Lewis Crathern’s September update

September’s update sees Lewis in Brazil for the PKRA, and he even managed to get some kiting in himself, lucky sw…..

“September has been all about Brazil. It has been on my map of the world as somewhere I always wanted to go and I made it out there! I couldn’t believe how productive the trip was. I had an incredible time and can’t wait to share it with you all….”

PKRA World Tour Brazil

The PKRA World Tour stopped off in Barra Grande which is about 6 hours north of Fortaleza. My main job here was to provide the Live Stream coverage for the online viewers around the world. Here is the view I have from the judges tower which is simply amazing. A certain style of commentating I’m passionate about is the way you can anticipate what each rider is going to do before they do it. Body Language, Kite position, Speed – all these things help me prepare for the next tricks. It’s a real challenge! This was the first event I also provided commentary for the Beach as well. If you look carefully, whilst wearing the headset which is linked to the computer in the corner, I’m holding the Wireless Mic for the Beach PA. This can be quite tricky as your speaking to 2 different audiences but during the heats the commentary works great for both.

Another role I have is to record the voice overs for the daily videos. Take a look here Youtube at the last video. I really enjoy this part of the day which is usually in the evening. I meet up with the guys from 7th Frame and we go over the days action where they have picked out the most exciting parts. From there its all about delivering a good story with some statistics and energetic commentary. What I really love about these voice over sessions is how the guys from 7th Frame like to include English Catch Phrases. I get to explore my language more then I ever thought I would!

This was also the first time on the World Tour that I performed the Official Prize Giving. I’m no stranger to these sorts of ceremonies, but it was a special moment for me to deliver this on a World platform. I love the tension, and the crowd willing you to call out the results so they know who won. At each Prize giving I like to do my best to learn some local language. Welcoming everybody to the cermony and thanking the local people for their hospitality is an important thing to do.  Brazilian riders podiumed in both the men’s and women’s division so it was great for them to speak to the crowd in the local language about how they felt.

As you can imagine I brought my gear so that I could ride when I could. Barra Grande has an incredible lagoon just downwind from the event site. It’s a real adventure riding 20 minutes with the wind along the coast and then crossing over the sand to discover perfect flat water. Take a look at the spot here in Google Earth it really is an amazing place.  So often kitesurfing takes place on the ocean, but here in river mouths and lagoons there are mangroves to jump over and endless little inlets that you can navigate through. You wouldn’t want to crash your kite in here though! Take a look at all the amazing photos I took in my gallery HERE