Surf's up as best waves come to those who wait at Thurso's Cold Water Classic

THEY were drawn to Scotland from all corners of the world by the promise of impressive waves. But surfing's elite were initially disappointed to be welcomed by calm conditions ahead of one of the sport's biggest events.

Rather than expected big swells, the waters off the coast of Thurso were looking a little flat yesterday as Scotland basked in a warm spring day.

But surfers are a patient lot and, by the end of the day, things had started to pick up, with contestants who had gathered for the O'Neill Cold Water Classic (CWC) catching some bigger waves. And, as the heats get under way this morning, there was the promise of spectacular swells by the end of the week.

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Known as the coldest surf contest on tour, the event, now in its fifth year, attracts more than 100 of the world's best surfers searching for extreme conditions.

The Thurso contest is the first event of this year's ASP (Association of Surfing Professional) European Star Series and has again attracted a top field including former ASP World Champion Sunny Garcia, from Hawaii, and past event winners Adam Robertson, from Australia, and Britain's Russell Winter.

Matt Wilson, contest director, said yesterday: "We had 5-6ft waves today and expect the same tomorrow. That's good, but not massive. But you look at the forecast here and everything changes in a day.

"When we came up we thought it would be flat and there would be no surf, but now the charts are showing a massive swell coming in for the weekend."

By Friday 12-14ft swells are expected, with up to 20ft waves on Saturday. Mr Wilson added: "We were only half worried as we thought: 'It's Scotland, everything changes so quickly.' This event always has amazing waves."

The Thurso gathering has become a major event in the surfing calendar, the bracing 7C water temperature offering a different challenge to other locations in the world such as Durban, where athletes can compete in temperatures of 22C.

The event is a maximum six-star event in the World Qualifying Series (WQS) tour and is regarded as one of the prime locations on the WQS circuit. Before arriving in Caithness, the CWC series visited Tasmania, and afterwards surfers will continue the contest in South Africa, Canada and Santa Cruz, California.

David Mailman, ASP Europe president, said: "The O'Neill Cold Water Classic Scotland is one of those events that make our sport so special. It is a unique and challenging destination that brings diversity to the tour and is a draw card that never fails to deliver for the best surfers on the planet."

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In all, 128 surfers will take part in the competition, including current Cold Water Classic Series leader Stuart Kennedy, from New South Wales, Australia. Among those joining him are former elite ASP top 45 members Michael Picon and Tim Boal, from France, Tim Reyes from California, and Jarrad Howse, also from New South Wales.

Gregoire Puget, ASP Europe's regional manager, added: "O'Neill has brought a fresh and unique concept to our ASP tour and Scotland was the first event of what became the CWC Series. The event is one of the most popular on tour and it is great to celebrate a fifth anniversary in 2010."

According to Jordy Smith, a World Tour surfer, winning the CWC series is the next best thing to winning the world title: "It's not only the prize money and accolade, but the integration of exploration and adventure into surf competitions that the surfers themselves relish."

A village in Scotland saw the highest temperatures in the UK yesterday as parts of the country bathed in spring sunshine. At Tyndrum in Argyll and Bute, the temperature topped 19C with Glasgow second on 18.6C. Edinburgh reached 15.1C.

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