COAST - THE CRIBBER

COAST – THE CRIBBER

After three frustrating days of driving with Ross Williams around virtually every beach on the north coast of Cornwall, I was starting to think we’d blown it. But, as the old saying goes ‘the best things happen when you least expect them’ and the view from our hotel window was the game-changing key. My whole plan from the beginning was to check out some different sailing locations on the Cornish North Coast, but to be honest shooting the Cribbar wasn’t even pencilled in on my hit list!

Words & Photos JOHN CARTER

(This feature originally appeared in the April 2014 issue of Windsurf Magazine. To read more features like this first, Print and Digital subscriptions are available. Prices include delivery globally for 10 x issues a year!)

Like I said, we’d been checking out plenty of famous surf spots such as Constantine, Perranporth, Polzeath and Watergate Bay, but the weather and tides just weren’t playing ball. Feeling kind of over it and sick of driving after the first day, we decided to find a hotel in Newquay rather than drive down to the Travel Lodge at Hayle – our normal hangout. Not only did we find a killer deal at the Best Western overlooking Towan Beach, but this simple twist of fate meant we were in Newquay, the morning it all went off.

CALLING TIME

December had been pretty much an epic month for Atlantic Storms and the low pressure systems seemed to be just stacking up one after another. An enormous swell was set to hit Ireland Saturday morning, with its long period outfall aimed right at the North Coast of Cornwall. Rather than blow this trip completely and spend half the day hunting for new spots we had pretty much resigned to head to Gwithian - the one solid location we could rely on and knew that would be working. On Friday night, our friend from the Isle of Wight, Neal Gent had joined us for the weekend and, by the time last orders were called, I would have to admit we were all slightly worse for wear. Ross was drinking Cornish Rattler, a 6% cider and I’m sure that stuff possibly may have affected his decision-making process the next morning!

Over breakfast we could just about make out large quantities of white water breaking in the distance off Towan Headland, which meant the Cribbar could be working. Ross made the call that we should give it a quick eyeball before heading down the coast. Had we not been in the hotel, there’s no way we would’ve even given the Cribbar a thought from elsewhere. Bearing in mind the three of us were all nursing nasty hangovers, the Cribbar was probably the last place we should’ve been headed.

Situated off the headland at the NE end of Fistral Beach in Newquay, the Cribbar is probably Cornwall’s most famous ‘big wave’. It was first surfed way back in 1966, by Australians Pete Russell, Rick Friar and Johnny McElroy, plus the American Jack Lydgate. Since that ground-breaking session, it’s been on the radar of riders seeking the ultimate challenge. The wave has been splashed over the front pages of the tabloids over the years, almost ridiculing it by labelling it with such names as the ‘Widow Maker’ and the ‘Bone Cruncher’. It takes a west swell of at least 4m at 14-15 seconds to start breaking and ideally a south/south east wind for ideal cross-offshore sailing. The currents, especially on the incoming tide, tend to draw you into the break and towards the rocks, so if you wipe out, it’s not a nice place to be. The rocks at the base of the Towan Headland are perhaps what make this spot the most daunting. Simply put, they’re like a fortress of deep, sharp gulleys from the looks of which no board or human would ever make it out in one piece.

RATTLED?
On arrival, Ross seemed oblivious to the fact it was mid-December, the waves were massive and we had no Jet Ski as a back up. A five-minute check of the thirty-foot waves crashing in front of the uninviting rocky headland and he was jogging back to the van to rig up, regardless of the consequences. I guess there was no room for anxiety or self-doubt? Was he insane, or was it that Rattler from the previous night?

I could tell from Neal’s body language that he wanted a piece as well, but he was naturally hesitant of the situation that was being thrown at him. Not to mention he also had the pressure that Ross was heading in alone and could do with a wing man. Unlike Ross, who is a full time pro sailor, Neal is a doctor at Chichester Hospital. Don’t get me wrong – he knows his stuff on the water, but heading out to the Cribbar is a big ask, even for the likes of Ross. Any mistake out in those waves was likely to be either lethal – or result in a huge swim around the coastline back to safety. After pondering the pros and cons of heading out, Neal eventually decided to go and that was it, it was game on. It probably didn’t help that once the decision was made I suggested that we agree some sort of signal for me to call the coastguard, in case either of them ended up in serious trouble. A wave of both hands was agreed and I left the boys to rig and head out beyond the point of no return.

ONE-WAY TICKET
The launch is actually pretty straightforward, aside from the fact once you leave there’s no easy way back in. On the lee side of the headland, the water is calm and sheltered from any wind and waves. So after a tricky tightrope walk down the old lifeboat launch ramp, it’s a nice flat-water swim and drift until you clear the land and reach the wind line. The only downside would be that there would be no easy way to get back in the same way you headed out. This was a one-way ticket with a far more painful return journey.

Ross was first out and soon was in the thick of the lined-up swell, probably wondering where in the hell he needed to be when he dropped in? Without backup, we were definitely playing with fire. The main lefthander to the left of the rocks was definitely holding up the biggest waves, but occasionally a separate peak to the left would loom up out of nowhere, making the territory between the breaks all the more risky. From the cliffs it was pretty hard to gauge exactly how big it was out there, but once I saw Ross’s mast disappear between the swells out the back, I thought to myself ‘Oh shit – that is massive!’ For the next hour Ross and Neal both diced with the Cribbar, taking some monster sets and outrunning avalanches of white water. Luckily there were no wipe-outs until the boys decided to sail in through the huge surf at Fistral. Considering there’s a sandy beach upwind, it seemed odd to me that they were both heading in towards the rocks in the corner. I guess they simply both misjudged it. Next thing I see Ross get swamped by a huge wall of white water and he was now in front of the worst of the rocks with another a ten-foot wall of water about to hit him. After a gnarly washing he was now stuck in a cove and, from my perspective, it looked like there was no way out. Moments later I saw Neal suffer a similar fate and go down in the drink, right in near corner of the bay. The few people that were around down in the car park all headed over to check on their safety and thankfully, ten minutes later, I spotted both Ross and Neal with their rigs clambering up the rocks. We’d survived unscathed!

ROUND TWO
With slightly less swell forecast for the following day we’d settled back into the hotel for a few more ‘Rattlers’ and ales in celebration of scoring this big wave session. But the next morning, as we were contentedly tucking into our Full English breakfast at the hotel we received a text from Steve Thorp simply reading ‘Coming out to play?’ Oh lord, knowing Thorpy it simply had to mean the Cribbar was on again. Today the weather was far more unwelcoming and gloomy, but up at the car park Steve was already rigging, claiming there were a few sets that he simply could not let go unridden. We all headed up the hill to check out if it was back on and this time round, Neal was keen to kite the Cribbar along with his mate Lee ‘Pasty’ Harvey. Also on deck, Jan Sleigh was keen to head out, while Ian Black was also scrambling his kit together to join in the on the action. As soon as Thorpy was out there it was obvious, there were still some mast-and-a-half-high bombs to be scored. Once we’d all witnessed him drop down a bomb set and set his rail into the bottom turn, a rigging frenzy ensued from the rest of the crew to head out before the wind switched from southerly to south west as forecast.

EARLY BIRD
Steve Thorpe probably nailed the best few sets of the Sunday morning session before the rest of the crew had wobbled round the point up to the break. The south wind only lasted for a short window and once it was SSW the sailing and positioning on the lumpy wave faces was way trickier. By the time poor Ian Black was on it, the rest of the crew were all headed back to Fistral leaving him out at the Cribbar all alone as the dank, murky weather really set in. Believe me the Cribbar is probably the last place you want to sail on your own, especially on a cold December morning in the pouring rain. Fair play to Ian Black he, stuck around long enough to be able to claim a few bombs, but I think even he was relieved when he decided to call it a day and head back in.

So there it was. Two pretty heavy-duty sessions by British standards – and possibly a milestone for the size of waves ever ridden in the UK. Truth be told, there are most definitely places that are much more fun to wave sail than the Cribbar and I doubt many UK sailors will have this spot on their ‘bucket lists’. I’m sure bigger and better days are out there to be scored at the Cribbar and a few other reefs that can handle a massive swell too. Even though this weekend proved that it is possible for a sailor to go out there and flirt with the edges of this Cornish reef, to really get stuck into the deepest part of the pit, Jet Ski back up really is a must and the dangers of this place should never be underestimated.