Incredible story, brings a smile and a tear at the same time... Bye bye mate, it was big jump you did and you landed perfectly on our hearts.
I keep telling my friends and family that there will be no doctor to stop me from kitesurfing as I grow older and that the threat of a heart attack during kiting (usual cardiology threat to keep older people away from pushing their physical limits) will sound more like a promise to me I only fear pain or stifness might stop me sometime but I will do my best to stay on the board for as long as I can stand on solid ground.
There is no good way to go ...but since it is inevitable I don't think I could want for much better,
this post gave me a wry smile and also reminded me of a poem .....
RIP Poul, I never knew you, but you will inspire me and many more I think
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
I was always happy to meet Poul at the beach, not only because he enjoyed a good chat, but also because he confirmed something fundamental about kitesurfers. We are all here on an equal footing. Poul was respected for doing what he loved at such an advanced age, but in reality, he was just one of the guys at the beach, and that was great. He even joined a group of 50 danish kiters for week in Egypt a few years back. He will be missed, for sure, but he went the way he wanted to.