Surf's Up My Life


Surf's Up

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LineFromTo

You ready?

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Hey. I'm Iona and I'm totally in love with surfing.

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I live in the most northern part of mainland Scotland,

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which can be freezing,

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with my mum, my dad and my little brother, Craig.

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When I'm not hanging out with them or studying for my exams,

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I'm training for the biggest challenge of my life -

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the World Surf Championships

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in the Azores, Portugal.

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It's going to be tough because I've only been surfing for two years

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and I'm still just a grom.

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I'll be up against primo surfers who can rip.

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And the waves in the Azores are completely different

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to what I'm used to. They're going to be totally gnarly.

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OK, to be honest with you,

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me and the rest of Team Scotland are the underdogs

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in the World Surf Championships.

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Like, seriously the underdogs.

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But just because I don't think I can win

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doesn't mean I'm not going to try my best.

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Surf's up.

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SHE LAUGHS

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Since it's a pretty small town up here,

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everybody's excited to hear what we're up to.

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Today I'm meeting with a journalist from the local newspaper

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about Team Scotland qualifying for the World Championships.

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-Hi, Iona, how you doing?

-I'm good, yeah, yourself?

-Nice to meet you.

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Thanks very much for meeting me. Congratulations on qualifying.

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-Thank you very much.

-First time you've qualified for the

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World Championships in the Azores.

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In terms of your career, how big a moment is this for you?

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It's definitely the biggest thing I've ever done in my whole life

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regarding surfing. Even in Scotland,

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we've never sent a junior team off to something like this before,

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so it's a massive moment for everyone.

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Representing your country on the world stage...

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-Slightly nerve-racking?

-Yeah, it is pretty nerve-racking.

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I've not really thought about it too much yet since it does seem quite a

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while away but it'll come round fast and I'm pretty sure I'll start

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feeling the nerves then.

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And what would be a good result at the World Surfing Championships?

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Even just getting through a heat or anything would be massive to me.

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I've got five months to train so I need to get in as much surfing

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as I can between now and September.

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This is the centre of my universe -

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our surf garage,

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a great place to store our wetsuits and boards and also hang out while

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we're waiting for good surf...

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..where all the surfers follow the three rules of surfing -

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one, never surf alone...

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..two, never surf alone...

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..and three, never surf alone.

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Nice moves, Robbie!

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-There's no better feeling than that first...

-First unbroken wave.

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Aw! I still remember my first one.

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That's when I got hooked.

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First clean wave and I was like, "Yeah, I'm not stopping this."

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Yeah. I don't really think there's, like, any other feeling like it.

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You kind of feel like you're floating at some times.

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Even though you're probably, like, always touching the water.

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It's kind of like... You've got the power of the earth behind you,

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it's the thing that's pushing it forward.

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-Yeah, definitely.

-If we didn't have each other, we probably wouldn't be

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where we are today cos... I mean, that's... It just started off

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with messing about at the beach with a surf board and it turned

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into everyone pushing each other, pushing each other's limits.

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Surfing has definitely taken over our lives,

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even though water can be freezing up here.

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But when the waves are good like they are out the east today,

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the cold water doesn't matter.

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Thurso East is one of my top surfing spots in Scotland.

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It's just across from our surf garage

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and when the weather's right, the waves are first-class reef breaks.

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Well, surfing cold waves, it makes it a lot harsher,

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a lot more hard-core. I mean,

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being hit by a wave with such force,

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especially in the cold waters up here,

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can also be described as being like hit with bricks.

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If feels like a massive weight just coming down on you.

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But when summer comes to Thurso,

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the sea turns calm and there's no waves to practise on,

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so I need to surf as much as I can right now.

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Connor and Robbie are also part of Team Scotland,

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so it's great to know I won't be alone in the Azores.

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Phoebe is not competing this time but she's got a lot of experience in

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surf competitions.

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Did you find it much different when you went away?

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Well, when I went to Peru,

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I still wore a 5mm wetsuit here cos I didn't have a thinner one.

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Oh, right. Must have been cooking in it.

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I was so hot, but the water was definitely so much warmer.

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There's also, like, way more wildlife in it.

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Like, we had dolphins with us in the waves.

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I feel like I might be a lot more vulnerable with not a wetsuit on

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or a thinner wetsuit on cos quite often wetsuits are also used

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cos they're very buoyant. They can take you up to the surface quicker.

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So I think with a thinner wetsuit on, going to the warmer waters,

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you're more likely to sink, which is kind of worrying me a little bit.

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Sometimes, the totally unexpected things happen,

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so you just have to be fully prepared for everything.

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Look, see the forecast.

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Good swell direction, like. Check that out.

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Wind drops as well so it should be quite nice.

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Offshore.

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It's harder now to find good waves and we're hoping there might be some

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out west. Luckily, I have the greatest mum in the world.

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MUSIC: Out Of The Black by Royal Blood

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Can you see the waves from here?

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-Yeah, it's breaking.

-Oh!

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Yeah, it's breaking.

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-Oh, look at the river mouth.

-Whoa!

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-Look at the river.

-River mouth!

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Yeah!

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Woo!

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It's pumping!

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MUSIC DROWNS CONVERSATION

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Go, go, go! Go!

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Looking for waves is a huge part of my life but if I find good surf,

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it's always worth it.

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When I'm riding a wave, it's amazing.

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It gives me a massive adrenaline rush.

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It's hard to describe but it's really cool.

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There's a saying that goes, "Only the surfer knows the feeling."

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That was crazy!

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Yo! So,

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I just got back from school and I've now officially finished all of my

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exams for this year, so I'm really, really happy about that.

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It's such a relief.

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But I can just forget about it

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and bin it. Not convinced all my exams went great but it won't be

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a while away till I find out so I'll just have to see but...

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No. Very happy.

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But it's not just my exams that are over -

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so are the best wave conditions.

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Recently I've just been finding out a bit about the Azores.

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So you can see on this surf map here where we live,

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right at the top of Scotland, here,

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and I can tell from the signs here that it's a world-class wave.

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It's for experienced surfers and the water temperature is freezing cold.

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So we're going to be travelling all the way to

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these islands here

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and it's also some world-class waves.

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The water temperature is quite a bit warmer.

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My grandparents are really fun and cool and have travelled the world

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and have even been to the Azores.

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Hopefully they can tell me what to expect when I finally get up there.

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What was the Azores like?

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-It's volcanic.

-Mm-hmm.

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And it sits right in the middle of the Atlantic.

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-Is it cold?

-No, it was quite hot and the rocks are all black.

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It looks like this, actually. Look.

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This is the rocks here, see?

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And this is what the rest of the place looks like.

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THEY CHUCKLE

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-You've been wanting us to take you places forever.

-Yeah.

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You've been complaining about us never taken you anywhere

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-and now you've figured a way of getting there yourself.

-Yeah.

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-Just surf.

-It's a bit nerve-racking for grandparents, though.

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-Yeah.

-And I think sometimes for Mum, as well,

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-when she's standing on the beach watching you.

-Yeah.

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She doesn't watch any more. Starting to trust me a little bit, I think.

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Yeah. It's got better as you've got older but to begin with,

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we were really scared when we would see you really far out and the waves

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just looked so huge and you looked so tiny.

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I know. A bit more experienced now so I kind of know what to do.

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Yeah. But you've always really loved being by the sea, anyway.

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Even when you were wee, when we used to take you down to the beach here.

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-We couldn't get you to come back up the hill.

-Aw.

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You used to be crying all the way up the hill.

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Terribly proud of you.

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Thanks, Granny and Grandad.

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It's really flat today, though,

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so not going to be getting in the water, I don't think.

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But we've just been skating quite a lot.

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Skateboarding really helps with my surf technique.

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It strengthens my core muscles and helps my balance.

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It's also really good fun and something I can do with my little

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brother, Craig.

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He loves it but I have to focus on my training and I managed to get

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in a call with Courtney.

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I'm so stoked.

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She's incredible. One of the best surfers in the world.

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She's been competing internationally since she was 11 years old.

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It's weird speaking to, like, a pro surfer.

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Oh, really? I think it's awesome getting to speak from so...

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Like, I'm here New York, you're in Scotland.

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-It's pretty rad.

-Yeah.

-I heard you qualify for the ISAs.

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-You're going there?

-Yeah.

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-It's, like, pretty insane.

-Are you excited?

-Yeah.

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I've never done a competition like this before.

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Going to ISA world was such an amazing experience.

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You have to just go there and seriously take it all in.

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-There's a lot of great talent there.

-Yeah.

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I'm sure you're going to have an amazing time.

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So, do you know what the judges are looking for in the competition?

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The standard that the judges always have, it's the speed, power,

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-flow and commitment.

-Right.

-You know, the basic criteria.

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-Yeah.

-When you read a wave, you want to read it how it should be surfed

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and not over surfing the wave. On a beach break, I find it's important

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-to get your spurt in fast, get it done right off the bat.

-100%, yeah.

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I mean, up here, it's like,

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most of the time it's just point breaks and reef breaks,

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so I'm not really used to surfing beaches at all.

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Cos I'm not very good at duckdiving, as well,

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because I don't surf beaches much.

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-OK.

-That's definitely a downside to my surfing.

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It's just cos up here it's all slabs and reefs, like, rock, mostly.

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But if you're surfing slabs, seriously...

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-IONA LAUGHS

-Add that confidence into your

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surfing and believe in yourself because if you're able to take on a

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slab, you can take on the beach.

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-Yeah! Oh, yeah.

-Just keep dreaming and believing.

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-I think that's the most important thing.

-Mm-hmm.

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There's a lot to learn at those and you're going to have a great time.

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Yeah, awesome, thank you.

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Yeah, no worries.

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-OK, bye.

-See ya.

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Oh!

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'This is my surf mentor, Sheila. We go out surfing a lot together.'

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ENGINE STARTS We're fine.

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Oh, God!

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Think it's going to be hard finding waves today.

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Oh, I know, it's been quite flat this summer.

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Yeah. It has. It's not been great.

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So how are you feeling about the Azores?

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-I'm hoping it'll push me, like, positively than negatively.

-Yeah.

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I mean, there's some really, really skilled surfers out there.

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Aw, totally and I think it's going to be amazing.

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The first thing to do is just basically get waves.

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-Yeah.

-I know it sounds really basic.

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I think my worst nightmare is that it's, like,

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so big and messy and dumpy that I can really make it out back.

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I'll just be stuck! I'll be inside just getting battered

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by the white water.

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Sheila and I went surfing for waves for hours today but still we didn't

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find anything. It's been over a week now and there's still no waves.

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You guessed it - flat again.

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And it's still flat.

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Still flat. Flat.

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So, yeah, it's been flat for weeks and weeks now and I haven't really

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managed to get any training at all

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and the competition is right round the corner.

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Just have to pray for some waves to come soon.

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I just got my exam results in the post.

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Really, really happy with the results.

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I don't think it could've gone really any better for me.

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It's good.

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And there's more good news.

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We've finally got some good waves.

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Whoa! Did you just discover that?

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No, I've done it for years.

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Hold it like this and then go like that.

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Surfing can take over my life but sometimes I need time to hang out

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with my friends and appreciate

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that Thurso is a very special place for me.

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Do you know what I actually like about living in Thurso?

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Yeah?

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As stupid as it sounds, it kind of like...

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It makes you put your imagination to the test.

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Like, we have to find so many things to do.

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Everyone says they want to move away straightaway. But I think really...

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-No.

-No.

-I like going to, like, cities for a few days.

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-And then that's enough.

-And then it's so nice to come home.

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When I go, like, away on holiday,

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I always miss home towards the last few days.

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I'm always just like, "Oh, I really want to come back."

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Before I started surfing, I was like, "No, I want to get out of here

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-"as fast as I can.

-But then you've done so well in your surfing

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-for being here.

-Mm-hmm.

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So, how do you feel, like, having one of the best places in the world

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-to surf up here?

-I know.

-And you have it.

-At first, I didn't really

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think that. I was like,

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"We don't get that good waves. It's just cold." You know what I mean?

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But now I'm realising how good it is I'm just appreciating it so much.

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I'd love to just be able to surf for the rest of my life.

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Since the competition is now next week, so time's really,

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really running out and, also, tomorrow,

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it looks like there might be a swell coming so I'm definitely going to

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try and get out and train as much as I can.

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Thanks for all supporting me with it.

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Oh, it's great. You've been doing it all.

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I didn't think I'd manage to get this far, really.

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So what's the first things that you think you need?

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Oh, well, I just need all the equipment so, I guess, obviously,

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-the surfboards.

-Yeah.

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How many are you taking?

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-I think two's probably the best.

-Yeah.

-Cos one's just...

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it's not very safe. Often in competitions you can break your

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-boards when you're stuck.

-Do you need gloves or...?

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I don't think so, no.

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You don't really need boots, either, but I think I'm so used to boots,

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I just don't like the thought of not wearing boots any more.

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It's kind of natural to me, so...

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A kilt for the opening ceremony.

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I'll look quite smart, I think.

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And flags and stickers for Scotland.

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Flags, yeah.

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Stickers.

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Bring my sunglasses.

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-Towels?

-Sun cream.

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Sun cream.

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I won't have you there sticking factor 50 on me the whole time,

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though, so I can actually tan this time, which'll be nice.

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-I'll make sure Debbie sticks plenty sun cream on you.

-Nah.

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-Do they have, like, a washing machine?

-Yeah.

-OK.

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That's not too bad, then.

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-Do you know how to work the washing machine?

-No!

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THEY LAUGH

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Welcome back to the 2016 VISSLA ISA World Junior Surfing Championships -

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live from Sao Miguel Island in the Azores.

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Almost 400 competitors and over 550 participants.

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Please welcome the national team from Scotland.

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MUSIC: Scotland The Brave by Wenches and Rogues

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OK, this is finally it.

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Round one.

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Oh. I can't believe it.

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Totally flat.

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That's a set. Look how quickly it peaks up.

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Watch, keep watching it.

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Up it pops. And this is good for you because you could turn.

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-You're just like turn, turn, turn.

-Yeah.

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Come on, let's go and walk up there now.

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I just want to try and take off on that and try and go along it

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and maybe do a wee wiggle and

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hopefully try and finish the wave off a little bit.

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As soon as they get quieter, I'm just going to

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-try and sit on that one's wake.

-And use that to calm down.

0:19:240:19:27

Just think, "Right, OK, I'm on the top of it, I've got this wave."

0:19:270:19:30

-And just...

-Yeah.

-..go for it.

-Yeah.

0:19:300:19:32

You know how best how to work it.

0:19:320:19:35

Yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine. It's weird, a few days ago I was

0:19:350:19:38

panicking it was going to be too big and now look at it.

0:19:380:19:40

I mean, all these guys, they can still do, like,

0:19:430:19:45

really proper vertical cutbacks on waves

0:19:450:19:48

that are, like, waist high but I can't. I actually can't.

0:19:480:19:50

Don't worry about that. Just do what you want to do.

0:19:510:19:53

Don't pooh-pooh yourself like you do.

0:19:530:19:55

-Don't compare yourself against everybody else.

-No.

0:19:550:19:57

Yeah, just go with it and just get yourself flushed in and good luck.

0:20:050:20:08

Enjoy yourself.

0:20:080:20:10

Go, Iona!

0:20:110:20:14

Before I was worried about it being totally extreme -

0:20:140:20:16

and now it's too calm.

0:20:160:20:17

I hope I can ride these weak waves.

0:20:190:20:20

-COMMENTATOR:

-And from Scotland, in the blue jersey, Iona McLachlan.

0:20:200:20:24

And we're seeing this girl.

0:20:240:20:25

She came here... She has never surfed without her wetsuit

0:20:250:20:29

so she is burning up in her thick wetsuit and her booties

0:20:290:20:33

because that's how she surfs 24/7.

0:20:330:20:35

Go, Iona!

0:20:370:20:39

A lot of surfers, you'll find, from the colder climates...

0:20:410:20:43

Here we go. This is Iona on a backhand.

0:20:430:20:46

And Iona McLachlan from Scotland, in blue, in fourth.

0:20:460:20:50

Now needing a 3.95 to move into second place.

0:20:500:20:53

Just under six minutes remaining in this heat.

0:20:530:20:55

This is going to be Iona's best wave, from Scotland,

0:20:560:20:59

a nice finish and re-entry there.

0:20:590:21:01

So, well done, Iona finally getting to grips with these waves.

0:21:010:21:04

OK, not so great from me.

0:21:040:21:06

I was just a fraction from third place but I learned a lot

0:21:060:21:09

and hopefully I'll do better in the next round.

0:21:090:21:11

It looks like we're going to have another interview.

0:21:110:21:15

-Go ahead.

-Now, we were talking about you in your wetsuit because surfing

0:21:150:21:19

in Scotland's very cold water, correct?

0:21:190:21:21

Yeah. I mean to be able to surf out in Scotland,

0:21:210:21:23

you need, like, 6mm, 5mm wetsuits, so, it's very different.

0:21:230:21:26

It was really fun and really different to the waves I'm used to

0:21:260:21:29

back home. It's pretty choppy right now and

0:21:290:21:31

it's not got much power in it. It was really hard. Fun, though.

0:21:310:21:34

-Got some waves.

-All right, you want to say hi to anybody back home?

0:21:340:21:38

Yeah, I'll say a shout out to some of my friends,

0:21:380:21:40

Laura, Rachel, Ellie, Morgan, Eva and I'll say hi to my mum -

0:21:400:21:44

she's all the way in Scotland - and the rest of my family.

0:21:440:21:47

That is not cold water on her face,

0:21:470:21:49

that is sweat from the wetsuit and I know she's dying to get that off

0:21:490:21:52

so we're going to let her go, OK?

0:21:520:21:54

-Thank you very much.

-OK, back over to you guys.

0:21:540:21:56

Yes, well she's got another chance, Iona, so hopefully the waves are

0:21:560:21:59

going to pick up and she can put a few more scores up on the board.

0:21:590:22:02

Yeah, and meanwhile...

0:22:020:22:03

PHONE RINGS Hey, Mum.

0:22:050:22:08

-Well, it's nice to see you.

-Yes.

0:22:080:22:10

It's so hot here. It's like...

0:22:100:22:13

I don't know. I didn't expect it.

0:22:130:22:16

I expected it to be quite a lot cooler.

0:22:160:22:18

It's weird surfing with so many people in the water, though.

0:22:180:22:20

Yeah. Not be what you're used to at all.

0:22:200:22:22

No, it's just packed and packed.

0:22:220:22:25

Did you look at the people that you're against?

0:22:250:22:27

I know I'm against some country that's, like, CRC.

0:22:270:22:30

Whatever that means. Is that Croatia?

0:22:300:22:32

I think that was Cost...

0:22:320:22:34

-Was it Costa Rica?

-IONA GROANS

0:22:340:22:36

And you're against Brazil.

0:22:360:22:37

Oh, no!

0:22:370:22:39

I've got no chance.

0:22:400:22:42

Not sounding too good, then.

0:22:440:22:45

-You'll be fine.

-Yeah.

0:22:450:22:48

-Go out and have fun.

-Mm-hmm. No-one here is like a bad surfer.

0:22:480:22:51

Like, I haven't seen one person that doesn't, like, rip.

0:22:510:22:54

Is it inspiring?

0:22:540:22:55

Yeah, kind of.

0:22:550:22:57

Kind of inspiring but kind of, like, puts you down a little bit too.

0:22:570:23:00

Any word on when your heats are on yet?

0:23:000:23:03

-After tomorrow, the swell starts picking up again.

-Yeah.

0:23:030:23:06

And by Wednesday, it's meant to be, like, triple overheads and I really

0:23:060:23:10

-don't want to have to be in that.

-Right.

-That'll be terrifying.

0:23:100:23:13

The conditions are pretty different today, though.

0:23:240:23:28

It is really rippy. A lot of wind to content with.

0:23:280:23:31

A lot of rip currents, a lot of water moving and if you don't get...

0:23:310:23:34

If you get unlucky, you're going to get taken across the beach.

0:23:340:23:37

Whoa!

0:23:370:23:38

We've already seen some other competitors struggling to get out.

0:23:440:23:47

You'll be fine. Just go and enjoy yourself.

0:23:470:23:49

I think these conditions might just be too tough for me.

0:23:510:23:54

Welcome back to the beautiful Azure islands here in Portugal.

0:23:540:23:57

There's our heat number three.

0:23:570:23:58

The rapid charge round number one of the girls under 18.

0:23:580:24:02

And how different are these from the main rounds?

0:24:020:24:05

Well, you're nervous energy is a high point.

0:24:050:24:07

You go into the rapid charge and now you realise it's do or die.

0:24:070:24:10

These beach breaks are intense.

0:24:140:24:15

I don't know if I can make it through them to even catch a wave.

0:24:150:24:18

See Iona there. We interviewed her just the other day.

0:24:240:24:26

I think the surf is very challenging for her.

0:24:260:24:29

She's in a very thick wetsuit that she's used to riding in Scotland

0:24:290:24:33

and she looks like...a little distressed there.

0:24:330:24:36

I'm sure the water safety is keeping an eye on her.

0:24:360:24:39

Yeah, tough conditions today.

0:24:390:24:40

We see Iona coming back in on the shoreline area.

0:24:510:24:55

Just a little bit too much for her out there

0:24:550:24:57

and she's making the right call.

0:24:570:24:58

Yeah, when in doubt, don't go out, that's for sure.

0:24:580:25:01

You were just about out that wee bit there and then...

0:25:010:25:05

How you feeling?

0:25:060:25:08

Er...I think I swallowed some water.

0:25:080:25:10

Just get yourself over there.

0:25:110:25:13

Over there. Yeah, just to the left a little bit.

0:25:130:25:16

We see Iona, she's going to give it another try.

0:25:160:25:18

She regroups, she probably talked to her coach and her team-mates

0:25:180:25:22

in there and they're properly telling her,

0:25:220:25:23

"Maybe don't go all the way out to the outside.

0:25:230:25:25

"Maybe take some of the inside waves."

0:25:250:25:27

I was so close to getting out but the force of the waves keeps pushing

0:26:140:26:17

me back. I'm not going to give up.

0:26:170:26:20

You're almost in there. You were almost out.

0:26:200:26:22

There's a girl in yellow that's just next to you. Right. In you go.

0:26:220:26:26

And again, and again.

0:26:260:26:27

Iona back out in the line-up for Team Scotland.

0:26:330:26:36

She's in the white jersey.

0:26:360:26:38

You've got to admire determination.

0:26:380:26:39

Go, Iona!

0:26:540:26:56

Come on!

0:26:560:26:57

Catch this!

0:27:000:27:02

Yes!

0:27:020:27:04

CHEERING

0:27:040:27:07

I did it. I rode that wave.

0:27:070:27:09

OK, only for a brief moment but it was the sweetest and hardest earned

0:27:090:27:13

wave I've ever caught.

0:27:130:27:14

-The best wave of the day.

-Fantastic.

0:27:170:27:21

I just want to say a big thank you to all the people who helped me

0:27:210:27:24

on the way.

0:27:240:27:25

-Oh-h-h-h...

-Scotland!

0:27:290:27:33

That was intense but it's great to be back home.

0:27:330:27:35

And the best thing of all is winter's coming

0:27:350:27:37

and that means one thing...

0:27:370:27:39

awesome surf.

0:27:390:27:40

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