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CLUB VASS: THE VASS CREW

We take a look behind the scenes at Club Vass and find out more about the men and women who make this famous windsurf centre tick!

Words: Marianne Booth // Photos: PROtography

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As legend has it, Tony Booth and Roger Green bought a shack on the beach in Vassiliki around the time the infamous Zeus bar opened in 1987, and proceeded to develop the ‘type of holiday we wanted to go on’. Location has always been key, with a highly localised wind effect creating ‘all conditions in one day’ (gentle morning onshores, howling afternoon cross-shores). Coupled with continuous investment in prodigious amounts of new kit from the top brands means that everyone can really make the most of their holiday in Vassiliki.

Progression has also involved construction of the Club Vass Hotel, custom-designed with a windsurfer’s every need in mind. The 90s saw growth with Club Margarita in Venezuela, then Club Dahab in Egypt. Sadly, the political situation in both countries meant these had to stop operating and the focus returned to perfecting the ‘Mother Ship’ where it all began, Club Vassiliki. Club Vass prides itself on staying at the cutting edge of evolution in windsurfing. One key area has been improving facilities for families and kids, with specialised kit and instruction to help get the next generation on board. The latest venture is wing foiling and Club Vass now has its own dedicated wing centre, headed up by Max Rowe, with further expansion planned for 2023.

Meet the team

One crucial element in the ongoing success of Club Vass is undoubtedly the team. Some of the UK’s freestyle greats have spent many years honing their skills there, including Andy Chambers, Max Rowe, Jamie Howard and Colin Dixon, to name but a few. Lifelong friendships and relationships (even marriages & offspring) have been established during endless summer seasons and there are now enclaves of ex-Club Vass staff to be found in prime windsurf spots world-wide, including the UK’s south coast, Cornwall, Tarifa, Portugal, Tenerife and Australia. Let’s hear what some of the current crew have to say about their experiences!

Ollie Scott – Manager

“I started out dinghy sailing and first tried windsurfing during holidays in Spain as a teenager. Whilst studying sports science, I got my windsurf instructor ticket and headed out to Turkey to work my first season for Sunsail. It pretty soon became clear windsurfing was what I wanted to do, and I found I was improving quickly, both on a personal level and as a coach. Soon I was hooked and just wanted more and more, particularly within the growing freestyle scene. I was working for Rich Page, Trevor Funnell and Andy Groom as crew at PWA events, which helped open my eyes wider to the world of windsurfing and all its possibilities. Around this time I heard about Vassiliki!

Dream job

During an event I was introduced to Club Vass owner Tony Booth and managed to land my dream job working as an instructor at Club Vass and, after a winter in Cape Town, I joined the team in 2004. This was a key turning point in my windsurfing journey and led me to where I am now. I first arrived at Club Vass with broken old kit and a few (now basic) freestyle moves in my repertoire, but I felt like I had landed in freestyle heaven! I was keeping some pretty good company, which included Ben Harrison, Si Hurray, Andy ‘Bubble’ Chambers and of course Colin ‘Whippy’ Dixon. These guys are amazing windsurfers, and I was stoked to be working and windsurfing with them every day.

My coaching and windsurf level developed over the summers and winters working for Club Vass. This led me into competition and travel to some of the world’s top windsurf spots in Maui, Brazil, Egypt and Venezuela. I was well on my way to achieving my goal and I became Manager of Club Margarita, then Club Dahab, which eventually led to my current role as overall manager of Club Vass.

I have returned year on year to Club Vass, it’s simply the best job in the world if you love windsurfing. There is no other centre like it in the world. Vassiliki is a special place with something for everyone, beginner or advanced, young or old. The vibe at the club is amazing, with all the new kit, great staff on the beach and in the restaurant, it’s a privilege to work there and be part of it all. A huge influence on why I’m still there is down to the people I work with, including old and new staff, and of course Tony and Roger who own the Club. I’ve learnt a lot along the way from these guys and that’s still the case.

Hands on

The job can certainly be a challenge, but it also brings big rewards. A general day starts with some sport before breakfast, then it’s straight into organising staff, making sure all the guests are happy and ensuring everything runs smoothly. It’s a busy beach and managing the kit is a big part of it as there’s such a lot of it, with over 300 boards and 300 sails in the rack and a new dedicated foil centre. Obviously there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes admin, staff management and ongoing training, but I like to be as involved as possible. Helping on the beach and talking to the guests is where I like to be, particularly when it’s windy in the afternoons. Advice on kit choice for the conditions is often required, and it’s great to chat windsurfing with clients before and after they hit the water. I’m seeing more and more new people joining the sport, which is fantastic, and as a manager, getting great feedback about Club Vass is always very rewarding. I usually get out to windsurf myself before the wind stops and then it’s time for ‘après surf’ at the beach bar.

Endless summer

When the summer season is over, it’s time for a UK tour to catch up with friends and family before heading out to Cape Town for the winter, and ‘playtime’ in the waves! During this time, there’s always some preparation to be done for the next season, mainly on the new kit orders and recruitment. Once spring comes around in the northern hemisphere it’s time to get back to Greece to get the club ready for the summer season all over again. As for future plans…. I’ve started winging (ha ha), let’s see how that goes!”

Dan Barrington – Senior Windsurf Instructor

“I owe my windsurfing career to my parents, who used to teach windsurfing at Club Vass when it was just starting out in the 80s! They taught me to windsurf on a family camping holiday in Sardinia when I was 16 and I have been hooked ever since. After various windsurf courses in the UK I did my instructor course, as I was desperate to get overseas after finishing school. I got offered a job with Mark Warner in Corsica and then ventured to Kos and Lemnos before ending up in Vassiliki, whilst studying to become a PE teacher at Chichester University. I’ve since become a full time ‘seasonaire’ with Vassiliki as my summer home with my girlfriend Sarah.

I spent most of my first summer in Vassiliki crashing backwards and eventually claimed my first Vulcan. After a conversation with the manager Ollie Scott, I joined the Club Vass team. I return because it really is the dream job for a windsurf instructor. I feel well supported and looked after. I get plenty of water time and the coaching setup is great, especially with all the top gear – I feel we really teach above and beyond. I mostly find myself now either coaching or working as a senior on the beach and supporting that side of the operation. We use video analysis including drones and quality camera equipment, which makes for great progress at the top level. I love teaching people new skills and tricks and then getting out on the water to work on my own freestyle. Both guests and staff tend to come back year after year which creates an atmosphere I haven’t found anywhere else.

The Vass lifestyle is simply unbeatable. There are not many places where you finish a day of work with your mates cheering you on through new moves and then all enjoy a cold beer at an awesome beach bar. We also have a good relationship with the restaurants and locals in town and, if it’s not windy, the west coast of Lefkada is stunning for a day trip. The team become more like a family each week. Perhaps the slightly provocative Friday night BBQ entertainment brings us all closer together. The main challenge for me is getting enough rest and downtime when there is so much going on.

Career choice

I’ve done various different things between my seasons. I travelled to Banff in Canada where I trained as a ski instructor, which led to working in Austria. I’ve also spent the last few winters in Bonaire, instructing and working on my freestyle skills at the Dunkerbeck Pro Centre. My future plans are to keep living the dream and push my career in the watersports industry. I am aiming to become an RYA trainer. I think it would be great to continue coaching and pass on my knowledge to the next generation of instructors. I don’t plan to leave Club Vass anytime soon, so I will see how my career develops there.

I think you can see a huge change from when new staff arrive, slightly nervous on their first day (we’ve all been there), to when they leave. Maybe dancing in front of 300 people on a Friday night with your younger brother to ‘Club Tropicana’ as part of the BBQ entertainment helps you grow! The teaching, public speaking, general social skills and confidence you develop are important for any future job or career. These attributes have already helped me to achieve my goals, whether career-based or more personal, like nailing the next windsurfing move!”

 

Sarah Bradford – Windsurf Instructor and Front of House

“I grew up on the west coast of Scotland where my parents taught me to sail on a little island called Cumbrae. They could never get me out of the sea. After my first year studying accountancy and finance at university in Aberdeen, I was in search of some summer sun. I worked as a dinghy instructor for Mark Warner in Kos and Paleros. After a windy day at work my friends went back out windsurfing. I thought it looked way more fun than sailing so I had to teach myself. I definitely caught the bug straight away!

On a day off I ventured to Vassiliki with some friends because we had heard it was a good windsurfing spot. I accidently ended up going out on a mega day, and had to get rescued…oopsie! I had never seen a carve gybe in real life, let alone heard of freestyle windsurfing, so I was mesmerised by the moves that the staff and guests were doing right in front of the beach. After my introduction to Club Vass my main focus was to improve my personal windsurfing ability and gain my windsurfing instructor qualifications so that I could work in this magical place. The following summer I applied for a job at Human Sports, another centre in Vassiliki. Everything met my expectations and more, with great wind as well as a lively social life. All of the seasonaires congregate at the Club Vass beach bar. It is a hub for like-minded people who all love doing the same thing.

Vass lifestyle

The Club Vass lifestyle is very unique. When it’s on, it’s really on! I mean this for the work, the windsurfing and for the social life. Day to day is always different but usually my day involves group coaching sessions or working on the beach and more recently helping out in the hotel as well. Some favourite weeks of my season have been teaching the advanced groups in the really windy weeks. I love the local atmosphere, you can’t go anywhere without bumping into someone you know. All the locals are very friendly and we get well looked after by all the restaurants, cafés and gorgeous boutique shops. I also love exploring what Lefkada has to offer. I really think it’s the most beautiful island, especially the sunset on the west coast. My seasons in Vass have given me many amazing memories and obviously some really epic windsurfing sessions trying to learn new things.

I haven’t been at Club Vass for long but all of my seasons have given me a lot. I have learnt to jump into things at the deep end, lead large groups, adapt to challenging conditions or clients, and to always have a plan B. Along the way you meet some extremely interesting people and make friends for life.

At the start, seasons were a way to have fun in the university summer holidays. Now I am living abroad all-year-round. Last winter I was fortunate enough to get a job in Bonaire at the Dunkerbeck Pro Centre. I lived with my boyfriend Dan and two other guys from Club Vass, Lucas and Charlie. We had a lot of fun working and windsurfing together in one of the world’s most idyllic spots. This winter I’m really looking forward to mixing it up and going skiing. Dan and I are managing a chalet in Tignes les Brevières. For now, my future plans are to come back to Vass next summer and postpone adulthood as long as possible in ‘Neverland’ as Ollie calls it.”

Alex Halank – Windsurf Instructor

“I am a windsurfing Instructor from the east coast of Australia (south of Sydney, NSW).  I’ve been windsurfing since I was 7 when I was given my first board and was in the straps and harness, jumping and doing fully planing carve gybes before I turned 8. My Dad taught my Mum, little sister Elli and me to windsurf and he encouraged me to learn all the windsurfing disciplines, but with him being one of the few freestylers on the east coast, it was inevitable that I would be inspired to get into freestyle too. We often learned new moves together and challenged each other to improve. Freestyle became my favourite windsurfing discipline.

Early achiever

Initially I windsurfed after school as often as possible on our local lake in Canberra (an inland city with a man-made lake) and was really fortunate to start learning when Starboard had a large range of small ‘Pro Kids’ boards available and Severne had begun production of the ultimate kids’ rigs, the Microwave/XS1s, originally designed for Jaeger Stone. Ben Severne also personally made me by hand some special tiny camber-induced sails to use in the Slalom Worlds when I was 8 years old. I then used those same sails when I became the youngest person to break 30 knots at 11 years old. The support of Starboard and Severne has been amazing over the years.

We moved to the coast just before I started high school and I started to wave sail and freestyle more. We also spent time travelling to places like Bonaire, Naxos, Prasonisi and Western Australia where I’ve met and been inspired by some of the world’s greatest windsurfers. I’ve also had amazing coaches like Guy Cribb who came to Australia for Intuition and wave coaching at my local beach and Max Wojcik who trained me for the Youth Worlds and Youth Olympics. I hold 3 world titles in Freestyle and Raceboards, have represented Australia on the RS:X at 3 Youth Worlds and the 2018 Youth Olympics, and hold 16 Australian National titles in all windsurfing disciplines.

Life changing

2022 was my first season instructing at Club Vass. My parents went to Club Vass a couple of times when they were younger and took me with them when I was a baby. They always talked about how great it was. Back where I grew up in Canberra my dad had encouraged another young freestyle windsurfer (Barney Knight) to become an instructor at Club Vass. He had a lot of great stories from his time at Vass and also told me to take the opportunity if it ever came up because he found the experience life changing. It has more than lived up to expectations!

Endless summer

This year was almost all summer for me, because I came to Europe when it was winter at home in Australia. Vass is like no other place since the whole village pretty much revolves around windsurfing. I’ve been able to spend far more time in the water here than I could ever imagine back home and this is reflected by my improvement in freestyle.

Spending a season living and working with the Club Vass team means that you become close friends. It’s amazing to have a group of like-minded, skilled and enthusiastic windsurfers around you all the time to learn from and have fun with. I’m half way through my Mechatronic Engineering degree, so I will be starting an internship when I get home and then going back to university in 2023. But I’m already trying to figure out how I can get back to do it all again at Club Vass.

Being an instructor teaches you heaps about communicating and dealing with people, but working at Club Vass in particular involves much more than just instructing. The instructors are involved with the guests on and off the water for the entire time they are there. You meet so many interesting people and find out about their lives. Your role is really broad so you get involved in a lot of different areas and pick up a lot of diverse skills. Having managers and senior instructors like Ollie Scott and Max Rowe around you does a lot more than inspire you to up your windsurfing level. The Club Vass management/leadership team are very experienced and knowledgeable. They mentored me to improve in other aspects of life too, from teamwork to public speaking and even being involved in acting and entertainment at the legendary Friday night barbecues!”

Delphine Quénot – Front of House

“I discovered windsurfing two years ago with my sister. My father had great memories of summer windsurf camps in his youth, so we decided to give it a go. There are some good spots in the South of France, like Port Camargue and Hyeres, so I began learning to windsurf there. I really like this kind of holiday, where you can forget your stressful job through doing sport. It’s also very easy to meet new people; you bond over the funny things that happen during your lessons and then chat about it during the evening over a beer. I used to feel a bit envious of the people who worked in these places, I thought they were very lucky. In reality it has nothing to deal with luck, it is a life choice!

Getting hooked

I find that many seasonaires start working seasons around their time at university. I went straight from uni into work as an engineer then gave it up to choose this life. Born in Grenoble, I’ve skied and snowboarded since I was young and I worked my first ski season last winter at White Storm in Courchevel, as a ski technician. I chose this job as it would give me spare time to ski – we choose this life to enjoy the environment and the sport. My plan had been to just do one winter season as a short break in my engineering career. But after one season I just wanted to do another one. Hooked!

I was very lucky to get the job at Club Vass. Simon Hooper, my boss at White Storm, used to work there in the past and he is a good friend of Tony, the owner. He suggested I apply and that’s how I ended up in Vassiliki. I spent the summer as ‘Front-of-House’, which is a great position to make the most of the windsurfing. I had two hours break every afternoon to go out and practice. Unfortunately, you can never choose exactly when the wind will blow (luckily it’s most afternoons in Vass), but my friends encouraged me to go in any conditions if I wanted to improve and that was the best advice. It’s really motivating to practice with your mates, and everyone around gives guidance and encouragement – I think I made good progress this summer!

The club has such a good vibe. Most of our guests come back here every year because they know exactly what they are going to find – great windsurfing and a really friendly feel, exactly the kind of holiday I was looking for when I started windsurfing. Having a lot of returners makes for such a good atmosphere, and many of the old staff come back too, which brings a very good dynamic.

Perfect bubble

In conclusion, Club Vass is a perfect bubble for the summer, with the sun, friendly people to work with and an amazing sport, what else do you need? This winter I am going back to working a ski season, as the mountain is calling me. I am a fairly new seasonaire, but I feel that you can never get bored because at the end of each season, when things are getting quiet and you’re exhausted, it’s time to change. New team, new landscape, and a new beginning. We meet so many people all the time from different backgrounds, nationalities and ages, and they have always something to teach you about life and that makes you feel confident that you can accomplish anything. I will come back to Club Vass next year because one season was too short, but who knows where I am going to be after that?”

Tim Elliott – Head Chef

“Growing up windsurfing was never on my radar. I was raised in Devon where there were plenty of other distractions. My friends and I spent most of our time undertaking more land-based activities, such as wild camping on Dartmoor.

My career as a chef introduced me to the world of seasonal life, leading to where I am now at Club Vass. My first season in Vassiliki was actually spent at a different centre, where I had a go at windsurfing a few times, although at that stage it never really ‘clicked’. I was still unsure about the windsurfing element, but I was sure I would be returning to Vassiliki! The following summer I managed to secure a job at Club Vass, where I was given a lot more encouragement to get out on the water, as well as use of all the amazing kit. I had the odd lesson to start with, but after that I just started going out in the cross-shore winds. As a chef you tend to get time off in the afternoons, which is the windiest part of the day, but as a beginner you can find time to go out in the mornings and maybe join a lesson. I would often come in from a session a bit dispirited, but there would always be an instructor around who would be more than happy to give me a few pointers. This may have been a slow way of learning, but it didn’t matter as I was there all summer. I am still no freestyler, but I will go out in the strongest winds and have a great time blasting up and down the bay.

Working in the Club Vass kitchen is a great way to spend a summer. We usually start the season with ‘setup’, which is a lot of work to do, but with no guests the atmosphere is a bit more laid-back. This really allows you to get to know the other members of the team as a whole, including the beach and bar staff. During this time we are often taken out for a few meals, where you get to meet the owners and staff from other restaurants in the village as well. For new members of the team, in particular those who have never tried windsurfing, there is the opportunity to have a few lessons and try out the new kit and get help from the instructors. These first couple of weeks fly by, and before you know it the coach has arrived with the first guests, and so the season begins.

Cooking up a storm

As with anything, it takes a little bit of time to get into the rhythm of season. But once any small teething problems are addressed the fun really begins. The club gets busy and the work can be challenging – in peak season we can be serving over 200 lunch covers within a couple of hours as our guests are usually keen to get back out on the water. And to keep our guests well fuelled and happy we need to maintain a good choice of quality, tasty food, including more filling and healthier options. But there is a fantastic vibe in the kitchen and the close-knit team really pulls together to help each other meet the challenge. In the kitchen there has always been a great mix of people, including windsurfers and non-windsurfers. Everyone has an important role to play at Club Vass and it has been awesome to see over the years all the sections (beach, bar, hotel and kitchen) get along so well together. No matter how hot and busy it becomes, you know you can finish the day getting out on the water or enjoying a cold drink in the sun – or even better both!”

Joining the team

Club Vass pride themselves on offering the best of the best in terms of coaching, so they only take on experienced and well-qualified instructors. As they say, an army marches on its stomach, so chefs and kitchen staff are vital to the operation and let’s not forget the staff for the renowned beach bar! The hotel management and front of house roles are also essential to keeping everything running smoothly. It’s a pretty diverse skill set, but in general they look for great team players and good communicators as it’s all about ensuring guests have the holiday of a lifetime. Applicants should ideally be available for the full season and speak fluent English, but other languages are a great bonus in this multi-national environment. Unfortunately, due to Brexit, a European passport or valid Greek working visa or residency permit is now required to work at Club Vass. If you fulfil these criteria and want to live the dream, there are great perks to be had, as the job includes flights, accommodation, food, subsidised bar bill and use of all the amazing kit! If you are interested, please send your CV and details to [email protected].