Dakhla Downwind 2017

December 23, 2021
, 6:49 pm
, Blog

I had just arrived home(Fuerteventura),wow, I had arrived two weeks ago and hadn’t stopped for a second. Interviews for different radios and televisions, report for
BBC Travel,
etc. And all this was welcome home after 7 months traveling. Finally, I thought, the time had come to rest and relax. That’s when my phone rang, a message from Soufiane Hamaini.
Ugh, every time I get a message from this man, some crazy plan is coming and… Indeed, this time I was not wrong either: “Hey Julia, we are going to do a downwind of 500 km in Dakhla Spirit, do you sign up?” My first reaction was a resounding no. I had just arrived home, I could finally relax and now I was going to embark on another adventure? Well, I don’t know very well how, in the end I ended up with a plane ticket in my inbox and with less than 10 days to convince my compi
Mariam Hernandez
to come with me (I convinced her heh, heh).

PROBLEMS AT THE AIRPORT (not to vary)

Well, summing up:the company (I’ll refrain from naming which one) wanted to charge us € 150, basically, because yes. After arguing with half a company, I managed not to have to pay but, Mariam did not run away. Quite, we got on the plane and a couple of hours later we landed in Dakhla (or had we landed on the moon?). Surprise, when we went to the baggage claim we could see that our boardbags had not arrived.

NOW WHAT?

Ocean Vagabond
threw me a cable lending me some material but I still decided not to do the early days of downwind as I didn’t have my precious travel companion, my knee brace. CTI. I’ve been using it for quite some time since a few months ago I partially tore my anterior cruciate ligament and it has been very good for me to use the knee brace, so I didn’t want to risk something happening. Of course, I was in the opening ceremony that was a real spectacle with authorities from all over the country coming to receive us.

5 DAYS LATER

It took the blessed company 5 days to send our boardbards to Dakhla, that is, 5 days putting on the same clothes, 5 days without training.
As soon as we arrived, we went to join the rest of the downwind participants. What I didn’t know about that day is that… I was about to join the hardest stage of the entire downwind and I was going to experience one of the hardest days of my life. We went out and, about two hours later, what would change the course of the day happened:
the leader of the group breaks a part of the bar and cannot continue. It was super confusing for everyone but, it was time to continue. We were not sure how we were going to do and, on the way to the next stop we had some incidents. That’s when I decided to take some command, push Soufiane to take the tents and organize the chaos. From here Soufiane was going to be the guide of the expedition and Abde and I would be in the back making sure that no one is left behind and that everyone is rescued or helped. That day we spent more than 7 hours in a row sailing, we traveled 100km in the open sea with huge waves, current … It was one of the most exhausting things I’ve ever done in my life.
In addition, I also gave myself the role of motivator of the group behind, that is, I was in charge of motivating all those who, due to extreme fatigue, were left behind. So, not only did I have to try to drag my own energyless body through the water, but I had to show myself strong to others, to push them to follow, to motivate them… When we arrived I couldn’t believe it.
She was totally empty of energy, bursting but with a big smile on her face.

F.A.Q (Frequently asked questions)

What should I bring to my next downwind?
Don’t be like Julia, that is, don’t be an idiot and don’t forget to bring the following things:

– Camelbak.
– Water in your camelbak.
– Energy Bars or anything that gives you energy and that does not weigh.
– Chocolate.
– A long neoprene, or 2.
– Sunglasses
– Cap
– Very resistant sun cream, especially for the face.
– A small first aid kit withparadrop, bandages, fortasec, something to disinfect and blastostimulin.

Would you recommend me to do the downwind next year?
I think it’s one of those things you should put on your “to-do before you die list.” The landscapes you get to see, the people you get to know and the way you get to know them and the things you learn on this wonderful trip, are priceless. Of course, it is necessary that you have a very good control of your kite and that you are able to endure many hours sailing. See you next year 😉
Something else: in case it was not clear, I did not expect at all that this adventure was going to be so great. I loved being able to be part of the downwind, I have learned a lot of the experience, I met people in a very different way than I am used to, I had to improvise a lot and test myself in different situations and with different roles which I appreciate a lot.

Many thanks to the sponsors and organizers who made this adventure possible:

AMKS (Association Marocaine de Kitesurf), DAKHLA BOOKING

, Dakhla Spirit

, VW Maroc, Azura la Tomate

, Sidi Ali (Mineral Water), RRD International

And many thanks to Ladislas Toth and Soufiane Hamaini of Dakhla Spirit for inviting me, I feel super grateful. And, thank you very much to all the #DDKHeroes, that is, to all the participants for having shared this adventure with me, I could not have imagined better adventure compis in the desert.