Windsurf culture flourishes in the festival type atmosphere of common gatherings like NWF, Defi Wind and the long running Lancelin Ocean Classic. Combining competition with a healthy social scene, the Lancelin Ocean Classic (LOC) or ‘Lano’ to give it its colloquial name, kicks off the windsurf event season in style. With Western Australia enjoying one of its best seasons in years, the stage was set with an epic forecast for the battle of bragging rights to Lancelin’s crowns. John Carter and an ensemble of competitors give us the lowdown on the action on and off the water.
JC “What better way to kick start the new year than with a full power weekend at the Lancelin Ocean Classic! I have been religiously repeating my annual sojourn to Western Australia for over 25 years now and long may it continue. A lot of people ask me how my career in windsurfing photography kicked off and to be honest I can’t really remember. But I do vaguely recall that way back in 1987 I headed out to Perth with two friends, Nigel Howell and Piers Ballard and we ended up spending three months in windy Geraldton about four hours drive north. The following year, already addicted to the allure of Australia, somehow Nigel managed to convince Roger Tushingham that I was some kind of hot shot surf photographer and they paid my ticket to follow Nigel on his travels to Australia and Hawaii. As they say, ‘the rest is history!’
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