Like your extreme sports? Then you’re heading to the right place. From chalky mountain-bike trails across rolling downs to big winter swells against a backdrop of beautiful beaches and rugged coastline out west, the Isle of Wight pretty much has it all on land and water. The Island is also a great place to get airborne, offering spectacular bird’s-eye views of large Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wild Water

The Island is best known for yachting, of course, but it also provides some fantastic conditions for a host of other watersports. Windsurfing, kitesurfing and surfing are well established, with schools for new participants and specialist stores that will sell and service your gear. Wightlink sponsors four of the Island’s brightest extreme talents. Top windsurfer Ross Williams was born here, and local-boy Tom Court is one of the best kitesurfers in the world. Meanwhile, Johnny Fryer, one of Britain’s hottest boardriders, and teenager Zoe Sheath, English National Women’s Champion, are both Island surfers.

Beach Guide

As a rule, stick to the northern beaches if you’re learning to windsurf or kitesurf – most Solent waters are flat and smooth, and rarely get big swells. Intermediates will find the conditions to their liking on the south-eastern side of the Island. The surf on the west side of the Island, particularly on windy days with large Atlantic ground swells, can get pretty gnarly. Conditions at all of the Island’s beaches can vary according to the wind and sea conditions – you are strongly advised to get some local knowledge before you head out.

 

Windsurfing

Thorness Bay on the Solent is a popular spot used by the windsurfing schools. The eastern harbour town of Bembridge is another great location: calm water and a
gently sloping beach make for great beginner and intermediate conditions. It’s pretty safe, but the water can get a bit hectic in summer, and the X-Isle school operates out of here. Sandown is the location of the Wight Waters school. Colwell Bay is a popular flat-water bay that is ideal for windsurfers with a bit of experience. Beginners should generally be aware of strong currents further out to sea.

The pretty village of Brighstone and the beaches at Brook and Compton on the south-west coast have some of the best windsurfing conditions on the Island, but can be pretty challenging depending on wind and wave conditions. Gurnard in the north tends to be a ‘locals’ spot.

 

Kitesurfing

There’s been an explosion of interest in kitesurfing, and the Island has plenty of top spots for this extreme watersport. On the east side, Ryde and Seaview, with wide sandy beaches at low tide, offer superb beginner conditions and are patrolled by lifeguards during summer. Do try to avoid the pier! Thorness Bay is another good learner spot; it’s used by the schools for kitesurfing classes, but watch out for strong tides. Yaverland, on the south-east of the Island, has a fairly wide, sandy beach and is a good spot for learners at low tide, although the beach is heaving during the summer months. It’s an altogether different proposition at high tide. As you’d expect for a White Air Festival competition break, at high water, unless you know what you are doing, you’re better off taking a spot on the beach to watch some local legends in action.

 

Surfing

There is no surf on the northern beaches. Depending on the weather conditions, most of the southern beaches from Freshwater Bay, Compton, Niton, Ventnor, Shanklin, Sandown round to Whitecliff Bay will get surf. The most consistent beaches for surf are any of the south-west facing beaches. The wide, sandy bay at Compton is probably the most popular Island break,and winter swells can produce a mellow longboard wave against a stunning backdrop of white cliffs. Out in the wild west, in a big swell, Freshwater Bay is the best surf spot on the Island. Experienced surfers only on this reef break.

Local surfers say that most Island waves are pretty mellow, although there are occasionally powerful swells. There’s no heavy, locals-only action and overcrowding is less of a problem than on the mainland. Be friendly and you might even get to hear about a secret spot!

 

Getting started

The leading extreme sport activity centres on the Island are X-Isle Sports in Bembridge, and Wight Waters, midway between Shanklin and Sandown beaches. X-Isle was formed in 2002 and is one of the UK’s largest kitesurfing schools. It also runs courses in windsurfing, surfing and wakeboarding. Wight Waters offers tuition in kayaking, canoeing, surfing, windsurfing, bodyboarding and sailing to suit all abilities, from the total beginner to the most advanced level.

 

Festival fever

The Island is home to Europe’s largest extreme sports event, White Air, with the 2008 Wightlink-sponsored festival scheduled for 18–21 September. What began as a wind and surf event in 1997 has gone large. The 2008 event will feature 26 sports and more than 500 competitors on water, land, beach and air. Visitors can also get involved through the ‘Have-a-Go’ part of the festival, where you can learn about and practise various sports, including mountain boarding, Parkour and windsurfing.

The 2007 show attracted thousands of attendees to the pro competitions and have-a-go taster sessions of some of the showcase sports. White Air has built a strong reputation on top-class competition combined with a friendly vibe among both participants and spectators. It’s also a showcase for graffiti, arts and entertainment – last year’s music headliners were The Bees – and you may already know about the legendary White Air parties!

Last year’s event was blessed with clear, sunny days, but White Air’s founder Nigel Howell is committed to putting on a show whatever the weather. The White Air website, at www.whiteair.co.uk, is buzzing with details of this year’s festival and also features an excellent beach guide as well as local weather and wave reports.

 

Getting some air

There is a strong tradition of hang-gliding and paragliding on the Island, and it’s a great place for beginners. Most people start with a tandem flight, and it’s possible to organise a 20-minute taster session with the Butterfly School at Chale or High Adventure at Freshwater Bay. Favourable weather gives many flyable days, with12 official sites in the south-west of the Island, all within a 10-mile radius. The Island’s top flying spots, facing in all wind directions and offering both land and sea thermals, have been the training ground for a number of leading British pilots.

 

Off-road extremes

Off-road biking on designated cycle tracks and public bridleways is a great way to explore the Isle of Wight. Serious mountain bikers will find the Island’s mix of chalky descents, rocky single-track trails and unforgiving climbs a real challenge. For a thrilling and technically challenging ride, the rollercoaster route from Freshwater to Newport is unbeatable. Thrill-seekers looking for some serious downhill action should head for the many trails over the Southern Downs around Shanklin and Ventnor.

There are plenty of great pubs along the way for refuelling as well as a range of options for accommodation. Spare parts and repairs as well as bike hire are available from a number of cycle shops on the Island.

The Isle of Wight Cycling Festival (spponsored by Wightlink) takes place 15–23 September 2008. Last year’s event featured a Cycle Show, including a mountain bike stunt display and the frankly mad ‘Sink or Swim’ Cycle the Medina competition, in which cycling eccentrics attempted to cross the river on an assortment of pedal-powered crafts. Details of these and other activities are on the Cycling Festival website at www.sunseaandcycling.com.

In addition to all of the extreme sports covered here, somewhere on the Island someone is likely to be wakeboarding, water-skiing, jet skiing or mountainboarding. Pretty much all extreme bases are covered, including the newest – speedminton and camtrike – at the White Air Festival. It’s just a shame there’s no snow!