Interview: "We try to make kiteboarding more popular in Czech Republic"

The stronger the wind outside, the greater the joy of kiters. Among them is Thomas Pácl, who is dedicated to kiteboarding, we can say, full time. What are all the things we can we ride? And what is most dangerous when kiting?

Tom, where were you yesterday?

Yesterday I happened to be in Police nad Metují in Ostaš. With my fellow kiter we climbed the rocks.

So are you a climber as well?

I'm not a climber, more like an amateur athlete and outdoor adventurer (laughs).

But your passion is a bit different. Could you briefly introduce kiteboarding?

Kiteboarding is a water sport. It's something like windsurfing, but you have a parachute, which is hung on a 25 meters long cords, usually four. In the hands you have a little rail, we call it a bar that you can hold. And of course you have board attached to your feet.

There are different lengths, from 130 to 170 centimeters and iit reminds of a snowboard with bindings. Around your waist is a trapeze, so we don’t have to balance the entire body weight by hands. We have kind of a hook that we use and we can hold the parachute with the whole body. The bar then is then used to control it.

So the most important is water?

You can ride on water, snow, also "on the land" thanks to attached wheels. It's like a big skateboard with wheels, it is called a mountain board. There is now even a new developing discipline on ice, where you move on skates.

And you do all of these types? Have you tried them all?

All except the last one, on the ice, it is probably the most dangerous one and there is almost no need for wind. Ice has little resistance, and therefore it is faster and more dangerous.

How did you get to kiting?

I got to it before ... in 2002, it was the very first moment I saw this sport. It was the Polish Hel peninsula in the Baltic Sea, where I was with my family on vacation. I saw a strange kites on the water, so I immediately became interested in it (laughs). A few years later, in 2012, I went to back to Hel and back and sentimentally learned it. So I’ve riding for four years now.

You can kite here in the Czech Republic?

You can kite here in Czech, except it's a little difficult to learn. I would recommend a visit a kiting school to every beginner. Basics can be learned in 15-20 hours. Better are the places with shallow water. Specifically, either the Hel in Poland, the German Ruegen or Hurghada in Egypt, where conditions are absolutely ideal for learning. You can kite on snow basically anywhere where with open space without trees and power lines.

It's quite a dangerous sport.

It is a very dangerous sport, but it's like driving a car. Driving can be dangerous when you do not follow the rules of the road. The same is kiteboarding.

What are the rules for operation the kite?

We always pass on the left side, now I do not know whether it's like with ships as maritime traffic rules. So you can say in England (laughs). Especially, we have to honor someone who flies under us, we are responsible for them. On the other hand, the one that is behind us, has a responsibility for us.

What is it like to be a few months at sea and kite all the time? Can you manage easily?

Sometimes, as one doesn’t drink enough, gets dehydrated and then gets heatstroke, sunstroke, fever. And then I also quite often have dreams about the sea. Now recently I just had a dream that there was a shark when I fell into the water. There was a shark fin ...

Are you afraid of sharks?

Well, it’s not that I was afraidl But when something happens with the kite three kilometers from the coast in great depth, where the water is dark, and it gets tangled, falls, or you lose your board and you're there alone, it is not entirely pleasant feeling. One can’t see under. They tell themselves: "Is it ten meters, fifty meters, one hundred meters down there? Is there anything swimming? "

Once my kite tangled like that and something touched me. I still don’t know what it was, whether it was a fish or a turtle.

When the kite entangles, is there no other option but to swim to shore?

When you are there with someone, you can start kiting from the water. But there are situations when you cannot unravel it ... I once really fell three kilometers from the coast, a friend came to me and called for help to some people in a caravan on land. They took a boat and came to me to open sea. It's definitely good to be aware.

You were recently in Albania, Montenegro and Greece kiting. How was it there?

It was very interesting, for sure. Montenegro, beautiful environment, tourism completely developed. As for Albania, there was a tiny little problem with the locals. There is still a certain percentage of people who do not like tourists, they are very conservative. So you arrive at the beach and they stare at you as if you had fallen from Mars.

In which of these countries is the best kiting?

Regularly we go to Greece. Albania was new for me and now I can say that is really cool.

You tested there some watches from the collection JVD Seaplane for us. Can you tell us how it went?

Well, I had all my kiter friends try them, so I could tell you more than just my own opinion. There were very good reviews, mostly then. About a 80-90% as for "Really good watch."

Which model did you like the most?

Well I liked the most JC647.3.

What is the most important criteria to you when you pick a watch?

If I should take the kiteboarding into account, the weight and the waterproofness are decisive. Also, the size, and whether it feels comfortable on the hand, it is in the end all that matters while kiteboarding. You work with hands, feet, whole body ... it is necessary that you watch doesn’t get stuck by the bar, board or bindings when doing tricks. They shouldn’t scratch when moving the wrist. So those are probably the most fundamental determinants.

Did you also pay attention to straps? Silicone, metal, what was better and what was worse?

I would definitely not recommend leather, I don’t know how could it go toghether with salty water. Nicest on hand were the silicone ones because they don’t slide on the skin. Metal is a little heavier, I would not recommend it for these kinds of sports in general. But there are exceptions, like my black JC647.3, you'd take it into the water, because it feels very good on a hand. I was not afraid to take it even to the competition.

Do you take part in the kiteboarding competitions?

In the Czech Republic it is at the amateur level.

And abroad?

I’m going to Ragnarok, in Norway, where a competition takes place every year. It's about the biggest European race, so I would like to get a good place there.

How many people are going to compete?

There are many categories, but in total around one thousand to fifteen hundred.

And is it all about those tricks? Or what?

Nope, mainly about the speed while passing some checkpoints on the plains. It's on snow, of course. We were there this year in the spring. A friend of mine attended and finished in eighth position, so the Czech Republic quite shined.

What are your plans for the next few months?

I'm going to kite center in Hurghada, Egypt. There is a flysurfer center under the leadership of Lukas Vogeltanz. He owns a kiting school, so I'll be there as an instructor and assistant.

I will stay there for four months, and because the average annual temperature in Egypt is around thirty-nine degrees, I will mostly live at the beach, in a hammock, or under the stars.

Do you have a goal? Something you want to achieve?

I just want to be happy in life (laughs).

And as for kiteboarding?

Regarding kiteboarding, I would definitely like to do it somehow profesionally in the future. Either as a supplier of some equipment to the Czech Republic, or to have the kite school.

To make this sport more popular?

Definitely, yes, because there is still a lot of people who know little about it, even among the young. So I would surely like to continue to spread this sport and improve its level in the Czech Republic. Even though we have no sea.