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01.10.2021
Hoek tot Helder 2021 - Kitesurf Marathon
Hoek tot Helder Blog
Hoek tot Helder is a kitesurfing event that wants to raise money for the Heart Foundation. The participants must collect at least €1000 through sponsorship, after which they kitesurf from Hoek van Holland to Den Helder, which is 130km. This so-called downwinder is known as the longest downwinder in the world that is kitesurfed in one day. This distance in combination with the rough conditions of the North Sea makes this the ultimate ride for the seasoned kite surfer.
But first, coffee
The alarm went off at 3:00 am in the middle of the night. Still freezing cold and pitch dark outside. First turn on the coffee pot “was necessary” and wake up quietly. The day before I had stopped by the store for pancake mix, because according to my mother that is THE marathon breakfast. First a cup of coffee and then I started baking pancakes to create a good base for the journey that awaited me. With the entire pack of pancakes in my belly, I gathered all my things together. For the trip I took a Clickbar, 7m, 9m and 12m Duotone Dice to have a kite size for all wind speeds. The weather forecast indicated that the wind would increase during the day and I would therefore have to change kites. Then I loaded up my kiteboard, harness, wetsuit and impact vest. To cover myself against any damage I brought an extra bar, extra spreader bar and extra kiteboard. In addition to all the kite gear, I also brought some food such as energy bars and Dextro that will get me through the day. Once the car was loaded, I drove to Hoek van Holland.Changing in the dark
After a 45-minute drive I finally arrived at the parking lot in Hoek van Holland at 5.30 am. The time we had to be there was actually only 6:00 am, but I certainly wasn't the first one to arrive. There were already about 20 cars with participants in thick winter coats with hats and scarves as if it was already the middle of winter. To participate in Hoek tot Helder you are obliged to ride with a buddy. My buddy hadn't arrived yet so I waited in the car with the heater on to keep myself nice and warm. At 5.45 am my buddy arrived and we went together towards the registration that took place at Beachclub Royal. To go through Hoek tot Helder, an app has been developed with which you can get digital stamps. There are 5 stops along the entire tour, including start and finish. At each stop, the app must be scanned by means of a QR code, so that the organization can keep track of your progress. People at home can also follow you throughout the journey via the Hoek tot Helder app. At Beachclub Royal the app was released and the first digital stamp was given, 4 more to go! After another cup of coffee we went back to the car to pack our things and change clothes.
Ready set, GO
At 07:00 my buddy and I walked onto the beach from Hoek tot Helder. Hundreds of kites from other participants were already waiting on the beach. I had never seen so many kites together on a beach! The entire beach was cordoned off with many flags from Hoek tot Helder and all sponsors. Because it was still dark around this time, the organization had put 4x4 cars in front of the launch zone with the headlights on to still be able to see something. The wind was fine so I went for the 9m. Once the kites were pumped up and launched, it was finally time to go to Den Helder!
Stop 1 Scheveningen
Flying over the waves in the dark and jumping without having to ride upwind, I thought to myself: “this is going to be easy!” We covered meter after meter and gradually the sun rose. Wonderfully bouncing over the North Sea with a beautiful orange colored sky. After a few kilometers the wind weakened… with hard steering and looping I was fortunately still able to keep riding, but we weren’t going fast anymore. A few kilometers before the pier of Scheveningen we had to go into the depths, because here the fishing harbor protrudes far and you don't want to have dangerous situations with the ships sailing in and out. The combination of the light wind and the busy boat traffic could get exciting… Fortunately, my buddy and I sailed past the harbor without any problems. In the distance we saw the pier of Scheveningen, what a beautiful view! Also at the pier we had to ride around it with a wide arc. We chose to ride deep from the harbor to far beyond the pier and to play it safe. Big waves and choppy conditions didn't make it a nice ride for the knees. Once past the pier it was important that you stayed deep, because if you immediately start riding along the coast again, the pier will block the wind, your kite will fall into the water and cannot be relaunched. About a few kilometers further from the pier we saw the first stop at Down Under Beach in Scheveningen at 08.30. The first stop was not to be missed because here too were hundreds of kites and large flags from Hoek to Helder. At Down Under Beach in Scheveningen you had the opportunity to have a drink and eat. There were warm croissants, coffee, tea and water along with lots of fun and lots of smiling faces. After I scored my 2nd digital stamp on the app, I went for some food, drinks and swapped my 9m for a 12m due to the small amount of wind.
Stop 2 Ijmuiden
At 09.30 we left Scheveningen. Once back on the water, I quickly noticed that the 12m was a good choice. Downwinding with more power costs much less energy than with little kite power. We carried as much as possible along the side in the shallow parts, because there were nice flat parts between the waves here, the knees were not too much strained. The wind became more and more on-shore on this part, which made it super easy to ride with the wind. Park your kite in front of you and you could fly over the water without any effort, amazing! Flying along the beautiful Dutch coast we passed beautiful places, endless dunes, beautiful beach bars and many spectators. As we progressed towards Ijmuiden, the wind picked up more and more and it became so much more fun and enjoyable. Flying for miles downwind.At the KSN near Noordwijk a 4x4 car drove past us and asked if we wanted stroopwafels and a bottle of water, top service! Of course we couldn't say no to this and we took a short break. Throughout the day, a number of 4x4 cars of volunteers drove on the beach between the front group of kite surfers and the rear group of kite surfers. The 4x4 cars could pick up any dropouts or help in the event of material breakdown so that the participants can continue. The 4x4 cars were therefore also there for the stroopwafels and bottles of water! Once after the small break we continued our way towards the next stop. With the increasing wind it became easier and easier to make meters, it felt like a gigantic playground! Nice flat parts between the waves and perfect waves that you could use as a ramp, ideal conditions! We arrived at Ijmuiden around 11.30 am and the wind was perfect! The wind was around 20/25 knots and I was able to jump pretty high with the 12m. For Beach Inn I did some extra laps, doing a high jump and doing tricks for all the spectators felt great! Once at Beach Inn I had to get a digital stamp again and a delicious hot lunch with vitamin water was provided. Also at Beach Inn there were good vibes and lots of fun.
Taxi Ijmuiden – Wijk aan Zee
Between Ijmuiden and Wijk aan Zee there is a huge harbor that is impossible to kitesurf around. There is a lot of boat traffic in front of the harbor that is too dangerous to pass while kitesurfing. In order to be able to bridge this part, buses have been deployed to take the participants from Ijmuiden to Wijk aan Zee. At Ijmuiden my buddy and I had packed our kite gear because we had to drop off our kite gear in the bus. I immediately used the bus ride to switch back to a 9m, because the wind was increasing. My buddy and I noticed at this point that you were cooling off a lot during the stops, so we decided to quickly head for the bus. Once at the bus we were able to put our kite gear in the luggage hold and sit down. We left Ijmuiden around 12.40 PM and arrived at Wijk aan Zee around 1 PM. It was a pleasant ride and ideal to check with other participants. I saw that there were already some participants with some bandage and heard some puffing here and there. A large part was also discussing which size to use, because the was increasing a lot. Once at Wijk aan Zee, we got our stuff from the luggage compartment and walked back to the beach.Stop 3 Hookipa Beach Camperduin
Around 12.30 we arrived in Wijk aan Zee. Once on the beach at Wijk aan Zee we had to inflate the kites again, oh a pump… after about half an hour we could finally borrow a pump from someone and we could set up our kites. Once on the water, the wind was already blowing pretty strong and it was even windy enough to do some high kiteloops and fly downwind through the air. Meters high jumps and with great speed we flew at high speed towards Camperduin. As we got closer to Camperduin, the waves got bigger and bigger and the wind increased. The flat pieces disappeared and gave way to chop. Now it got a lot more challenging. At high speed, continuously trying to keep board control on the rolling waves and chop takes a lot of power.Along the way we came across a number of bollards for which we had to swerve and just before we arrived at Camperduin there were meters high waves. I was amazed at how big the waves were, I could rip the waves with my twintip and I used them as a kicker to jump even higher. That last part to Camperduin was so sick! For my buddy it was a little more difficult. This was his first time riding such big waves and he was taken underwater several times in a wave... Finally we arrived safely at the Second-last stop, Hookipa Beach in Camperduin. At Hookipa Beach we were able to have a drink and score a muffin to get ourselves ready for the last part. I noticed that many participants had a hard time. The big waves were at the expense of the knees and controlled riding with such strong and gusty winds takes a lot of energy. Participants had blistered palms, taped knees, and bloodied feet. The wind had now picked up to about 30 knots. My buddy went to a 7m kite and I stayed on the 9m.
Equipment failure during the last 30 km
After we had a cup of coffee, some water and a muffin, we got back on the water. After the first 10 minutes it started to rain and the wind increased with gusts towards 35/40 knots. I saw a beautiful wave and jumped meters high! The landing was unfortunately a bit less and my kiteboard was behind me. Because suddenly the wind was blowing so strong that I couldn't walk back to my kiteboard and couldn't even stand still. Luckily the wind decreased a bit and I was able to reach my board while body dragging. We continued our journey at a leisurely pace until my buddy fell over hard and his strap came off... We sat down on the beach and waited for a 4x4 car, hoping they had a screwdriver. The strap could be mounted again when the pad was unscrewed from the kiteboard. Luckily a 4x4 car arrived after about 5 minutes and he had a screwdriver!The route from Camperduin to Den Helder was intense. The route was about 30 km, but every 200 meters there was a breakwater in the water. These breakwaters forced us to ride deep between meters high waves, because a breakwater is full of sharp shells and your kite can tear completely into two pieces with 1 wrong movement. The waves between Camperduin and Den Helder were huge. I saw many participants being tackled by the waves and struggling. Everyone had already ridden more than 100 km and then such a hard part. Many participants were stranded on this part of the downwinder. My buddy and I carefully made meters between the gigantic waves to save as much strength as possible until my buddy sailed to the side out of nowhere... I sailed towards him and saw what was going on, his strap... The screw had come loose from his strap and was now on the bottom of the North Sea. Fortunately, a car from the KNRM soon arrived. Because the finish was still 20km away, we decided that my buddy would go with the KNRM to the finish, because his strap could no longer be repaired and so I had to continue the journey on my own. Because we had lost quite a bit of time, I decided to ride as fast as possible to the finish. Along the way I was able to enjoy the meters high waves and strong wind. While I was ripping big waves with a fully powered kite, the miles flew by. Due to the persistent rain, visibility was very limited and I couldn't see that far, but luckily the hundreds of brightly colored kites colored the finish. I made it! Jumping with joy I could finally get the last digital stamp and pick up my medal.
Time for a well-deserved beer!
A bit further from the finish was Storm aan zee where you could have a snack and a drink to celebrate the victory. After a few beers and a nice bite to eat, the check was finally announced. Together with all the other participants, we raised an amount of € 602,055 for the heart foundation!Tips en tricks
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