Downwinders are a great thing - driven by wind and swell waves, you can cover a lot of distance. However, anyone who has ever done a downwinder themselves knows how exhausting they can be. Positioning yourself between the high swells requires a lot of concentration, and pumping on the waves really gets your legs going. With this in mind, the marathon ride of the Greek Dimitris Apalagakis cannot be overestimated.
In early August, Apalagakis set off a little south of the capital Athens and made his way towards Crete. He was accompanied by a boat. However, as this was an official Guinness record attempt, Apalagakis was only allowed to have the boat with him as a safety backup. Changing equipment or further assistance was not permitted. Dimitris also describes the choice of suitable material as a major challenge: "It was clear that the conditions would change significantly over the course of the race. It was therefore important to use material that was comfortable to ride and worked over a wide wind range. In the end, I opted for my Vayu V3 Wing in the 4.5 square metre size and a 60-litre board with an Art Pro Foil from Axis fitted."
Dimitris Apalagakis reached the finish line in Crete at nightfall, almost 13:29 hours after the start in Athens - and almost 5,000 calories poorer. A week after the Hussar ride, Dimitris was still dealing with the consequences: "I'm still pretty exhausted" - no wonder after this ride. You can get an insight into this adventure in the following video.
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