Tiree Wave Classic The Adventure Show

They've come from all over the world to this small Hebridean island

to do what they do best. Ride the waves of the north Atlantic.

Welcome to The Adventure Show for the UK's premiere windsurfing event.

This is the Tiree Wave Classic.

Tiree is just a windy place

that's been known as the Mecca of UK windsurfing.

What, you go sailing in this?!

You go, "Yeah, it looks good, it looks good!"

The beautiful island of Tiree is host to Britain's best riders

and this year, the event is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

It also has beaches that face in almost every direction,

so no matter where the conditions are coming from, it will give

some of the best riding in Europe.

It's fantastic. The conditions are unbeatable,

the island's just beautiful, stunningly beautiful.

Yeah, getting out on the sea in the waves and the wind,

it's just something pretty special.

Also in this month's Adventure Show, Cameron McNeish

and Desiree Wilson are visiting another stunning Scottish island.

They'll be checking out the latest gear that's available,

and they'll also be pitting their culinary skills against each other,

and that promises to be some contest.

-I have to say, that's very good.

-It's nice, isn't it?

You could maybe tempt me into vegetarianism with dishes like that.

And Duncan and I will be going behind the scenes here at Tiree

because this year, the Wave Classic has a special significance.

It was back here in 1986, 25 years ago,

that they held the first windsurfing competition here

and ever since then, this place has become a place of pilgrimage

for those who ride the waves under the power of the wind.

It's the longest-standing windsurfing competition

in British windsurfing history.

One of the oldest windsurfing competitions

on the world stage as well.

Being here to celebrate 25 years with some past champions

and some of the faces and the legends,

it's just a great year for people to come and get involved.

When I came here my first time, it was the second year of the event.

Windsurfing was pretty big in those days

so it was quite a big spectacle.

There was a lot more people coming. In recent years,

it dropped off a little bit, the numbers were less

and people were staying around the south coast

where most of the windsurfers were coming from, and the sport itself had got smaller.

The last three or four years, it's certainly gathered momentum again.

It's much easier now as a sport to do than what it was

you know, 20, 30 years ago, even 10 years ago to be honest,

and I think people have realised what an amazing sport it is,

and I think we're getting a little bit of an influx of people

that either haven't windsurfed before and people that did

and are coming back to the sport.

It's lots of things that make Tiree special.

The first thing is that everyone welcomes us here, which is nice.

The locals are really friendly and they love us coming back each year.

This year Duncan Coombs is the head judge,

but he has a long history with this event.

Back in 1986, he won the very first Tiree Wave Classic.

25 years ago, that was cutting edge in short board windsurfing really.

You know, there weren't that many guys that were riding boards

eight foot long, so coming up to Tiree, you know,

was a real eye-opener for the Scottish guys

because they would all be riding sort of three-metre boards.

The footage that we've got back there was shown in 1987

and that was from a BBC programme

which probably would be one of the first proper windsurfing features.

It was a half hour show.

So here we are, 25 years later. Duncan was the first winner

and he is here judging us again this year,

so really he's a great legend to have along.

This year, conditions on Tiree are fantastic

and the forecast says the wind will blow for most of the week.

That means the men's wave competition could be split

into three rounds.

Wave windsurfing competitions are different

to most other sporting events.

Here the competition lasts

for as long as the weather conditions allow.

This is done by having multiple rounds or eliminations.

The better you do in the first, or single elimination,

the easier things will be in the subsequent eliminations.

Those who do poorly in the single elimination have a much harder task

and sail many more heats to make a comeback.

It's nearly time for the first elimination.

In this round, four windsurfers will battle it out in each heat.

They'll be judged on their two best waves

and on their most successful jump.

We're picking up the action for the first semi-final

of the men's singles and the four competitors on the water are

Andy Chambers, Chris Murray, Phil Horrocks,

and a policeman from Cornwall called Andy King.

And despite that long journey north,

Andy's having a great start to this heat.

The size of the wave is so important.

The wind has dropped a bit, but this looks pretty good.

For this event, I've had to take a fair amount of my leave,

but generally, sailing in Cornwall, if I work a nightshift,

I'll go to the beach the following day and sail until I'm too tired,

go home, a quick sleep, before going back to work again.

So, it's the ideal job for me

to kind of continue competing professionally

although I am sort of moving into retirement, but I keep coming back.

I get drawn back, especially for this event.

Andy's up against one of the veterans of Tiree,

former Wave Classic Champion, Phil Horrocks,

but I have to say, this does not look like Phil's usual form.

Struggling to find a decent wave.

Really surprising for someone normally so in tune

with the feel of the surf.

When you ride the wave, you can feel the power of the wave

pushing you along. It pushes you to the beach.

In the right conditions, in big waves,

where they line up nice and steep,

you can hit the top of them, do aerials and fly above the wave

and the wave pushes you and lifts you up and gives you the power.

It's a very unique feeling that I don't get in anything else.

And the third man, Chris Murray from Devon,

looks like he's struggling with the conditions as well.

The choice of the wave, so important

and this one is just too small to make anything of it.

He'll be very disappointed in that.

This is better though.

Andy Chambers, not only a pro-windsurfer,

but he's also an instructor.

He certainly loves it in Tiree. This looks very good.

It's only us guys around sailing, you know.

You can go somewhere else in Europe and it's packed.

It's perfect to come up here where there's not a lot of people around.

You can go and find your own beach to sail on if you really want.

Like I said, the conditions are always on.

And it's the two Andys who are making the most of things today.

Another great wave there for Andy King.

Time's up on this first semi-final.

So the judges' decision, Andy King and Andy Chambers go through.

Chris Murray and Tiree veteran, Phil Horrocks are out

of this first elimination round.

Tiree 2011 could be the year of big surprises.

The second semi-final in the men's singles is equally tough.

The four sailors competing are George Shillito, Timo Mullen,

three-time Tiree champion, John Skye, and Ben Proffitt,

the winner here last year, so he is wearing the yellow jersey.

And Ben is on form today. That's a great wave, well-executed turns!

Looking very strong indeed.

Perhaps surprising - he's carrying an ankle injury.

I get the phone call from the radiographer or whoever it is,

who said, "We've re-looked at the x-ray and you've got a fracture!"

So I said, "Brilliant(!)" It worked out in the end.

I've still had time off. I had another opinion.

That guy seemed to think that it was an old injury

and I don't know what's wrong with it but it was really sore yesterday.

Heading out for the waves is John Skye,

one of the UK's most experienced windsurfers

and yet another Tiree veteran, and he's jumped to start the heat

and now he'll be looking for that perfect wave.

This looks good but he can't seem to make anything much of it.

Just heading into the shallows.

Perhaps the pressure's getting to them.

Three-time champion here at Tiree and if he wins again this year,

he'll go into the record books.

That would give me the most titles out of anyone, I think,

which would be fantastic, but I'll take one heat at a time.

It's a long week, and I think we'll get a few rounds done in the end, so, yeah...

not think about that too much.

Timo Mullen's also no stranger to this island.

He's competed here 16 times and won the event 2 years ago.

And off to a pretty good start as well.

The conditions do seem to be flattening out,

but George Shillito is making the best of them.

Good wave riding!

Earlier this year, George windsurfed for 25 hours non-stop

to raise money for charity.

It's really not been easy on the water for this heat,

yet it looks like Ben Proffitt's experience is paying off,

making the most of what's on offer and riding with real confidence.

So at the end of the second semi-final,

the judges' decision is that Ben goes through to the finals

along with, wait for it...

Timo Mullen!

That's a real shock. John Skye is out of the men's singles!

I was having trouble with the waves down there

and I should've probably come back up and sort of started again,

but I tried to carry on down there and it didn't really work out.

I picked up the big waves, but they weren't actually the good ones.

The good ones were maybe the smaller ones that were a bit steeper.

But, you know, I saw the other guy, I saw Ben get a really nice wave

and I saw Timo get a good backloop and, you know, that's how it goes,

but it's a bit frustrating.

If the weather stays good and there's another round,

then John Skye could make a comeback in the double elimination,

but that means a lot of hard work.

So lining up for the final of the single elimination

are Ben Proffitt, Andy King, Andy Chambers,

and Timo Mullen, who opens up with a great jump!

That's a fine, fine jump from Timo there.

Let's see what favourite Ben Proffitt can do.

You would not think he had an injured ankle, would you?

See the aggression he rides with, attacking those turns.

Really going for the wave, getting turns in when no-one else can.

This is Andy Chambers now, pumping the sail for more speed

and style, but not snapping many turns on these waves.

Now this is snappy turning for the Cornish copper, Andy King.

One-handed there, making the most of the wave!

That'll be a good score for him.

Timo Mullen, he had a great jump to open.

Ooh, but this riding is letting him down a little today.

A nice jump there for Andy Chambers, but will it be enough?

-SIREN SOUNDS

-Time's up and at the end of the round,

the judges decide last year's winner, Ben Proffitt

has won the men's single.

And these are the final places in the single elimination.

But the week's only just begun and if all goes well there could be

one, or even two more rounds to go, so Ben knows he hasn't won just yet.

I would say the conditions today...

There was a lot of luck involved and I won't lie to you.

In that final, four men, any one of us could've won.

I came strong towards the end of the heat, which usually tends to go with the judges.

If they see someone coming up strong, maybe it helps the scores

but, again, it's not my conditions. I've got a sore ankle,

so it didn't all go for me but Lady Luck's with me!

It's a glamorous life. The sun on your face,

your hair bleaching blonde in its rays

and the taste of warm salt in the air.

Yeah, right! This is Scotland, it's early winter and it's cold,

so having a van to get out of the elements

is a pretty important piece of kit and some are nicer than others.

So we've got this set up with...

There's a bed system in the back made out of struts

going across the whole van

and they're all supported by aluminium framework.

There's loads of room underneath for all of the equipment.

The bed system doesn't have any legs or anything like that

so you can get as much in as possible.

This is what a van should look like.

Don't let him hear me because he's very proud of it

and he'll go on and on and on!

All organised with the sails, the boards.

In the front, they've got the cooker running, making a cup of tea.

And then this is what a van shouldn't look like.

This is a disaster, and it's always, no matter what happens,

it's always the board at the bottom that I need!

There's definitely a van culture,

mainly because sleeping in one saves cash.

Like right now, the way our sport is, there's not huge amounts of money in it

so everyone that does it, really does it because they love it

and that comes through on every level, even at the World Cup level.

You know, you've got five of the top ten

living in the same house when they travel and it's, like, a real fun spirit.

I mean, when you're on the water you want to kill everyone,

but off the water, you come in and go,

"Well done, you won" or, "Unlucky", and everyone's good friends and that's really nice.

I can't imagine it being like that on the golf tour or tennis tour.

We'll be back here in Tiree for more action soon,

but first of all we're heading into the hills

on another West Coast island with Cameron and Desiree,

as they check out the latest and the best of the outdoor gear on offer.

We're on the glorious Isle of Eigg, one of the most interesting islands

that lie of the West Coast of Scotland.

We're here to test some outdoor gear

but also to find out as much as we can about this fascinating island.

But first, to a clothing gear test and soft shells.

I fear the recent innovation in outdoor jackets,

a fleece-like material meant to be worn as an outer layer.

It's supposed to be pretty breathable and shower-proof,

which sounds ideal for Alpine conditions, when it's cold and dry.

For use here, when the weather can be fickle...

Hmm, I'm not quite so sure.

But with conditions today, we should get a pretty good idea.

So, Dez, how's it performing?

Well, initial impressions of this woman's Mammut hoodie...

A really nice fit, a really nice cut on it.

It's just nice, clean and simple.

The articulation on the sleeves

means it doesn't feel like there's any excess fabric

but it feels like there's a range of movement which is good.

A lot of these soft shells now seem to have these thumb loops

which I don't really like too much. I find them really uncomfortable.

I think one of the ideas is that when your hands are above your head

when you're climbing, that it stops the jacket riding up,

but it also cuts off your circulation, as well!

This is a larger fit I think.

Because it's a men's jacket, I think it's not quite as slim.

This one's a bit long on the sleeves for me, as you can see,

but that's no bad thing because I use these loops

that you didn't particularly like.

It keeps my hands nice and warm, so it's quite good.

I have to say that I rather like this.

Today, it's very windy and quite cold actually,

and this keeps me nice and toasty.

So, Cameron, I always wanted to come to Eigg

because I'd heard how beautiful it was, and it is stunning.

Eigg has a long history, as you can imagine.

People frequented these islands,

and it was a stronghold of the MacDonalds for quite a long time.

But more recently, there has been a kind of chequered history

in terms of land ownership.

A number of years ago, the island was owned by a man called

Keith Schellenberg, but, you know, running an island,

owning an island like this, takes an awful, awful lot of money,

and eventually, he sold the island to a German artist

by the name of Maruma, and it actually turned out

that he didn't have the money to invest in the island either.

And it was the time of The Land Reform Act in Scotland

and it was the people here of Eigg decided that they would try

and raise enough money to buy the island themselves,

to run the island themselves, and that's what they did.

It seems to me that making a community like this work

is about more than just investing money in it.

You know, landowners can come in with lots of money,

but you have to know how a community works

and to know what needs to be done and what needs invested in,

and so it seems that the community that are here

are the best people to do that, to make those decisions.

That's right and that's what's happened in the best community buy-outs in Scotland.

So what's this soft shell that you've got on now, Cameron?

Well, this is a Canadian Arcteryx Venta SL jacket.

It's made from three different kinds of wind-stopper fabric.

There's the main sort of fabric on the body,

then there's a sort of tougher fabric on the outside of the arms,

and there's another one just down the inside here.

I like this jacket. This is definitely a winter jacket

because not only is it wind-proof, pretty shower-proof,

but it's also lightly-insulated. There's a bit of a scrim,

an insulating scrim in here, so absolutely perfect for winter.

Well I'm also wearing Arcteryx,

but this is the ladies Gamma MX Hoody,

which is a different type of jacket

from the one that you've got on there.

It just felt really lovely to put on.

It's very lightweight but it's got a sort of fleece lining on the inside,

so even though it's very, very thin, it instantly felt warm,

and we're out in cold conditions today so that felt lovely.

It's a very good fit as well

and that's what I've come to expect from Arcteryx, especially

the ladies fit. There's no excess material sort of flapping about.

The one thing I would say about this jacket

is it's the top end of the price range.

You're looking at around about £260 which is quite a lot of money...

-Phew! Wow!

-..for something that's not technically waterproof.

Well, here we are at the Sgurr of Eigg, 393 metres.

The good news is we don't have to go up the front end here.

We go round the other side.

What always strikes me when I come to places like this

is that something like an inanimate lump of rock can actually really

invoke a sense of spirit of a place.

And I think it's because it stands alone amid, you know,

these beautiful sparkling waters, and quite flat land otherwise,

and it almost comes to represent the community itself.

And when we see natural monuments as well, I think we really identify

with them in some sort of way and to see them is really special.

Yeah, I mean I suppose for so many of our world religions,

our gods lived on the top of mountains.

You can think of Mount Olympus in Greece, you know, the abode of the gods.

I don't know if we'll find any gods up there, but you never know,

there might still be a wee relic of the ancient Viking Odin.

You'll be there Cameron the God McNeish!

Oh, Odin and I! Yeah, let's do it, come on.

The mind boggles.

How are you getting on with that Paramo jacket, Cameron?

Well, I'm slightly confused by this jacket.

This is the Paramo Fuera Ascent jacket

and, to me, it's more of a wind-shirt than a soft shell.

There is no real insulation value to this.

It's just got a fairly thick...

I suspect it's a double layer of very finely woven nylon.

And as a wind-shirt it's absolutely terrific, it really cuts the wind.

It's very light, it's only 380 grams, and on a cold, windy day,

put it on over a fleece, and you'll see I've done that,

and it's an effective combination.

But to be honest, I think, if I had my choice, I would buy this,

which is only £80, I'd buy that

and wear it on top of a normal micro-fleece

and you'd have a fantastic combination

that I think equalled the most expensive of soft shells.

So how are you getting on with Mrs Paramo?

Mrs Paramo? Well this is the ladies Velez Adventure Smock.

So it's just a single jacket.

I don't have the two different layers like you do.

It's very lightweight, very comfortable. It's very easy to wear.

The hood is absolutely fantastic.

Again, it's got this sort of ability to stay up in the wind

which is great so I've had my hood up quite a lot today

because it's been quite cold and windy.

The thing I don't like about it is I can't put my hands anywhere.

I have this single zip pocket along here which is pretty meaningless

because I've got my hip belt on.

So some things I like about it, some things I don't like too much,

but all in all, it's not a bad jacket.

So, Cameron, I'm really liking this Montane soft shell

that I'm wearing and you've got the gent's version.

-Mm.

-How are you getting on with that?

Well, do you know what? This is the first soft shell

I've put on where I've thought, "I can use this in anger."

It's more than just shower-proof and I suspect that I could wear this

in a bit of a downpour and it wouldn't come right through.

Yeah, I've got the ladies version and it's just soft, comfortable,

feels really lightweight. I like the fact that the pockets are up here.

I can walk along with my hands in my pockets and my hip belt's done up.

The hood's really great.

But I also noticed that it doesn't have the same sort of wicking layer

that some of the other jackets do,

and I thought perhaps that might be a reason

why it's significantly less than the top end soft shells on the market.

An absolutely fabulous jacket. I think it's really good.

I would use this. To me, this is a super-windproof.

It's going to be windy up there, I think.

Yeah, and I've now got the only soft shell that doesn't have a hood!

Aww!

-OK, shall we go for it?

-Yeah, the summit awaits.

The summit awaits, certainly.

What do you reckon to this, Cameron? It's just amazing, isn't it?

I think this is the most beautiful of walks.

Oh, and such a gorgeous island!

It's just stunning.

What I like is you're looking down at the sea there

and the wind's making patterns of the waves, and the sun, you know,

the sinking sun is just reflecting from it and it's just heavenly.

And it feels like such an accessible walk, you know.

We haven't come out a great distance but it actually feels like we're somewhere significant.

This feels kind of more like a little mountain than a hill.

It's only 393 metres, but it's not all about height.

You're right, this is more of a mountain feel than...

You wouldn't call it a hill. It's too rocky and craggy.

I think it's really great when you actually live in Scotland and you feel that way about it.

I've lived here all my life and I still look around.

I've been around the world and I've never seen anywhere

as beautiful as this when the weather's good.

Hey, we're getting above ourselves. We've not been to the top yet.

-I know, and I can't wait to see the view, let's go.

-Let's get up there.

Well, Dez, you're a bit fan of Marmot,

how is that jacket performing?

I do. Well, again, I really like this fit.

Marmot do women's fit really well,

so it never feels like there's anything kind of flapping about.

It just feels like a lot of money for actually what you're getting.

I mean, this is coming in at about £180,

and, you know, it's just a nice jacket really.

But a lot of these jackets are actually, maybe marketing themselves

a bit more at kind of street-casual wear because I wouldn't wear this

out on the hill as a technical jacket, partly because, as you say,

I can't get my fingers in any pockets, it's not quite long enough

and it doesn't have a hood.

So you know, I might wear it underneath something,

but I wouldn't wear it as an outer layer.

-But it'd look great in a trendy bistro in Chamonix!

-Absolutely, yes.

Well, this one's slightly cheaper.

This is the Men's ROM jacket. ROM stands for "range of movement".

It's an interesting jacket. It's made from wind-stopper

and Marmot's own M2 material,

so it's a kind of blend of both these fabrics.

A full zip down the front. Pockets again, with a hip belt over it.

I can't understand why companies, like Marmot,

make these for active people who wear rucksacks,

and yet you can't get to the pockets. Apart from that, it's OK.

I'm still not entirely convinced about the whole concept

of soft shells for our climate,

but there are some good ones on the market and you'll be able to get

the full low-down on everything we tested by following us on Facebook.

Right now, we're nearing the end of this walk on Eigg,

but we'll be back later in the programme.

Cameron and I will be going head to head

to see who's the best at cooking in the wild

and testing some top stoves along the way.

But for the moment, from this kind of windy summit of An Sgurr

on the lovely Isle of Eigg, we'll see you later on.

CAMERON YELLS LOUDLY

Welcome back to Tiree - not though for windsurfing,

but for paddle-boarding which I'm told is fairly straightforward

and easy, which of course means it won't be.

-Helen Thomson will take me through.

-Hi, there.

-How are you doing?

First of all, what is paddle-boarding?

It's a new sport which is the fastest growing sport

in surfing at the moment

and it involves huge surfboards that are round about ten foot

and you've got a paddle as well, and it's originally

a Polynesian fishing technique

which has now been changed into a huge surf sport.

It's better on flat water to begin with.

Definitely getting your balance on flat water and then maybe

transferring your techniques and skills to waves.

I'll point out, better flat water if you're doing it for the first time.

I don't know if you can see, that's definitely not flat water

that we're going to, which is the bad thing.

So, lesson one, get the name right. It's SUPing - Stand Up Paddling.

Lesson two. Well, that's harder.

And then you bring your feet up to that same position, OK?

OK.

And then keep your knees nice and bent, keep your back straight

and stand up into this SUPing position, and then your hand

goes over the t-bar at the top of the paddle and then start paddling.

I am extremely, extremely nervous!

It's all about balance.

You want to have a nice straight upper body and very bent legs.

You want to have your knees nice and squishy

so that you don't roll about with the swell and basically try

and keep the board moving, because if you don't,

you'll get more unstable and that's when you tend to fall in.

Once you get onto the board at first, you feel wobbly,

but once you get on it and start relaxing and listening

to what Helen says as opposed to trying to do your own thing,

look at the horizon as opposed to your toes, it gets a wee bit easier.

What's great about paddle-boarding is that anyone can do it.

You know, I've had my mum on my paddle-board at home on flat water

and she loves it and you can go out on the waves,

you can go on the lakes, you can go anywhere.

Yeah, thanks for that.

We watched the pros SUPing earlier this week.

This is how it's meant to look...

and this is how it's not.

Well, the boards are incredibly stable, incredibly buoyant,

and they're easy to flip onto, and because there was

a bit of an offshore breeze today I was very aware

that we were going out quite a lot

and I wanted to get onto the board quickly

so we could paddle back in if need be,

but it's amazing, just even coming back in at the end there,

it's incredible, the power of these waves. I mean,

they're not huge but they were big enough for me

and when they roll in and you hear them, it's kind of wild!

He did amazingly well.

It's not the easiest of conditions today. It's actually pretty windy,

the swell picked up a lot from the point that we went out to now,

so, yes, he did really, really well and hopefully he enjoyed it.

Back to the real action and this is the Women's Wave Classic

where four competitors have been battling it out all week.

It's just riding the waves really that I like.

You're out there just trying to do the best that you can.

A lot of sessions you end up,

"Right, I'm just going to get one more wave, one more wave,"

and you just stay out there for ages

because you're having such a good time.

Debbie Kennedy from Cornwall, won Tiree last year,

so she's the woman to beat, but why are there so few women here?

Well, I don't know, good question.

Yeah, cos on a good day at home in Cornwall,

there can be anything up to sort of eight or nine girls out sailing,

who are all at a high standard and could be here competing,

but I think perhaps, it's the long journey

and the cost of it all, really.

There's maybe 12 or 14 in the world

who are competing.

Men get - unfortunately - a little bit more money!

They get more easily, sponsorships and so on

and I think wavesailing,

there's more women with slalom and speed

and especially in the freestyle,

but wavesailing - it's daunting and it's scary.

They're getting a lot better for making sure we get out on the water

but sometimes you end up just sort of sailing once

and that's that, which isn't really a competition, so...

It's been really good here this year cos we've already had three rounds,

but they definitely need to make sure that when the women are here

that they have a good competition and are not just put out first

when the conditions aren't very good,

which has sort of happened in the past, I think.

The women's competition is different -

their positions will be a culmination of their daily scores.

The youngest competitor here is 15-year-old Eilidh Sutherland from Aviemore,

making the difficult transition from windsurf racing on flat water

to waveriding.

It's a tough call but this is a determined performance.

She's picked up a small wave and is attempting to put in some turns.

It's a completely different change

cos you could race on waves but it was nothing like -

cos your board would just stick to the water,

so this, yeah, is much better, I feel.

But it's just you and yourself that you're concentrating on.

When I'm out there I feel like no-one can really tell me what to do

so you are a bit free when you're out there.

Eilidh's up against another comparative newcomer to this discipline -

Sophia Gilje from Norway.

And that's not a bad wave for Sophia.

A bit of a wobble there, a wee turn.

Yeah, she's holding it together well.

This IS a sport she loves.

It kind of combines freedom and extreme sport, waves,

freestyle, if you want.

It's got a bit of everything and I just love the...

Yeah, I love it. It's really fun.

The third woman here is another Scandinavian,

Kariina Pirhonen from Finland,

and ready to take on the challenge of the big water.

That's a very good wave, not right on the crest though.

Trying to turn back in, oh, but not managing much on this one. Shame.

The big waves come and eat you alive!

-SHE LAUGHS

-Wash you, wash you and hopefully wash you back to the beach

without too much damage.

But here's the favourite for this year's competition -

Debbie Kennedy, last year's Tiree champion and winner of the UK Tour,

she's showing what can be done with these waves.

Conditions are fairly light, which make it harder for the sailors.

But Debbie's managing the situation well

and getting the most out of the waves.

Using the body to control the movement,

clearly very happy in this environment.

And after five days of racing, this is how the women finished...

Eilidh Sutherland from Aviemore took fourth place,

Kariina Pirhonen from Finland came in third,

with Norwegian Sophia Gilje taking second,

but the clear winner was Debbie Kennedy

who takes the title for the second year running.

Back to the men's wave competition.

Earlier, we saw Ben Proffitt win the single elimination contest.

Now the top four finishers sit out

and the rest of the field compete to produce a challenger.

That challenger then takes on the top four.

This is what's known as double elimination.

The idea of double elimination is it gives them a second shot,

so a second chance to go through

and it sort of makes it a lot more exciting and watchable

for the guys on the beach. The great thing about single and double elimination

is that if you win the single elimination, you've not won -

you're sitting there and you're waiting for the challenger

to come through and have another crack at you.

As the top four from the single elimination

sit out to await a challenger,

they are treated to a showcase of waveriding by John Skye

as he carves through the field,

and his progress doesn't stop there as he battles his way past

Timo Mullen, Andy Chambers and Andy King.

Now only Ben Proffitt sits between him

and victory in the double elimination.

But John's been out on the water non-stop for many strenuous hours,

and what's worse, to take the lead in the Wave Classic

he'll have to beat Ben Proffitt twice -

first to win the double elimination

and secondly, to take the overall lead.

I can handle one,

but I think the second one might kill me!

So...I'm going to eat some food and...

..drink and...

So this is it, the Double Elimination Final.

Ben Proffitt, last year's winner

and the winner of this year's single elimination

takes on an exhausted John Skye,

and in this heat, the judges are looking for the two best waves

with the most stylish, exciting moves,

but now marks will be given not just to one, but the two best jumps.

First up Ben Proffitt, the first time he's been out today.

It's going to be a tough challenge.

Oh, but he starts well, nice jump!

The landing wasn't great though. What can John Skye do?

Oh, that is stylish!

Should gain him a good score. Proffitt on the wave now.

Looking good.

Oh, he's down!

John Skye, more air and another jump.

Not bad, but I think he'll need to improve on that.

So what can Ben Proffitt do?

Nice height, oh, but another splash!

That's John Skye.

One-handed, two... What an absolute beauty!

But Ben Proffitt's really struggling.

Another jump ends in the water.

So this is looking better for John Skye, dominating this heat.

Good turns, leans back, controls the board...lovely.

Time's up.

The judges' decision - John Skye has won.

Ben is gutted

and he's not happy with the judges' requirement for two jumps.

There's no way there's two jumps!

Ben protests to the judges and wins the argument.

In the final round, they only have to produce one jump,

but Ben is still not happy.

It's a long day waiting,

to come and then not get the chance to do what you want to do...

OK, I'm not great at jumping on this tack, but I wasn't plaining,

my fault maybe, I don't know,

but if it had been one jump, I'd have won.

And Ben seems to have taken that frustration onto the water with him

where there seems to be no stopping John Skye

now he's been given that second chance.

With an excellent display of waveriding,

he chalks up his seventh win of the day

to take overall command of the event.

But with wind forecast,

today's positions are unlikely to be the end of the story.

Andy Chambers is fourth,

Andy King has dropped to third,

last year's winner Ben Proffitt is now in second place,

with John Skye on his way to a record fourth victory.

Yet with the weather conditions still favourable,

there could be another round - the triple elimination.

There's no sport like windsurfing for a complicated set of rules.

We're just going to leave the Wave Classic now for a few moments

and re-join Cameron and Desiree who seem to be up to their ears,

and mouths, in camping stoves.

Welcome back to our gear test.

It's a beautiful day on the island of Eigg

and we're about to put half a dozen stoves through their paces.

Desiree and I are going head-to-head.

We're both going to cook a three-course meal

using a different stove for each course

and I've got a funny feeling Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay

won't have to lose too much sleep.

I think we're all ready to go. Dez, are you ready?

Yeah, as I'll ever be.

-After three?

-OK.

-Three, two, one, good luck, Jamie!

SHE LAUGHS

I'm going to start off with some soup.

I hesitate to call it French onion soup,

so I'm going to call it Highland onion soup.

Let's get the stove going and I'm going to feed in some of the onion.

I've got some miso soup to start with here,

which just needs some hot water, basically.

And I'm just going to get this going and get the water going.

And then for main course...

I've got a nice mix of herbs and spices

that I prepared the other day.

Now this water's boiling nicely now so I'm going to put in my pasta,

and I've kind of cheated in this case

and I've got some prepared pasta.

Dessert's going to be pretty simple -

I'm just going to be having bananas and custard

and I'm going to use an MSR Pocket Rocket for that.

I've prepared some cream and some raspberries in here

and I've got some oat biscuits,

so I'm just going to crumble up the oaty biscuits

into the cranachan mixture.

I think what I might do, is maybe swap this main meal around

onto the faster Pocket Rocket.

Something's burning.

I took my eye off the Jetboil! SHE LAUGHS

The soup is beginning to look a wee bit like onion soup.

That one's ready.

I'll try a wee bit of pasta.

Let's have a wee taste of this.

Mmm, almost there.

That's lovely.

Mmm, that's ready. I'm ready!

Does miso stand for nothing...

like, nothing soup?

SHE LAUGHS

It's like drinking hot water!

I did actually just add too much water to this.

-Usually, it's a bit more flavoursome!

-Stop making excuses.

Bring your camera here and look at this.

This looks like real French onion soup.

Mmm, that's a hit for me.

Do you want to try this tasteless vegetarian food then?

-That's very good.

-It's nice, isn't it?

-You could maybe tempt me into vegetarianism...

-OK.

..with dishes like that.

Well done, that's fantastic!

I've made chorizo and pasta.

-I'll not ask you to taste this, I'll taste it myself.

-OK.

-I'll just have to take your word for it.

-Oh, that's delicious!

It's just probably a bit simple and basic

compared to what Desiree's cooked.

It's fair to say that Dez has won the main course round,

so it's all down to the pudding.

-Bananas and custard? It sounds like school dinners!

-But it's great.

Bananas are a great health food.

-All right, can I try it?

-Course you can.

Let's try a bit of banana and a bit of custard.

Mmm, oh, that tastes just like...

bananas and custard!

Have a look at this.

Bring your camera in here and look at this cos this is sensational.

-Oh, wow!

-Cranachan, which is raspberries and cream with bits of oat biscuit through it.

-That's really good.

-Sensational?

-It really is.

-Is that not sensational?

-It is sensational.

-I think you win the pudding.

-Oh, thank you!

Well, we each cooked with three different stoves

and I started my main course on this MSR Reactor,

and I think because of the size of this pot,

this is an ideal unit for two people cooking.

The whole thing's quite heavy - it weighs about 540 grams -

and it's quite expensive - £140 -

but I was very impressed by this.

Well, I used the Jetboil Flash for my soup for my starter course

and I've used Jetboils quite a lot and I really, really like them

but they're used quite often in Alpine conditions

for sort of melting snow for water,

so you don't tend to cook that much in the Jetboils

cos they're such a long unit with a small surface area

that you kind of just tend to end up burning food

if you try and cook it in here,

but for heating liquids they're absolutely brilliant.

A really great feature is that it's got a handle on it

so you can actually cook holding the Jetboil.

My next stove is the Primus Express Spider

and this is the remote gas stove.

Again it works off a gas cylinder,

but rather than have the stove actually stuck on top,

making a kind of unstable thing,

the stove is connected by a hose and is remote from the gas cylinder,

and I personally like this kind of stove.

This costs £45, which I think is very, very reasonable.

It weighs less than 200 grams, which again is pretty good

for you know, a good stable pot.

The only thing I would add to this stove

is a bit of an aluminium foil windshield just to protect it,

but I think this is very, very good value for what it is.

Well, I used the MSR Pocket Rocket to cook my main course

and I've used a Pocket Rocket quite a lot before.

The main thing that I love about the Pocket Rocket is the size of it,

it just is absolutely tiny and it weighs virtually nothing.

You barely even notice you've got it with you

when you're taking it out and about with you on the hill.

The main drawback for me,

is that when you've got your pot sat on top of the stove and it's on,

it's quite an unstable unit,

but as a general hill stove,

as long as you're aware of the limitations,

you've got a really, really good piece of equipment.

If you think that's lightweight, then this one is even lighter.

This is the Optimus Crux Lite Solo Cooking System - quite a mouthful.

But the stove itself, as you can see, is absolutely tiny -

it weighs 72 grams.

You could stick it in a shirt pocket and forget about it

and it's a tiny, compact little system that folds over like that

so that it can live inside the cooking pots that come with it.

The whole thing weighs 172 grams - that's the stove and the pots -

but if you're going to cook in a pot like this,

then all you'll get is a bairn's portion.

Trangia stoves are pretty popular with the likes of D of E groups

and there's a good reason for that -

they're really quite safe stoves in a lot of ways.

The whole unit itself is a very, very stable platform.

You're looking at certainly having to wait

quite a bit longer for food to cook.

Another drawback for Trangias is the fact that once that flame's lit,

it's very difficult to see.

So really great things about the Trangia

but you do need to know what you're doing with it.

So a whole variety of stoves on offer,

some very, very lightweight, others a bit more substantial,

but at the end of the day, how good the food tastes

depends on the cook

and I think Desiree and I are pretty evenly matched.

Back on Tiree and in the 25 years this competition has been running,

windsurf equipment has changed significantly.

Duncan has been finding out.

-To me, this looks like a pretty decent board.

-Yeah.

It's got a nice defined rail on it and it's very, very light,

so going from this one to one of your new boards,

just show me what the essential differences are.

Well, when this board first came out it was a fairly decent board

and of course there's nothing wrong with it,

but as time's moved on, the designs have become easier to use,

and where typically they may have got one or two turns,

you know, 15 years ago on a wave,

the guys are now looking to make five or six really expressive turns

and they can get these new-school moves in on their weight.

What about the position of the mast, has that changed at all?

Yeah, in the older boards

the mast track was further up the front of the board.

There were two reasons for that -

the sails used then were more drawn out

so the centre of effort was further away from the rider.

-So what you're saying is that the boom was really long?

-Exactly.

And the volume was short,

so now you've got a shorter boom and a higher sail.

So all of the equipment has become more compact.

And now that the board designs in the last -

certainly the last ten years but more specifically, the last five years -

have gotten a lot easier to use, a lot more friendly,

you can learn the sport and progress very quickly

whereas before, it took ten years of commitment before...

And you needed three boards and four sails, and a big van...

Exactly. Whereas now you can use less equipment, you can progress quicker,

it's a lot easier

and it means that people can get to places like Tiree

where there are great waves, great conditions,

and they can learn to sail in those a lot quicker.

So we have seen a big increase in people windsurfing again

and I'd say the sport is perhaps enjoying a bit of a boom.

We've now reached the final day of competition in the Men's wave event.

Conditions are great, it's blowing a gale.

Conditions this week on Tiree have been fantastic

so the judges have introduced a brand-new element,

never before seen in the UK.

It's called Triple Elimination.

That means the top four finishers from the last round sit out.

The rest of the field battle to produce a challenger,

that challenger then takes on the top four

and the winner will be the champion.

It's as simple as that.

So the guys that have won it and are sitting on the ladder,

they're all waiting, getting cold,

getting a little bit anxious and nervous.

The guys charging through

are getting more used to the conditions, keeping warm.

Usually we'll get one person who's doing particularly well,

getting used to the conditions and charging through,

taking out fifth, fourth, third and second place

and they're on a bit of a role,

but conversely, they are also getting tired

cos we've got two minutes to run back up the beach

and get into the next one.

You can have a guy who's charging through, sailing well,

but he's having one and a half hours of pure competitive windsurfing,

so they're getting more and more exhausted

and the winner's obviously just hoping

that they're too shattered by the time they get there.

The current leader is John Skye

so he'll have to wait till the final heats to compete.

Coming up through the ranks, Phil Horrocks is having a great day.

Phil didn't do too well in the first two elimination rounds,

but he's taken full advantage of this final chance

and has battled his way through heat after heat to take on the leaders.

You get dialled-in to the conditions, you get a bit more practice,

you get used to it and you get a bit of momentum going

and sometimes it's easier to carry that through,

but if you've got to carry it through seven or eight heats,

obviously tiredness, fatigue - all that business comes into it.

Second place Ben Proffitt, still recovering from his ankle injury,

is looking forward to today's competition.

It's a big day, everything can change today,

like Phil Horrocks sailing really good -

he could come all the way through.

If he beats me he could even beat Skye boy

and then take the event win, so it's still not over.

It's my sort of conditions if I'm fit and healthy

and I'm feeling all right.

I'm just taking it easy -

I don't want to cause any problems unnecessarily.

And another contender in this triple elimination

is the Cornish policeman, Andy King.

The appeal for me is just, the freedom you have when you windsurf,

especially if it's windy and it's wild.

You can go anywhere you want out there, there's no restrictions,

there's no speed cameras,

and generally when it's wild,

there aren't many people that do the sport

and there's plenty of ocean to go round

so you can find your own patch of water

and do with it what you please.

And in this first semi-final of the triple elimination,

Andy King's being challenged

by the man who's had to work his way up through every heat today -

Phil Horrocks.

I'm joined in the commentary box

by the very first Wave Classic Champion and today's Head Judge -

Duncan Coombs.

So, Andy, he's got a little bit of air,

the fin's out just a tiny bit,

but as he's setting up for his first top turn there,

coming off the box, he goes very straight,

he doesn't lay the sail down,

he's not really putting the rail of the board into the water

and getting much deviation in the frontside turn there.

Phil seems to be more aggressive,

snapping back off the top of the waves -

would that be fair comment?

Yeah, I think you can really see a difference in style here

with Phil Horrocks and Andy King.

I'm not sure if it's the board Andy's riding, might be quite a big board.

Phil's maybe got a little bit more rocker in

just to give him a bit more snap, like you say, off the turn.

There he is - floats over that section.

That was sort of mistimed really.

A bit of a closeout.

Andy's on the wave, too.

If he scores big on this one this could be the difference.

A bit straighter, he hasn't quite got the snap that Horrocks has got.

I think he knew that he'd lost that.

So a bit disappointing there just to miss out by a couple of points?

Yeah, I just kept dropping down places.

We normally do a double elimination and that's it - you drop one place,

but obviously in this event you drop three,

but it's just the way it goes, I guess.

Now, an exhausted Phil Horrocks is back on the water

to take on last year's Tiree Wave Champion, Ben Proffitt.

Ooft! That's a big splosh!

Yeah, halfway through that push leap he just completely lost control.

But Ben on a reform on the inside, look...

-Man!

-Snaps it back.

Oh, working really hard on this.

Ben of course, riding with a broken foot,

which...is pretty hardcore, I have to say!

So, Phil... On the big wave, yeah.

Lost his speed though for the second turn,

and Phil going for a tacker and...

Oh, right in front of Ben.

Ben would've loved to have seen that -

Phil going down.

I mean, this is what you said to me in the heat before, you know,

"Do you think Phil's getting tired?"

-and it looks like he might be.

-Yeah.

He came all the way through from sixth place and he's...

Oh, a nice jump from Ben there.

Here he goes now, Phil.

Oh, just mistiming that second hit.

Is this the tiredness?

Phil needs a big wave.

Oh, but big air from Ben!

That's the nail in the coffin.

That's the jump that'll take Ben Proffitt through to face John Skye.

Bye-bye, Mr Horrocks.

Phil, you looked kind of tired in that round.

It's a long way to get through

to the last two in this triple elimination.

Yeah, it's a long way to come from seventh position

right through up to third.

But that was the battle for second, so there was quite a few heats

and then...I think I just ran out of steam at the end!

There was a couple of waves where I had a nice ride

and then I think I just got overpowered

and the sail got pulled out of my hands, and I couldn't hold on.

So once again, this comes down to a contest

between the leader, John Skye and Ben Proffitt.

Ben Proffitt opening up his final with a forward loop,

not such a high one.

A really nice, clean push loop from Skye there.

That push loop scores a little bit higher than the forward loop

so Skye opening up with a...

And a forward there from Skye as well.

So two jumps to count here, in the final.

John Skye, three times winner here at the Tiree Wave Classic,

against Ben Proffitt,

last year's winner here on Tiree,

and both of them starting off as they mean to continue.

John Skye in particular, big jumps at the start,

getting points on the board.

Ben won the single elimination, John won the double elimination,

so if Ben wins this, they have to go to a super final

to see who's the supreme champion as it were.

Exactly that, yeah.

This is effectively like a third round.

I think, again,

Proffitt just looking a little bit more aggressive in his turns.

They're both lining up for a jump here,

some big stunt ramps out the back there.

I wonder if we could see a double forward today?

Oh, synchronised push loops, how is that?

Skye boy snapping a jibe onto the face of that wave as well.

Right, here's John Skye, now what can he do?

Oh, he just falls off the back!

He won't be happy. Skye's not looking on form, is he?

I think he'll probably know that there's going to be a re-sail.

So, that final went Ben Proffitt's way, which means...

we have a super final, and these two will come back onto the shore,

gather their thoughts, gather their breath,

and go back out and do battle once again.

At the beginning of the heat I had a couple of good waves

and I was hoping that would be enough to see me through,

but I saw him at the end

get a couple of really killer waves

and I knew that it probably wasn't enough,

and now we've got to go again and, yeah.

I'm not too confident but I'll do my best obviously and see how it goes.

The wind was good then, so, yeah, I'm happy.

One down and one to go.

Now I want to win it!

Obviously you were concerned about your foot - is it holding up OK?

Yeah, I don't feel I'm sailing that good.

I feel a bit stiff but it's a long day on the beach anyway

so I think everyone's a bit stiff,

but I can't quite bend it on the bottom turn

so I'm taking it easy but trying to pick big waves to smack me back.

It seems to be working -

I'm going through a few heats so I can't complain.

And conditions started to look a little bit horrible

but the rain has just eased off.

John Skye with a low, forward loop there, nice and clean the landing.

-A better one from Proffitt.

-Yeah, very nice.

Plaining on the way out of that, as well.

Proffitt looks like he's three points ahead already.

And I can't say it enough cos I think it's quite simply amazing -

he's riding with a broken foot.

This is a good scoring wave for Proffitt, he's ripping it up.

Oh, he'll be pleased with that one. Right in front of Skye, as well.

So that back loop there - John Skye just took his hand off,

just very quickly,

so it gives him another half point on that score,

so he's matched Ben Proffitt's back loop now

but Proffitt's last wave score is going to be hard to match -

he got one that linked all the way through.

-Turns inside...

-A better-looking wave, this for Skye.

And he's going for the back... Ooh!

Going down on the backside three.

That looked like it might've hurt on that one.

Oh, dear.

So that's it.

Red flag up, Proffitt is still riding.

But just having a quick look at the scores here,

it looks like Skye is way behind on his wave scores.

So we'll just do the final calculations and give you the result.

And the judges decision is...

that Ben Proffitt has won that heat,

which means that the final leaderboard looks like this...

Andy King is in fourth place,

Phil Horrocks made a superb comeback to take third,

John Skye was knocked down into second,

but the winner is Ben Proffitt

who becomes the champion of the 25th Tiree Wave Classic.

I won last year, but to win back-to-back, that's really good,

especially to come back -

to win the single, come back second in the double

and then to come back in the triple, on the last day - is good.

I'm going to get the whisky out!

CHEERING

And that's it from a wild and windy Tiree.

It's 25th year was a special one

and the competition certainly lived up to it.

We have a special programme over the Christmas period

when we join Cameron McNeish as he walks across Scotland,

coast to coast.

And what a spectacular walk it is,

all the way from the beach at Aberdeen

to the wild, rugged landscapes on Knoydart.

Join us for that, if you can.

In the meantime, bye for now.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]