Thurso East is Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

's prime surfing

Surfing

Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...

 venue on the north coast of Scotland.

Thurso

Thurso

-Facilities:Offices of the Highland Council are located in the town, as is the main campus of North Highland College, formerly Thurso College. This is one of several partner colleges which constitute the UHI Millennium Institute, and offers several certificate, diploma and degree courses from...

 East is located at the mouth of the River Thurso

River Thurso

The River Thurso has Loch Rumsdale in Caithness as its source, about 26 kilometres south and 14 kilometres west of the burgh of Thurso, Caithness, and about 2 kilometres south of the railway line linking the burghs of Thurso and Wick with Inverness. At its source and until it reaches Loch More...

, overlooked by the remains of Thurso

Thurso

-Facilities:Offices of the Highland Council are located in the town, as is the main campus of North Highland College, formerly Thurso College. This is one of several partner colleges which constitute the UHI Millennium Institute, and offers several certificate, diploma and degree courses from...

 castle. The reef is made of layers of Caithness

Caithness

Caithness is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic local government area of Scotland. The name was used also for the earldom of Caithness and the Caithness constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Boundaries are not identical in all contexts, but the Caithness area is...

 flagstone (the same stone that paves the Strand

Strand, London

Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...

 and much of Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

).

Thurso East is a fast reef break and has hosted many international competitions. The reef holds swell from 2 ft upwards of 15 ft and is primarily a long walling right-hander with several barrel sections depending on tide and swell direction (Just N of W is best, to N makes it less hollow and more fun). When conditions are right there can be a crowd, but not always, local surfers dominate the peak. Thurso East came into the spotlight in 2006 when it was used to host the inaugural O'Neill Highland Open WQS surfing competition. The event was won by British surfer Russell Winter

Russell Winter

Russell Winter is one of Britain's most successful professional surfer. The highlight of his career so far has been gaining a place on the ASP World Championship Tour....

. The site also played host to the O'neill Cold Water Classic competition in both 2009 and 2010.