The Legendary Tiree Wave Classic
TIREE LODGE NIGHTS Even a quiet night in Tiree is an eventful affair. Every night “goes off” at the Lodge Hotel, some times not starting till 11pm and not finishing till 3am. Unless of course, there is a fire in the kitchen. There are two bars at the hotel, one is your standard long bar that has some wooden seats, a pool table and a juke box. The other is, if you like, the lounge bar. Usually the competitors congregate in the lounge bar fairly late in the evening, just for the one drink and to show their face. The event crew on the other hand have other agendas, and plan on having more than one drink in the “proper” bar. Well that is how it generally starts, but never ends. The “I’m only having one drink” rule never really happens, and before you know it the main bar is full and bustling with locals and tourists waiting for a party to happen, which it usually does.		Pro Fleet Hype Amateurs, Youths & Ladies The Video Evidence: Tiree '04 Tiree Lodge Nights Breaking Points Speaking Out

THE BEACH PARTY NIGHT

The plan was to have a beach party in Scotland in the cold and in the rain. A huge bonfire was lit but due to the rain it did not quite manage to go off in the style that it had done in previous years. It was however a good excuse to take the beach party into the bar inside, as you do with beach parties in Scotland in the rain. With no wind or swell forecast for the next day, it was set to be a classic night. However some of the kitchen staff had other ideas, taking the bonfire into the kitchen. The euphoria was interrupted with mayhem as the fire alarm went off and the place was evacuated with everyone not entirely sure why. Most thought it was just an excuse to bring the bar to a close and huddled out in the rain waiting to be let inside. It was the arrival of the fire brigade (brigade in its loosest sense of the word) that finally convinced us that the Lodge was alight!

Not too worry though, it was only a pan fire and was soon put out. Meanwhile the party had come to an end except for The Lodge residents who reopened the bar once the crowds had disappeared back to their rented cottages.

THE MISS UK AND MISS SCOTLAND NIGHT

The forecast for the next day was looking better and most competitors were aiming for a quiet night (like they always do). But word spread fast that Miss UK and Miss Scotland were going to do a catwalk show courtesy of The Sun. Picture the scene: a bar full of leering blokes and bemused women, with a small aisle formed down the middle and a promise of two absolute stunners, in the flesh. Now imagine their reaction when the first glimpse of semi naked bodies is not that of the two models, but of two jokers in the Youth fleet, namely Pip Pardoe and Chris Murray. The audience may have been drunk, but not fooled by the hoax. One thing you should never do is boil the blood of a Scotsman living on a small, Hebridean Island in his local pub. Fortunately Pip and Chris were followed by some figures more pleasing to the eye.

There were also rumours that there would be a live set. However by 11pm there was little music and not much else going on with most competitors just having a quiet drink in the lounge. Little did they know that they would not be leaving till three in the morning. The quiet drinks erupted into the party that was meant to happen the previous night. Colin, one of the event crew, did an excellent acoustic set that got the whole bar moshing, which pretty much left precedence for the night. As if we needed an excuse to celebrate, we decided that Boardseeker Columnist, Lucy Robson’s birthday would be ideal. Nuff said. Everyone was on the table and chairs including Andy Groom, Trevor Funnell and most of the ‘older generation’. It was a very good night. The best, as ever are unplanned. Those who missed it for video games, cups of tea and early beds were gutted.

PRIZE GIVING, CEILIDH and HIGHLAND FLING

This years closing party was held in the Tiree Community Hall, a new development that has in part been aided by the Wave Classics over the years. We were under strict instructions not to cause any damage. In truth it felt like a school disco! The prize giving got underway compared by the misguided humour of new Boardseeker magazine columnist and competition judge Julian Davall, accompanied by a slide show of the event pictures.

The Tiree Wave Classic is actually quite like an activities package holiday. The Red Coats (or in the case of this event, the Rip Curl Coats) look after us and provide us with entertainment all week. We take part in activities during the day, go out at night and then attend a dance at the end of the week!

Yep, instead of your usual band that would be associated with the windsurfing bunch, this year we witnessed a Ceilidh, which is a bit like country dancing without the cowboy boots. None of the windsurfers had a clue what was going on as they watched formation dancing by the locals. Some of us tried to join in but failed miserably with the complicated routines, and waited for the “real” music.

The “real” music never actually happened, and since the effects of time and alcohol consumption had lessened inhibitions, it seemed that suddenly we all knew what we were doing as if it was pre- programmed. 'Easy this country dancing stuff', I thought, as people were swinging me from person to person and spinning me round in circles. Skye Boy, Audsley, James Cox, Sonia, Natasha, and soon pretty much everyone else had all got the hang of it, or so it seemed. The locals were not so impressed at our efforts, as we ruined a traditional evening by dancing our own way to Strip the Willow. It was our party though.

Editor: I have to add one more story to this night and tell the audience about Clyde Waite’s fine performance on the dance floor.

One of the dances involves starting off in two lines opposite each other with about a three foot gap in between. Just before the dance began, Clyde decided to do “the worm” (a break dancing move where you throw yourself down on the ground and back up again in a sort of ‘worm’ action) all the way down this line of people. The windsurfers went hysterical, the locals went home and Clyde didn’t come back to his rented cottage till 11am the next morning. Must of worked heh?

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