The Knife is a left-hand point that breaks over the boulder reef on the northern side of Portifer bay. Requiring a spring high tide to break, it consists of generally fast, short and hollow left-handers breaking off or around the point. A fairly exposed spot, it picks up most available swell and can often produce 3-4 waves when Vazon is only 1-2ft. Generally known as a small wave spot as it starts to close out and get messy at around the 5-6ft mark and therefore is generally surfed on smaller swells during the spring and summer periods.
The most consistant beach break on Guernsey, portifer is usually 2ft bigger than vazon. Best of the down tide, Portinfer start breaking a mid-tide producing rights and lefts in the middle of the bay. The lower the tide the more hollow and powerful the wave becomes, unfortunately it also has more of a tendancy to close out.
This spot generally only works during large winter storms that produce enough swell to rap into the sheltered northerly facing bay (rarely works on large ground-swells). The bonus of the situation is that the predominate SW winds produced by these storms means that this place is generally offshore when breaking. In these conditions head down here at mid-tide on a falling tide. Access into the water is through a small gully below the carpark, the paddle out is easy as a rip runs parallel to the point straight through the take-off zone. The waves only starts to break at around the 5ft mark alongside a group of rocks that become dry as the tide drops. Take-off can be hairy as the wave jacks-up surprising quickly, if you are not committed when big you will very much regret it!! The initial section consists of a powerful and hollow wall that allows the opportunity for a couple of decent moves before the waves then starts to slow and flatten out as it breaks further out into the channel. It's an idea to keep a constant eye on the outside as sets are often masked by the rocks around the headland and can sneak in quickly, you do not want to be on the inside when a big set rolls in!! Generally best for a couple of hours after mid-tide, the wave becomes inconsistant and shallow on the inside at low tide.
Just park in the main car-parks, they both overlook the whole stretch of beach, the two spots are seperated by rock outlets.
