Crossing the North Sea in less than 8 hours on a kite board, an outstanding accomplishment by Kite boarder Stef de Jong on the 8th of August, that never has been done before. Exhausted but in great shape he arrived yesterday on the beach of Zandvoort. His companion Gerhard van Geest had to give up along the way, unfortunately, caused by bad luck with material. The Beach and the pavilion where the crossing successfully ended was changed in a presscenter with loads of photographers, journalists and five camera crews (even a live taping).

This ambitious trip was planned back in 2004. Kite surfers Stef de Jong and Gerhard van Geest were chosen for this challenging North Sea crossing. Hans van der Goes travelled with the team as a standby. In the lead-up to this record attempt, the entire boat crew has been involved in intensive training sessions. The kite boarders needed to be in top form to be able to complete their crossing as planned. After a more than one-and-a-half year wait for the right wind, the time finally arrived. The north-westerly weather front over the North Sea on Monday brought a steady wind that the kite boarders needed to make their crossing and win a place in the record books.

Although a successful windsurf-board crossing from England to Holland was achieved at the end of the 1990s, this was the first time that anyone has made the same crossing by kite board. The trip will started in Lowestoft, England’s most easterly town, and ended in Sandwort. The distance between England and Holland is approximately 100 miles (160 kilometres).

Friday night the decision was made and we heard about it. Sunday we created the press release and informed the first press. Monday was a very hectic day that was round off with a successful Kiteboard crossing and a fantastic media coverage for PlayStation. Today the first headlines appeared in the national and local papers.