From:	nlameqqb@ibmmail.com
Subject: Ben's Fano experience
Date:	Fri, 21 Jun 1996 01:24:01 -1000
Organization: Division of Applied Sciences, Harvard University
Message-ID: <199606211124.HAA12023@endor.harvard.edu>

This is what I experienced at Fano '96. WARNING! ==> 126 lines!
We, 8 Dutchies, left on sunday the 9th and just made it to the boat we reserved
in time (10 minutes) after an 8 hours drive. At the Feldberg family camping we
met the other 14 Dutchies.
Monday was a beautiful day with sun and warm. I had a big tractor-tube with me
of about 1.75 meter in diameter when filled. We had the plan to go on the water
with it and let us be pulled by a kite. So a friend and myself put our wetsuits
on and walked as far as possible as we could into the sea, which was quite a
distance. This day the wind was coming from South-West-West direction with
about 4 beaufort. We tried several positions in the tube to get the right
balance for creating speed. It must have looked like we handled several
chapters of the Kama Sutra before we felt comfortable to go for it. He laid
flat on his stomach while I was poking my knees in his back to put as much
weight on him as possible to prevent him from slipping off the tube. He
steered his Quad competition downward and off we went...for a few seconds.
The tube was making too much water causing enormous resistance and he was just
pulled off while I fell in the centre of the tube. He bodysurfed back to the
shore and that was the end of the tube-experiment. Later it did work on sand
I skidded across the sand  while restraning myself in the centre of the tube.
I am going to make a bottom on the tube to created more surface and hope that
that will create more lift on the water.
Made quite some distance by buggy that day and made a lot of fun buggying into
the water as fas as possible.
Tuesday was about the same weatherconditions. A little colder though. I buggied
as far to the south as possible. I started about 150 meters from the entrance
to Norby-beach and finally stopped 11 kilometers more to the south. By then the
original beach had stopped and went into a landscape I have never seen before.
All around me there was something which can be best described as dry sea. The
tide was out and there was nothing but pools of water and little hills of a few
centimeters high of which seaworms came out. That landscape went on till the
horizon where you could see a few silhouets of people walking off off the earth
There was no kite or other buggier in sight a that time as I stood still for
a moment to absorb the immenseness of this outerspace-experience...or in other
words..WOW! Then I realized that if something would happen to my kites or buggy
I would have to walk back the distance and I speeded back. As soon as I had
returned to the 'camp' a thick fog came rushing in from the sea. Everything
vanished out of sight. I saw buggiers flying with nothing but lines as it
seemed and if that was not enough...out of the mist came a herd of COWS over
the beach. By that time everybody stopped and went to their dinners.
Wednesday we had strong winds from the North-West and lots of fun but the
real exiting thing was my first night-buggy-experience. In the evening we
went to a meadow nearby our camping to fly with our rev's but the wind was
gusty so we went to the beach instead. There was even more wind than during
the day. There was also a seven-man-team flying a ballet which was nice to see.
It was actually two teams just having fun together. We decided to race back to
the camping to get our buggies. It all went fine and we were speeding over
50 km/h on a pitchblack beach. We hadn't prepared for nightbuggying so we had
no lights anywhere. I realized that this was dangerous as cars drove onto the
beach to drive back to their hotels and they were speeding because they didn't
expect anyone on the beach. I taped a big flashlight onto the buggy. Not to
see but to be seen! Just as we decided to stop it started to rain. We returned
to the camping at half past one where some worried people could finally go to
sleep after waiting up for us. We drank some drinks to celebrate this
successfull adventure before going to sleep. Great experience..almost madness.
Thursday was another day with high winds. The wind direction was not ideal but
with one Speedwing super I managed to get a speed well over 60 km/h. Because
I am more confident with this relatively small kite I overtook a lot of
buggiers with bigger kites. As they were holding their big kites higher to
stop from drifting, I would turn another loop and get more speed. At 5 p.m.
most of the gang went back to the camping in preparation of the official
opening there. I wanted to break my previous speedrecord of 70 km/h and
stayed longer. I took a speedwing progress and went for it. I looked up a
flat terrain leading to the water where the sand was at its hardest.
First try...66 km/h. On the soft sand part I was well into 50 and when you
come onto the hard part you can accalerate further untill you reach the water.
Second try...69 km/h. Shit!...1 km short of the record. When you drive well
into 60 on soft sand it feels very fast but when you then come onto hard sand
you suddenly go much faster but you don't noticed it because it drives more
comfortable. Ok..one more try and then I stop, I thought..
Third try...speeding...onto hard sand...loopings..acceleration...big urn to
stop..I looked at my speedometer and I couldn't believe it..it said 84!
84 kilometers per hour! Holy smokes! I gave a cry and jumped up and down on
an empty beach. The reactions were all enthousiastic. I made pictures of my
speedometer for proof. Just hope my speedometer is reliable!
I missed half of the opening but there were a lot of people hangin' around
after the 'speech', all Germans. It seemed more a german kitefestival than
a Danish one. I spoke Ken Friis Hansen earlier on the beach who lives in
Jutland and is editor of kitemagazine Dragesnoren and he said that there were
about 20 Dane kitefliers on the beach and he knows them all!
We had the privilige to meet the other of the two lawenforcers of the island.
The first one we met in Norby itself when we drove into 'town' to get some
groceries with a train of six buggies tied behind the car...oops. We got a
warning. This lawman however wanted everybody of the street and was just
annoying everybody. Later we met the first one on the beach when we had a
train of 8 buggies behind the car and then he warned us that the next time
we would get a fine of 500 kroner. Also the group of Uwe Maas got a reprimande.
At the opening I was looking for someone who could sell me miniature skyclaws
and finally found the man who had those things hanging on the inside of his
coat.
Friday also a lot of wind. There was a minor incident. After I stopped
buggying I laid my Speedwing flat on it's back and burried it under a lot
of sand. I secured the line to the car and  had lunch in the car. Suddenly
we heard a sissing sounds and I saw 3 little speedwing take off and then
saw a buggy flying at 2 meters altitude pass my car at 1 meter and land 10
meters further. It seemed that the sand on my Speedwing was all blown off and
took off, the lines picked up the line of other speedwings and on those lines
was a buggy standing! That buggy was then catapulted. Nobody got hurt by
buggy, kites or lines and the only thing damaged was a broken tube of my
Speedwing. Previously I only experienced that there was more sand blown onto
the kites, never off. So guys..if you stop..kites flat on its stomach, not
back and maybe attach only one line to a stake, car of sandbag. Maybe this is
something everybody already knows but I never had trouble doing it the ol' way.
Saterday was the buggyrace. 120 competitors and I was rather filming it than
competing. Of course Stefan Knickmeier won and his kitebuddy with almost the
same equipment became third! The combination of Elegance-ish kite and his
exceptional buggy came through again. I was also pleased to see various Hawks
ending quite in the front. (I also fly a train of two Hawks with coupe)
At night was the auction. Big prices! Big wursten!
At the rec.kiters meeting I met Robert Pudlo again who already made a smaller
NASA-WING from the plan I gave him two days earlier and Rolf v. Oestergaard
who forgot to bring his foto's of his new kiteski-kit. (next time) Also Emiel
more or less challenged me to a buggy-race I think. (C U at Oostvoorne Emiel!)
Sunday was finally the day for the one-liners! I hardly did any buggying but
walked the whole beach taking pictures and filming beautiful and funny kites.
Saw two guys flying two dual-line kites at the same time. The first one was a
nice guys flying one kite by hand and the other with his hips! The second guy
use two quadline-handles. The first sentence he said was: 'didn't you read the
big artikle about me in Drachenmagazine?' and the second.:'I was voted
kiteflier of the year!'......we threw up and walked on! What an c@#$&!
At night we tried some nightbuggying but there was NO WIND!
Next day we slept long and packed in a relaxed manner and went to the beach
for another two hours before taking the boat at half past 4 p.m.
I was in bed at 3 a.m. at home Spent the entire next afternoon cleaning out my
car.
Next year?..Maybe..it was great. I have done it, it was radical. I did
everthing I wanted to do. It was everything I hoped and expected it to be.
Next year is a year later..we'll see.
Ben Mulder (the Netherlands) (bugs bunny on blue fender of buggy)
-- 
Marty Sasaki
sasaki@das.harvard.edu



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