The great thing about students is that they are pretty much oblivious to the seasons; the majority of their life’s activities occur from September till June and they will happily carry on with whatever sports and social events they choose regardless of the time of year. My memory casts back to standing on the dock on a grim February weekday watching the boat do laps of the loch to break the ice, while a student type holding a can of Relentless asked me if I reckoned he’d still be okay to ride in a shorty.
So with a freezing March barely behind us there we were back at Sallochy Bay on Loch Lomond for the first Uni camping trip of the season! In their unfaltering commitment to getting more people involved in our sport, the Loch Lomond Wakeboard guys managed to set up a ridiculous deal for the Uni crew to give them maximum riding time over the weekend, and despite some horrific hangovers on the second day everyone made the most of their time on the water!
2011 sees a change of home for Loch Lomond Wakeboard- they are now situated at the Rowardennan Hotel just five minutes away from the Sallochy Bay site; although access to the hotel bar was not the primary reason for the move, I’m pretty sure it was fairly high on the list along with access to fantastic accommodation and the installation of a LPG tank (which means far less fuel stops)!
In the words of club social secretary Doug, “in Scotland, we make the most of whatever it is we get”. And it’s true; whether it’s squeezing every last second of riding out of ten minutes of flat water between rain and boat-launching chop, or having a natter on the phone with Raymond to see what wakeboard package he can put together to suit you, flexibility goes a long way in this country!
The season’s already started so what are you waiting for- dig out the wakeboard, pick up the phone and get behind the boat! And when you’re in the bar afterwards, be sure to check out www.loch-stock.com!
