no. 40. August 2008
Maui, Hawaiian Islands
Josh in Holland - The Mission 2008 Howzit everybody. Just got home from Holland and “ The Mission” at Brouwersdam. I arrived in Holland a bit tired after some extensive travelling through Europe. My energy however was quickly replenished with the vibe at The Mission. The excitment started early when a freak storm that was completely unforecasted blew through. A couple of us ran outside to watch the recently erected tower get blown over. What then followed was an adrenaline filled half hour, where everybody who was around pitched in to tear down all the tents, the scaffolding and all the hard work that had been put in that day. Dirk Doppenberg, Remco Bakker, and a couple crew stayed up late rebuilding the scaffolding in the rain and cold... Cheers Boys! Early Saturday morning the boys were up resetting all the tents etc. and we had a solid 25 -30 kts of wind that was wreaking some havoc on some of the organization tents that were previously without problem. A couple of scary minutes followed, but then everything started mellowing out. As the volunteers, organizers and friends continued last minute preparations, the wind subsided to a perfect 15 kts. for the day’s racing, the sun came out, and that place filled up quick! I’ve never seen so many excited kids, parents and windsurf enthusiasts all in one place. The Mission team was so on it and they ran races all day long. Everybody was stoked and the kids were ripping. The pro freestylers, Tonky, Andre Paskowski, and Gollito put on an excellent show and even though the wind dipped down in the afternoon they got towed towards the beach by a boat and whipped out some incredible freestyle tricks. But Dutch stud Kevin Mevissen was the man of the day pulling some unbelievable jumps of the Red Bull ramp made by Tom Hartmann.
Photo : Fotoart.pl
The day continued with racing, autographs, music, food, and fun all in the easy going yet organized way that only the Dutch can combine so naturally. As the sun started setting Saturday evening the barbecue started up, everybody had their fill, and waited anxiously for the giveaways. The little bar was jam packed and more equipment than a normal retail store stocks was given away that night. Kids walked away with sails, booms, boards, clothes, and bags. Adults also scored many products and every ten minutes t-shirts, dvds, and stickers were rained into the crowd. The prize lottery gave way to one of Europe’s best DJ’s who quickly got the crowd hopping and into a frenzy. I hung out long enough to get a glimpse of where the night was going and stealthily snuck away to my hideaway upstairs. I fell asleep to booming bass and screams from the crowd. Needless to say, the party rocked!
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