Surfing champ Iona to make waves with new school
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Murkle surfer Iona McLachlan will be hoping to inspire others to her wavelength by setting up a new surfing school.
The 18-year-old, who has won many surfing events – including the women's open at the Scottish National Surfing Championships in Thurso last week – says the idea came to her after visiting another school in New Zealand.
Iona hopes the school will be the first step to one day establishing an outdoor retreat on the north coast that will host a range of outdoor activities.
But first the building blocks of the surfing school have to be put into place and, as Iona reveals, the process involved in doing so is lengthy but will be worth the effort.
She said: "It's been a busy time. I need to get my qualifications in lifeguarding and surfing coaching.
"There is also the expense of setting the school up and making sure it is fully equipped. I've recently purchased 10 surfboards that cost £2000 and I still need to buy more.
"Surfing lifesuits and insurance has to be taken care of as well along with advertising and the establishment of the school's website. The final total, once we get started, will probably be in the region of £8000.
"I'm looking into applying for a grant from the Caithness Business Fund which awards grants to up to £5000.
"The surfing lessons, once we're up and running, will be at Dunnet beach. Once we've established ourselves, the long-term plan is to expand into an outdoor retreat – but that will be years down the line.
"There is North Shore Surf at Thurso but that's done on a volunteer basis. This would be a commercial venture.
"When I was travelling around the world, I was staying at a surfing school in Te Arai, New Zealand – an hour north of Auckland – and the teacher there, Che Burnett, impressed me with the way he ran it.
"Some surfing schools are usually relaxed but Che ran his very professionally and because of this it was very well attended. I thought it would be great if a school like Che's was established in Caithness.
"So while I was on my travels, I drew up a business plan and decided to go for it.
"The school itself will be run by me and my business partner, Ian Macdonald. He's a surfer from the Isle of Tiree and he'll be moving to Caithness to help get us up and running.
"Obviously the school will be seasonal – only the hardcore surfers go out on the waves during winter. We'll be open between May and October. Myself and Ian will probably have to find other work off-season or maybe even go off travelling again."
As far as being a competitive surfer goes, Iona – despite her title success in Thurso recently – is stepping back from all that.
She added: "Last week was great – to be honest, I didn't think I'd win as I don't do many competitions these days.
"I did a lot of competing in the juniors but last week was a rare venture back into competition. I prefer surfing for fun these days."
