Today is sunny with a proposed big swell coming in but nothing was evident when I got to Bracklesham this morning loaded up with my 10’8 Jimmy Lewis Hanalei and the Jimmy Lewis M14.
Sitting on the beach, I was met by a mate who had camped overnight, so we sat in his camper and had a cappucino chewing the fat so to speak.
Picture the scene, you look out into the blue, seeing nothing but gentle rolling swells, a gentle offshore breeze causing a bit of a stir and the bluest sky. What you gonna do, just sit on the beach. Not on your life.
I headed out from the beach on the Jimmy Lewis M14. Decided to head straight out to try and use the wind to push me along. There is nothing to say much about the paddle along other than the water being a lot rougher between Bracklesham to East Wittering than East Wittering to West Wittering.
My first thoughts were to head to the wreck which is out in the channel but having got there and the tide being high there was no wave. I was only about half a mile offshore and could see people paddle surfing at West Wittering so decided to pay them a visit.
As you paddle in you come across lots of sand bars all of which push up rideable swell in different locations so keep looking around as your out there to get a free ride.
I landed at West Wittering having picked up nice little swell and rode in for over 100 metres. I needed a quick break as I hadn’t yet fallen in and was boiling hot considering it is mid November. 5 minutes to cool down and I am back out there with about 6 blokes on shorter boards.
We had some pretty good waves with nice faces on them and with that better shap enad longer ride I really got to steer the 14 footer around which was nice. It really does surf well for such a big board and can hold a line on the wave with the sharper rails.
Things are flattening off as the tide drops so it is back out to sea and heading for Bracklesham. With the wave direction behind me the ride home is super easy and this board rides everything. The breeze was at most 3-4knots so this really goes to show that the idea some people have of doing a downwinder can be somewhat misguided. I have been out in over 25 knots and then in 3-4 knots. Either way I am loving being out there and riding what nature has provided me with.
Whilst we have you here, don’t forget we run paddle board lessons down in Bracklesham. We offer Stand up paddle board lessons – Stand up paddle board tours – and we offer Hen Party Paddle board lessons and Stag Party Paddle board lessons.
To end my time on the water I picked up on a sweet little wave coming back into Bracklesham. Another long ride, smooth turns and a graceful dismount before I beached.
Some people have asked how I can paddle out there so far. To be honest the distances aren’t the issue. This paddle probably saw me cover around 6 miles in total. What makes a difference is having a board that is designed for the job.
I have ridden a lot of long boards and so far the Jimmy Lewis is my preferred weapon. If you want to join me on a paddle get in touch.
Ian
