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TWENTY QUESTIONS WITH SCOTT MCKERCHER

Here at windsurf.co.uk we decided it was about time we caught up with one of the most stylish and influential wave sailors to ever hit the lip. Former world wave champion Scott McKercher might not shout the loudest these days, but his influence on modern wave sailing still runs deep…from radical rail turns and uber tweaked table-tops to some of the most iconic board designs of the early 2000s.

For this latest edition of Twenty Questions With…, we tracked down the Australian legend to talk about everything from scoring giant Cocos Island with a young Thomas Traversa, to why Jason Polakow’s bottom turn changed wave sailing forever, why “G’aerials” are still lame, and why he’s happier these days chasing rail carves than monster airs.

As always with Scott, the answers came with zero filter, plenty of dry humour and a refreshing honesty that only comes from someone who has spent decades chasing wind, waves and good times around the globe. One minute he’s talking about the magic feeling of a perfect board, the next he’s reminiscing about UK road trips, iPod battles with Timo Mullen and nearly getting beaten up in Lahaina after the infamous Fiji controversy.

So, crack open a beer and settle in for twenty questions with one of wave sailing’s true originals.

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WINDSURF: Why do you love windsurfing?

SCOTT MCKERCHER: “That’s a question that’s evolved over time. From the beginning it was the simple sensation of effortless glide watching the bow of the board cut through the water. The connection with the elements of wind and then waves. And then from that point on it’s what’s pushed me through life. The fact that it justified my gypsy ways as a tool to explore the world and hang out with people like you (Mr JC). I love and appreciate that it created my world and the people in it.”

WINDSURF: Tell us about the epic waves you rode at Cocos Islands when you scored with Thomas Traversa?

SCOTT MCKERCHER: “That was a special trip no doubt.  Pete Volwater (bless) was also with us and Thomas was just a kid. It was far from a smooth trip with gear not making it onto the plane, not overly friendly locals in the water but overly friendly tax-free prices at the local sports club for drinks.

I tend to remember a lot of surfing until out gear finally arrived and then the gear, wind and waves all arrived. And then the swell REALLY arrived. Due to the offshore nature of the place we ummed and ah’d if it was possible until Thomas just went. He got washed around the corner, swam out to the wind-line and then rides a wave. Pete and I were right behind him and we all scored the waves of our lives. I still think the best looking, most glassy wave I’ve ever looked up at.”

WINDSURF: Who do you think has the best bottom turn in windsurfing and why?

SCOTT MCKERCHER: “I’d have to say Jason Polokow. Everyone tried to emulate him for decades.”

WINDSURF: What four guys would you like to take on a trip up north in WA and why?

SCOTT MCKERCHER: “JC and Timo Mullen for Craic and Jaeger Stone and Philip Koester to show us how it’s done. As they’re both kinda craicless!”

WINDSURF: Who do you think has the best cutback in windsurfing?

SCOTT MCKERCHER: “I think that mantle has to go to Brawzino. Full rail connection all the way round. Smooth.”

WINDSURF: Who were your idols when you first started sailing?

SCOTT MCKERCHER: “Robby Naish, Matt Schweitzer and Mike Waltze. Pie-on-ears!”

WINDSURF: What do you define as lame in wave sailing?

SCOTT MCKERCHER: “G’aerials. Shallow bottom turn approach to the lip with more of a jump out of the lip rather than punching out of it from a vertical approach.”

WINDSURF: What keeps you motivated to go wave sailing?

SCOTT MCKERCHER: “I love doing it.”

WINDSURF: What do you feel was the best, most iconic or radical board you ever designed?

SCOTT MCKERCHER: “Some of the boards I collabed with Neil Scheltema were pretty rad, when I was just searching for full on drive. Which then were tempered down to when I first arrived on tour. (which were twinnies) Those boards had some heads turning. Iconic would have to be the EVO. Everyone scrambled to emulate that concept.”

WINDSURF: What are you interested in outside windsurfing?

SCOTT MCKERCHER: “Suping, Wing foiling when waves are shit/ Para winging when there’s no waves, Model Yachting, sailing lasers and I just bought a Hobie 16. Pretty keen to race on that. Love my Aussie rules footy too.”

WINDSURF: Was your worst moment competing when you were knocked out in Fiji…what happened there?

SCOTT MCKERCHER: “Yeah. That one stung as I was desperate for a quality wave, port tack event. I even dreamt what Namotu looked like having never been there. There ws an incident where Robby Seeger dropped in on one of my waves. And the circumstance of knowing I was in the right and being told otherwise from the judges was the twisting of the knife. And then how the rest of the event panned out as well. Was funny years later I asked Robby Seeger drunk in a bar in Lahaina, “Why did you lie” and he goes “I just had a kid. I needed to provide!”. He did save me from getting beaten up that night, so all forgiven.”

WINDSURF: How do you know when you have found a magic board when testing?

SCOTT MCKERCHER: “You don’t want to come in from sailing. And things happen automatically.”

WINDSURF: Give us your top tip to execute a classic gauge in an open wave face.

SCOTT MCKERCHER: “Find the right smooth vertical wave face and set your rail early, then push hard once its set. Flow through the ark.”

WINDSURF: You used to do some pretty tweaked table tops back in the day…what is your top tip that got you that extra tweak at the apex?

SCOTT MCKERCHER: “Think I wrote about that back in the day. My weirdly shaped spine.”

WINDSURF: Do you still look back proudly on the year you won the world title?

SCOTT MCKERCHER: “Not overly. Grateful it happened though.”

WINDSURF: Who do you reckon is the best all round wave sailor on the planet right now and why?

SCOTT MCKERCHER: “I’d have to say Brawzino. Due to the fact I like cutties and I said before I reckon he’s got the best one. Marc Pare is incredibly well rounded as well, obviously winning the last world title.”

WINDSURF: Where is your favourite destination for wave sailing outside of Australia and why?

SCOTT MCKERCHER: “I reckon Punta Preta for the carve bowls. Lakey Pipe in Indo is also a perfectly shaped carve bowl with the wind at the perfect angle.”

WINDSURF: What did you think when you heard Marc Pare was word wave champion last year?

SCOTT MCKERCHER: “I was very pleased about it. Well-deserved as he utterly rips everywhere he goes and seems like a humble fella. I don’t think I have actually met him. But he just exudes that.”

WINDSURF: Describe what you are trying to achieve during a typical wave sailing session these days?

SCOTT MCKERCHER: “Not be a pussy and to keep hitting the lip. To be honest I’m a little protective of my body these days so don’t project into airs very often, so just sticking to what I like to do. Rail carves and vert lip hits. If I get a few magic ones of those in a session I’m pretty satisfied.”

WINDSURF: Have you seen some of the conditions in the UK this winter like that shot of Timo Mullen at the Bluff?

SCOTT MCKERCHER: “Not sure which one you’re talking about as Timo is always on the hunt chasing some crazy forecast. There may have to be an intervention. But I’m well aware how good the UK can get and some of my fondest memories are chasing it with Timo, brother Finn and yourself Mr JC. I miss the i-pod battles.”