Well this last fornight has been mad starting in Manchester visiting Tiree, then to Bude for the AKK evnt then back to Manchester then down to Brighton for the British kitesurfing Championships then back to Bude for this, the last event in this mad fortnight, the Student Windsurfing Association's AK7

Would we get there? Would it be as big as they said,  would we cope?  all these questions and more are answered here!

• 
•  

Well  arriving at around 11.30 after a nightmare journey from Brighton (we set of around 4pm) things started to pick up! We were offered our own caravan ..... thank you must go to Lucy Perkins for this it was much apprciated and much needed after the previous fortnight's road trip. with 2000 miles on the clock we were ...... K tired!!!

So sorting stuff out for the night we could already see the hoards of students (over 500 we believe) arriving and heading straight for refreshments .......hmmmmm...it was going to be another long weekend! With breakfast early on Sat morning (bacon butty or veggie burger) it was then off to Roadford Lake for the windsurfing.

With students all over the place the organisors did well to keep everyone moving and either in clinic or on the water. Using a wrist band system they herded people on and off the water with a fluency a kin to a police operation at a football match ;-)

With the wind coming through in gusts several riders were trying one or two advanced moves whilst the beginners ended up downwind, in the reeds or just swimming around their kit.

As the first day on the water drew to a close it was time to pack up and head back to Bude for the evenings entertainment. 

So an 8 o'clock start turned into 9 then 10 as the students kindly gave me plenty of time to setup the slideshow for the evening again. For the second weekend in a row the ExPix slideshow started to roll as costume clad students started to party. Two rather cheeky party goers dressed as vanity even caught our main photographer Ian unawares as a hand from behind (behave .....) grabbed his face. below Colin Dixon points out the damage !

With live music from The Measure ...lead singer Fran ...Ollie ..Billy & Ben rocking the dance floor with zombies, lions and green eyed monsters.

With regular updates to the images on the slideshow the party carried on until the clocks went back with a few groups swapping costumes, others started to flounder whilst the remainder were still going strong they moved back to the caravans.

The extra hour in bed proved to be  lifesaver for many as recovery time was much needed before the trek back to the lake.

A massive girls clinic was held in the 'hanger' whilst the rest of the students made their way to the lake bank for the start of the competition. Now we have attended a fair few comps in the last 6 or seven years but this just about took the biscuit! A slightly lighter schedule and even lighter wind  made for an interesting competition  with judges still hung over from the night before a mixture of skill and entertainment became their citeria for judging....and entertaining it certain was. With moves better suited to the dance floor, dismounts better than an olympic gymnast and some in fancy dress  the crowds cheered and laughed as the competitors strutted their stuff on the water. 

The presentation was held shortly after just after a quick session of mud surfing claimed a few unwilling victims.

So as the event drew to a close we packed up the ExPix van and headed off into the Cornish Country side on a mission to find our way back to a base we hadnt seen much of for 2 weeks.

Travelling the length and breadth of the country ranging from Tiree, Brighton and Bude we have done  2488 miles 4 events and several parties, to bring you news on the extreme front.

If you want to see all the images from SWA AK7 Oct 2008 then you will need to click here to register

or  if you're already registered click here and enter your passwords