Image by Marouska Fili

WAVEJAM 5, 17th-18th JANUARY, CORNWALL

The forecast swell and wind was in some places off the charts…things were lining up for something big to happen. The emails were pinging back and forth across the country to Wavejam HQ with each shift in the forecast. Where was it going to go off best in the uk this weekend? Who was around and up for it?! Ireland, S coast England, S Wales? In the end Cornwall looked set to dish up the best and most useable of what was coming…

Saturday saw mast high barrels in side off wind go down at Mexico’s, Hayle with the King (Andy-not Robby…) just clinching rule over the tricky session that had everyone at its mercy. Sunday frustratingly let everyone down with fickle wind all over the county, Daymer bay not quite providing the epic skate park and wave playground for the day that the forecast seemed so certain of.

Nick Moffatt image by Jon Parker

SATURDAY

By 12noon most were in the Bluff car park getting ready, with a 'power hour' called for 2pm which was to give the best combination of wind, wave and tide. Mexico’s was quickly established as the spot to ride with the Bluff being too offshore and fluky while Gwithian was serving up mast and a half high monsters, for the most part, cleaning up the bay and anyone sailing it.

Rich Potter prepares by Jon Parker, check the new rashies!

THE SESSION

Amidst the fray it wasn’t easy to see what everyone was up to…
For me at about 1:30pm I thought 4.7 and 81 would just about get me out. The crew congregated and as we hit the shoreline I looked round to see everyone was as excited as I was. I picked my moment and made it out cleanly. You could just feel the power of the sea unloading over the shallow sandbar underneath.
Coming in my wave was already sectioning down the line. Straightening out I was looking back and caught a glimpse of Andy and kit being eaten whole!

Steve Thorp heads out by Jon Parker

Potter and Jan are heading out…Alex from Greece had been sailing at the Bluff but by now was too cold having been used to warmer climes recently. Thorpy sails down on a mean set, after one carve under the lip 100m of it threw at once, he races in front, up the face into the next walling section and cutting back, with a smaller inside hit to finish. Andy on one from further upwind, this one’s actually peeling ok allowing him two clean top to bottom turns in the pocket.

Rich Potter by Joe Cockle

Dan Linton has picked off a mast high set, he was positioned well and rode it to the beach. Soon after I notice him dragging his kit up the beach, snapped mast, gutted, one man down already.

Dan Linton by Jon Parker

I think by now everyone was severely overpowered at times, but it was always quite gusty, and you still needed some power to make it outside, where it was hitting 40knts.
This time I found a good one, during a long bottom turn it was walling up begging to be hit. Landing the aerial out the back all I could do was float my rig out of an awkward looking position, hope for the best, dive under the next throaty mother of a barrel that had been fast approaching and then swim all the way to the beach!

Nick Moffatt hangs on by Marouska Fili

From upwind I see Andy hitting a big air..

Andy King's big air sequence by Jon Parker

Kit got in and out safely several times and found some nice sections to lay some turns into.

Kit Brogan tears down the face by Joe Cockle

I stood in the shore again as Andy rides to the inside landing a goiter out the back. Others tell me they saw Thorpy had taken a big aerial to bail-out right back in under the lip. Not long after he’s asking if anyone saw the one he landed, no-one! Unlucky!

Steve Thorp bail sequence by Joe Cockle

It's clear that these two were a cut above and it was Andy’s extra antics including a ponch going out put him into P1 once the votes were counted.
The gusts were horrendous putting you into a sideways tail-walk, having to lever the boom away for all you were worth, sometimes on the wave really limiting what you could do. All in all though an exhilarating session had by all; everyone had gone for it and earned a few sweet rides.

Andy King by Goita Jon Parker

A few of the days moves and wipeouts during the power hour was recapped in the pub. Did our guys manage any good shots in the horrible light conditions through all that spray? Time would tell. The competitors emailed in their personal top 3 that evening. At heart this event is rider judged, riding to earn the respect of your friends.

Andy King by Jon Parker

SUNDAY

Colder but sunnier with the weather swinging more from the West, though at Daymer bay, against the forecast we still had southwesterly wind.

Rich Potter by Matthew Burridge

Rich Potter was out in the bay looking just powered up some of the time on 5.0 and 76 making the most of the chest high waves. The crew was praying it would fill in as we launched. After 20mins of floating around I admitted defeat and wobbled back in. Thorpy who’d been sat on the cliff was pretty dejected. He’d been up and down from our parking spot with his kit and a load of camera and video gear:
‘22ft and 30mph my arse!’

Jan Sleigh loop by Matthew Burridge

Jan headed out having rigged bigger gear and got a few moves in during a squall for a few minutes, tempting a few to join. Cue everyone standing on the beach afterwards looking up at a stunning clear blue sky. We truly had been skunked, what can you do…

A few of us drove over to Harlyn to check if a decent surf was on and see what was happening at Constantine bay. Thorpy phoned to say the wind had come back and to head over. Still on reheat in the car, music up getting motivated again and hoping to salvage something for the day I arrived at the car park, again, to see no-one planing, people packing up. Beer o’clock?

Potter’s phone rings in the van; he’s somewhere out there with just his gear and the wetsuit on his back
Potter: ‘Where are you?’
Thorpy: ‘Where the bl**dy hell do you think I am?’…
There were two possibilities as to where Thorpy was while the temperature was dropping as fast as the light was disappearing. Evidently, he was at the other one. We were waiting for Rich to sail back over to the Polzeath side where it looked like he was going but got back to our original spot where Thorpy would have been waiting for 3hrs. James Cox and I just couldn’t help but laugh. I felt sorry for James having driven for just today on the highly promising forecast… The car park was full, great to see so many people hanging out who’d been planing around making the most of whatever wind there was in the small fun onshore waves.


A valiant effort from all. Personally I was impressed by the way everyone organised themselves in cold weather, hitting it hard for the power hour in the right spot at the right time and shared in the craic.

Kit Brogan –Ezzy/RRD

Whilst I was struggling to sail in a straight line, Andy King was managing goiters. Just staying attached to the water was difficult enough let alone trying to ride some fairly solid logo to mast-high sets. It was a pretty extreme, if not an epic day. Getting out back was a fairly hit and miss affair and sometimes you were in for punishment. However, when things went well, and I managed to get out, I got slotted into some full-on peeling left-handers, enjoying flying down-the-line at full tilt.

Nick Moffatt - Goya

Well it was definitely the spot of choice with Bluff itself not looking very doable and messy monsters at gwithian. Some people first out weren't making it look that windy so just before 2oclock i thought 4.7 and 81 would just about get me out. Soon after getting out there i think everyone was severely stacked?! though it did pick up. Landing an aerial out the back there was no option but to just move the kit into a better looking position hope for the best, dive down beneath one throaty barrel and swim to the beach after it. The gusts were hurrendous putting you into a sideways tailwalk and levering the boom away for grim death. Thorpy and Kingy nailed a few good ones. There was lots of gunning down the wave and running away trying to hold on!

Jan Sleigh - Naish

To be honest, after I had spent an hour trying to get out at the Bluff in super offshore/ bolt offshore winds, mast high waves pounding the sandbars (and me) and a tide with wind effect killing the wind in between the waves I was pretty shattered and demotivated – but Steve made a good call for us to move Wave Jam down to Mexicos where the wind was slightly more sideshore and the waves just as big if not bigger. Wow, what a session! It was seriously savage sailing – trying to get out was a total hit and mission – every one of us got taken out at some stage while trying to get out. Once out back it was super windy and we were just hanging on to our rigs before picking a set marching in from the horizon. The wave riding was real hard and wave selection made all the difference – some were reeling 200m lefts and some were bomb sets that closed out the whole length in one go. I was pretty calculated about getting out – even so I took a couple of big swims and some punishing washing machine sessions. That kept my wave count pretty low – but I got a couple of memorable rides and it also gave me a chance to watch the boys as well. Thorpy and Kingy both stood out today with solid riding in the huge waves.

Andy King - Goya

A bit of a strange weekend really. All the forecasts were showing Sunday as being "the Day" so I even planned to get a late start at work. On Saturday I had to leave the beach at 4pm to get to work so come 1.45pm even with the wind looking like it was going to pick up at some point I did what I thought was sensible and rigged for the current conditions. 15mins later I was cursing myself as the wind went ballistic and I was beyond maxed on a 5m. On a couple of waves I literally got splattered by the up draft of the cross off winds as it ripped the tops of the feathering 6-8ft waves. I found a few lulls in the wind I managed to get some solid rides. There were some insane sections on offer in you dared attack the wave as it reeled down the sand bar so quickly that if you weren't careful it would drop out from beneath you. Thorpy was killing it on his twin fin and 4.5m, in my opinion the real stand out of the day.

Sunday was simply frustrating! So much was promised and nature simply didn't deliver. I parked on the North side of the river and never actually met the rest of the boys. I could see them out across the river but there wasn't enough wind for me to get upwind to them. I tried for about 30mins but once it became difficult to even stay upright I thought enough is enough.
At times it was actually good fun condition if a little light on the north side with jumps still to be had and a fun wave for a bit of new school trickery, however with an air temp of about 4 degrees even my hood, boots and palm less mitts couldn't fend of the shivers for long so I decided to call it a day and went to work.

Big thanks to thorpy and all those who made the long journey down...
can't wait for the next JAM !


Alex Nikoletopoulos

aloha wavejammers
even though i did not manage to windsurf properly this time, it was an epic weekend and a big experience for me, thank you guys for the company in and out of the water, total respect on saturday when you guys made it out the back at gwithian while i was still getting completely hammered at the bluff rivermouth overpowered with a dead offshore wind, should save some energy for the wavejam on the afternoon... did not make it, very cold for me and not enough energy left, but promise next time with full neopren outfit to do much better , some photos attached . see you next time ... maybe pretty soon ... next weekend ! forecast is again big and salty !!! thanks again and hope to see you soon.
Wavejam rocks.

Jon Parker

Photographers View:
I was sat at the pc looking at the windguru forecast when I got the call from Jan asking if I could make the step up from the reserves as a few of the Wavejam first team photographers were unavailable for the weekend. Having got the green light from the wife the van was quickly packed and I was on my way. With the forecast screen imprinted in my head, the anticipation only grew as I hit the M5 and saw the overhead warning signs telling me to take care as extreme wind was expected.
Arrived at the Bluff on Saturday morning to find a lot of people looking at the water but no-one venturing out. Eventually one or two people took the bull by the horns and went in, only to be left floundering by lack of wind and a very fast rip. This seemed to put a few others off as they headed to other spots, leaving the Wavejam crew. One by one they all ventured out but, although the wind had picked up a bit, were all struggling with the weight of white water, rip, patchy wind and waves that were closing out.
A decision was made to delay the power hour and to then sail down the coast a bit to “Mexico” where the wave seemed better. By the time that they had all arrived someone had clicked the wind “ON” switch as it was howling. Down at beach level you got a true perspective of the weight and size of the waves which at times were over mast high and were completely dumping. Over the next half hour the wind continued to increase leaving the view back up the beach obscured by blown sand and the view out to sea a mass of spray and white water. It was nothing short of savage and somewhere amongst it all were the Jammers.
Trying to pick a spot to launch looked like a lottery but eventually they all made it out. Sadly for Dan Linton the session was short-lived as a broken mast and long walk back to the car park put an end to his session. Luckily, apart from a few beatings in the white water and bombs landing on heads, this was the only casualty of the day.
From the beach it looked like Andy King and Steve Thorp were the standout sailors. Andy pulled off some lovely aerials and trademark back loops as well as bail out of the day. Not to be out-done Steve had the wave ride of the day as well as pulling out some big aerials of his own. However, to pick out just 2 of the Jammers wouldn’t be fair as everyone that made it out deserves praise.
Looking back at just how brutal the conditions were – it was a struggle to walk back up the beach at the end – it would have been too much for the vast majority of UK sailors. Respect therefore has to be given to ANY sailor that ventured out anywhere along that coastline on the Saturday.
Trying to get clear shots proved really difficult as sailors were (as years of sailing has taught them to do to avoid the following waves pounding them if it all went wrong) picking the third or fourth wave of a set. Unfortunately the dumping first and second waves left the view filled with spray. Whilst dejected at first when going through them (being conditioned to seeing shots of perfect peeling waves with clear blue skies doesn’t help) I now look at them as recording the reality of UK winter sailing. Dark and overcast conditions mixed in with rain, spray and ever changing light is the reality that we all know from our own sessions. This also is the beauty of the Wavejam concept. Seeing people sailing (and pulling off moves) at UK sailing spots in conditions where most people would have taken a look and driven back home adds to the experience and brings home just how good some of these guys are. Wavejam 5, The Bluff, 17th January - They came, they saw, they conquered survived.

For a full selection of images from WaveJam 5 check out our Gallery section.