seek
seek
MAGAZINE Design Abbie Worton
Content Tes Connect online Blue Banana online Tumby online Sam Lutman-Pauc Image credits Abbie Worton Coastline Coasteering online Wakestock online Tumby online Sam Lutman-Pauc
CONTENTS 01 DISCOVER THE COAST 05 WAKESTOCK FESTIVAL 09 STAND UP PADDLE BOARDING
13 SAM LUTMAN PAUC 13 15 17 19
PRODUCT REVIEWS THE TEST OF TIME INTERVIEW WITH CLAIRE JAUNDRILL COASTAL CHALLENGE 2014
01 // DISCOVER THE COAST
discover the coast
DISCOVER THE COAST // 02
J
ump in It’s hairy, scary and more than a touch vertiginous. It’s coasteering, a hybrid sport not for the faint-hearted. Coasteering may sound like something you try to do with a supertanker, (usually with a spectacular lack of success), but it is in fact part of a new generation of hybrid outdoor activities which blend bits of conventional sports for the greatest possible thrill. Gone are the days when you could just hoof it for hours across moorland and relax at the end of the day with a job well done. Now the holy grail of physical exertion is exhilaration and achievement - confront your fears and feel the buzz. But what is it exactly? Coasteering is what you get if you mix a little rock climbing with a pinch of cliff jumping, throw in some pounding atlantic swells for good measure and enjoy. Technically it is a cliffside scramble. You traverse around the coast at sea level, climbing, scrambling, swimming and leaping into and across churning watery gullies to get from A to B. But it is much more than the sum of its parts, as anyone who has tried it will testify. The sport was “invented” at Twr-y-Felin Outdoor Centre in Pembrokeshire about 10 years ago. Several instructors realised that an activity that they had been doing informally for years could be incorporated into the centre’s programme. However it did require some degree of tailoring so that all ages and fitness abilities could enjoy it. Most children living near the coast will have tried a variation of coasteering - usually to their parent’s consternation. The great advantage of joining an organised coasteering group is that you minimise the risk and double the excitement - instructors know all the most thrilling places to explore, without getting hurt.
“It’s hairy, scary and more than a touch vertiginous”
Tes Connect
03 // DISCOVER THE COAST
Top left:Taking the jump Top right: Swimming Bottom left: Coastal swimmng Bottom right: Coastal walk
DISCOVER THE COAST // 04
K OC
“ev cou eryth nee ld e ing mu d fro ver you with sic e m a wh a ven t, tha ole lo bar n yo ad gai u mo ned re for”
WA KE ST
F E 11
05 // WAKESTOCK
-13
S Jul y
2
ST
I V 4 A
201
WAKESTOCK // 06
W
ith plenty to do over the course of the weekend, Wakestock festival includes entertainment from wakeboarding to music. As the biggest wakeboard and music festival, Wakestock is worth every single penny.
Held on the picturesque beach of Abersoch in North Wales, this event will stay in your memory forever. In the day time check out the awesome talent at the wakeboarding competitions and at night go crazy for the amazing music acts that will be performing for your listening pleasure. If you’re into this extremely popular water sport and love a wide range of music artists, then Wakestock festival is definitely the festival for you. In the day time check out the awesome talent at the wakeboarding competitions on the beach and at night go crazy for the amazing music acts that will be performing for your listening pleasure.
Left: Wakeboarding pool Right: Evening entertainment
07 // WAKESTOCK
The festival began back in 2000 as a simple wakeboard contest followed by a small party in the car park. Ten years later it is considered the biggest wakeboard competition in Europe and has a beautiful track record of performers. With so much entertainment at hand, there’s no chance of you getting bored at any point throughout the weekend. From music to tantalise your ears to wonderful wakeboarding, Wakestock festival is one not to be missed this summer. If you’re a real surf chick or dude, you’ll love the cute surf shops found in the village centre if you decide to take a wander.
Why even leave the site? With a fairground at hand, get your adrenaline pumping and get into the festival spirit. There are plenty of bars and food stalls available all around the site, providing the perfect way of grabbing a simple bite to eat and boosting your energy supplies. Chill out and get a drink with your mates while you wait for a competition or act to perform. There’s so much for you to take advantage of we guarantee you won’t be bored at the Wakestock festival. You’ll find everything you could ever need from a music event, with a whole load more than you bargained for. Blue Banana
WAKESTOCK // 08
09 // SUP
THE NEW CRAZE:
STAND UP PADDLE BOARDING
SUP // 10
E
volving from an ancient Hawaiian form of surfing, Stand Up Paddle Boarding or ‘Supping’, has become a global phenomenon.
It doesn’t require a lot of expensive equipment, it’s eco-friendly and once you’ve got your gear there’s no limit to the fun you can have – free of cost and free of hassles. It is also, unlike surfing, very easy to learn. Known as SUP, it is a sport that can be a relaxing cruise, a thorough cardiovascular work-out or a heart pounding adrenaline ride and to many it is ‘the most versatile sport you can do on the water’. To get started, you’ll need to choose yourself a board. SUP’s growth in popularity means there’s now a bewildering number of boards available. If you’re just starting out, however, then you’re probably best off sticking to the ‘conventional’ shapes of the main board producers. The key variable will be the length of the board you need. This depends on what you plan on doing with your new SUP - if you’ll mainly be in the surf then you’ll want a shorter board than if you are planning to spend most of your time on flat water. Assuming you’re not sure how you’ll be spending most of your SUP time, and want to be able to have a go at everything, your first board should be between 10’5” and 13’ and between 30 and 34” wide. Within these ranges, your height and weight will dictate which board you’re best suited to. Other than your board you need two paddles and some water and you’re good to go! Tumby
Left: Shallow paddleboarding Right: Paddleboarding at sunset
11 // SUP
“Perhaps it’s the grace and harmonious combination of skill and thrill that attracts so many to Supping; either way you’ll be hooked once you try it!”
SUP // 12
SAM LUtMAN PAUC
on the volvo cold water project 13 // SAM LUTMAN PAUC
SAM LUTMAN PAUC // 14
“Extreme sports have always been my thing” 15 // SAM LUTMAN PAUC
Right: Kitesurfer heading to the water Below: Getting started
SAM LUTMAN PAUC // 16
Top: Assembling the kite Middle: Ready to go Bottom: In action
17 // SAM LUTMAN PAUC
I
’ve been kitesurfing for 12 years now and all I want to do is expose this amazing sport to as wide an audience as possible.
If that means doing even more crazy stuff to raise awareness and educate people on what an incredible and safe sport kitesurfing is today, then I can’t do enough. That is what I’m all about. Before kitesurfing I flew powerkites as a kid and did loads of land boarding, which is basically skateboarding on pneumatic wheels. But from the first time I saw someone doing kitesurfing at Brighton I knew it was my sport. I booked some lessons, bought a kiteboard and headed off travelling round Europe for four months with my girlfriend, kitesurfing at some incredible places and improving all the time. I’ve never been about the tricks, freestyle riding or competition, but if it’s blowing 35-40 knots, there are huge waves and big jumps that’s where you will find me. This is how the idea of the Cold Water Project came about. The object of the film project is to showcase the beauty and power of the British Isles through kitesurfing, and the winter is absolutely the best time to do this. There are amazing light levels, big seas and spectacular conditions, all of which show off the British coastline at its dramatic, stunning best. I’m not the most well traveled guy on the planet, but I’ve been to a few places, and it never ceases to amaze me how many times you speak to people in this country who have traveled overseas but never been to incredible places 100 miles from where they live. Exposing what is on our doorsteps is one of my biggest motivations for the Project. Between now and the end of April the plan is to kitesurf and film at multiple locations; Cornwall, Wales, the Hebrides and Loch Ness, where I’ll be attempting to break the world record for kitesurfing across the world famous loch. The project is completely weather dependent; we want to film in the best, most dramatic conditions possible so it’s almost impossible to pre-determine filming dates and precise locations. I have a definite wish-list of places I’d like to get some filming done but I’ll also be seeking out some lesser known spots, with great point breaks as I travel around.
“Exposing what is on our doorsteps is one of my biggest motivations for the Project”
I’m lucky we’ve got three platforms straight away to get the film out there, through Volvo Cars UK, my kite sponsors CrazyFly and GPS watch supplier Suunto, who can hit a pretty big audience through social media alone. There is already interest in the film from online TV channels and possible plans for a premiere in the pipeline for late summer/early autumn. The dream would be to see someone like the Discovery Channel or Channel 4 pick it up and show it. There’s still a misunderstanding of kitesurfing being a dangerous sport. One of the biggest reactions I get when speaking to people is they think it looks spectacular and great fun but they would be apprehensive to try it or wouldn’t be strong enough. That may have been the case when I started but the kit and instruction has come so far since then it’s a very safe sport now as long as the conditions are respected. The English Channel crossing gave me a new, elevated platform for educating people about kitesurfing. The concept of the Cold Water Project has been knocking around for three or four years but now there is a heightened interest in the sport and the extreme challenges, and I have the right sponsorship backing and raised profile to do the Project justice. I’ve got two young daughters, Freya, who’s seven and four-year-old Lois, after I broke the Channel record I went into their school with my kit. The younger ones just wanted to touch the board and look at the kite, which was really cool, and the older ones wanted to know a bit more about the challenge itself. My girls understand what I’m up to and were fascinated by the Channel thing although I think they’re getting a bit blasé to it all now! To prepare for the start of the Project I spent last weekend in Cornwall doing an Ocean Confidence course with Dom Moore, who’s a really well respected UK waterman. The course looked at things like wave patterns, breathing techniques underwater, how to use rips and understanding how, when you arrive on a beach, you can read the conditions and access and exit the water safely. Even over two days I came to appreciate more just how changeable localised conditions can be in different locations. It also blew my mind that just four hours down the road from my home in West Sussex there were these incredible dramatic locations where the water was gin clear, and it just reiterated to me why I’m so passionate about doing the Cold Water Project. Sam Lutman Pauc
SAM LUTMAN PAUC // 18
MAY 2014 ISSUE 01