The 20 hr drive to Northern Germany in our new family car – The dethleff- 6 berth motor home! Garage used to its full capacity with 18 kites, 4 race boards, 4 twin tips, Quad bike, wetties, harness’s, bar box then SUP on roof, bikes on back! Collecting British race Champion- Callum Edge in Weymouth then some more kites from Martyn Hogg from Flexi to take over for Bruna- we truck along stopping a lot for fuel & brewing more tea!!

Arriving at St. Peter Ording is exciting for the bridglets: now their 4^th year attending this 10 day event which is run from a huge village that gets created on the beach just for this competition. For the 1^st time the boys will no longer get ‘Caddy bands’- Now real ‘Riders – this also comes with a heavy entry fee! The Riders tent gets loaded with all the equipment & we meet old & new faces which we share this next 10 days with. A huge opening ceremony with more counties reprensented than any other PKRA – the boys proudly held the GB flag. The Riders lounge is the hub for all inclusive Breakfast, Lunches, drinks, beers & Wifi. Announcements are made on the schedule of competition which normally involves Course Racing in up to 15knots. We kept the show on the road for the first 7 days during the lighter winds & it was Oliver who had some really impressive results in the mens division. Taking home a 12^th overall Oliver had a real taste of top level racing which is great considering he also rides freestyle & wants to continue with both disciplines. His first PKRA & by no means his last – Callum lost to oliver in the really light winds bringing him a 14^th overall. In the womans division Steph had some gear failure & a couple of poor kite choices towards the end of the regatta which cost her the lead – loosing the 1^st time this year to Dutch rider- Katja Rose.

The final days of the event gave the boys the chance to show what they can do under pressure – for the first time the PKRA have run a Junior Freestyle ladder. First up was Guy- competing against Dutch rider- Wouter.  The wind was cross- off shore with super flat water & a shoreline packed with spectators. The panel of judges sat up high in the tractor while all the pro-fleet watched for up coming talent. I felt the pressure & I was only caddy!!!

What a blinder of a heat from Guy including ralley to bling, s bend to blind, s bend pass, F 16 & some grab transitions.  Guy makes it through to the second round while Tom is up next against a Spannish rider. To top the morning – Tom hits the green flag with a high KGB in front of the judge tower & follows with 313, slim, back mobe, front mobe, switch tricks & ends with–. The crowd applauds & they have never seen a heat like it in the history of kitesurfing- at age 10- Tom could easily have gone a long way through the freestyle ladder in the main mens event.

The 2 boys end up in the final together with Spannish rider & it was clear that Tom had it in the bag from an early stage, it was Guy’s final couple of minutes that stole the 2^nd position as he crashed his kite on his blind judge. Still a podium finish- Guy  3^rd & Tom 1^st. Pretty exciting day & now they have to talk about their heats to the press.

Oliver entered the main event for freestyle which meant he had to get through some gruelling trials first. Up against 3 stronger riders in a 4 man heat Oliver gets 3^rd which allows him a final heat & it’s the winner of this that gets to the main event . A solid heat  against Michael Blomenfield – its all heat practice & for sure it is doing all this trickery in a small box that is part of the learning to win.

The closing ceremony took place following the biggest display of thunder/lightening & crazy high tide threatening the waters rising higher than the village. Evacuation off the beach with our van & we hit the road West.  With the boys asleep Callum & I stick some miles to arrive in Weymouth the following morning for breakfast.

The days that Followed for the Bridglets just showed how good Exmouth is- NW on the duck pond followed by  SE trade winds & ebb tide on Exmouth Seafront. Conditions were world class & it was time to stick some new moves in front of British freestyle Champion- Ned Taylor. The bar gets higher & the feeling you get on the water is electric. A local kiter, beach walker , holiday maker just asks – ‘How do I get into this sport? Necker Special projects MD- Charlie Smith hits the town for the opening of his brothers Deli on The Strand in Exmouth & takes some film while also getting his head round the special conditions. Exmouth is such a special place to ride – magic