Great winds and windsurfing sessions in the preceding two weeks of the 2019 Tiree Wave Classic meant that expectations for the event were as high as ever for the 75 pre-registered competitors spread over five fleets: Pro Men, Pro Ladies, Amateurs, Masters and “Future Pros” / Youths. As in the previous 4 years, Wild Diamond, headed by William Maclean, were the event organisers with Visit Scotland, Argyll Estates, Caledonian MacBrayne, The Scottish Salmon Company - Native Hebridean, Tiree Community Development Trust, The Mailing Room, Windswept Breweries and S2Maui being the key event sponsors.
A quiet start to the week with light winds actually worked in favour of the “Future Pros” camp where immediately after registration at the Tiree Lodge Hotel, this year’s event HQ, Sam Ross of the RYA and his team of Torin Prescott, Sami Poole and Calum Nicol were able to get the youths out on Gott Bay for an initial assessment and then split into three training groups. Sam and his team were great motivators and kept the youths enthused over four mornings of sailing under progressively more challenging conditions. The “morning” format was a change to previous years and was well received since it allowed the youths to spectate at the main fleet events or go free-sailing afterwards. Three youths in particular shone through: Ross Mauritzen in 1st, Rory Dunlop 2nd and Euan Lindsay 3rd, with Ross being offered a sponsorship deal with S2Maui Sails; Ross is definitely a name to watch out for in the future.
Catriona Spink, local “Community Leader” for Surfers Against Sewage and Parley for the Oceans “Cold Water Island Project”, made the best use of a quiet Monday to muster the support of the combined fleets for a clean up of Hough beach. More than 40 of the fleet helped out to amass 6 tons of fishing and plastic debris, a superb effort.
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