Hebe Jebes Issue Sep to Oct 2013 Sep 2013 | Page 29

How the Dragons spent their summer
All the champions deserve some nice holidays far
away from their training. Here is what they did
around the world on the water.
Arthur Hainz
Belgium: the first day on the boat was all about
unpacking and exploring. My grandfather and I got the
cabin in the bow of the boat and my sister, Aurelie, and my parents
got the stern of the boat. There was a small kitchen right outside
my cabin door with a small table. If you went up the stairs you
would find the living room, equipped with a sofa, a table, and the
indoor steering wheel. Then you could either go down the stairs
to my sister’s cabin or you could go up the other stairs to the top
of the boat. There you would find the outdoor steering wheel and
two paths down the sides leading to the bow. On the starboard
side, in golden letters, was the name of the boat—Nor thwind.
On the second day we had to start the engines for Gent, Belgium
and that is exactly what we did. Probably the most challenging
par t was getting off the moorings because the ropes were a bit
tangled with ropes from other boats. But even so we managed to
get under way pretty quickly. Another challenge was navigating the
channel and driving out of the docks without accidentally crashing
into other boats or moorings. That night sleep came easily because
of a day of teamwork.
The next day we set off on foot to explore the city. After a day
of exploring we went back to the boat. I packed my things in my
bag and walked to my cousin’s car. My cousins had been staying
on land and had rented a nice apar tment. That is where we drove
to and where I stayed for the next two nights.
I think the best thing about the boat was that it was really
comfor table, there was always a light breeze and a great view. Just
in case you were wondering, the toilets on board weren’t too bad!

Nicolle & Jasmine Scholer
This summer we went to Switzerland for vacation.
Unfor tunately, we did not have much activity on the water. A
planned rafting on the river Aare was unfor tunately cancelled—
after a heavy rainstorm, the water was too strong. But we got
some new experience when we came back to Hong Kong. On
our bir thday, we got a large present. When we first saw it, we had
no idea what it was. Later we found out that it was an inflatable
board. It is called a SUP board—or Stand Up Paddle board.
When we star ted to try this new waterspor t, it was very
interesting, exciting and fun to use. Now we cannot stop thinking
of when we will next go out on the water. There are a number of
things that you can do on a SUP, for example, surfing, kayaking—
some people even do yoga on them! Even our dog Jessy loves to
jump on with us for a ride. Our SUP is a special board because
you can inflate it, deflate it and then carry it in a backpack. That
means we can bring it anywhere we travel, and also use it on
rivers and lakes. It is a fantastic way of enjoying nature, while
relaxing and paddling.

September/october 2013

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