Gabriele Steindl: Professional Kitesurfer & Freelance Writer - Action, Lifestyle & Travels

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Sweet, my favorite wave shot published in Kiteboarding.de !

13

Sep 08

Sweet, my favorite wave shot published in Kiteboarding.de !

I’m stoked, perhaps my favorite of all favorite wave shots can be found on the opening page of the current issue of Kiteboarding.de magazine, nice 🙂  !

I remember this session oh so well and certainly always will as it was pretty much the ‘final’ and actually ‘biggest’ session of all in 5 absolutely perfect months in Western Australia last winter.  It was a late April day and Margaret River had already been deserted by most visiting wind- and kitesurfers. A grey day, with a front passing by, wind gusting up 35 knots +, rain, grey, cold, pretty scary in fact.  I was the only one out with another local windsurfer.  The wind was suuuuuuper dodgy and highly unreliable due to the clouds and storm passing by…

Nevertheless I  h a d  to go out.  Back then I was dreading the return to Europe, I simply had sooooo much fun in W.A., so many good friends, so many insane spots, swell, joy, darmn, life was simply perfect 🙂   Clear that I had to make the most of my last days and some dodgy gusts could not stop me.  I was on my Rebel baby 7m2 with short lines and still way overpowered at times then again in between: NADA.

I enjoyed the session a lot and had some sick waves, however, decided that it was perhaps better to leave the water when I spotted a massive fin when I was way out gathering hight that I had lost ripping this crazy autumn swell and just about to turn back in.

Funnily enough also the windsurfer, a hardcore local with dreads to the bum, also he came in. When I asked him why he stopped his session he said:  “well, mh, I saw the biggest fin that I’ve ever had spotted out there…”

Thanx 2 my mate Karl Leavy, a photographer of a big Australian Newspaper, who watched me from the carpark above and who was gunned with his big lense, I have this super cool shot as a lifelong memory to perhaps the best trip in my life so far.

Can’t wait 4 more … life is a crazy advenure, live it !!!