I’ve had my eye on this forecast for a while. you rarely get 24 knots at 24°C in October on Lake Neusiedl. But the first disco after a year and a half break due to the coronavirus the night before, plus four and a half hours travelling to and from the lake and kiting are too much for one person alone.
Luckily, some friends spontaneously decide to drive over. One place is still free. After the disco, I quickly pack the kites at half past three. We set off an hour later. I sleep through the whole journey in the cosy camper. (more…)
Neusiedl Kite Wars
We are travelling to Lake Neusiedl. To even ask the school whether Sabine can do an advanced kite course, you would actually have to pay a 4 euro beach user fee. There is no course. On to the north-north beach. Great: this year it only costs €5.50. Bugger: the revolving door now even has a guard.
The beach is packed with super-fit trouser-over-neoprene wearers. We set up. When the only good bloke on the beach launches Sabine’s kite, I don’t pay attention. He turned it towards the power zone. Sabine is torn 20 metres through the grass. If her harness hadn’t ripped when we jumped on her, she would have shredded the fence two metres away. (more…)
Thunderstorm kiting on Lake Neusiedl
At lunchtime we drive to Lake Neusiedl. It takes just 45 minutes from the third district. The Austrian holidays have started today. The motorway is full. Masses of wind turbines are turning in the strong wind. The first glimpse of Lake Neusiedl makes me cheer: there must be 100 kiters out there. My first ride in two months, high time.
Lake Neusiedl is huge. But there is only one small legal launch site for kiting. And the nice people of Podersdorf charge a whopping €5.50 entrance fee. Not just for kiters, but also for Sabine, who came along as a spectator. The spot is a good 30 metres wide and about 200 metres long. There are more than 100 kites on the meadow. There are just as many on the water. (more…)
The Author
Frank Woelky, born in 1973. Kitesurfer since 1998. Since 2006, I have been combining kitesurfing and web design on trips lasting several months off the beaten track.