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Women of The Crossing
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Editor's Note: On May 27th, seven female professional kiteboarders set out to kite 70 miles from the Isle of Scilly to Watergate Bay on mainland in honor of their fallen comrade, pro kiter Silke Gorldt, who was killed in a kiteboarding accident. In the end, only two, Cindy Mosey and Claire Bunton, managed to complete the brutal crossing…Here is the story told as told by Ian Edmundson.
The Crossing :
The core essence of The Crossing centers on remembering and celebrating the life of our friend Silke Gorldt, who died in 2002. With her accident came a revelation within the kiteboarding industry for safety, which led to the standardization of quick releases on all production bars sold.
For Silke, we miss you.
***
A long, long, long time ago, well about one and a half years ago, a few mates and I (Jezza, and Mite Hutch) decided to go for a day trip to the Isles of Scilly, hoping to score some wind. Flying over the North Cornish coast gives you the most amazing views; you become detached, distances seem very close indeed. The north to the south coast, Cape Cornwall to St Ives,St Ives to Newquay, the Isles of Scilly to the main land.
The Scillies have always been a mystery to me, a mini world, with a mini climate, it’s a place with its own rules. Twenty-four miles off Lands End in the Atlantic Ocean, three currents rushing together; a calm oasis of flat water - that trip planted a seed.
I’ve always wanted to be able to do something in Silkes’ memory and help raise money for her trust. I knew the other girls wanted to do so as well…..so…..the rules of the event needed to be: NON COMPETITIVE and about friends.
With the mainstream media seemingly only picking up on the dangers of kiteboarding, we wanted to show why we all rush to the beach as soon as a tree starts to rustle, all the reasons Silke loved it. So it had to be something Silke would have been proud to do herself. Oh and Silke wouldn’t have wanted it to be too easy! The Crossing was now planted in our imaginations, and we just had to make it really happen.
Transforming the Dream into Reality
The beauty of life is in the challenges it presents, and how we meet them. Many of the most difficult things in life are unexpected, needing quick thinking and cat like reflexes to respond to. The Crossing was different. In this case, the biggest challenge of our professional kiteboarding careers (kiting 70 miles or 130km in cold English seas) was calculated and planned down to the last detail.
Speculation before the event on the time it would take the girls ranged from four to eight hours (CJ won the bet).
Talking to Liz at the Extreme Academy into helping me was surprisingly easy. We figured seven months would be plenty of time. The first press release went out and instantly, like a knight in shinning armour coming out the misty Cornwall Sea came our hero, Captain Simon Andrews, leader of the safety boat crew. He waved a magic wand and five boats sailed out of the mist behind him. Most importantly, he brought expertise and experience.
The Guinness book of records said that would put in a separate record for a women’s distance record.
