Clinton Bolton: The KPWT Morocco

Posted Monday August 13th

1st August: Lost luggage yet again

So now from Turkey, we head over to Morocco for the 3rd stop of the KPWT. We only had 2 days to get there, so right now I'm in Paris. I arrived this evening and yet again Iberia lost my bags. I guess the airlines see my name and say, "Oh, it's just Clinton ... he doesn't mind not getting his bags."

I leave tomorrow at 1:30 pm so I hope they arrive before my departure. Right now I'm just chilling at the hotel room, with nothing much to do except watch French tv and try to learn some French from it.

2nd August: Registration Day

This morning before going to the check-in desk, I went to the lost-and-found. Finally, my bags arrived. I raced to the check-in desk and was all set to head to Morocco, and actually didn't get charged for my bags, so that was a bonus on the trip. I met up with some friends at the gate that were on the same flight, heading for the competition, so wasn't a lonely flight. After traveling by yourself for so long, it's always great to have some company.

We arrived with our bags, which was a relief, and headed to the hotel, which is right next to the competition site. My room is a typical Moroccan-style room, with Moroccan tiling on the floor and ceiling, and its own shisha (or hookah) pipe, a water pipe they've been using for centuries to smoke away the day's stress while relaxing with friends. Kristin, on her way from London, wasn't due to arrive until late that night, so I left the pipe alone and went for registration in town and checked out the sites.

Later that night, it was a hunt for Kristin. She took a taxi from Marrakech (a 3 hour ride), but the driver couldn't find the hotel and we couldn't speak a word of French and he couldn't speak English, but finally she arrived safely with tons of stuff ... you'd think she was moving house. The only thing she forgot to bring was the kitchen sink hahahahahahah. Now we heading for bed as it's an early start tomorrow.

3rd August: No Wind Day One (freeing the wildlife)

We had a great breakfast, but there was no wind, so it was a lay day with most of us going into town and doing some site seeing.

We saw some really interesting stuff: all the local shop owners shout at you to come into their shop to see the things they have on sale. The last time I was in Morocco, I bought some chameleons, so I asked around if they had chameleons for sale and sure enough they did. After bargaining with them I bought two and took them back to the hotel to set them free ... my good deed for the day.

It was a long day in town – a good 6 hours of walking around, doing site seeing and with the women doing their usually shopping spree. The forecast for tomorrow looks the same but all we can do is hope and see if it will come in.

4th August: No Wind Day Two

I woke to the rustling sound of trees, and looking outside, it seemed like the wind had arrived. But once on the beach, it was just a slight sea breeze ... no chance of it picking up to start the competition, so again it was more site seeing in town and making sure we didn't miss any shops that we didn't see yesterday.

The forecast is looking a little bit better so the skippers meeting is at 9 am ... another early start.

5th August: Freestyle Event - the Singles

Finally, the wind came. It was still light but the locals said it picks up as the day goes on. As everyone was getting ready, the wind did get stronger. It was blowing side-off, making it gusty, as the wind was coming straight over the town. I was in the last heat so I had a while to wait. Kristin went out for her heat lit on a 7 and advanced to the semis, but had to wait until they did the Mens 1st and 2nd round.

My heat was kind of my worst riding ever. I wasn't landing much, and every time I got a gust and went for a move, I'd land on my face. Luckily, though, I advanced and went through to the 2nd round. After an hour wait it was my heat again, and by then the wind had picked up, so I went out on my 7 Waroo lit at times. I started off strong with a few kiteloops, but it went downhill from there, and I wasn't able to advance and have to wait for the double elimination.

Kristin had her heat after mine and advanced from the semis to the finals going against Helene. The wind was blowing round 35 knots with both of them on 7m kites, not wanting to go smaller due to the gusty conditions. It was a tight heat, with both of them trying to match each other. Kristin, used to the conditions from doing the PKRA in Fuerteventura so many times, was more consistent and won the singles. When the sun was setting, they called the competition off ... when you'd look out to sea, you'd be looking directly at the sun, and the judges couldn't see what tricks the riders were doing due to the blindness of the sun. So they called it off and decided to start early tomorrow to finish the singles and hopefully start the doubles. So skippers meeting at 8 am.

6th August: Freestyle and Hangtime

The plan for the day was to finish off the single and do the doubles, and hopefully do the Hangtime event ... it was going to be a long day. After the singles we started the doubles. I was in the second round and won my heat with very little tricks landed. I hoped it would be a better heat in round number 3, but unfortunately I lost and that was the end of the freestyle for me.

So now onto the finals: Kristin, who was stoked to finally get on the water after a whole day of waiting, was against Helene again. It was a close call but Helene won, meaning there'd have to be another heat. Kristin had won the singles, and Helene won the first heat of the finals, so the second is basically a tie-breaker. Yet again it was close but Kristin was more consistent but it could have been anyones win out there with the conditions that we had to ride in.

They didn't give out the result right away so it was onto the Hang Time ... a 2 minute run, with only one person out at a time, and everyone getting one chance. After the Hang Time, they announced that Kristin had won, so it was great for her. Now it's time to relax and enjoy the night life. Tomorrow we'll do the Wave Masters, so it's another early start. We'll leave here at 7:30 AM to head to Mulay.

7th August: Wave Masters

We loaded up the bus with al our gear round 7 AM and were on our way to the wave spot called Mulay, which is an hour drive from Essaouira. When we got there, the wind was light and the waves were small. After the briefing, the women were to do their heats first, allowing the wind to pickup for the men's heats. Kristin went out killing it in the waves, and with all the training she's been getting while spending her winter in Western Australia, she made it to the finals with Kirsty and 2 other women.

The waves were picking up making it more suitable to use the power of the wave then the kite. Once the women's final was over the men's heats were underway ... 10-minute heats with a 2-minute transition. I was in the second heat and didn't have to wait long, which I was happy about. Went out on my 9m Waroo Pro and borrowed a board from my friend Greg who's also from South Africa. It was a sick board ... a quad fin, just perfect to do some nice snaps off the lip and hack the wave. I advanced into the 3rd round, and then advanced into the quarterfinals against Carlos from Spain and Richard from France.

By then the waves had picked up a lot, which made the wave riding a lot more exciting, and the wind had picked up and was blowing 30 knots. We were lit on 7's with some of the riders even going out on 5's. The heat started with a set coming in with all 3 of us on a wave. I was confident that I made it to the semis but while waiting on the beach for the results it wasn't to be and it ended there for me, finishing 9th place. So I packed up and watched the rest of the heats. It was a long 12 hours on the beach but great fun. For the women's final result, Kirsty came in 1st and Kristin came in 2nd ... so it was a good finish for her.

Tomorrow if the wind stays we will do a speed race.

8th August: Speed Crossing

Today is the final day. For the speed crossing, buoys were set out marking the course. The men had to do 2 laps, and women had to do 1 lap. The men went out first and then 5 minutes later the women went out and Kristin won the women's with Helene coming in 2nd. After the speed crossing they announced the hang time results: Kristin won for the women, and I came in 12th. Later tonight we went into town for the prize-giving and then tomorrow it's out of Morocco and off to Dunkerque for the next stop next week.

- Clinton

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