Blankenberge Impressive images from Blankenberge Saturday afternoon: a kite surfer jumped right in at full sea over the Pier – at that point nine metres high – and filmed his penalty stunt. Thomas De Wispelaere (29) from Jabbeke dreamed for 10 years of the jump, and make his ambition come true. “The Pier is and remains something special for Belgian kitesurfers,” says Thomas.
Thomas De Wispelaere was with the jump on the Blankenberge Pier is not to his advantage. Experience the twenties from Jabbeke than enough. “I kite for more than 15 years all over the world,” says Thomas. “This jump in Blankenberge was already from the beginning on my bucketlist. I have worked hard to trained. In hindsight, it is ‘crazy’ how you only with the elements of nature, own power and a board can do something. I have enjoyed it.” To make the jump to a good end, it was timing the code word. “The wind was blowing hard, but I have years of experience. My highest jump is currently in the 19.9 metres,” says Wispelaere. For comparison: the Pier is at the point where the kitesurfer jumped around to “just” nine feet tall. Thomas pulled out a height of 16.5 metres and flew 37 meters far.
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The kite-surfer is a member of the Icarus Surfclub in Zeebrugge and stressed that he not take unnecessary risks took by about the Blankenberge icon to jump. “It could as well have the picket fence in Nieuwpoort or Oostende, but the Pier is haalbaarder and safer, because you are not in a harbor channel must sail. If you do, there would be problems can arise. But now that was not the case”, says De Wispelaere. “At the same time remains in the Pier simply something special for a Belgian kite surfer. To the safety extra to ensure there was a jet ski present, which in case of need could quickly intervene. If the risk is too great, I had the jump not done. By my experience I knew that I would surely succeed. And so it came to pass.” However, the 29-year-old over the past fifteen years is already enough in the world. Twice Morocco, six in Egypt, five weeks of South Africa, France, Spain, the Netherlands…, Thomas traveled all around the world to kitesurf.
