Taking to the Tees with a Blast

Linda Mutunga BBC Blast reporter, BBC Tees

There I was, bright and early with my camera, at the Take to the Tees festival.

The sun was starting to peep through, and the crowds were gravitating towards the best spots on the river bank waiting for the parade to start.

Its not often I'm up before 6am on a Saturday, willingly, but for Take to the Tees, it was the best feeling ever.

A boat from the parade

It had that holiday feeling to it, it seemed too surreal to be in Tees as I prepared myself for the day ahead.

The parade began at 11am with Swimmer and Strictly Come Dancing Star, Mark Forster, literally sawing the ribbon to mark the start of the event. This was then followed by the Teesside Princess, and the canoeing and kayaking clubs and societies, that prompted the diverse spectrum of people who are involved!

In pictures: See Linda's pictures of Take to the Tees 09

I was introduced to paddle boarding. Its one of those sports that looks easy to do, but in actual fact...isn't.

It's basically standing on a surfboard, whilst pushing yourself through rippling water with a paddle stick... It's hard!

I got pictures of all the acts, and headed to the bridge in the hope of taking more exciting shots of the parade, when right behind me buzzed a herd of jet skies, waiting to pounce on the audience when they least expected it.

Jet skies getting ready to pounce onto the scene.

In a flash, high speed jet skies and boats sliced through the water, with boats standing almost vertical whilst turning corners.

The parade ended soon after but throughout the day we were entertained with many demonstrations, including a boat race.

"Take to the Tees" was a quick success, with all spots being filled before mid afternoon. The organisers have a lot to live up to come next year. It even made me, a "not-so-water sport driven person", think twice.

After all, with centres right outside my door step, it makes sense to get involved!