If You Do One Thing…
Scotland’s surf scene is booming ahead of the Olympics
As the British Surfing Championships approach, get on board yourself at one of Scotland’s top surf centres
SURFING in the 1970s conjures up images of the United States, with bikini-clad women and long-haired, laid-back men on psychedelic boards, the sun glinting off the sparkling waves and their very white teeth as they ride the foamy crests of endless rollers. All very Beach Boys.
In Scotland it was somewhat different. “There are tales of guys who discovered surfing in the 1960s and who brought it to Scotland, braving the cold waters in ill-fitting diving gear or ex-naval gear with woollens underneath,” says Brian Allen, now 47 and a director of the new Belhaven Surf Centre in East Lothian.
“I spent my teenage years in Aberdeen and can recall seeing people out surfing at the beach and then running back to their cars on the boulevard to neck miniature bottles of brandy with their heaters blasting full pelt to warm up!”
For a long time, surfing in Scotland remained the preserve of the few willing to brave the chilly water temperatures and whittle out the knowledge of how to catch a wave without instructors on hand. But, the last few years have seen something of a sea change.
This month the UK’S best surfers will gather at Thurso for the British Surfing Championships and British Cup, on April 18-19, with entrants looking for places in an Olympic team – the sport makes its debut at the Tokyo games this summer.
The Scottish Surfing Championships, held at Thurso for the last 10 years, will take place a few days before, from April 10 to 13.
The Caithness town has been a surfing destination since the mid-1970s. The right-hand reef at Thurso East beach is regarded as one of the best in Europe and conditions there can make it a surfer’s paradise.
Mark Boyd, secretary of the Scottish Surfing Federation and reigning Scottish champion, says, “Thurso East is probably the most perfect ‘right-hander’ in Europe and is famous for its long barrel rides. The combination of big
North Atlantic swells and the flat Caithness flagstone reef is what makes the waves so good.”
There will be one difference this year though – a clubhouse. Built by the Thurso Rotary Club for the North Shore Surf Club at Thurso East, it provides hot showers for members, outside cold showers, toilets, changing facilities and perhaps most importantly on the north coast, shelter.
For the increasing number of surfers moving to Thurso or those willing to travel when forecasts are good, as well as the rising number of locals taking part in weekly coaching sessions, it is a game-changer.
“Prior to the hut, surfers were literally getting changed in the mud in a farmyard,” says Mark. “The Olympics is going to have a big impact,” he says, “so this will cater for the expected surge of interest after Tokyo.”
Meanwhile, the renewed interest in Scottish surfing has seen Belhaven Surf Centre spring up.
“This will cater for the surge of interest after Tokyo"
“The two centres really complement each other,” says Brian. “There has been no infrastructure for surfing in Scotland and then two places open at almost the same time.”
Belhaven Surf Centre is designed to be a hub for the coastal community. Its rooms can be rented out, and organisations including Surfers Against Sewage and the charity Groundswell, which provides surf therapy for traumatised women, have both used the centre.
One of the prime movers for the centre was Sam Christopherson, owner of the Coast to Coast Surfing School, which rents premises within the centre. Sam has witnessed how things have changed since the 1980s when he was a solitary surfer at Pease Bay on the Berwickshire coast, terrifying his parents when he disappeared under a roller.
“Last season, for the first time, we had all our largest size of wetsuits hired out – it’s different people doing it now, not just the hardcore outdoorsy folk,” he says.
Cheaper and better equipment has played its part, but so has the ripple effect of an expanding pool of knowledge – youngsters Sam taught back when he started in 2004 have now returned as instructors.
Ask about the attraction of squeezing into a wetsuit and falling into icy water, and surfers describe the thrill of catching a wave, the energy flowing through them from the sea, the dedication required to master the skills, the beauty of the surroundings and the mental as well as the physical benefits.