Daily Image
20-07-2018
Bedtime story for a windy day
| Submitter: | Agnes Mika |
| Description: | On the morning of an overcast and (very) windy day in June, a group of tough ASTRON and NOVA gents and lads were gathering with chattering teeth on the beach of Workum. Curious about what they were doing there? Read on - this is their story. So, they were standing on the beach, feeling lost and cold. All of a sudden a truck arrived, disgorging wetsuits, impact vests and helmets. Half an hour later, looking like men (and women) from Mars, in identical pink shirts, these brave people were ready for their first trial: learning to control power kites that did not want to be controlled. Once they have mastered this skill, they were ready for the second trial of the day: taming (much) bigger kites in knee-deep water. Ater a break and a bite to lift their spirits, our heroes ventured into the water again for their third test: body drag and upwind body drag. For the lucky ones this meant being dragged through the water by a powerful kite that had to be steered with only one hand. For the unlucky ones it involved gulping down massive amounts of water or skipping on the surface of the Ijsselmeer like flat stones. Those who mastered these skills were allowed to proceed to the next stage: learning to get on a board and to stay on a board. Faults were promptly punished by either falling on one's bottom or being catapulted to what felt as significant heights. The bravest and most skilled champion managed to glide for a full thirty metres, while others had to be satisfied with a meager two to three metres. At the end of the day, our tired but satisfied heroes were rewarded with a delicious barbecue on the beach in a very "gezellig" atmosphere (if you don't know what "gezellig" means, you should remedy it quickly - it is by far the most important Dutch word!). This story couldn't have been written without the contributions of Antix Sports and the ASTRON/JIVE PV. |
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