Shaked mastering waves & wind
February 10, 2015 - single portrait
It was a cloudy day here in Tel Aviv. With waves and wind that I could see from the roof top of the hotel I stayed in. I took my camera and walked to the beach nearest to the hotel. A group of kite surfers had taken over the beach which usually belongs to the sun bathers. There was a lot of movement on the beach. Kite surfers of all ages went into the wave and others came out looking pretty wet and exhausted by the elements. I was looking for a good position near the water to take some pictures and watch the action. And for sure action was what I saw: people on their boards being tracked by a sail jumping up with the waves and coming down again. I couldn’t help it but to think: Wow! Cool! Shaked, 22 years old from Modi’in which is about halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, was about to enter the water but I started talking to him.
Me: How did you start kite surfing? What made you try it?
Shaked: Lately I finished my military service as a commander in the paratroopers in the IDF [israeli defense force, IT]. The military service lasts three intensive years (18-21). In the middle of the first year, I met Yam, who was a young paratrooper too. He told me he is kite surfing on a regular basis. At the beginning I didn’t know what Kite surfing was, but as the time passed, I learned more and more until he took me to the sea to learn it.
Me: How can I learn kite surfing?
Shaked: Kite surfing lessons take 4 meetings: during the first lesson you learn only theory and get exposed to the gear. During the 2nd and 3rd lessons you learn how to control the kite on the shore. And finally during the 4th you get into the water.
Me: What’s the kick? What do you feel while kite surfing?
Shaked: At the beginning I fell a lot but after a few weeks of trying you catch the trick and can “fly” away freely! Today, after nearly a year in this sport, I barely fall and I’m learning to jump high in the sky while surfing tide to the kite. Surfing is a kind of different sport then others: it is free, fun, with no limits of speed and directions.you feel like there is nothing you can’t do. It’s hard to explain. We don’t have wind every day here in Israel, but when we do, all the surfers rush into the water!
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Nice open face of the life loving guy! And I like that you make a story as an interview, Ijon!
Lena, thanks 🙂 I was really lucky to meet a guy like Shaked … and he was so nice o answer my questions …
Great story and his expression Ijon !
Thanks, Victor 🙂 I was just lucky … but luck is something we can control with attitude to a certain extend.