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LUCAS MELDRUM: 2026 BRITISH WAVE CHAMPION!

After two counting events in Cornwall and Tiree, Lucas Meldrum has reclaimed the British Wave Championship title for the first time since 2023! Having finished as vice-champion in both 2024 and 2025, Lucas has finally returned to the top of the podium, with consistency proving key in a seriously competitive fleet. Unfortunately, the final event of the season at West Wittering failed to materialise due to a lack of wind, leaving the title decided over two events. We caught up with Lucas to find out what it means to be British Champion once again, reflect on his performances and look back on a season of ups and downs.

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WINDSURF MAGAZINE: How does it feel to be British Champion once again?

LUCAS MELDRUM: “I was British Champion in 2023, then vice-British Champion in 2024 and 2025, so this is the first time in a couple of years that I’ve managed to get back on top. It’s definitely something I’ve been chasing since that first win.

The British Championship means a lot to me. The level of sailing is really high, and as we’ve seen, the older generation is still incredibly strong…arguably stronger than ever! At the same time, we’ve got a great up-and-coming generation pushing hard. Overall, the fleet is really competitive, so to come out on top feels pretty good.

I also really like how varied the British Tour is. It’s something I enjoy, and I think it allows people to see me as an all-round sailor.

This year, though, it’s perhaps not quite the way I wanted to win. I haven’t won either event, but I’ve shown consistency and put in some really good performances across the two competitions.

Sometimes, when it mattered in the finals, or at Tiree when I was trying to fight my way back through the double elimination, I made a few small mistakes. Those little mistakes can cost you a lot.

So, in terms of the individual event results, I’m not super stoked. I always aim to win the events, but it’s pretty cool to come away as British Champion. It’s a title I’m still very proud of, and I feel it’s thoroughly deserved.

I also feel like I’m sailing better than I have in any of the previous years. I guess the only downside is that I would have liked to have won it in a slightly better way!”

WINDSURF MAGAZINE: With no wind at West Wittering on the contest dates, you’ve been crowned champion after just two events. Talk us through the season…

LUCAS MELDRUM: “I can’t remember the last time we finished a year without completing the final event, so it’s a little anticlimactic for the tour as a whole.

As I said, becoming British Champion without the final event feels slightly strange compared to previous years, but that doesn’t take away from the achievement.

West Wittering was an event I was really looking forward to, especially after winning it last year. I think it was a contest where I could have performed really well, and it would have been nice to finish the season with a win and claim the title that way.

But that’s competition, and sometimes you win in strange ways!”

WINDSURF MAGAZINE: How happy are you with your North and Quatro combo, and which boards and sails are you mostly using?

LUCAS MELDRUM: “This is my first full season with my new sponsors North and Quatro, and I’m really stoked with the performance of the equipment. The sails are amazing…really light, powerful and pretty much everything I look for in a competition sail.

They allow me to hold on for longer in stronger winds, which is so helpful in some of the UK competitions. Sometimes halfway through a heat the wind picks up, and previously I might have had to change down to a smaller sail. With the technology North has, I can hold on for longer. That’s so valuable in competition because you want to be powered up but still in control, and that’s exactly what the sails offer me.

The Quatro boards have been equally impressive. It’s been really hard to find any negatives with them! I like having confidence in my equipment, and I’ve been really happy with the boards across the Quatro range.

I’ve also been using some Goya boards, including a custom Nitro shape for Tiree. With all of them, I can bottom turn with complete confidence, knowing I’m not going to bog a rail or anything like that. Again, that’s so important in competition.

I’ve mainly been using the North Wave sails and the Quatro boards, including the Pyramid in the smaller sizes…77 and 75 litres.

I’ve also just had a new Quatro Custom delivered, which is more of an onshore-oriented shape. I was using that on some of the days at Tiree as well.”

WINDSURF MAGAZINE: What are your plans for the winter season?

LUCAS MELDRUM: “That’s actually a hard question because I haven’t really decided yet! Hopefully, I’ll be heading off to Ireland quite soon.

It’s an El Niño year, so supposedly we should be getting plenty of storms in the UK. I’m actually thinking about hanging around at home for a bit and trying to score some different spots closer to home to see how that goes.

If I do end up travelling somewhere, I’d like to go somewhere a bit different and explore some new places. That’s also one of my main goals for next season in general, maybe not keep going to the same places I’ve been visiting over the last few years, but branch out and discover some new locations.

Maui has been on my list forever, and it’s somewhere I still haven’t been. I’d absolutely love to get out there, so hopefully this is the year!”

WINDSURF MAGAZINE: How is the balance between being a designer at Windsurfer Magazine and life a professional sailor working out?

LUCAS MELDRUM: “Sometimes great, sometimes really hard!

I’m very lucky to have the flexibility to work when I want, so I can go windsurfing and score conditions that I probably wouldn’t be able to if I was working a nine-to-five job. I can do the designing when there’s not much wind, in the evenings and so on.

But it can be difficult when the two coincide. Being a professional sailor and pushing your level takes a lot of time and dedication, and that can be challenging when you’ve also got deadlines and meetings.

When I’m designing, I like to have a clear head. I find it quite hard to be creative when I’ve got a busy mind, so sometimes I just want to get away from everything, sit down at the computer and have some time to myself to design.

Of course, if it’s blowing windy outside, that can be a bit of a distraction!”

WINDSURF MAGAZINE: What are your ambitions as a sailor next season?

LUCAS MELDRUM: “In terms of competitions next year, I definitely want to be British Champion again, but there are also a couple of events I’d really love to win.

Cornwall and Rhosneigr are both on my list of events I’ve never won, so I’d love to put in the work and try to make that happen.

I’ve spent a lot of time sailing in Cornwall, and this year I was gutted not to get a better result there. I felt like I was sailing well throughout the competition, but things just didn’t go my way in the final. It’s definitely somewhere I’d really like to win.

Rhosneigr is another one. It’s a really difficult place to win, particularly because it’s Horrocks’ home spot and he’s a bit of a machine out there! To win there would be a huge achievement.

It’s also quite a specific spot, and hopefully I’ll have more time to get up there, sail it a bit more and work out the waves, because the conditions change so much with the tide. It’s certainly not an easy place!

So those are definitely two of my big competition ambitions for next year.”