‘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!
WordsJohn Carter, Ross Williams, Jamie Hancock, Paul Hunt & Nic Hibdige // PhotosJohn Carter
This feature originally appeared in the November/December 2018 issue of Windsurf Magazine.
LOSING IT
John 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. Between us we duly emptied his fridge of beer while he constantly rubbed salt in the wounds by recalling how amazing the sailing had been at Hayling and Avon. Both slightly hungover, we crept out of Hunty’s house in the pitch black at 06:00 and hit the road bound for Kimmeridge. I had managed to persuade Ross Williams and Jamie Hancock along with freestyler Nic Hibdige to join the dawn patrol. Ross was on the 06:00 ferry from Yarmouth to Lymington while Jamie and Nic were also en-route and by 07:00 we were all in convoy bound for K-Bay, naturally via McDonalds for coffee and morning rations.
THE BENCH The ‘Bench’ is one of the best surfing and windsurfing waves in the UK and situated right in front of one of the most visually stunning areas of the Jurassic Coast. It is also located on the edge of the Lulworth Ministry of Defence firing range and except for weekends and public holidays is totally out of bounds to the public by land and water. The rule is, if the red flag is flying then all access to the ‘Bench’ is strictly off limits. Surfers tempted in by epic waves have caused all sorts of problems in the past and a few years ago the Army even threatened to totally close any public beach access to the area. A campaign was launched under the ‘Save The Waves’ project to try to persuade the Ministry of Defence to slightly change the trajectory of their shooting range which would allow 100% access for surfers to the ‘Bench’, but so far to no avail. As it stands local windsurfers and surfers still have to strictly adhere to the rules of the red flag and consequently during many of the best days of the year, access to the ‘Bench’ is totally out of bounds. According to the Ministry of Defence the ‘Bench’ is open to the public 137 days a year and during the protests their reply to the surfers was – “The area is a vital training ground for British servicemen and women, allowing them to prepare for live firing situations in Afghanistan. A reduction in this training time would ultimately endanger their lives. We have taken steps to make the Broad Bench wave available to the public where it is practical and safe to do so.” The wave itself is fast and hollow due to breaking on a shallow shelf and can hold XL surf on its day. Combined with the fact the ‘Bench’ needs a big southwest or west swell, the military not to be firing and the necessary northwest winds, it really is a fickle wave to score for wave sailing. Hence we were up, packed and ready, at 06:00 to catch it at dawn.
“The ‘Bench’ is one of the best surfing and windsurfing waves in the UK.”
EARLY BIRDS You have to pay a hefty £5 for parking at Kimmeridge and the attendant had obviously heard that the surf was likely to be up and was on guard in her checkpoint on the hill at 07:30 ready to cash in on the early birds! Looking down across the bay at first light for our initial target reconnaissance, we could see the ‘Bench’ was breaking, but it was hard to tell how big or clean it was. The bay itself looked kind of windy, but there were definitely some glassy patches, which would be tough work for the boys to make it upwind to where the action would hopefully take place on the water. With high tide limiting access to the ‘Bench’ along the shoreline, my only option was to hike through the fields and shoot the wave from the top of the cliffs. I was hoping the military had left the access gates unlocked so I could make it round to my own personal shooting range! The army were off duty this morning, but after yesterday’s debacle I was determined to make sure my armoury of ‘Canons’ would be unleashing hell on the water and I would be taking no prisoners!
After a 30 minute hike I finally managed to dig into position ready for combat, just in time to catch Jamie Hancock and Hunty both launching from the other side of the bay. It took a while for them to make it out the back into the wind line, but once they were planing, both seemed to make steady progress upwind. Not far behind were Nic Hibdige and Ross Williams; the wind was filling in nicely and plenty of waves were pumping into the bay. My vantage point was in a beautiful location, camouflaged in the undergrowth at the top of the headland right in front of ‘Broad Bench’. To the left of me the rising sun was silhouetting the majestic cliffs beside Clavell Tower, whilst to the right the first rays of light were falling onto the dramatic cliffs of the Jurassic Coast down towards Durdle Door and Lulworth. The view out in front was not too bad either as Hunty dropped down into a logo high frothing pit on his first wave. I could see boils in the water as he was bottom turning, the wave grinding across the shallow ledge. Within twenty minutes all four riders were trading waves and kicking out into the perfect channel at the end of the reef. A quick check on the nearest buoy showed 14 feet of swell pumping up the English Channel, not too bad, although I have been to K-Bay before when it has been 20 feet! Ross had been reluctant to leave the Isle of Wight early, but after his first wave where he punched a huge aerial it didn’t look like he was having too many regrets.
Within an hour we were joined by a second wave of local troops all hungry for a slice of the action. With lots of hikers enjoying the breathtaking coastal walks up towards Lulworth Cove and a dozen or so sailors snagging a session on one of the best waves on the south coast it seems such an awful shame to have this jewel of pristine coastline shut down to the public for 228 days of the year!
OVER AND OUT When the boys had finally thrown in the towel, all that was left for me was to break cover and make the 30 minute hike with my camera gear back to our HQ. By this time we had all worked up an appetite and what better way to end a classic session at the ‘Bench’ with a mandatory debrief and tasty lunch at ‘Clavell’s Restaurant’ in Kimmeridge village.”
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.”
JAMIE HANCOCK “The ‘Bench’ only breaks a few times a year properly and is the closest point break to my home in Portsmouth. There is also the added factor that it is in the middle of a military firing range so is mostly closed off on weekdays, so it always feels rewarding if you score it. That’s not even including the fact that it has one of the most stunning views from the water of the Jurassic coastline. It’s a special place.
It always looks worse than what it is conditions wise from the car park, plus the waves wrap in a little, so the slightest amount of NW wind will work, even if the bay seems a little onshore. It is also always twice the wind than in the bay, so it can be slow tacking up there. On the lightest days I usually walk all the way round with my kit and rig and launch at the ‘Bench’.
This day was great fun with a few chunky waves coming through. The wave was pretty hard to read though and I was never quite sure when entering into a bottom turn whether the wave would flatten off or pitch up and throw. As we were there for the crack of dawn there was also the morning sunrise glaring through the sail when trying to see the wave downwind. Ross was ripping and I saw Hunty and Nic catching some solid ones. Apart from a nice 360 I felt my timing was off and I was sailing like a kook. But I still came back to the car with a smile on my face, which is standard protocol for the ‘Bench’.”
“I still came back to the car with a smile on my face, which is standard protocol for the ‘Bench’ ”
PAUL HUNT “The ‘Bench’ is by far the south coast’s most famous reef break but it is really fickle; I shudder to think how many times I’ve set off on the pilgrimage there and not even sailed! Adding to its elusiveness is the live firing range at Lulworth, so for 5 days a week it’s a no go area. It’s so hard to get all the stars aligning, but finally for the first time in two years for me they did!
It just about looked windy enough to launch from the slipway; any lighter wind and you have to walk out over the rocks and swim out at the ‘Ledges’! That normally involves getting pounded a few times. I took a 4.5 Blade and the 82 litre Fanatic Grip set up as a ‘tri fin’. It was a tough call, as I fancied taking my Stubby, I would have loved to try it at the ‘Bench’!
To make it upwind I made long runs, and tried to make the most of the gusts. I knew it was slack water so there was no current to contend with. It took about half an hour, which for the‘Bench’ is a pretty good run. The wave has a heavy section for sure, but you always seem to get spat out into deep water. Jamie took a few hammerings trying 360’s, but he survived ok. The ‘Bench’ also boils as it first rears up and that I was finding really hard to read as it happens so fast! It is always amazing to sail on the ‘Bench’ as it is such a rarity. I have scored it better, but this was up there.
For me, Ross stole the show! He just has this lazy style that looks so effortless (in a good way!). The rest of us were all sailing out together and got the grandstand view of him hitting the set wave of the session, a proper size wave over mast high. Jamie nearly made a massive 360 towards the end also and I had a bird’s eye view of that one. Nic was doing really well for a guy that has never sailed the ‘Bench’ before but I think he is a bit more of a freestyler. He ruined his ‘cred.’ by doing a one-handed ponch! I mean, this was ‘Kimmys!’, I shudder to think what would happen if you did that on the inside at Margaret River.
The scenery was epic! The Jurassic Coast really is amazing! Sailing upwind you really do get a feeling of being very small indeed. And at sunrise it is even better; I could see our intrepid explorer JC wobbling along the ridge bathed inthemorninglight, getting ready to shoot us and the epic views. After storm Brian’s escapades the day before there was loads of rubbish in the water – weed and dead things, I nearly kissed a dead seagull on the swim out to the wind line. By the way Jamie- a.k.a. Mini G owes me a fiver for parking I will never see!”
“It is always amazing to sail on the ‘Bench’ as it is such a rarity.”
NIC HIBDIGE “It was really cool to finally sail the ‘Bench’ when it was firing. I was stoked to be shown it by Ross and Jamie. We had a perfect northwesterly wind and being the day after storm ‘Brian’ there was plenty of swell about. I left my house early to get to K-Bay for dawn, checked the spot and it looked pretty windy with some rollers on the outside looking juicy. The sets were pumping and there were just four of us out sharing the waves. Ross was charging anything that came his way and hitting some meaty sections.
In the beginning I was sitting on the shoulder a bit trying to figure out how they were breaking and where I didn’t want to end up. If you are too late on the first section you get worked and end up swimming for your gear.
I have surfed the other side of the bay but never windsurfed this spot. I know there are rocks so was pretty careful in the beginning. Once I had seen the guys take a few I lined one up and cruised through a few turns, and towards the end of the session I was actually feeling pretty good and comfortable on the wave. I’m really looking forward to my next session there!”
“It was really cool to finally sail the ‘Bench’ when it was firing.”
