ROSS WILLIAMS
“I haven’t sailed too much at ‘Broad Bench’ before, but I knew by reputation that it is one of the heaviest waves that break along the south coast. I would have to say the main reason I enjoy sailing the break is because there are some really nice sections for turns and aerials. It is not an easy wave to get the timing right on, but when you get a gem then it’s punchy and thick. Choosing the right size sail seems always a little tricky here for me as you need to sail upwind to the spot and the wind also seems to be lighter where you rig and start from. There is current at the ‘Bench’, so you don’t really want to be too underpowered, otherwise you are not going to get the best choice in waves. This time I picked probably the right size, a 4.7m. It was a little bigger than the other guys who were sailing on 4.5’s, but just gave me a small edge in speed and staying upwind. When I first launched I thought going all the way to sea out would be the quickest way across to the ‘Bench’ but then I realised the tide was pretty strong and as the wind was cleaner on the inside, it was easier to tack up inside the bay and use the swells to ride and point high into the shore.
I would say that the ‘Bench’ is a very heavy wave. It is a reef and has shallow sections and rock boils that suck up and look intimidating. It is a place that can pack a punch as I found out when my back foot stuck in the strap. It is a real wave and there are solid heavy sections to be smacked. I had my best session so far there. I’m not going to say it was a good as it gets at the ‘Bench’ but it was fun. The ‘Bench’ is a place you need some time to work out fully, and the setup also changes on different tides. I found it quite hard to predict how deep to be and wasted a lot of good waves. In the end I nailed a few nice ones and it was getting better and better until I hurt my ankle and was forced to come in.
I was sailing with Jamie Hancock, he is always at a solid level and we try to push each other. I saw him nail a nice 360 and that made me want to throw down something nice too. Nic Hibdige and Paul Hunt were also part of the group that we were sailing with; I know Hunty does not sail as often as he would like, but you can tell he still has good timing and knows how to read the wave and carve some nice turns. Nic was the young guy and is a super talented freestyler and I think that is now crossing over into his wave sailing. It was nice to see a few locals ripping too. Kimmeridge is a beautiful area and it was amazing to have a look around you when sailing and admire the hills and cliffs. The same can be said for the view of the water as you are driving down too, you can see the wave in the distance and it looks and feels like you’re somewhere other than the south of England.”
“I knew by reputation that it is one of the heaviest waves that break along the south coast.”
