TIREE - TRULY CLASSIC

The 2017 Tiree Wave Classic boasted one of the largest entries in recent years and a host of international sailors. Most importantly it was windy, very windy! We hear from some of those involved in all the action on and off the water and why 2017’s event was one to remember.

Words

Richard Whitson, Lucas Meldrum, Sarah Hilder, Marc Paré Rico, Julien Taboulet, Ruaraidh Somerville, Adam Lewis // Photos
Richard Whitson

Originally published within the Janaury February ’18 edition.

RICHARD WHITSON – PHOTOGRAPHER
Right from the first warm-up session at Balevullin, two days before the event, it was obvious that the young-gun pros Marc Paré Rico and Julian Salmonn were going to be strong contenders for the title. Both showed a great eye for the waves, confidence and the flexibility of youth to pull off some cracking moves in logo to mast-high surf with goiters, wave-360’s and airs in abundance. Adam Lewis, fresh from his success at Sylt also looked confident and on form as did Phil Horrocks who was pulling off some massive back loops and forwards. Ben Proffitt was nursing his broken foot and, so he told me, was trying to take it easy, but when you see how contorted his legs and feet are when doing a wave 360 I wondered what he would look like if he was firing on all cylinders! Julien Taboulet was pulling out some super contorted table-top forwards and I had to look twice at a few photos to work out which way his legs were facing!

Phil Horrocks (5th), last year’s champion, missed out on a top-4 place in the single elimination so had to work his way through the 20 strong double elimination field beating young Julian Salmonn (6th) on the way before narrowly losing out to Julien Taboulet. Marc Paré Rico (2nd) also fought back in the double with a win over Julien Taboulet (4th), friend and mentor Ben Proffitt (3rd) and finally Adam Lewis to set up a nail-biting super-final. 00Move for move they matched each other and gave the judges a challenge but Adam won through, a superb result for him, his first Tiree title and a worthy winner. Elsewhere in the fleet, Andy Chambers (7th) was as flamboyant as ever and great to watch and James Cox (9th) had some nice moves and big loops. Tris Levie was 2nd in last years Amateurs so had his first run in the Pro fleet this year and excelled, managing to battle to 8th place, taking a few well established pro scalps along the way. Ben Page was pulling off stylish push-loops and Corky Kirkham, all the way from warm Fuerteventura, sailed well in the cool conditions with some nice jumps and tabletops. Ladies champion Sarah Hilder triumphed again and for a spell competed against the men. In the Amateurs fleet, the younger sailors shone through and young Lucas Meldrum impressed to win the title with Thomas Pidden 2nd and Greg Bowden 3rd; all very encouraging for the future of the sport.

In the closely fought Masters, Kyle McGinn returned to win his 2nd title with Craig Hamilton 2nd and John McLawrence 3rd. Robin Nicol brought the “RYA Scotland Junior and Youth Wave Camp” to Tiree for a week of training and on two lighter wind days, they sailed in the waves at the same beach as the main competition. The camp is a stepping stone for Juniors and Youths to get into BWA events and had 23 participants this year from 9 to 18 years of age. It was great to see youngsters being shown how to uphaul in waves and beaming as they sailed back to the beach. Young Ruaraidh Somerville won both rounds of the Youth fleet so is champion again for his 2nd time, someone to watch out for in the future for sure. A close competition for the other podium places saw Aaron Hobb 2nd and Andy Budge 3rd. The ‘Windswept Tiree Wave Classic 2017 Expression Session’ at Crossapol took place in storm force winds and driving rain courtesy of ‘Ophelia’ and saw incredible feats from the Pros, many of whom said they had never sailed or competed in such strong conditions. Marc Paré Rico excelled to claim the Expression Session title, closely followed by Adam Lewis and Julian Salmonn.

LUCAS MELDRUM – 1ST AMATEUR
Ever since I got into wavesailing I’ve come to know of the infamous Tiree Wave Classic. The idea of a week of epic windsurfing on a magical island in the Atlantic seemed very appealing and I have wanted to come for a number of years now. Eventually this year I convinced my dad to go up, especially now I was determined to complete the tour in the Amateur division. Living in Brighton we pretty much had to drive up the length of the UK! We took it easy, stopping off at Birmingham, so it took us around 2 days to get there. Although it was long I really enjoyed discovering new places and it’s all part of the Tiree experience. The ferry is the hardest bit, as all the windsurfers want to get the same one. They didn’t have enough space for the Saturday ferry so we booked for Sunday. Luckily though it turned out they had some extra space on the Saturday, so they squeezed us in. Result! I’ve seen a lot of Tiree stuff over the years but I think this year was one of the sickest ones yet. We had wind almost every day, including a hurricane! There was 70 competitors, including some top international riders, an awesome HQ, great atmosphere and a mad party at the end!

I especially remember the Tuesday when it was nuts windy (from the hurricane) and everyone was so pumped about going out and having fun! The funniest crash I had though was on a smaller day at the Maze. I was going up, about to pull the trigger for a forward, then the next moment I’m flying in the air with my board detached from the sail! Clearly I didn’t screw the mastfoot up very tight! Fellow competitor Reuben Shaw helped me get the kit back together but I managed to drop the UJ and it sunk! Thankfully I got a tow in by Stefan Hilder before hitting the rocks. I won’t make that mistake again!

Gear wise I was using my Fanatic Quad, which never lets me down, and my new North Hero’s that are also amazing. I felt so comfortable on the water, which I believe is so important so that you can really concentrate on the comp. I like the fact Tiree is set up to accommodate virtually every wind direction. At home it’s only ever good in a westerly. It was well cool to drive 15 minutes down the road, after being in onshore mush, to down the line wave riding. Sooo sick!!It was the best windsurf event I’ve been to for sure. Totally recommend it to anyone, you don’t need to be able to do huge back loops, it’s just about pushing each other and having fun on the water! In three words Tiree 2017 was – very, very, windy!

SARAH HILDER – 1ST LADY
This was my sixth year in Tiree, and every year has provided a variety of conditions and is always an adventure. The journey from Cornwall was 12 hours and had the usual M6 traffic and essential stop at the Tebay Farm Shop services for some delicious food. On the way home it was more intense. The 4 hour ferry didn’t arrive until 3pm in Oban, so we drove all evening and night to arrive in Plymouth at 3am to start work the next day. As I had crashed badly the day before, instead we made our way straight to A&E for an x-ray on my arm (there wasn’t an x-ray machine on Tiree), thinking it would be quicker to get through at that time on a (now) Monday morning. It wasn’t. 4 hours later at 7am I left with a non-fractured arm (phew!) but absolutely exhausted, as we had both not slept for over 25 hours!
I love the windsurfing, surfing and social side of the event as it always gets a great bunch of like-minded people together each year on a tiny island having fun. I love the fact that on Tiree you can practice in every single wind condition, with different types and sizes of waves at every beach. Every spot is not further than 30 minutes apart so you can completely tailor your sessions and requirements for windsurfing, surfing, SUP’ing or kiting – whatever you want to do!

The event this year was different to previous events in that we were based in the Community ‘An Talla’ hall. The hall provided a central location to get updates, breakfast, lunch and dinner, Windswept beer, Scottish Salmon (both event sponsors!) and generally be a nice place to get out of the weather! Generally (and this year was no exception) the conditions allow for water activities everyday, so the theme of all day on the water and social evenings (open mic night, curry night, closing ceremony etc.) was great. We also had an impromptu ceilidh on the final night, when a couple of us convinced the band they MUST play the ceilidh to show the international riders what it was all about! All the local Scots brought back the memories of their PE lessons and taught us all how to dance, which was hilarious and a brilliant way to get everyone involved!
This year the forecast was very stormy, and there was no shortage of wind! As the eye of Storm Ophelia circulated around Tiree, it transformed Crossapol beach from a flat but very cold and windy beach to a warm, wet, and ‘wavey’ playground, with 50-60 knots of wind! After the amateur competition was run, there was a pro expression session for 20 minutes in the dying light and stormy seas. I will always remember the mad grins all the windsurfers had on their faces, dressed in colorful rash vests and struggling to walk with their smallest kit. There was a mass beach start then the imminent crashes and huge jumps. It felt on the edge of control and was total mayhem! For the windy days I found my 63 litre Simmer Custom board worked a treat. It glides and takes in chop so easily and was far easier to control than any other board in the high winds.
Tiree 2017 was a brilliant event. I sailed or surfed everyday and loved the community feel of the adventurous trip all the windsurfers had made to be there. There is something magical about a cold water trip too; the beautiful empty beaches, the inquisitive seals, the raw conditions and the feel of earning a good meal and wrapping up warm afterwards. In three words ..ish, Tiree 2017 was – stormy, social and action-packed!

MARC PARÉ RICO – 2ND PRO
I always wanted to go to Scotland because I had seen videos of Finn and Timo Mullen, Jamie Hancock and Ross Williams sailing there before and it looked amazing. So as soon as I knew that the PWA Maui event was not happening I started organizing everything to get there.
I started driving from Barcelona, then went to the north of Germany, Klitmøller in Denmark, Sylt (to do the World Cup) and then from Sylt I drove to Calais, where I got the ferry to Dover, then drove from Dover to Oban, where I got the ferry to Tiree! The whole trip felt like ages as I had to drive it all by myself. I drove 8560 kms, it’s quite a bit I guess ha ha ha. But it was actually really cool, as I discovered a lot of new places and met really cool people! I had one “funny” thing that happened to me on my way to Klitmøller. I was tired of driving so I stopped in a lay-by in Denmark after the border and I started sleeping. Suddenly I woke up and saw something similar to someone with the torch of a phone in my van, so I jumped out of the bed and I shouted “hey”, but when I got to the front part of the van there was nobody. I got so scared that I basically drove the whole night until I got to Klitmøller. I was probably just dreaming… but it scared the s*** out of me!!!

Tiree is awesome. I sailed port tack onshore, dead onshore, port tack side-shore, port tack side-off, starboard tack offshore, starboard tack side-shore and starboard tack side-on. All that in just two weeks! The place is stunning and I was really not expecting it that “empty” and raw. From the organizers to the competitors, they all made me feel like home. It was just amazing to meet such passionate and cool people!
When Hurricane Ophelia hit the island it delivered some sick conditions!!! The stand out move for me was the first stalled forward I did in the expression session. It was blowing like 60 knots and I was on a 4.0 and an 85l board, so basically when I hit the ramp I got lifted up in the air and I was floating up there for ages. I remember looking down and seeing Phil Horrocks trying to escape from my landing spot ha ha. At one point I thought I was gonna land on him, so I had to pull the forward earlier and landed quite hard!
All my kit was working really well but I had a new “stubby board” prototype that I got before Sylt and I was really loving it. The funny thing is that it was working really good from crap onshore conditions to more down-the-line conditions. It was just so versatile. It was a great event with a really cool atmosphere, really well organized and some great windsurfing conditions. I fully recommend it to everyone, from juniors and ladies to amateurs and pros! In three words Tiree 2017 was – fun, stunning and cold.

JULIEN TABOULET 4th PRO
After the rush of the summer in our windsurfing club in Leucate – ‘The Wesh Center Crew’, it was time for us to trip & ride. Caroline got a message on Facebook from John Skye about the Tiree Wave Classic a nd we said “Yes, let’s go!” straight away. I had been there 10 years ago for the PWA event and had so many good memories!The journey was 10 hours driving in France, 4 hour ferry from Dieppe to Newhaven, then 10 hours driving in the UK to grab the boat from Oban to Tiree… with the Chevy Suburban V8 and trailer full of toys! Tiree is so nice with such good people. It was great to be there with my family – Louise-Aina (8), Kaili (6) & Alika (1) and wife Caro (age – pretty young still ha ha), discovering the place and all the wildlife. We were impressed also to see so many windsurfers; it was amazing, like in Leucate, France! You know what, people from the south always want go more south, to find a warm place. I encourage everybody to go ride more in the north, like here in Tiree. The locals are so warm from the inside and always good to share a beer with!
We got some good waveriding sessions in Balevullin before the contest, some good aerials and turns in the front of the big rocks… Marc Paré’s home for 5 minutes ha ha! It was cool having the impressive sea lions for spectators!

Also in the Maze, in my heat with my good friend & young ripper Julian Salmonn, I made a table front so close to him in the air when he was in a back loop. I am sure that he was thinking that the old generation is definitely crazy forever ha ha!I was always riding with my Goya/Quatro custom from last year, an 85 litre; I love this board and can ride it in all kinds of conditions from 5.0 to 3.7! I think that when you feel good on a board, you just keep pushing your limit more and more. Durin g the 10 days we were there the wind was just crazy, windy everyday from always a different direction! The island is small with beaches all around, you can find all kinds of waves for all skill levels, this is just awesome and really attractive!

Willy from “Wild Diamond”, Sparky and all the crew did a fantastic job with the event, always on time at the good spots with the best conditions! We really loved Scotland, the landscape is so amazing and the people are so nice. As an example and last story for finishing our trip, the gearbox of our 1996 Chevy (The Beast!) broke on the way back home after we got off the ferry. 100kms at 40km/h to reach Dumbarton (20 minutes from Glasgow), and then 3 days there at the Unit23 Skatepark for organizing our trip back. What a welcome from ‘Cheek’ (the owner of this huge skatepark) and all his family, it was hard to leave that place, a big big thanks to them. And Charlie for his board bag, you always find a windsurfer anywhere you are in the world! To get home we ended up taking a rental van in the UK (north to south), taxi, boat, taxi and then rental van in France (north to south) to reach Leucate. The Chevy is still there, we are coming back soon anyway as we enjoyed Scotland so much! In three words Tiree 2017 was – love, wild, ride!