Oliver Berlicand I left st. pete friday night to ride for our first time on the east coast aside from a 5 min session in deerfield one day last year. We went with mike hall and two other members of the eckerd kiteboarding club. Oliver and I have been riding since spring break last year in march so almost a year, but were determined to complete this race. We launched and got washing machined the whole way out but kept going. We're both naturally goofie riders so ripping downwind over all the chop was not a walk in the park, I personally went toeside for about 50% of the time. I got to the check point taking my time and retrieved a couple boards for people along the way, Oliver had been vomiting for about ten minutes and mike had blown by like an hour ahead. I pouned a water and a powerbar, and told him we were finishing no matter what. He got up from bootin, gave a thumbs up and were gone, a bit after 4 hours we rolled around the red bull bouy, shaking, and pumped, my eyes have never been so red, my mom told me i looked like a crack head, but was proud. That was nice. Overall, one of the best experiences i've had riding yet, those jelly fish looked intense. The rest of the night just blurred into flashbacks of waves to the face. Looking forward to the next event, thanks to neil, rick, and everyone who helped put it together.
-Matt Sexton
Triton Kiteboading - Eckerd College Kite Club
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