Winds of Change
Issue 92 / Thu 7th Apr, 2022
After 10 years as a professional athlete, Therese Taabbel is riding the winds of change. With new gear and new goals, she heads off to Sri Lanka to start a new chapter. Naturally, a trip to the tropics isn't complete without an unexpected twist! Join Therese in paradise in this IKSURFMAG exclusive!
I have never been more excited about change. Change is nerve-wracking and out of your comfort zone, but outside your comfort zone is where the magic happens. This year marks the start of a new chapter. What better way to begin than a radical change?
Partnering with CORE has been wildly exciting! Of course, the first step was to film my team introduction video, which meant going somewhere where I could also focus on learning new freestyle tricks for the upcoming competition season. That left me with limited options. The ideal destination needed to have nice scenery for the video while offering good training opportunities. Sri Lanka seemed like the perfect place.
My sights were set on Kalpitiya, a small town in the north of Sri Lanka, just three hours from Colombo. It's not easy to find consistent freestyle conditions in January and February, but I had been to this spot before, in 2019, and experienced great conditions with steady wind but a slightly too small lagoon. This year, I had heard rumours that a new, larger lagoon had appeared, a perfect shape with deep, flat water. I knew I had to go back and check it out for myself.
On a recent trip to Brazil, I had teamed up on a shoot with a talented young gun, Tom Seager. He is a strong kitesurfer, passionate photographer, and creative videographer. He is the perfect guy behind the lens for a video shoot, as his young motivation sets the tone for everything he does. So I called Tom, and we booked our tickets to Sri Lanka.
After my recent ACL injury, getting back on the water has been a slow, steady process. I knew I needed some extra support to build back my confidence and push myself to reach that next level. Zac Andrews, one of the world's best kitesurf coaches, has his base in Sri Lanka. I coached with Zac back in 2019, and with his help, I learned many new tricks. With Tom and Zac on my team, I knew this trip would be the perfect combination of shooting and training.
Sri Lanka has several different routes from Europe, and if you book in time, it is quite affordable. From Colombo airport, it's a 3-hour transfer to Kalpitiya. From December until March, the wind blows northwest almost every day in the winter season, averaging between 12 and 20 knots. The conditions were dreamy, and most days were perfect for my 11m CORE Impact.
The new lagoon is big, leaving plenty of space for freeride, winging, foiling, and freestyle. You can stay right next to the lagoon and walk from breakfast straight to the beach when the wind kicks in during the late morning, and it continues to build throughout the day. It's the perfect set-up for a kite trip!
One morning, I went out early with Zac to work on my S-mobe. Since injuring my knee on this specific trick, it has taken me some time to build back my confidence with it. Zac gave me some excellent insights, my new kites had more slack, and the conditions were perfect. With a motivated mindset in the ultimate setting for pure fun on the water, everything came together. I am now performing the S-mobe with 100% confidence.
We'd focused more on training in the first part of the trip, so I could get used to my new kites and build up my level so that we could capture some solid tricks in the video. The sky had also been grey, so it wasn't ideal shooting conditions. We had gotten a few tricks on video but were saving most of the filming for the last week of the trip when the skies would clear. Everything was running smoothly up until that last week.
We had just taken an hour and a half boat ride out to this perfect tiny island called Vella to film some beautiful drone shots. We had 200 metres of flat, blue water to ourselves. The wind had already kicked in when we got there, so I pumped my 13m Impact, and Tom put up the drone. After half an hour on the water, out of nowhere, I felt so sick that I had to take a break.
My first thought was, "I did push myself a lot over the past days; maybe my body is telling me to take a rest". After some time, I wasn't feeling any better, so we took the boat back. I was disappointed that we couldn't get all the drone shots that we had planned, but there was no way I could have gone back on the water. I had never felt this sick before, and it was a miracle that I didn't faint on the bumpy boat ride home. I went straight to bed and was fast asleep before the sun had set.
The next morning, I woke up to discover that my entire lower leg was completely red. I had gotten a small wound on my shin two weeks before in Cape Town, while attempting board offs. My wound was no longer small, and it was clear that I had a serious infection. I went straight to the hospital, where I spent the next two days with an IV in my arm delivering me much-needed antibiotics. I was shocked by how quickly the infection spread. In the days before, the wound had looked totally fine and harmless. I guess it's a good reminder to keep an eye on your cuts when you are in the tropics!
It wasn't the Sri Lankan experience I had in mind, but they took good care of me in the hospital. It was a private hospital, but the room had no windows and the thin mattress made it feel more like a prison! However, the staff were kind and competent, and I felt safe. But, after two days, I was ready to break out. The antibiotics had started to do their job, and the infection and swelling had subsided. My ankle had swollen up to the size of a ball, but the redness around the wound was gone, so the doctor sent me home.
When I got out of the hospital, I had a few days left, but I was not allowed to go to the water. I was too tired and weak after being sick to find the energy to go out and explore. Instead, I focused on catching up on work, recharging and resting before flying back home. The next few days were the perfect chance to decompress and think about all the changes that have come my way.
After building the first 10 years of my career with Cabrinha, making the switch to CORE was a huge decision. I had felt it was time for a change and new challenges. Being a competitive freestyler, one of the most important factors is to have a specific freestyle kite, and CORE has one of the best c-kites on the market. If I wanted to take my freestyle to the next level and realise my personal goals, I needed to have the best kite. I knew that I wanted to ride the Impact kite, so I approached CORE. We had a few meetings, and like a first date, there was great chemistry with the team. It felt right. With CORE, we support each other by bringing our individual strengths together. I can't wait to see what the future holds!
Even after only a couple of weeks riding the Impact, I can already feel a huge difference in my riding. I'm sure my jump height will increase 50% when I get the XR7, haha! This has been the best decision in my career. Everything is produced with quality in mind, from the packaging to the pump. It is done the German way, with pure quality and performance. It's like driving the fastest car in Formula One. That edge can make all the difference.
As I was packing up to go home, I knew I hadn't accomplished everything I'd hoped to on this trip, but I felt ready to push forward. Sri Lanka has this beautiful and peaceful energy with humble and friendly locals. If you are searching for introspection, there are yoga and meditation classes. You can wake up in the morning with a peaceful sunrise and spend time looking inwards. But if it's a kite community you're looking for, this is the place. It's a popular kite destination with an amazing vibe for socialising and meeting new people. Whatever you are searching for, you can find it here. I'm definitely coming back again next year!
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By Therese Taabbel
