WESTWARD HO! PERFECT FOR PARAKITING Westward Ho! was chosen to hold the first race of the 2003 season, but it was cancelled. So some of the pilots who had already booked accommodation, came anyway for a spot of social Buggying. |
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If you've been down the beach lately you may have noticed people
going up and down on three wheeled contraptions being pulled along
by some very big kites. Well, this is kitebuggying or to use the more
technical name, "Parakarting". |
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| Back in early September of last year with
the help of the Residents Association, a group kiting enthusiasts known
as "The X-zone" held their Autumn Games at Westward Ho! with
great success. On the back of the events success, Westward Ho! had been
chosen to hold the first race meeting of the 2003 season by the Para
kart Association (PKA) on the 1st weekend of February. The PKA is the
governing body that controls the racing aspects of the sport in the
UK. Known as "The Icicles Cup" this event was traditionally
held on New Years Day but was changed some years back to a later date
in January so as to attract more than just the hard core of racers.
As you can imagine, travelling great distances the morning after New
Years Eve to race around a freezing cold beach is not everyone's idea
of fun. In the past, it had always been held at Pembrey in West Wales where it attracts quite a large fleet of racers from all around the country and on occasions some of the European racers from Germany, France and Italy. Over the weekend there are usually two distinct types of racing held. The normal three lap type and the big race from which the event gets its name, a non-stop four hour enduro. A real test of fortitude and stamina, sometimes in some very inhospitable weather. The PKA, it seems, decided not to get the necessary permission to run the event and quite rightly, TDC (Torridge District Council) stepped in and made it quite clear that under no circumstances should there be racing on Westward Ho! Beach. At the eleventh hour representatives from the X-Zone were asked to get involved in an attempt to rescue the event. Hoping that the previous contacts with the Westward Ho! Residents Association and TDC would be enough to satisfy the Council that the event would be run in accordance to the required health and safety standards and with total regard for the general public's safety. Unfortunately, there was just not enough time to put a proposal together and get it before the leisure committee at Riverbank House. So the race had to be cancelled at the last minute. Some of the pilots that had taken time off work and had pre-booked their accommodation came anyway, just for a spot of social buggying. Saturday saw the multi-coloured spectacle of around twenty five or so on the beach, as well as a few kitesurfers out in the waves. On the Sunday, the wind picked up even more and the pilots were forced to use the smallest of their available kites. The consensus of opinion was that if the event had gone ahead it would have been almost perfect weather for racing and would have given quite a thrilling spectacle. Those that were new to the area were very pleased with the welcome that they had received from the locals and planned to return again. Carlos from Cardiff said" the people here are friendlier than back in Wales. We definitely will be coming back to Westward Ho!" The X-Zone itself does have plans to revisit Westward Ho! In the near future with another festival of power kiting activities. For more information you can visit their website (www.x-zone.co.uk) where there are links to the various groups involved in these activities, including the PKA.
Westward Ho! Reporter Issue No.2 March 2003 |
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