End of the Amazing World Champ

Team SWE Ekstedt and Team SWE Balkedal

Pilot Lars Ekstedt, Navigator Ulf Ekstedt,
Team: Charles Lindberg, Marcus Ekeroos 
and me Lova Bannister

A very hectic week of competition is over.

We get up at 5 in the morning, briefing meeting, chasing a good start spot, sometimes we start all balloon at a common start area and some start is of free chose and that can be in someone’s garden or a grass field. In Battle Creek most fields are crops so a private garden is the best, and people in Battle Creek are so fantastic and helpful. The pilot have 3-4 different tasks to solve each flight: drop a marker at a specific coordinate on the ground, turn 90 dg, longest distance, etc.

Our last flight

Then land at an appropriate field or garden around 10 o’clock.The car try to keep up with the balloon and pick up the markers on the ground and an observer staff measure it against the coordinate. We don’t always make it in time due to roads and traffic so we then have to go back and look for the maker after we land.
We report the result at the competitions centre and then drive to the area to fill up the gas tanks. After that its lunch and back to hotel for some sleep. Next briefing meeting is at 17.30 with the same procedure as the morning. Back to bed at midnight and then up again at 5…

This film show a drop area, were all pilots have to throw their marker as close to the cross as possible.
We hit 245 cm

The Team in a huge bean field searching for the green/white marker

We lost out good position due to a lost marker. The pilot dropped the marker on the ground but the car did not make it in time to see exactly where it landed so we had to calculate and search in a huge bean field… we lost more than 20 positions down, but we had lots of fun afterwards!

We and Team Balkedal also had the luxury to have our own weather team!!!
They used a special gps windsond device on a weather balloon to give us the perfect wind direction

Sweetliving Is Now A Coca Cola / Monster Dealer

Now you can buy Coca Cola Products inc Monster Energy from Sweetliving Sweden.

This is our newest member in our product line and we are glad to initiate this cooperation with Coca Cola Enterprises ;-)

The beverages we offer today is Coca Cola, Coca Cola Zero, Fanta Orange, MER Orange, Bonaqua Naturell, Bonaqua Pear, Bonaqua Strawberry / Rhubarb

And extra excited are we about their MONSTER ENERGY Collection.

What we offer at the moment is MONSTER ENERGY, MONSTER LO-CARB, MONSTER KHAOS & MONSTER REHAB

Coolers will be placed out on great places as we go. Keep an eye out for Sweetliving / Coca Cola Coolers  ;-)

Our first cooler is located at Mekonomen, Ryftes Motor AB, Kungsängsvägen 4, Uppsala, Sweden.

Soon the products will also be available in our webshop, though we will only be able to deliver in Uppsala, Sweden

World Championship in Ballooning

Well, here I am in Michigan, Battle Creek with the Swedish National Team in Ballooning! Amazing!

Our sponsors is Turkish Airlines, so we got spoiled with Business class tickets from Istanbul and the incredible business launch, I wish I never have to travel economy again…

Our sponsors

Me happy in Business class

I arrived Chicago Saturday night and missed the last bus and train so I had to rent a car. After 20 min bargain with AVIS, I ended up with a brand new Mustang for the price of small economy hairdryer seat, a very good start in USA… It took me almost 5h (instead of 3,5…) to get to my hotel in Battle Creek by midnight, It must have been something wrong with the gps…. (not me…!!?)

My rental car - a Mustang

05.10 in the morning I got up again feeling like a confused hen with lack of sleep since 24h.
Briefing meeting at 06.15 was huge. 105 balloon-teams from all over the world. Then everybody set off to a common start area, my team set of 3 min too late and got a bad start-spot on the field.

Briefing meeting

neun und neunsisch luftballong

Start-area

The sight on the startfield was breathtaking! 105 balloons with crews on a small start-area.

Soon time to set off, Pilot Lars Ekstedt

Taem captain Charles and our car,
that Volvo Cars New Jersey  lend us

Que to the first drop

The first task was the throw a marker on a specific coordinate on the ground, then fly a “donut” dont ask me to explain, and then throw a marker on a pilot declared coordinate also called “hesitation waltz”

We borrowed this familys garden on our 2nd flight

We landed 08.30 and got back to the hotel at 10 for some sleep. Next flight is at 19.

Our balloon in the air

Early morning flights and late night flight.
This is surley a fantastic sweetliving adventure.
I tell you more later...

KITESURF & WINDSURF @ VARBERG, SWEDEN

I took a week off and went down to Varberg, on the westcoast of Sweden to get some surfin´done.
Varberg is the best place in Sweden either if you want to wavesurf, windsurf or kitesurf, 
.....or in my case all of them ;-)

Took a course in kite & windsurf. Really good instructors and I had a lot of fun. I will definitely come back here soon and develop my skills some more before the summer is over.

The instructor, Richard Wernersson (to the right) and his partner Micke (sitting down)

Thank you Varberg, see you again soon..........

Ballooning adventure

Dear Sweetliving friends

Long time since I visit here and lots have happend...!!!

In January I followed an old dream of trying to become an Airballonist. I signed up and got my student license! The balloon federation gave me the advise to get a Mentor since I don’t know anything and anyone of the balloon world "and your not that young anymore... but its always positive to be a woman in the Balloonsport” they said…

I then contacted a random name on a list and had a nice lunch the following day. That random name on the list happened to be the Pilot of the Swedish National Team Lars Ekstedt, what a jackpot!

My fantastic adventure started when the Team accepted me and offered me a position in the Team - and off we went to my first competition in coldest winter in February.

The Pilot trained me hard before, both theoretical and practical.  How the coordinates works, compass, wind and speed, Hesitation waltz, hare and hound, watership down, elbow, PZ and measure sandbags…

Taking off

- What have I got myself into!!!

The team at Gränna SM

05.30 in the morning on my first exiting briefing meeting, we then set off at 06.15, still dark and -22 dg. (minus..!!!) Blowing up the balloon with freezing fingers. But absolutely beautiful in sunrise when all the balloons are setting off.

OOppps landing in the forest

3 competitions later and a new job within events and Ballooning I’m hooked!

Now I’m preparing myself for the BIG Ballooning World Cup in Michigan USA in August, exiting and nervous!

I will keep you posted…