Landboard 24hr Distance Records

Fernando Valladares. On the weekend 21-22 July 2012 at  Zalduendo (Burgos, Spain). I had Juan Romero Calvente from the Spanish Kite Buggy Association (AEKB) as official referee, I used two TRAMPA boards (long and short, both with springs) and two Ozone kites (Frenzy 9 meters and Access 6 m).

 

kmmilesnamescountrydate
272.50169.01Fernando ValladaresSpain21/22.07.2012
240.00149.12David PlumtreeNew Zealand17/18.10.2010

David Plumtree’s write up

Hey Guys,

A couple of weeks back I did the World’s first kite landboard 24hr. To mix it up a bit I raced Peter Foulkes (Gannet) on his big foot Kitebike (which was also a world first). Neither of us new if it was possible to do a 24hr on landboard or kite bike…. Only one way to find out!

Well we found out alright and in the most extreme conditions imaginable.

The attempt went down at the Moose land at the Top of Muriwai beach West of Auckland New Zealand.

8am start The tide is now in and we start the 24hr at 8am in the dunes Gannet fires up a 3m Ozone Method and gets into it. Ozone lent me a quiver of brand new 2011 Frenzy’s to fly for my attempt! Sweeeeeet. I pull out a 7m Frenzy and chuck it into the sky. What a silken beast it is. Super smooth, heaps of depower, with good gust munching ability plus a decent amount of lift on tap in the 25+ knots of wind. I’ve got a big grin on my face. I’m flying a crispy new kite, the sky is blue and we have started the 24hr.

However I soon discover the wind here in the back of the dunes is gusty indeed. It’s bouncing off some dunes right upwind of us. To get any cleanish wind I need to have the kite real high in the window. Also I’ve set my trucks up too stiff. I have to slide turn and there’s little carving. It’s making it a lot harder than it could be and slower.

Gannet is cruising back and forth. He has the edge in this place, the terrain is rough and not ideal for a landboard.

12pm 12pm rolls around and it’s time to head out to the hard sand. The wind has picked up. Its 30-35 knots with squalls pushing to 40.  Gannet steps down to a 2.3 Method and I continue on with the 7 Frenzy. To make matters worse there is a green slime being washed up the beach. If you hit the slime the board just slams out from underneath you in an instant.  Combine the green slime with the squalls and gusts it makes for very dangerous conditions. My body aches my thighs burn and we are only 5-6 hours in…

The 7m is powered so I down size to the trustee 6m Access. It’s still super powered but with 1sq mtr less it’s a little better

We make a tactical decision not to ride the soft sand at night. With the 30-40 knot wind and lack of vision it’s too dangerous!

12.30am Hard Sand The night is cold indeed and the rain squalls are heavier than the day. Wind is still hammering 30 odd knots. It was dangerous in the day, at night it’s downright stupidity and all my kites are overpowered. What to do? I make a seemingly weird decision at 12.30am and upsize to my 8m Ozone instinct light inflatable. My theory being the inflatable will fly better in the rain.

At night you know a squall is hitting when the wind suddenly spikes and it starts to rain. On some of those occasions we have to stop, dig into the sand and ride it out with the kites parked.

Pete is piloting his kitebike and 2.3m kite like some Zen master. It really does look hard work weaving and leaning up and down the beach. But we are keeping the same pace. We roost in the night for several hours hitting 50-60kph with scant regard for the ridiculous conditions.

4am A big squall hits and Pete is parked up. He informs me he’s got sand in his eyes and he can’t see. Reluctantly he has to pull pin.  He’s done 214km, which is a mammoth feet on such a mad device.

I can just make out a massive squall heading for me and the camp site. I haul arse up the beach a good 15km. Then I realise how alone I am, the only guys that could save me are 15km away. Just at that moment I hit some green slime of death, the board slips out from under me but one foot stays in the binding and twists my knee. My inflatable hammers into the ground and then re-launches through the powerzone. I get dragged towards a sandbank but luckily stop just before hitting it.

I dust myself off and check the knee. It’s sore by not broken. Time to carry on.

5am The wind calms down to a cleanish 25 knots

My knee burns, my thighs burn, Fingers rubbed raw, back hurts, feet hurt, face is sunburnt, wind burnt, lips are cracked, everything hurts. I have to slow down and do frequent stops. But I keep pushing a few more km at a time, just one run more… ok another one…. another one.

7.30am Finally the sun comes up and the hard sand is gone. It’s all over I’ve completed the 24hr. I’ve done 240km.

I’ve won the race. But it really wasn’t a race at all. Just two blokes pushing their personal limits and in doing so pushing the limits of the sport. Before this night no one had attempted a 24hr on a landboard or a kitebike.

David Plumtree aka Plummet

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