Has surfing made waves on life in Caithness?
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FOR decades, Caithness has been known as a surfer’s paradise as the north coastline produces some of the best waves in the world for boarders to catch.
Now a historian is writing a book on how the sport became part of the county’s culture, looking at its influence from the past, what impact it has on the present and its future in the area.
Matt McDowell is carrying out research into how surfing has influenced people in the far north to take to the waves.
Surfing boomed in popularity in Caithness during the 1950s and 1960s when Dounreay was in its infancy.
Mirgants brought to the area by the nuclear industry quickly noticed the waves were ideal to surf on.
Dr McDowell, a lecturer at Edinburgh University, travelled to Thurso to start his research into the sport’s history in the county by interviewing some of the people who came to Caithness to work in the nuclear industry.
He wants to find out how surfing has helped influence a community and changed the perception of the area to the outside world.
“I want the book to look at surfing in the context of a changing community,” he said.
“I want to analyse how surfing has been reflective of the changes in Caithness since the arrival and the future closure of Dounreay.
“The symbol of the Dounreay dome has existed in parallel to surfing with people who migrated to the region and brought surfing along with them.
“Surfing may have altered the image outsiders have of the north of Scotland
“It offers an alternative idea of the Highlands.”
As well as speaking to surfers, the 34-year-old also wants to look at how surfing has made waves out of the water in terms of economic and social impact.
“One of the main things I want to look at is surfing in the context of work.
“I have found some surfers from elsewhere have moved up to Caithness just for the waves.
“It has not just been people working in the nuclear or offshore industry, but in other industries too.
“I also want to look at surfing’s relationship with Highland Council, community councils and landowners.
“I want to map the relationship between surfers and other partnerships because at present, those lines are a bit fuzzy.”
He has found Caithness has made the most of its surfing elements better than other parts of the country that have similar weather conditions.
But he said local surfers feel that because the country’s climate is a lot cooler than many of the established surfing hotspots, the sport is not getting the backing it requires to develop.
“In the media, well-known surfing magazines have accounts of surfers coming up from Cornwall or Wales travelling north and making the drive up to A9 to surf on the waves,” he said.
“But what you usually get in other media is surfing being treated as incongruous to Scotland.
“One of the struggles people said they have with governing bodies and authorities saying surfing in Scotland is not like Australia or Hawaii and as a result does not have basic infrastructure such as changing rooms.
“Scotland is a windy country and there are localities with a lot of coast that treat surfing a bit more alien than they perhaps should.”
Dr McDowell is returning to Thurso for the Scottish Surfing Championships which take place between April 14 and April 16.
He wants to conduct interviews on how surfing has influenced life in Caithness.
Anyone who is interested is asked to get in touch with him at Matthew.McDowell@ed.ac.uk
