After a long build up towards the return of the 2xs Wave Classic, the competitors finally arrived on Friday morning along with the forecast we had been praying for. The skippers meeting took place by the 2xs office where ex PWA head judge Duncan Coombs, BWA regular Luke Raistrick & Rob McHugh made the call to start the contest. With WSW winds blowing 25 – 30 knots the competition was ON and the competitors were not holding back. 

The Pro Mens single elimination consisted of man-on-man heats where we saw locals battle it out with some of the top Pro riders. With quite an audience on the beach (just east of 2xs) it was quite the spectacle watching the many smooth backies, old skool table tops, 360’s and the BWA’s reincarnated double forwards that were being thrown down by the riders; Lucas Meldrum, James Cox & George Grisley. 

The Pro Mens single elimination came to an end when Lucas Meldrum & Andy ‘Bubble’ Chambers came head to head fighting for first place. The final was a true battle where seconds before the heat finished, Lucas Meldrum pulled off what looked like a perfect wave 360, spectators on the beach were blown away, meanwhile, whilst celebrating Bubble came out and spun a 360 on the wave behind, what looked like a crash we were all disappointed for him, but then, we see Bubble emerge from the white water pulling up his sail and the crowd went wild, an insane ending to an awesome day of competition. Once the finalists where back on the beach, the crowd and competitors patiently waited for the judges to crown our winner… Lucas Meldrum!

Also on day 1 we had the Pro Women’s fleet out in the water, we watched the ladies send big jumps, table tops & wave riding that made you look twice, whilst there were only 3 women in the Pro fleet, they certainly put up a fight between themselves, leaving first place for Izzy Adcock!

The following day we saw the rest of our fleets rock up ready to go, with a similar direction but slightly less wind, the contest was still rolling, this time we were located further down the beach by the lifeguard tower. The youths were sent off first where we saw the next generation of windsurfers and what talent the had to offer, in particular Mikey MacLean age 12 making aerials look ridiculously easy off small waves.

Throughout the rest of the day we saw the Women’s Ams going for it, our largest fleet the Masters consisting of 24 riders out there showing the rest of us that they are still just as good, with legends like Corky Kirkham making an appearance. The Mens Ams were set off and we managed to progress all the way to the final where unfortunately the conditions deteriorated towards the end of the day where it was no longer contestable.

Later Saturday night we regrouped down at The Beach Bracklesham where we were fed courtesy of Jamie Hawkins, just in time for the launch of the Windsurfer Magazine presented to us by the one and only Peter Hart. We got to have a sneak peak at the new magazine, the Team behind the new mag – Oli Sargent, Tris Best, Dan MacAulay & Lucas Meldrum –  followed by a retro board collection along with free drinks which provided us with endless entertainment for the evening.

For the third and final day of competition we were hit with even lighter winds and maybe some slightly heavier heads than the day before. Although contestable, it was on the edge and looked challenging. We wrapped up the Mens Ams final, along with starting a double elimination for both the youths and Mens Ams. 

The prize giving ceremony took place at West Wittering beach cafe, where everyone was tightly packed in away from the dropping temperatures outside. The winners for the event were officially crowned, along with the Foam Life expression session champions; Andy ‘Bubble’ Chambers, Liath Campbell & Mikey MacLean. From here Willy MacLean, the BWA head honch, took over and awarded this years overall BWA event tour winners, which was great to be apart of as the final event of the tour. 

… And that’s a wrap, we had a great weekend hosting this event and we hope all our competitors did as well! Thanks to all our sponsors especially Windsurfer Magazine for making it possible

Sponsors:  Windsurfer // Duotone // Foam Life  // Goya // Sungod // West Wittering Estate // Inside Out //Perry Properties//Golden Days// The Beach // The Lamb, West Wittering & The Wittering Pub, West Wittering

A special thanks to:  Oli Sargent, Tris & Dan of Windsurfer Magazine // Max Ambrose, Keith & Lisa of West Wittering Estate // Oli Pidden our Safety Driver // Grahame Pettit // Patrick Byrne of Cakeham Manor Estate Board // Nick Searle of Sungod // Willy McLean, Duncan Coombs & Luke Raistick BWA// John Carter, Henning Von Jagow & Joseph Herbert // Julian Anderson & Max Brereton for the Trophies // Harry Adams – Event Design Work// The 2XS Team – Sam, Rob, Arthur, Tara, Holly, Daisy & Jane // Jamie Hawkins at The Beach

Here’s to 2026 – Dates are: 30/31 Oct & 1 Nov – rollover dates 13/14/15 November 2026

Photos:  John Carter Photography & Henning Von Jagow       Blog Post:  Daisy Bassett