In the beginning of August we went to the one and only kite camp in Estonia “Lohelaager 2021”. It exceeded all our expectations – a weekend full of kiting and fun!
This years kite camp wasn’t an ordinary kite camp, but rather a tiny festival. It was held in Saaremaa, Illiku islet, which is just a perfect spot to host such an event. The location itself is picture perfect and creates that special vibe needed for a successful event.
However, this year the event was bigger than ever before. Organized by three surf clubs No Work Surf Club, Surftown and Time to Surf. As Triin had been to previous year’s camp, then she was a bit sceptical, but then again the more positive was the surprise that it actually is a decent event now 🙂
Guess who missed the ferry?
Anyways, the start to our kite camp was quite hectic. The same morning we had a shoot in Laulasmaa – we were asked to model as kitesurfers for one brand (sorry, cannot disclose it yet!). As the photographer got so excited and carried away, then the shoot was actually 2h longer then supposed to. Must say that our “driver” got quite angry on us that we were not picking up the phones and were so terribly late. Fortunately we got some pizza from the shoot as lunch and bribed him with it a bit 😛
But at one point we were just rushing home, 15 minutes to pack everything (of course we hadn’t packed a single item before the shoot) and head to the ferry. Speeding a bit, being on time in the harbour and then we were just left there for who knows why. So we still missed our ferry and shouldn’t have been in such a rush at all…🤦♀️
Surf & dance till you drop
But then arriving in Illiku just a few hours before the sunset was magical. It was windy and Anne-Mai rushed to the water. Triin, unfortunately, was forced to stay on the shore, because still on medicine and not allowed to go to the water.
Surfing at Illiku on the first night was okey but not the best, it was really gusty. At one point the conditions where superb and the next, wind was gone and you literally were digging with your kite. Few minutes later the wind was back on and all okey. Therefore it was little bit tricky not to fall too far down wind as there was no good way up. Especially if you would be a beginner, then it would be quite tricky. It gets deep super fast, so if you should end up in trouble, no ground underneath. Also on the way in there are little sharp stones which can cut your feet and be very slippery – definitely would recommend wearing some thin boots.
There is also a possibility to kite on the other side of the islet, where it is shallow but there are some other obstacles on the way. Not much room to rig your kite – have to launch it on one side and walk to the other. Second possibility is to kite around the islet, took Anne-Mai some time, isn´t just around the corner 🙂 As it is also a small harbour, it has yachts docking around it and a very nice cafe just by the sea. So there are things to keep in mind and consider before going kiting.
Nevertheless, after the nice sunset surf, there was time for a movie. It was held in an enormous dome, but we did there everything except watching the movie. At one point we were chatting and laughing so much that we even got a “SHHHHH….” from the crowd. Sorry for this, guys, but we were having such a good time with our friends and the gummy bears…🍬
The evening continued in Piidivabrik with hours of dancing and enjoying the night. Honestly, can’t remember when was the last time we danced so much. When DJ Karinsmatic took over the place, then the public went wild and had such a blast.
The next morning we were asked to do some rave morning wake-up for the camp crowd. Sadly, everyone was asleep and we didn’t have to do it at all. Did a proofing short video of us two raving if somebody would have asked where were we? 🙂 Actually we felt pretty damn good to be able just enjoy our breakfast and then again a day on the water. The weather wasn’t so promising in the beginning, but we were extremely lucky – no rain during daytime and nice wind till the afternoon.
40m tow behind the boat
And then the second day fun started. First, the guys towed one of the best kiters in EE Kaimar Halliste to 40m of height and then he flew down a couple of times. Such a cool thing to see as so far we had seen similar things in Instagram only. The the guys were lifted up on first attempt on a crane and after, during the finale, behind a boat! It was so mesmerising to watch.
The “show” was followed with some practical big air and freestyle workshops. The workshops were nicely built up and useful! Who would have thought? 🙂
The day concluded again in Piidivabrik with some partying. We had a live by Sounds of September that played epic old covers from world-known songs. A lot of dancing again…
The final morning was relaxation to the max and waiting for some wind. At the end we tried some kiting on Väikse väina tamm, but unfortunately it wasn’t windy enough. Yet again we had much fun driving the car and the caravan behind it (first time for everything) and realising we were in the middle of the highway and forgot to close the car’s roof box. It flew open middle of highway, luckily it did not broke and things stayed in! Little fuss and action, no harm done… Whoopsie daisy…..but hey, we’re allowed to have our blond moments 🙂
As it wasn’t windy enough we just went for a nice lunch in Koguva and headed back to the mainland.
As a conclusion we can say that we were so glad we decided to go to the camp. It was quite not what we expected in the beginning but now already looking forward to the next year. We’re certain that it will be even better than this year…😉
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