Norwegian windsurfers, Oda Johanne Stokstad Brødholt and Håkon Skorge hit the road in continental Europe, following forecasts and checking out new spots in their self-converted camper van. From Norway to Portugal via Switzerland and back to Norway, taking in Spain and Sweden on the way, it was 108 hours of driving. Was it worth it? Read on and decide as Oda documents the highs and lows of their ‘Euro’ trip.
Oda in flight on her foil in Lake Urnesee, Switzerland.
Oda and Håkon’s dream van.
VAN PLANS
Last year I went on a three week road trip with my boyfriend, Håkon Skorge, in a 1997 Volkswagen Transporter. We had plenty of wind and waves around Denmark and Holland but the van’s heater broke down after 3 days and it was 5ºC outside. Not good. People who know me know I love trips and adventures, but with no heater to get warm after the session I really felt like going home. Meeting other people with bigger vans I knew we had to upgrade. I was done spooning with my boards every night. Six months later we were proud owners of a big 2012 Volkswagen Crafter. After competing in the PWA World Cup in Morocco this year we set about converting it into a camper. We had researched plenty of ‘how to build a camper’ articles and they indicated a build time of around 7 months. We did not have that sort of time frame, we wanted to convert it in 2 weeks so we could squeeze in a trip to the north of Norway (Lofoten), before driving down to Portugal for the PWA World Cup freestyle and slalom event at Viana do Castelo. Unfortunately, despite hours and hours of work, it took us 6 weeks, and we never made it to Lofoten, but decided to try to finish it as much as we could before heading down to Portugal. And we did!
The van’s living area.
HANDY TIPS
Oda on her way to the podium in Portugal.
This story is from the Issue 381 - November/December 2018 edition of Windsurf.
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This story is from the Issue 381 - November/December 2018 edition of Windsurf.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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