Posts Tagged ‘Zenith Ocean Voyages’
Sunday, January 27th, 2013
From the Captain:
Yep, life at sea on Zenith continues to teach me to roll with the punches while remembering that in between, if you slot in those epic sessions, things have a way of working themselves out. …..No stress & plenty-plenty irie….here’s the Antigua story so far…
Mother nature has been somewhat fickle of late, providing mixed winds from 0 – 29kts and sending huge Northerly swells down from the East coast of the States. T1 enjoyed Barbuda and my secret spot, but T2 was denied (due to swell) so we concentrated on Green Island and making their Zenith Ocean Film. https://vimeo.com/57332439 A night kite playing with the camera, a ‘Rowley’ off the coach roof, my first un-hooked… not looking like MC Hammer in rehab(!)…and generally sublime times were had making the most of the massive Nonsuch Bay reef….
Juliet Lemon joined for T1 & T2. She is a professional photographer and offered her services to Zenith to shoot kiting and our lifestyles. I will be showcasing her amazing work with us soon but in the meantime her website is: http://julietlemon.com/
Provisioning again proved surreal due to the BIG north swell which meant the local fishermen couldn’t go out either, resulting in a lack of fresh fish at ALL the markets…check out the photo below!!….
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When trying to buy fish on the ENTIRE island the response was the same:”The sea RUFF”
Finally 4 hours pre guests arrival Georgie found some fillets …maybe the only in the northern Caribb.
The ‘Hurricane’ Georgie prevailed  |
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T2 over and time for the crew to get some personal kite sessions in. A new system blew through offering 20-29kts. BOOM. Georgie went out on a Park 8…and in her inimitable style she went BIG. A second boost from a gust sent her higher than she had ever been before and then it happened…KITELOOP SLAM.
| Hurricane hit the water from quite a height breaking a lower rib. Some local kiters went to her aid immediately (Good Job Matt). Her shortness of breath in open water although a hazard did nt get the ‘Hurricane’ down and like the trooper she is held on until safe on board Meercat. Me…I was having a great un-hooked session (no MC Hammer in sight) and only noticed when the rescue seemed to take a bit too long.
On arrival back at the boat I assessed her condition….she was in considerable pain….but still smiling and putting on the bravest of faces. George is a seasoned sea-woman and knows when offhsore there is no use in making a song & dance…just tough it out. Good girl.
Instantly we took our injured cargo to hospital to make sure that no internal organs were damaged and to confirm that she ONLY had a broken rib!! Thank NUBERU (wind God of the tempest)….George was ok. Just another 8 weeks to tough it out…..
Georgie will return to the UK to convalesce …..
As a captain I cannot take risks with crew, guests or vessel. Goergie will be sorely missed and its gutting to see her Zenith season cut short. We had so many laughs, sometimes I was in tears with her stories…..I am sad to see her go. Georgie, you are welcome on board anytime….
Post recovery of course, but please don’t go sooo BIG next time.
So season start and Zenith is crew-less…… |
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Antigua is a hotbed for the yachting industry attracting ocean going adventurers from all corners of the globe. So I set about interviewing for the continued season…….
Zenith requires such a specialised set of skills and the selection process in mid 2012 for Georgie was long and arduous. Overall I look for an attitude comprising of a love for sea and adventure combined with a skill base to provide the level of service that says “this is ZENITH”.
As I said things have a way of working out. The trick is to kite and not think so much…… Meet the new crew – 2 !!!
Enter Andrea:
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 - Super Yacht Chef
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Andrea and I met in St Lucia, pre season.
She is a master at her trade having over 10 years at the top flight of catering for the super yachts and uber rich. She is a seasoned adventurer with proven time served skills. Her passion is the ocean and cooking and when she heard the news of the vacancy on Zenith I have to be honest was surprised at her motives for joining. Poaching this (Chef) calibre of professional is a feather in the cap of Zenith indeed. This is what she had to say:
” My present boat, a 40M sloop, has given me a great life and I ve travelled all over the world in my career on the biggest private yachts in the industry. I am grateful for all the moments and gifts life has sent me. Seeing the passion for kitsurfing and Zenith model reminded me of the things that the past few years didn’t offer….and I’ve missed it. I would love to be part of your team, meet your guests and laugh while sharing the direct/close hands on experience of the expedition…..and your destinations..Wow they are soo different. Can’t wait to see the Grenadines up close, not just through a port hole,.”
The Captain’s reply: “SOLD”…instantly. ( I was like MC Hammer but NOT on a kite. I think I am in a whole heap of other trouble here  |
Kinley was introduced to me by Georgie. He has a genuine zest for life and he is joining Meercat as part of his ‘journey’. Our expedition will be richer for his company, and I am sure Zenith will enrich his travels and get him a few steps closer to Panama & the Pacific. Welcome…(nickname TBA)
| Enter Kinley:
I have itchy feet. Always have. Rather than using a synthetic creme, I’ve found traveling keeps the itch at bay. My goal is to circumnavigate our little rock via sailing and short deliveries. I have a knack for adapting quickly to foreign cultures and strive to mesh an open mind to their backdrops.
I only just started on my goal. I graduated the University of New Hampshire with a degree in Outdoor Education and two months later, November 2012, sailed from Boston to Antigua. I’ve hiked most of the peaks here, sailed and swam my way around the island and now it’s time to continue on.
I’m very fortunate to be joining Zenith Ocean Voyages and it fell (as it usually does) into my lap at the right time. I may stay aboard as far as Curacao and from there, if not before, I hope to find another delivery through the canal and into the vast Pacific world. I plan to travel to Thailand, Cambodia, Indo, and perhaps stay put in New Zealand for a bit. But who knows? I’ll go anywhere really as long as my feet are happy.
I write my own music, (sing, guitar, harmonica), I play all sorts of sports. I have left-handed pride. Passion for surfing, fluent in both French and English, I rock climb, scuba dive, hike. I’ve been a canoe instructor and hitchhiked across the U.S. If I was stuck on an island, I would want bread, cheese, wine, and chocolate. |
 - Kinley
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Tags: Antigua, Antigua kiteboarding, Antigua kitesurfing, Barbuda, Barbuda kiteboarding, Blast Kiteboarding, catamaran, catamaran kiteboarding, catamaran kitesurfing, Green Island, Grenadines kitesurfing, Guadeloupe, kiteboarding, kiteboarding Antigua, kiteboarding Caribbean, kiteboarding instruction, kiteboarding lessons, kitesurfing, kitesurfing Antigua, kitesurfing Grenadines, Marc Rowley, Naish kiteboarding, Naish Torch, Zenith Ocean Films, Zenith Ocean Voyages
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Wednesday, October 31st, 2012
Juliet Lemon
From the Captain:
T1 our Xmas trip opens the 2012/13 season. As a special Xmas present Zenith has invited professional photographer Juliet Lemon on board to shoot what we do in Antigua & Barbuda. She will also be holding a photography workshop specifically for shooting kitesurfing and speed snaps, for my guests.
We are privileged to welcome Juliet to the expedition and all things ‘kitesurrfy’. Obviously our facebook page will feature her photos so be sure to log on and see the action…… over your turkey and stuffing.
Want to be the right side of a massive lens?…Do it-do it!
If you would like to check out Juliet see:www.JulietLemon.com andwww.TheLemonGallery.com her work is outstanding.
What Juliet has to say:
I’m super excited to be leaving the arctic conditions of the Northern Hemisphere for sunnier climes and joining the Zenith gang in December. Really looking forward to photographing the Caribbean magic that is happening down there in the sunshine.
As well as shooting all Zenith’s incredible kiting action and documenting the Meercat way of life, I’m looking forward to holding photography workshops. We will cover absolutely everything to get everyone capturing the perfect shot, be it of an airborne kiter in action, the right camera settings for capturing that perfect sunset shot as well as the post production side of things.
Juliet at work
A little bit about me…….full time, professional photographer based in the UK and am fortunate enough to travel extensively with my work. In the UK I photograph weddings, lifestyle shoots as well as many corporate and commercial assignments. Most Sundays I can be found trackside or in the pit lanes at race circuits photographing the British Touring Car Championships. As well as that I hold photography workshops and work closely with budding fellow photographers keen to take their photography skills to a new level.
Outside the UK I’ve enjoyed a very interesting and varied photographic background…….. destination weddings in Africa and Europe, lived out in Botswana and Southern Africa for a few years working for a Safari company – which is where my passion for photography was first lit – so photographing wildlife in the depths of the Okavango Delta was where it all began for me! The wilderness, natural beauty and constant sense of adventure was what I loved and is something that I have continued to factor into my life and work.
More recently I have been over in Madagascar photographing for NGOs and giving wildlife photography workshops, in Mozambique shooting for Penguin Publishing’s travel guide book for the Bazaruto Archipelago, shooting fast cars at the World Endurance Championships with meets in Florida and Belgium, culminating in the Le Mans 24 hour car race in France and professional windsurfers in Dahab, Egypt.
Kitesurfing offers spectacular expression, and with Zenith beautiful locations hand picked just for us. To get into the mindset I will be kiting for the first time with the Zenith team to truly know the tribal nature of this sport… I cant wait to capture, kite and sail on yet another of my unique global photo missions.
Tags: Antigua, Antigua kiteboarding, Antigua kitesurfing, Barbuda, Barbuda kiteboarding, Blast Kiteboarding, catamaran, catamaran kiteboarding, catamaran kitesurfing, Green Island, Grenadines kitesurfing, Guadeloupe, kiteboarding Antigua, kiteboarding Caribbean, kiteboarding instruction, kiteboarding lessons, kiteboarding vacations, kitesurf caribbean, kitesurf cruises, kitesurf holidays, kitesurf safari, kitesurfing Antigua, kitesurfing Grenadines, kitesurfing instruction, kitesurfing photography, Marc Rowley, Naish kiteboarding, Zenith Ocean Films, Zenith Ocean Voyages
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Wednesday, September 19th, 2012
With my new chapter about to begin with Zenith, I thought I should give you a little low down of what I’ve been up to in the build up to the 2013 season aboard Meercat…
This summer I have spent most of my time in the sunshine in Egypt preparing myself for life in the Caribbean. My days mainly consisted of kitesurfing, windsurfing, backflipping, meeting new people, making bracelets and generally having lots of fun!!….Gotta get in the right head space so I am doing my bit
I also set myself the challenge of trying to cook as much as I could whilst I was out there to practice my finest recipes. I was however presented with a few challenges… Things such as no equipment to cook with, no ingredients to buy, no scales and an oven with only two settings. However this didn’t stop me and I did manage to master banana bread as well as a few other signature dishes. It has all good practice for when my search begins out in our Caribbean locations to ensure I have all the local delicacies and finest fresh ingredients onboard.
I personally am a big fan of using as much fresh, local produce in my cooking as possible. I have done a lot of traveling myself and have been lucky enough to sample many worldwide cuisines. I like to explore and experiment and try as many different things as possible. I really enjoy spices and vibrant flavours in my food and love making a good curry. This accompanied with homemade flat bread goes beautifully.
I pride myself in big, juicy salads mixed up with as much as I can get my hands on. You would be surprised how filling and delicious one of my specially prepared salads can be… light and fresh…tends to help with the back flips!!
| Being aware that there are many people with special dietary requirements, including wheat and gluten intolerances, I have been doing my research into how I can ensure that no one misses out on a delicious feast. So if you do fall under this category then never fear, your hostess has it all under control. I have been reading up and educating myself on all the necessary information.
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Its not long now until I will be out in St.Lucia getting myself to grips with life onboard Meercat…. And yes I am VERY excited and can’t wait to get stuck in.
Tags: Antigua, Antigua kiteboarding, Antigua kitesurfing, Barbuda kiteboarding, Blast Kiteboarding, catamaran, catamaran kiteboarding, catamaran kitesurfing, Florian Daubos, Green Island, Grenadines kitesurfing, Guadeloupe, kiteboarding, kiteboarding Antigua, kitesurfing Antigua, kitesurfing Grenadines, kitesurfing instruction, Naish, Naish kiteboarding, tobago cays, Union Island, Zenith Ocean Films, Zenith Ocean Voyages
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Thursday, August 11th, 2011
So Zenith has rocked up in the ABCs for our final leg of the 2011 season. Why here? This is the only consistently windy place in the Caribbean at this time of year, and free of hurricanes – so safe for Meercat and the crew.
With some downtime before the next guests arrive, Zenith has hooked up with the Naish crowd in Bonaire. The local kiters here are like a big family and yet very welcoming. It’s a joy to see and to experience. Spots like ‘Atlantis’ and Klein Bon’ are the major haunts. Super flat water, offshore winds and ice coolers packed with Polar beer is the order of the day. There seems to be an unusually high proportion of female kiters here, and they don’t hold back on the water.
| Up-coming star Judith Roetman works out in the gym, kites before AND after work. After just a few days of testing the Torch, she fell in love. We ve been back now for 12 days…she still has it !!!!!! Hmmmm this is going to be a tough one… Watch out for her in the near future |
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Jeroen is the local Naish rep. He started kiting 8 years ago, and like the old skool loves the big air. He is the center of kiting here in Bon’ If you ever land on these shores be sure to hook up with him. His bar tricks are hilarious: get your game head on if you are game enough! |
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After a few jars in the Little Havana Bar Jeroen and I decided to make a trip to the Los Aves islands, whip up a few local kiters to demo our 2011 Naish gear, and make a movie. I was in full filming mode, and the Aves provided perfect conditions for the demo. I should remember to get some kiting in myself at some point….
It never fails to touch me that when Zenith sails to new places, we discover great kiting communities, meet the kiters and it just clicks.
Our sport, passion whatever it is, binds us together. It’s weeks like this that make me proud to be a part of what we all do.
Oh by the way – keep an eye out for the vid, Judith is something else!!
Tags: Antigua, Antigua kiteboarding, Antigua kitesurfing, Barbuda, Barbuda kiteboarding, catamaran, catamaran kiteboarding, catamaran kitesurfing, Grenadines kitesurfing, kiteboarding cruises, kiteboarding lessons, kiteboarding safaris, kitesurfing cruises, kitesurfing safaris, kitesurfing school, Naish kiteboarding, Naish Torch, Zenith Ocean Films, Zenith Ocean Voyages
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Saturday, July 16th, 2011
Our program for the December 2011 – July 2012 season is now ready!
Here are the links to the all-new Destinations and Rates and Dates pages.
We’re still working on the Booking Enquiries page… if you’d like to book, please click here! We’d recommend booking early to get the most choice. Also, if you book before 1 October 2011, you’ll get a discount of USD 150 per person.
Looking forward to riding with you onboard Meercat!
Ged & Susy and the Zenith Ocean Voyages crew
WHAT’S NEW FOR SEASON 2 AT ZENITH OCEAN VOYAGES – Dec 2011 – July 2012
For our second season here at Zenith Ocean Voyages, we’ve decided to do things a little bit differently as far as our scheduling is concerned. Here are the highlights, in a nutshell:
Our calendar
- In short, it’s all about flexibility and custom trips.
- Depending on the time of year, we’ll be in one of four different cruising grounds. Some of these represent the best of what we experienced in 2011, some are brand-new adventurous explorations.
- Within each cruising ground, YOU CHOOSE YOUR DATES.
- Within each cruising ground, you can choose your itinerary – although we will advise you on how to make the most of your trip based on the intended length, your starting and ending point, etc.
- YOU CHOOSE THE LENGTH OF YOUR TRIP. In principle, for a minimum of 7 days (guess what though… we are flexible).
- We are still working on our new booking enquiry page. While we finalise it, all links to that page have been temporarily redirected to our Contact page.
- First come first serve – the earlier you book, the more choices you will have. Once a trip is booked by at least 1 person, we will publish the dates so that others can join and we will indicate it’s no longer available once all cabins are filled.
- The Special End-of-Year trip is somewhat different. YOU CHOOSE not only the dates and the length, but the cruising ground as well! The only limitations are December 20, 2011 as the earliest possible starting date and January 2, 2012 as the latest possible end date.
Our rates
- … are still all inclusive – just get yourself to the boat and we’ll take care of the rest!
- The package comes with our unique our much-praised personal kitefilm of your trip. To take a look at the videos from Season 1, check out http://vimeo.com/channels/191285
- If you’re traveling on your own, or if you’d like a cabin all to yourself, please contact us to find out about our special single-occupancy offers.
- Bookings made before 1 October 2011 will receive a discount of USD 150 per person.
- If you would like a custom trip that’s not quite 7 days or 10 days long, no worries. You will be charged on a pro-rata basis up to the 11th day. From then onwards, the daily price drops to USD 300 pp/day.
Trips in Summer 2011
We are currently in the ABCs. If you’d like to come onboard, please contact us, indicating your preferred dates. We are flexible and our 2011 rates will apply.
Tags: Anguilla kiteboarding, Anguilla kitesurfing, Antigua kiteboarding, Antigua kitesurfing, Barbuda, Barbuda kiteboarding, catamaran, catamaran kiteboarding, catamaran kitesurfing, flat water, Green Island, Grenadines kitesurfing, kiteboarding, kiteboarding boat, kiteboarding Caribbean, kitesurfing Caribbean, kitesurfing Grenadines, Martinique kiteboarding, Martinique kitesurfing, tobago cays, Tobago kiteboarding, Tobago kitesurfing, Union Island, Zenith Ocean Films, Zenith Ocean Voyages
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Monday, June 6th, 2011
A recent guest of ours, Chris, wrote a very rich and detailed review of his experience onboard Meercat on the Zenith Ocean Voyages T11 trip in the Grenadines.
The review is published on the German forum at www.oase.com and has lots of pictures too. If you can read German, or if you don’t and just want to look at the nice pics, click here. For an English translation (done by Susy as faithfully as she could…), click here.
Thanks Chris, much appreciated
Tags: catamaran, catamaran kiteboarding, catamaran kitesurfing, flat water, kiteboarding instruction, kiteboarding lessons, kitesurfing Grenadines, kitesurfing school, tobago cays, Union Island, Zenith Ocean Films, Zenith Ocean Voyages, Zenith Ocean Voyages guest reviews, Zenith Ocean Voyages guestbook
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Tuesday, May 10th, 2011
A quick update from Grenada, where we’re getting “Meercat” ready for another trip starting this Friday. On Sunday we finished our T10 trip in the Grenadines, with Elena and Alex. It was good fun, and we’re happy to report that our new kitesurfing instructor/crew member James Gardiner not only survived it but got the hang of Zenith Ocean Voyages completely – despite his jet lag and metrosexual tendencies!
Here’s two pics taken on the last day anchored just behind Happy Island - the group picture at the bottom is a kind contribution from Alex himself, a published photographer. Thanks Alex, much appreciated (we’re looking forward to seeing the rest of your creations).
James and Alex off the trampoline
- It was a laugh… thanks Elena and Alex
| Back to prepping the boat ready (not to mention the by-now-customary supermarket hunt for chicken breasts…) There’s a nice breeze blowing and we can’t wait to be back on the water again. |
Tags: Aruba kiteboarding, Aruba kitesurfing, Bonaire kiteboarding, Bonaire kitesurfing, catamaran, catamaran kiteboarding, catamaran kitesurfing, Curacao kiteboarding, Curacao kitesurfing, Grenadines kitesurfing, kiteboarding Aruba, kiteboarding Bonaire, kiteboarding Curacao, kiteboarding instruction, kiteboarding lessons, kitesurf lessons, kitesurfing Aruba, kitesurfing Bonaire, kitesurfing Curacao, kitesurfing Grenadines, kitesurfing instruction, Zenith Ocean Voyages
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Sunday, April 24th, 2011
We’re in St Lucia in between trips, Ged’s busy editing videos (check out the T8 Guadeloupe video here – the T9a vid of our first trip in the Grenadines is also on its way…) and I’ve been doing the usual cleaning and marketing stuff. Felt in need of a break yesterday, so I rented a car and went for a random drive on the island. St Lucia continues to surprise me. The richness and colours of this island get better and more interesting the more time I spend here. Here are some pictures I took in Anse La Raye, a little town on the west coast between Castries and Soufriere.
Pumpkinseller
- Get ready for some serious persecution…
Subliminal advertising, Lucian style.
Tags: catamaran, catamaran kiteboarding, catamaran kitesurfing, photography, roadtrips, st lucia, Zenith Ocean Films, Zenith Ocean Voyages
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Thursday, March 24th, 2011
The Grenadines are a wonderful place to kite (there’s waves, flat water and nobody there!) – partly because they are pretty remote. A lot of people have asked us about flight schedules and it can get somewhat complicated. To make things easier for you guys, we’ve now added the option of flying into Grenada and we pick you up and drop you off there. We have to get organized to do this, so the earlier you book, the more flexible we can be.
With this option, you get a multi-island, multi-country trip!
This is in addition to our “regular” pick-up points, which are Union Island and Canouan Island in the Grenadines (reachable from Barbados), or the island of Carriacou, which is part of Grenada (reachable by ferry or plane from Grenada).
Tags: catamaran, catamaran kiteboarding, catamaran kitesurfing, flat water, Grenada kiteboarding, Grenada kitesurf, Grenada kitesurfing, Grenadines kiteboarding, Grenadines kitesurfing, kiteboarding Grenadines, kiteboarding instruction, kitesurf Grenadines, kitesurfing Grenadines, kitesurfing instruction, St Vincent and the Grenadines, tobago cays, Tobago Cays kiteboarding, Union Island, Union Island kiteboarding, Zenith Ocean Voyages
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Thursday, March 17th, 2011
About to set sail for Guadeloupe! We spent over two months in Antigua and Barbuda and it’s been great. It’s sad to be leaving such a gorgeous set of islands with excellent kiting conditions. Barbuda on an easterly wind is second to none, and Green Island on any given day is hard to beat. It was so good we might even come back
Since we are an expedition, however, we are now stoked to continue our exploration of new places… that’s what Zenith Ocean Voyages is about, after all!
We’ve met some wonderful people here. A big thanks – again! to Chris, Max and Irene of 40Knots. They have been invaluable mates on Green Island… and to Adam Anton for helping on our last trip.
After Guadeloupe we’ll do a quick stopover to see friends in St Lucia, a couple of trips in the Grenadines, then back to St Lucia to pick up our new crew member James Gardiner (more about him in a future blog!), then Grenadines until the end of June. We’re really looking forward to those trips. From April onwards, the wind blows harder there than anywhere else in the area. In terms of kiteboarding from a catamaran in the Caribbean, you can’t get a bigger variety of lovely spots on different islands, all only a short sail away and offering a choice of both flat water and waves.
So off we go again… stay tuned for the next update.
Tags: 40 knots, Adam Anton, Antigua, Antigua kiteboarding, Antigua kitesurfing, Barbuda, Barbuda kiteboarding, catamaran Grenadines, catamaran kiteboarding, catamaran kitesurfing, Green Island, Grenadines catamaran, Grenadines kiteboarding, Grenadines kitesurfing, Guadeloupe, Kiteantigua, kiteboarding expeditions, kiteboarding Grenadines, kitesurfing Antigua, kitesurfing expeditions, kitesurfing Grenadines, Naish kiteboarding, Tobago Cays kiteboarding, Tobago Cays kitesurfing, Union Island, Zenith Ocean Voyages
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