Friday, October 12, 2012

RAY BETHELL, THE AMAZING KITE-MAN

Ray Bethell conducting a symphony in the sky with his kites, deftly pulling the strings like a master puppeteer.

I had meant to share this on Facebook, but Ray Bethell deserves much more than than just a brief FB mention. Indeed, it would be an injustice to post anything less than a full article about Ray and his incredible kite-flying feats.

This extract from Windscape Kite Fesìtival beautifully explains why Ray's world records in multiple kite-flying remain unbroken. He holds the record for the longest kite-flying - all 12 hours 12 minutes! And also for flying the largest number of kites simultaneously - all 39 of them!

"But what makes watching Ray fly so incredible is the fact that you can see himself in his kites. They are no longer pieces of nylon and graphite, but have come alive. He moves like his kites graceful and in harmony, and his strength is reflected in the slow and precise movements of his kites no matter how strong the winds are. He has the technical sophistication of an aerodynamics engineer, he has the poise and precision of a ballet dancer, and he has the endurance of a professional athlete as proven again and again by his world records."

Watch "Romancing the Wind". You can almost feel at one with the kites as they soar, spin and dive in the sky. The sense of freedom, the joy. Absolutely uplifting!


By the way, Ray is 85 years old, and fit as a fiddle.

2 comments:

AT said...

Incredible senior! Thanks for sharing.

choo said...

Incredible and really uplifting! How does he do it?