Thursday May 17th
…and what an event it turned out to be. The beautiful beach of Blokhus presented itself in all its beauty while the sun slowly climbed over the eastern horizon. A gentle breeze caressed the soft sand and white waves broke out in the west. The first kite out of the bag and ready for flight was the super trickable Ghost by German Kitehouse. A classy start.

A little later our Danish friends turned up and with them the wind picked up. The light wind Ghost was replaced by kites better suited for the stronger winds, and soon we also have to go for vented versions.

Duallies an quadlines with different areas of mesh were colouring the skies and the blue up above.

We agreed on an early dinner because the wind was supposed to drop quotea bit later in the evening. So after a bite and a beer at the local restaurant, Season, we headed down to the beach once again for more flying.

The forecast was spot on. The wind had dropped and conditions were close to perfect. We all flew until the sun sank into the ocean way out by the western horizon. What a day!

Friday May 18th
Rise and shine, a new day awaiting! After breakfast we headed for the beach and today we surely made ourselves visible on the beach. A whole bunch of banners in bright colours lit up our HQ and our two fluorescent ATF wind shelters attracted a fair amount of attention.

Sharp dressed in orange tees and wind jackets the AERIALIS Team Flyers also stood out. Hopefully our flying would be as bright as our ‘uniforms’.

Still a bit on the windy side, but team flying accessible using our standard Nirvanas. Soon we started to work on the elements in the routine created by Captain Matson. Easy on paper, a bit more challenging in the air. However you come a long way  with a positive attitude and good spirits and after a while the first elements started to look decent.

The quad guys also gripped their handles and started to steer the quadlines kites around. Soon things looked really good with clear cut geometrical figure forming in the air.

The team flying was attracting quite a few people strolling up and down the beach. Every now and then we could hear scattered applause and cheers when the teams nailed good looking flying.

Solo flying was also possible so I took the liberty of flying several of my fave kites playing around with smooth trickflying and dubstep in my earphones. Music I find go very well with beach, sand, sun, wind and coool freestyle flying.

After many hours on the beach it was finally time to break up, pull down the banners an head for the restaurant for yet another well deserved dinner and cold drinks. Great day on the beach and even better days were ahead of us.

Saturday May 19th
Saturday and the Blokhus & Løkken Wind Festival officially opens. We are to …FLY KITES and so we do.

The weather turned out fabulous! Clear blue skies and a stable breath of northwesterly winds coming in from the ocean. We clocked it in to approx 2 m/sec, so a bit on the light side, but super smooooooooth and excellent for dual lined team flying. For some reason somewhat harder for the quads.

However we managed to put on a great show for the thousands (?) of beach visitors. The ultralight Nirvanas were perfect for the conditions and the light winds made for slow and controlled flight with plenty of time to fly the various elements.

It was like flying in a dream. Kind of connecting with the kites, real AoxomoxoA!

People on the beach also liked our flying and stopped to watch. The festival organizers dropped by and were thrilled and even the media came around for shooting film and making interviews. Cool!

An absolutely GREAT summer day on the crowded beach!

Sunday May 20th
Final day of the Blokhus & Løkken Wind Festival and yet another perfect day for flying. Like Saturday not a cloud, just a clear blue sky. The winds still on the low side but forcasted to pick up a little during the day.

Once again the beach was packed with people ready for the summer day. We rigged our HQ for the last time and put up our banners, wind shelters, tables, chairs and kitebags and we were ready for some icarex action.

…and they were right. The wind did pick up a little. Not much but averaging 3 point something made conditions perfect once again. Both the duallies and the quaddies could show off their skills in front of a decent amount of spectators throughout the day.

As a final treat we gave them “The Battle of the Kites”, team flying with both types of kites. First the duallies pulled off a team flying element and then the quaddies repeated it. Then an new element. First the dual lined kites, then the quads. The “battle” kept on and soon the differences between the two types of kites were revealed. The quads doing long hovers, flying backwards, side sliding back and fort while the duallies were doing tricks like axel to fade, pancake to fade, cascades and comètes and so on.

The “battle” concluded with a quad and a dual lined kites flying a pairs routine … or a cool looking combination of elements suited for both types of kites. Cool stuff for the spectators and a great kick for the pilots. This concept will be developed for the next meeting in 2019! Wait for it!

Yet another day coming to an end and in the evening – after having rigged down the HQ for the final time – dinner was awaiting yet again at the local restaurant, the Sason.

Back in the summer house it was packing time and soon most of the kite enthusiasts were heading back home but  few of us stayed for one more day.

Monday May 21st
We woke up i a quiet house as most of the people had already left. After breakfest we cleared the building and dropped off the keys at the house rental office. Anders and I were ready for one more relaxed day on the beach before heading home.

The weather was still good. Sunny and warm but the winds had turned into a more easterly direction. That means coming coming from the offshore and being somewhat bumpy rolling over the dunes. Flyable however, but frar from as stable as the last few days.

No worries. Good enough to toss a few kites about anyway. Anders and I were flying our Spider-quads over the ocean … and into the ocean every now and then. Flying the elements! 😉

A really lazy day with no organized flying. Just having fun on the beach, flying, having a cold drink or two, a bit of food and really enjoying life.

Soon it was time to say goodbye to the Blokhus Beach for this time, put the kites into the car and head for Frederikshavn and the Stena Line ferry terminal which is an hour or so by car away. We hit the ferry and enjoyed a good meal in the restaurant and soon we were in Gothenburg, Sweden. Farewelll to Anders and all his gear and about two hours later I could steer the kitemobile onto my own turf, hit the sack and go to sleep dreaming about the best NKM ever, the 2018 edition!

Summary
WOW!!! What a burst! We have taken part in an absolutely GREAT event together with the BEST people. A bit tired but with our souls fully charged!

THANK YOU ALL  for MAKING this happen and for being just what you are, a bunch of weird folks I just LOVE to hang with!