the English Channel the previous day there would be some chunky leftovers on the limestone ledges of Kimmeridge. Determined to make amends, I instigated a military precision plan! Taking no chances, I left my home on the Isle of Wight the evening before and stayed with Paul Hunt overnight.
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