Lenzie boy wins Junior Tiree Wave Classic
Ruaraidh Somerville, 13, from Lenzie, won the Under 16 category of the Tiree Wave Classic on the 30th anniversary of what is the longest continuously running windsurfing competition in the world, sponsored this year by Windswept Brewing and The Mailing Room
Ruaraidh has been windsurfing since the age of 4 during summer holidays on the Hebridean island of Tiree. He is now 13, a member of the Royal Yachting Association “Team 15” and a Techno racer, but his interests lie in wave sailing.
He has been windsurfing in waves since he was nine, and has added Magheroarty in Donegal, Troon and Tenerife to Tiree to his wave-sailing resume in the four years since he started.
The Junior competition is a collaboration between RYA Scotland, the Tiree Wave Classic and the British WaveSailing Association.
Young Ruaraidh battled his way through heats to the final, winning and then waiting for a second final, courtesy of a “double elimination” being introduced. Following a light wind (but in no way waveless) final, Somerville emerged as the champion of the under-16s category, beating Techno Scottish Squad racer Jude Nicol, who had fought her way up from fourth position during the double elimination.
Somerville rode a Starboard Pro Kids 60 Litre Flare, borrowed his dad’s floaty Starboard 94L Kode and used a series of vibrant Naish Little Ripper sails to gain his victory.
The camp continued for another day until it ended, but the enthusiastic teen was in no way finished.
Event organisers Wild Diamond devised an open-entry Surf and SUP challenge, and garnered some dozen competitors. The surf competition was a two-heat series, involving the professionals from the Wave Classic, Somerville, and a few others, the youngest of them eighteen.
Somerville came out empty-handed after a gnarly double-head high session at Balevullin beach, but returned the second day for a following competition and came in second, beating adult pro windsurfers and others by scoring a beautiful head-and-a-half ride, as he was fortunate to paddle onto one of the cleanest waves of the day. (He even won some Windswept beer, which his dad immediately appropriated!
Head Judge, William Maclean of Wild Diamond Watersports said:
“It was inspiring for the Judges to see so much young and emerging talent was being showcased throughout the RYA Scotland Team 15 Wave Camp this year during the Tiree Wave Classic’s 30th Anniversary Event. Of particular note was the performance of Ruaraidh Somerville, a young lad from Glasgow with an affiliation to Tiree through regular summer visits to Tiree. Ruaraidh dominated in the ‘Junior’ windsurfing class (up to 15 years old), then followed up by giving the adults a ‘tutorial’ in surf technique during an ad hoc surf competition run by the event organisers, towards the end of the week on Tiree.
‘A bit humbling’ was how one of the internationally ranked competitors attending the event described Ruaraidh’s overall performance after having been ‘shown how to surf’ in Tiree’s thundering surf on Thursday 20th October.
‘The future of windsurfing in Scotland is very bright with young talents like Ruaraidh’s”
Photo credits – Fiona Somerville, FS, and Hart Photography
