“The cure for anything is salt water…”
It’s Friday night and we’re on our way to Norfolk for a weekend of kitesurfing. In the driver’s seat is Nick (co-founder of Uganda Marathon)and in the back passenger seats are good friends Emma and Dave. It’s around 7pm and Nick has had to pull over the car because we’re all hysterically laughing so much that tears are streaming down our faces — making it rather impossible for Nick to concentrate on driving. There’s been a bit of a debate going on with regards to the pronunciation of Ely, a small town near Cambridge. The boys are adamant it’s Eel-lee whereas myself and Em utterly convinced it’s Ee-lie. We put the question to Twitter and Facebook, where the majority of people side with the boys.
In a last minute attempt to regain some ground Em pipes up with “What about Ivy?”. I immediately congratulate her on making such an excellent point…before I realise what’s happened. It was the final straw. The confined car space, the copious amounts of sugar consumed and the overall delightful absurdity combine to form a Molotov cocktail of uncontrollable laughter. And so the weekend begins.
We’ve just about stopped giggling when we reach our home for the weekend — a Bell tent kitted out in style that resides in the garden of our AirBnB host for the weekend.
After a warm welcome and tour of the incredibly well thought out facilities, we head to the local pub for dinner where we devour pizzas before settling in for the night. We’re up early the next morning — sadly waking up a rather cold and wet Saturday. The urge to stay snuggled up was strong, but thankfully the lure of adventure (and breakfast) was stronger.
We’re met at the beach at 9am by our instructors for the day — Ollie and Mark from KiteEze. There’s a collective sigh of relief when they tell us we won’t be heading out until a little bit later — allowing us to hole up in the local beach café and have a hearty breakfast, washed down with hot chocolate, before braving the elements. Within minutes, we’re all chatting away as old friends. After breakfast, Ollie sets us some simple challenges to wake up the brain.
When this is done, we have a quick costume change and head down to the beach.
First up is an introduction led by Ollie — we go through some basic wind principles, the lines of the kite and safety systems.
Nick and Dave have both done kitesurfing before, so they headed off with Ollie whilst Em and I spend some time flying a kite on the beach with Mark.
Even with the small kite, it’s amazing to feel how powerful it is. Once a bit more comfortable with things, we made our way out to water with a bigger kite to practice “body dragging” — getting pulled along water by the kite, sans board. If flying a kite on land was fun, this was on another level. There’s a delicate balance between zooming along and losing control, but we’re having a great time all the same!
Soon enough, it’s time to introduce the board. I’ve tried (and loved) wake-surfing so I’m very excited for this challenge but it’s definitely tricky. Mark, naturally, makes it look pretty easy. When it’s my turn, I’m told to concentrate on keeping the kite at 12 o’clock (straight above — in the neutral zone) whilst Mark and Em both help me float on my back and get my feet slipped into the bindings on the board. It’s a small adjustment to move the kite into what is brilliantly known as the “power zone” and I’m up! Moments later, however, I am down — in spectacular fashion. Having gone face first into the water, I continue to go face down into the sand and unfortunately the kite doesn’t lose power straight away so I’m dragged along the sea bed floor before then doing an underwater roly-poly to finsih. By the time I sit up and the guys are rushing over, I feel rather confused. I’m walked up to the beach where Ollie’s first aid kit awaits. My face is somewhat mangled but remarkably nothing is broken and the cuts are pretty clean thanks to the salt water!
This signals a good time to stop for lunch anyway and we head back to the beach café where toasted sandwiches and more hot chocolate await! For most of lunch, I’m zoned out and in my own world weighing up options for the afternoon — namely whether I head back to the comfort of the blow up mattress in the bell tent for a nap, or head back into water. Knowing I’ll regret it if I don’t get back out on the water but feeling a little delicate and nervous to try again is a tough place to be. Eventually, another hot chocolate seals the deal and we get ready to head back down to the water. It’s a decision I’m really, really glad I made.
Initial nerves subside, patiently helped by Ollie, and despite my sore face, I’m soon feeling happy and confident again. Much to our utter delight, we then get a little visitor…
The afternoon continues and the next time we check the time, we discover it’s gone 6pm! This is how days should be — packed so full of fun that you don’t notice the time slipping away amidst all the laughter.
When we get back to the house, our hosts generously provide me with some beeswax for the grazes and a hot shower. A hot shower after a day in the elements is one of the many reasons why I feel like adventures of all sizes are so important — they teach you to appreciate, deeply, the simple things. Being close to the sea we naturally opt for fish & chips for dinner and then head to the arcade. Dave, ever full of surprises, has squirreled away bags full of 2p and 20p coins especially for the occasion and we leave a couple of hours later having exchanged the hard won arcade tokens for sweets. We’re in bed before midnight and fast asleep soon after.
The next day, the sun is out but the wind has all but disappeared and kitesurfing is off the cards. We find something else fun to do instead: Footgolf.
I’m not a huge fan of either football or golf, but the combination of the 2 is genius. Dave was definitely the most skilled at football out of all us — but was well handicapped by having me as his team mate for the mini tournament.
We finish the weekend with ice creams and a walk along the beach before heading back the car to London.
Huge thanks to superstars Mark and Ollie from KiteEze for their expert guidance on Saturday — looking forward to the next visit!
Dave also made a great short film about the weekend — check it out below!
