7:30pm Thursday 16th April 2009
By James Durkin
A POOLE kitesurfer is poised to attempt a world’s first – a gruelling 70 nautical mile crossing of one of the globe’s busiest shipping lanes.
If the weather gods are smiling this September, Andy Ward, of Parkstone, will jump onto his kite board in the Channel Islands and step off a record holder eight hours later in Poole.
English Channel crossings have been windsurfed in the past, but no one has completed a kite surf from Alderney to Poole.
The 33-year-old, a clinical theatre co-ordinator at Poole hospital, will take on this toughest of challenges in aid of an organisation representing one of the toughest fighting forces on the planet – the men of the Special Boat Service.
Andy, a father-of-three, has family connections in the SBS Association, the charity working on behalf of members, former members and their families.
When he decided to take on a challenge on behalf of the elite Hamworthy-based servicemen, he knew only something as bold as a world’s first would get the thumbs up from Royal Marines top brass.
“The risk of hypothermia is major, but we have dry suits to minimise this,” said Andy. Navigating between the tankers, ferries and ships in the shipping lanes is going to be another big challenge.”
But Andy’s biggest worry is a catastrophic kite failure.
“If the kite rips in the sky or the lines break, we would then have to attempt a re-launch of a new kite off the boat, which, out at sea, in the conditions we are expecting, would be extremely challenging.”
Andy – who has only three years’ experience of kite-surfing – has two four-day windows of opportunity, when maximum daylight and favourable tides offer the best chance of success.
He’ll cross with a full support boat – possibly manned by marines – and a land-based team monitoring progress.
The adventurer is also supported by Sandbanks’ Watersports Academy, where everyone will be hoping for sufficient force five winds come launch day.
Andy conceded: “A lot depends on the conditions on the day, we simply cannot control nature.
“We wouldn’t attempt it in a consistent force six, it would be too much. The waves would be too big. When waves get to four or five metres in the channel, you cannot see the support boat and they cannot see me.
“So if the kite hit the water you have more of a risk of getting lost or being dragged into the shipping lanes.
“But anything below a force five and you’ve got the problem of the kite dropping out of the sky and the whole thing being abandoned. Its critical we go out between 10 and 20 knots.”
Andy is already enduring a punishing training regime, as marathon level fitness is required for the crossing.
He said: “I cannot wait, it will be an amazing buzz. If I pull it off it’s going to be a huge achievement for me personally, and also the charity.”
Visit kitethechannel.co.uk to sponsor Andy or for full details of the challenge.
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