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Cultural Tour of Budapest with Paul Lazenbury, Ewan And Alex

28th August 2015 By Paul Leave a Comment

Cultural Tour of Budapest with Paul Lazenbury, Ewan And Alex

So Paul Lazenbury’s Cultural tour starts with the 7:59 train from Parkstone to Luton Airport, via London Waterloo. Then a quick flight from London Luton on WizzAir to Budapest, somewhere I’ve not been since 1998.

In fact, I am not sure that I have seen both Ewan Cairns and Alex Thomas for a beer since about 2004, following the mass exoduses from Nissan Europe. Alex returned to Amsterdam and joined Mitsubishi, Ewan moved to Bahrain with Toyota and I continued my globetrotting by joining TTS Europe.  It’s crazy how quickly time flies. I have seen Ewan on many occasions, due to my frequent visits to the Middle East or flights routed via Dubai.

Nissan Europe Rugby with Ewan Cairns, Alex Thomas, Mark Steele, Andrew Lowe, Mark Hodgson, Matthieu Delcoustal, Paul Lazenbury, Alistar Langdon
Nissan Europe Rugby with Ewan Cairns, Alex Thomas, Mark Steele, Andrew Lowe, Mark Hodgson, Matthieu Delcoustal, Paul Lazenbury, Alistar Langdon

So why the trip?

My good friend Mr Ewan Cairns has finally decided to make an honest woman out of Maria and the day is planned for October. Now given the old tradition of looking after the condemned man, we have a stag do to attend. Given that none of us live in the same city, I suppose it did not really matter where we met. So some bright sparks chose Budapest, Hungary. What a place for a cultural tour.

So what do I know?

Ewan Cairns and Alex Thomas did arrived safely or someone has hacked Alex’s facebook. I have my passport, plane ticket (just double checked), the name and booking reference for the accommodation and a phone number to meet two of Ewan’s mates (Kieran & Neil) in the bar in Budapest Airport.. What could go wrong???

I will post photos and update this as the weekend goes along, if however you don’t hear from me again, something has go wrong..

So here we are managed to survive night 1, if fact it was couple of social beers, dinner, local show, then some wine. Sat with Outside in a little plaza, until 2:00 when it closed.

It is a lovely city
It is a lovely city

Saturday’s entertainment is 11:30 off to go shooting.

 

http://xtremes.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/IMG_1031.mp4
Ewan in Scottish atire. Jocky Boy.

 

 

Paul, Alex and Ewan 16 yrs on.
Paul, Alex and Ewan 16 yrs on.

Current weather for Budapest

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Alex Thomas, Budapest, Cultural Tour, Ewan Cairns, Ewans Stag, NERDs, Nissan Europe, Paul Lazenbury

Serre Chevalier, SnowMonkees, Xmas 2014

23rd August 2015 By Paul Leave a Comment

Serre Chevalier, SnowMonkees, Xmas 2014

Xmas 2014 was a strange one, I had planned to tour through Thailand, but following the coup we had to look for an alternative. This is when Gareth of SnowMonkees came into play and suggested Serre Chevalier. We booked the Xmas week with Gareth and the team. The apartments that SnowMonkees offer are in a great location within a couple of minutes walk to the village centre.

A great place to spend Xmas
A great place to spend Xmas

It had been a few years since my last full on snowboarding holiday and I was looking forward to the chance to have a go at Snowkiting. As with all trips boys need new toys. Luckily enough I don’t live to far away from Ben at Big Dreams snowboarding in Wareham. So following a visit and great banter with Ben, I left the shop a new board, bindings, boots, helmet and goggles. Now with a fully loaded T5 the trip can start. In fact it was an uneventful drive via Eurotunnel through France to Serre Chevalier.

The new boys toys
The new boys toys

Ok so it was not the best year for snow, but as I said before the location is great.

The view over the vilage from the SnowMonkees Apartment
The view over the vilage from the SnowMonkees Apartment

I’d not been on a board for a few years and it is 18 years since achieving my BASI snowboard instructor’s certification. So day 1 I booked a couple of hours with Julian of ESI Generation. As with all sports they evolve, from both a style/performance and technical/technology point of view, so there is always an opportunity to improve. I learnt to board back in the early 90’s and when I was teaching it was all about super stiff boots and boards. To be honest the 1st day Julian, did fall about laughing, watching me board was like watching a very early snowboard video. I was a very rear foot boarder, more surf style. After two sessions with Julian, we then could start racing all over the hill.

Poor snow conditions but the hill was still open and loads of fun
The snow conditions are not great but the hill was still open and loads of fun

So given the snow conditions it was a golden opportunity to try Snowkiting. As a IKO Kitesurfing Instructor (International Kitesurfing Organisation), I do understand the principles of kite flying. So I hoped my speed to competency would be quicker than a complete novice. Julian recommended his friends Alex Robin and Remi Borgioli of Kite Légende @ Col du Lautaret.

Up and riding within 2 hrs on the ice.
Up and riding within 2 hrs
on the ice.

Listening to Alex it is easier to learn to snow kite on ski’s rather than a board. The rational behind this statement is you can maintain your balance much easier. What we did was closer to ice kiting rather than snow kiting and given the harsh conditions board damage was inevitable.

The Ice was like concrete but good to learn on
The ice was like concrete
but good to learn on

In fact by the time I’d finished, you could only describe my board edges as rounded like a spoon. A small price to pay for a few hours of fun on Christmas Day, so yes the board did need a service afterwards. If there had been snow this would not have happened. Due to strong winds in the Col du Lautaret, did not manage to get back out on a kite during this stay.

As you can see no snow.  4 days later the col was closed due to, too much snow
As you can see no snow.
4 days later the col was closed due to, too much snow

Snowkiting was great fun. I will admit it was easier to learn, because of the amount of time I have spent kitesurfing. If you fancy a go, I would strongly recommend Kite Légende. Both Alex and Remi speak really good English, know their stuff and can’t do enough for you.

A great couple of hours,  What a way to spend Xmas Day
A great couple of hours,
What a way to spend Xmas Day

If you are going to go to Serre Chevalier and want to go self-catering, have a look at SnowMonkees. I know Gareth and Sarah will make you feel very welcome. If you intend to learn to ski or snowboard, I would recommend using one of the smaller independent schools like ESI Generation rather than ESF.

Now for snow kiting, if you are going to try this sport, it is great fun. I would suggest that you take land kite flying lessons before your holiday. The trick with snow kiting is kite control; you can book a ½ day course in the UK for about £50. In the UK the sport in governed by BKSA (British Kitesurfing Association) the international organisation is the IKO (international Kitesurfing Association).

Normally there is lots of snow for your Xmas holiday, I have been boarding in Serre Chevalier as early as mid November before, statistically the area has better than average snow for France. On our last night the snow arrived, 2 meters of snow fell over the region and this gave us and about 25,000 other visitors a delayed trip home. The Col de Lautaret was closed due to high snowfall. As with all activates that rely on Mother Nature, it is out of your control. Kitesurfing with no wind, Surfing with no waves. We had a great time and be assured, we will be back again ASAP.

If you would like any additional information please do not hesitate to contact me via this site.

Current weather for Briançon

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: BASI, Big Dreams Snowboarding, BKSA, ESI Generation, IKO, Kite Legende, Paul Lazenbury, Snow kiting, SnowMonkees, XtremesPaul

Surf Cloud 9, General Luna, The Greenhouse Siargao, Philippines

23rd August 2015 By Paul 1 Comment

Surf Cloud 9, General Luna, The Greenhouse Siargao, Philippines (stayed at the Greenhouse Siargao)

XtremesPaul @ Cloud 9
Paul Surfing at Cloud 9, even with coaching I’ll never make world champion

February 23, 2014

My first trip to Surf Cloud 9, General Luna, The Greenhouse Siargao Island, Philippines was amazing. If you have the time you must go.

It was one of those random meetings with Mr Ewan Cairns, in Dubai. Ewan and Maria had just returned from visiting her family in the Philippines and in Ewan’s normal super positive way, he spent the evening extoling the virtues of the islands and the people. Specifically Sairgao a small island off the coast with a surf break rated in the world’s top 10 Cloud 9 Surfing.

Dinner with Ewan, Maria, Trina and Immi
Dinner with Ewan, Maria, Trina and Immi. It was also Immi’s 18th Birthday

To be honest, I did not take much persuading to visit, because of all the great Filipino’s I was working with in Saudi Arabia. Having agreed the plan, unfortunately work got in the way for Ewan, so he did not join me.

I booked flights from Riyadh, directly to Manila on Philippine Airlines. The flight was clean, on time and inexpensive, now if you are used to flying Emirates Business class, maybe this is not the airline for you….

Upon arrival in the Philippines, I had one evening in Manila, so I stayed in the Shangri-La hotel Makati. What a place or Palace. There appears to be 5 staff just to check you in and make sure to make sure you get to your room. I pre-booked the airport pickup through the hotel (my flight arrived at 05:30) I would not do that again, it was 10 times the price a luxury limousine. When I arrived at the hotel my luggage was check by security dogs, checking for bombs. Things we don’t think of some much in Europe.

Shangri-La hotel Makati
Shangri-La hotel Makati

I spent the day in the shopping centres Greenbelt Makati and walking around the streets. It’s my first real experience of being in a relatively poor Asian country. What I would spend on lunch and a coffee, people worked all day for.

The other thing with Manila it never appears to stop. There are a lot of call centres around the city working European and US business ours. The rush hour appears to start about 4am. I left the hotel the about 5am to get to the old international terminal to check in for the flight to Siargao, with Cebu Pacific. They are a bit like Flybe, but with a more Caribbean working style. My fight out from Manila was about 8am with a connection in Cebu, all uneventful, just great friendly local people.

Cebu Pacific Boarding
Cebu Pacific Boarding

Travel from the airport to The Greenhouse was via local minibus; there was a welcome beer or coke as you got on board. How could you not like that welcome.

Arriving to warm welcome from Andrew Russo & Keiko Tsukamoto rounded off the travel day and the view was amazing.

Greenhouse Beach House View from the porch
Greenhouse Beach House View from the porch
Greenhouse Beach House View from the porch
Greenhouse Beach House View from the porch

The two double bedroomed chalet/beach house was amazing, coconut trees between you and the water. All you hear is nature at its finest, the waves and birds. I was lucky and had no mosquitoes.

Greenhouse Beach House Bedroom
Greenhouse Beach House
Bedroom

The bar/fridge works on an honour system and it’s not expensive. Greenhouse private chefs make all the food and use only market fresh produce and vegetables. The food is served family style (for sharing) this is harder when you travel on your own. It’s was both healthy and delicious, I’m now a convert to fresh mango and coconut.

Greenhouse Beachhouse, The porch
Greenhouse Beachhouse, The porch

Complete with fresh coconut water, still in the husk.

Greenhouse, Beach House
Greenhouse, Beach House

There is WIFI, but there are no TV’s for me it was a great place to relax and chill out. There are lots of things to do; I managed to surf most days with Sunny, I’ll never be a world champion. But it was great fun. I also managed to kitesurf and Stand Up Paddleboard.

Paul and Sunny @ Cloud 9 Surfing
Paul and Sunny @ Cloud 9 Surfing

 

Paul @ Cloud 9 surfing
Paul @ Cloud 9 surfing

When to visit for Cloud 9 Surfing:

Peak swell season is September – November and the current continues to push strong swell into the coming rainy season.

December – February: This season can also get great swell but can push a lot of wind and rain along with it. Knowing your wind direction will always allow you to find a few clean waves around the island.

March – May the winds and rain will fade out and although there is consistent swell, the size is generally smaller.

May – August boasts the best weather of the year and a great time for families, longboarders or beginners looking to take lessons. With predominantly small clean/offshore days, it’s a great time to hit the flat water/surf on a Stand Up Paddle Board (SUP) in the lagoon out front.

There are waves most times of the year on Siargao, and usually somewhere in the neighborhood something is happening. Siargao doesn’t boast Bali consistency and everyday perfection, but we go from GOOD to EPIC plenty throughout the year with world class waves. If you score, then you’ll be sure to remember it!

Other places to see

I wanted to see a little more of the island, so Andrew was kind enough to arrange local transport. A great little ATV from just down the road..

Rent a Car Greenhouse Style
Rent a Car Greenhouse Style

This gave me the freedom to tour some of the island, below are some of the photos from this trip.

General Luna Beach Bar
General Luna Beach Bar
Alternative local transport, taken just outside Greenhouse
Alternative local transport, taken just outside Greenhouse
Street view of Davao, Siargoa Island
Street view of Davao, Siargoa Island
The Beach Bar, near Greenhouse
The Beach Bar, near Greenhouse
Cloud 9 surfing, near the Greenhouse, Siargoa Island
Cloud 9 surfing, near the Greenhouse, Siargoa Island

Filed Under: Asia, Travel Tagged With: Andrew Russo, Cebu Pacific, Cloud9, Ewan Cairns, Greenhouse, Keiko Tsukamoto, Philippines, Philippines Airlines, Siargao Island, Surf Cloud 9, XtremesPaul

Saint Lucia, XtremesPaul and BodyHoliday

22nd August 2015 By Paul Leave a Comment

Saint Lucia, XtremesPaul and BodyHoliday

XtremesPaul has just been away for a sneaky 10 days to St. Lucia at BodyHoloday, my partner is crime for this trip was Trina Forte. The trip was to celebrate her 46th birthday.

What a place, it is not a dream
What a place, it is not a dream

We had originally booked Destinology to travel through Thailand and Asia over the Xmas/New year period of 2014. Following the declaration of marshal law in May 2014, we postponed the holiday and therefore had a credit to use. Thank you to Amy for looking after us and booking this trip. We actually flew on Trina’s birthday with Virgin Atlantic, the flight was OK, but nothing special. However given that Trina is a Virgin frequent flyer, I was surprised that they did not acknowledge this during the flight.

The transit from airport to resort was uneventful with a great driver called Biggin.. It is amazing how much you can learn about a country from chatting with a taxi driver, this is the same the world over. All the drivers we met were great ambassadors for the island. Biggin was also kind enough to act as tour guide and take us to Carnival (more on that later)

Happy Birthday Trina
Happy Birthday Trina
The view from the beachfront room.
The view from the beachfront room.

The bodyholiday, is a French owned and run all inclusive resort in the north of the Island. This is not my normal type of holiday, but for 9 nights it was great. The resort runs a WellFit families programme during the summer, with visiting GB Olympians. The first week it was Gail Emms and the 2nd week Jamie Baulch. What a brilliant concept, you get to meet and train with these superhero’s, beach fit at 7am then a healthy breakfast. OK I did not actually make any of these sessions. Then on the Wednesday evening the Olympians hosted a dinner and delivered an after dinner speech.

Great fun on the water, with the Hobie Cat
Great fun on the water, with the Hobie Cat

On 1st Wednesday, I spent the morning paddle boarding with Gail and few others. It was supposed to be a 5mile open water paddle, but given the high winds, that was cancelled and we played paddleboard “Tag” around the bay. It’s great fun and see the improvement is everyone’s paddling in just a couple of hours was brilliant.

The all-inclusive not only included all your food and vittles, but also it included most sports. For me that meant; mountain biking, wakeboarding, stand up paddleboarding, hobie cat and diving, just as well there was also a daily spa treatment, so a free massage is not to be turned down.

View back to the resort from the Hobie Cat
View back to the resort from the Hobie Cat

On the island they do say wait 5 minutes and it will be alright!! On Thursday we had booked a snorkelling trip, this had to be cancelled due to the horizontal rain.

The rain may have stop the trip but not the fun.
The rain may have stop the trip but not the fun.

24 hours later at the Pitons

The first view of the Pitons, in the sunshine
The first view of the Pitons, in the sunshine
A quick detour to look for the rich and famous
A quick detour to look for the rich and famous

Just to prove we did see some fish

Just to prove we did see a fish
Just to prove we did see a fish

Day trips:

1st Day Trip Carnival: The official Carnival Website

A rich display of Saint Lucian culture, Lucian Carnival pays homage to the island’s African and Catholic heritage. Once held to mark the end of the Lenten season, the festival was relocated in the late 90’s to accommodate the island’s thriving tourism industry, and to eliminate competition with Carnival gargantuan Trinidad & Tobago.

Today, Lucian Carnival is widely lauded as one of the Caribbean’s most exciting festivals. In keeping with the island’s reputation for exclusive world class entertainment, Lucian Carnival continues to produce spectacular visual and auditory displays.

The Carnival Queens
The Carnival Queens

Biggin collected us at 10:30 from the resort and drove us into town, in time to grab a couple of cold Piton’s before the event started. The beers help you get into the Caribbean timing a 12:00 start, really means 12:45ish… Sat on the balcony watching the world go by we did not mind.

Colour and rhythm everywhere.
Colour and rhythm everywhere.
The island dancers are amazing
The island dancers are amazing

I’ve been to Notting Hill carnival, where it’s crazy busy and a little intimidating. You don’t feel like that here and I’m not sure why. Trina and I did stand out, but only because we are the only Europeans. To give you some idea of the size of the event the first competing band/truck had a dance troop of 1,200 people, it took 45 minutes for them to pass us.

The first dancers of 1200
The first dancers of 1200
Full streets of fun
Full streets of fun
This is still the first group
This is still the first group

A great experience and so much fun, its beats the Swanage Carnival.. hehe..

The 2nd day trip was to Rain Forest Tree Top Adventures

Well worth the trek, the guides are barking mad and keep you smiling, the whole thing is very well organised and super safe. We booked directly online with the company rather than through the hotel and saved 50%, due to a special offer.

You get to see the island from a very different view point, whether it is traveling in the happy bus, to get to the site or the views from the zip wires.

Zipping through the forest
Zipping through the forest
Look not scared
Look not scared
Scared now, just as well I'm not first
Scared now, just as well I’m not first
The highest point is 800 ft
The highest point is 800 ft
It's a blast. well worth the money
It’s a blast. well worth the money

I know other people that have been on zip lines with this company in Costa Rica and they rave about the experience as much as we do. So well worth a day out, if you have the time.

So it’s bye bye, St Lucia you have been a great host and thank you for a great holiday. Back to work we go..

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[sgpx gpx=”/wp-content/uploads/gpx/activity_837868579.gpx”]

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: BodyHoliday, Saint Lucia, XtremesPaul

We are, who we are, because..

3rd August 2015 By Paul Leave a Comment

We are, who we are, because..

As we go through life people influence the way we think and behave, some people help form our moral compass

First Hovercraft

In my case beyond my parents Ray & Lucy, I would say my greatest role model was my grandfather Arthur Redsell (Lucy’s father).

Unfortunately my grandfather was taken from us too early, due to inoperable brain tumour. As with people of his generation, no one told them smoking would kill them and it did. At least some of us have learnt from them.

Hovercraft with Grandad1968

This man could not do enough for either my little sister Julie or me. Julie will say I got away with murder, as I was a boy and “the special one”.

Before my 12th birthday, I was helping Granddad hang wallpaper and do odd jobs for other people. When he wasn’t taking me to play football we would have been in his shed making things. I was rubbish at it, but he always said my stuff was amazing..

I do remember making cement bricks for the rockery in the garden, what’s funny is my Mum and Dad live in the house now. My Nan died in 2005 and then my mum moved back home. Those cement bricks are still in the garden as part of the cement castle we built back in 1975-76.

The last really remember able event with my Granddad was the 1976 FA Cup final, which we watch together as we always had. That was when the FA Cup was a really special day and marked the end of the football season.

I was also taught to play Lawn Green Bowls, as he was something to do with Pirrie Park bowling club in Southampton. Many a school holiday was spent riding on the mower, cutting the clubs lawn tennis courts or play fighting with stuff from the fencing club, no health and safety concerns then, just a clip around the ear if you did something stupid. For me the place was like having your own toy wonderland or back to his house to paly in the tree house, that was built for Julie and me.

Time was also spent trying to grow things, both Dad and Granddad had allotments, he had one near his house and my school (Tanners Brook) and both Dad and Granddad had one near our house on Oakley road.

School Photo

We grew everything from potatoes, leaks, runner beans, cabbages & carrots to every fruit you could try. Its amazing how interesting digging and planting is to achild. Even spreading that lime and filthy smelly horse manure, that smell that never seems to go away. After school my job was to go and water the allotments, again I’m not sure I did it very often.

Also the allotment was a great place for Bonfire night fireworks, a big fire was built and all the local families came along and we shared the fireworks. This was after doing “penny for the guy” in front of the house.

There are a couple of things; I remember or at least attribute to him.

Every decision you make has consequences; make sure you can live with those consequences. They could be with you for all of your life.

It is your life; what you make of it is up to you and make sure you enjoy it.

Even if you don’t like what you are doing, do it to the best of your ability, as you don’t want to have to come back and do it twice.

I was only 13 when he died in 1977. In fact I was away at InterCamp’77 Scout camp with Stewart Cameron near Aldershot.

InterCamp'77

All I can remember is that was great fun and very hot. Playing games that are probably banned now, murder ball and British bull dog.

Dirty again, InterCamp'77

This was my first real experience of meeting people from overseas. I met scouts from all over the world, I do remember meeting some from the USA, in fact I think I still have neckerchief somewhere from the US scout association. I am still friends with Stewart.

Filed Under: Background Tagged With: Arthur Redsell, Hovercraft, InterCamp'77

Kite4Heroes, Kitesurfing the British Channel

3rd August 2015 By Paul Leave a Comment

Kite4Heroes, Kitesurfing the British Channel

ARMY kitesurfers complete a gruelling 70 mile crossing of the channel (Link to ArmySailing)

Kitesurfing across the British Channel has been an ambition for the Army since the sport hit the scene less than 5 years ago; dangerous conditions, complicated weather systems, endurance, mental and physical aptitude, planning and teamwork all tested to the fore. WO1 Samanjoul led the planning of the event on behalf of the Army with cohorts from both RAF and Royal Marines/Royal Navy; whilst supporting the failed Richard Branson Crossing, the race organisers were busy planning the successful Services’ crossing. In concept, the teams were to travel by rigid inflatable boats out to a latitude equivalent to that of the French Coast (Aldernay on this attempt) and kitesurf back to the UK.

Kite4Heroes, Kitesurfing
Kite4Heroes

Kite4Heroes, Kitesurfing P9090032

Army kitesurfing has had to overcome a multitude of problems in its development. The theory behind the sport is faultless: extreme challenge, violently dangerous at times yet entirely safe when schooled well; riders must show exemplary calm outside of their comfort zones, complete trust in their instructor, knowledge and understanding of weather systems, wind theory, the coastal environment and complicated equipment. A mixture between windsurfing, snowboarding, wakeboarding, skateboarding and extreme sailing, all whilst suspended beneath an enormous canopy – kitesurfing really tests determination and resolve. Having mastered the basics, progression is quick, addictive, adrenaline fuelled and exciting; it is for these reasons that the sport is evolving unlike any other.

 

Paul & Karl on the Hamble

On Friday 10 Sep 2010, Army, Navy and RAF teams, each of 6 riders, departed from Southampton Yacht Club at Sunset on Thursday evening; spirits were high, the crossing WAS going to happen, we had wind, competitors congregated from across the Country; we had an abundance of kit; we had surf boards from Richard Branson’s failed attempt; three 40’ RIBs (support vehicles) and the weather forecast was good. The brief from the boat commander was that the outward crossing was a 3 hour, relatively pain-free crossing! ETA Alderney was predicted to be 2200 that evening….

The calm before the start

The RIBs pulled out from the Club, 3 black boats riding next to each other, sun setting, boat opening up to 60 mph as we headed out into the setting Sun, everything was looking faultless! As we ventured further into the Channel, the rolling waves started to appear, the RIBs leapt from crest to crest the mighty propellers of the 350 hp outboards shrieked as they left the water, we crashed down on the other side, only seconds before we took off again. As much fun as this was, the night darkness drew in and we had no idea whether we were on the top or bottom of a 10 metre wave, about to take off, or crash into the wave in front! After 3 hours, two of the team were violently ill, the boat was being thrown around like a toy, and importantly we had no view of any lights on the horizon; as the boats slowed and came side-to-side we found out that we had covered 40 nautical miles out of the 70 after 3 hours! Not great news; wet, cold, miserable and only just over half way!! At 0330 hours in the morning, we finally saw the lighthouse of Alderney! Then Army Team’s Prop shaft failed and the boat came to a crashing halt! As the two other support crafts hurtled on we were left being dragged out into the channel; after finally locating us (the radios failed) we had drifted another 20 nautical miles away from destination! A second boat found us and dragged us back in (of course his vehicle ran out of fuel blah blah). Eventually, after ten hours in wetsuits, we arrived at a very dark, wet and sleepy Alderney! Six bedraggled, soaked, exhausted, hungry and ill kitesurfers! We crawled to the B&B and crashed into bed at 0545 in the Morning! At 0730 we awoke, ate and started preparation of the kites for the crossing.

Darrel

Kite4Heroes
Kite4Heroes
Kite4Heroes
Kite4Heroes

Karl about to enter the water

The wind was ok, 16 mph and from the due South, which meant we had full power in the kites from the minute we left. The conditions became treacherous as we set off, huge rolling waves and strong currents. The kites were being thrown about, we were getting smashed and the safety boats were having great difficulties in reaching the competitors. Launching and leaving from the beach proved very tricky; a heavy tide (against us) and intermittent winds were very challenging. A strong start by the Army and Navy led to a significant lead, due to the difficulties, the RAF withdrew from the race after the first hour! The riders took turns in handing over the kite in the water, problems emerged at every corner. It was paramount to get the kit organised before leaving the harbour; the largest team member was a burly 6’2’’ RSM and the smallest being a 5’7’’ civvy great debate on the boat ensued, did we risk launching another smaller kite from the boat, or fly a smaller kite throughout? Tactics were very important, tangled kites and broken equipment was the biggest risk during the race. The Navy and Army teams reached the shipping channel where treacherous conditions lead the safety boats to order a temporary collapse of the kites (very difficult in stormy seas) and power boat across the narrow lane. The kites were water re-launched and we headed towards Poole Harbour, the teams arrived at 1800 hours on the Friday in front of a very bored and cold reception team!

Kite4Heroes
Kite4Heroes

Kite4Heroes, Kitesurfing The arrival with Darrel & Scully

 Welcome Home

An epic endurance event with all levels of riders being significantly challenged; having spent 23 hours away from Mainland, the teams enjoyed 3 hours on dry land…Miserable but elated! Huge thanks to Paul Lazenbury and Xtremes Learn2Ride, for providing equipment, aiding sponsorship and supporting the event.

Xtremes Learn2Ride

planche logo large

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: Xtremes Learn2Ride, XtremesPaul

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Recent Posts

  • Cultural Tour of Budapest with Paul Lazenbury, Ewan And Alex
  • Serre Chevalier, SnowMonkees, Xmas 2014
  • Surf Cloud 9, General Luna, The Greenhouse Siargao, Philippines
  • Saint Lucia, XtremesPaul and BodyHoliday
  • We are, who we are, because..
  • Kite4Heroes, Kitesurfing the British Channel
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