Kitesoul Magazine #27 Iternational Edition

50
WORLD CUP
St. Peter Ording - Endless Playgrounds
Tim Kummerfeld:
"Storm surge (strong high tide with a storm), autumnal temperatures and
gusts around 40 knots - after a hot summer of mostly 13m kites on the water,
St. Peter-Ording returns from its true rough side on the 22nd of September.
Although I come from Hamburg, St. Peter-Ording is a bit of a home for me. During
school, it was the weekends that I spent here with my parents and during
my studies, I lived the semester break exclusively on the bus to use every minute
on the water. It's been 10 years now. Much has changed since then, but our
kite community is still there. In times before Instagram, Facebook and GoPro,
we filmed our newly learned tricks with shaky mini-DV camcorders and put
the videos online on self-programmed websites.
It was an exciting time, and then Christian and I were in the eternal contest
of landing a new trick first. Strangely enough, not much has changed in this
regard. We're both out of contests, but when we're on the water together, we're
still pushing the limits of our aging bones. At almost 30 you are actually still
in the prime of life but falls and neck cuffs do a lot more hurt than at 18.
Storm high tide days arouse these memories. St. Peter-Ording only feels real
again when the waves break against the pile dwellings and the entire beach
becomes a huge playground. Football goals and the platforms of the beach
chairs invite you to be used as obstacles. In these moments, there's nothing
better than being on the water with your friends and forgetting the time. The
fall announces itself with a bang, and we mourn the summer not a bit behind.
Endless Playgrounds in St. Peter Ording!