Rich and Sarah - JN Kites UK

Extreme Dog Walking - 2012 storms

2012-01-03T20:19:00.001Z

Ever wondered what the sea would look like with wind gusting about 60 knots? Well Bert, Donna, Finn and I decided to go and have a look this morning.

The swell wasn't as big as we have seen it recently but it was really windy. On the cliff the wind would do it's best to knock you over in the gusts.

SDKC Christmas Video

2011-12-21T11:00:00.001Z

We made a very last minute video for the local kitesurf club (www.sdkc.co.uk) Christmas dinner a few weeks ago. As usual this was shot and edited in a hasty fashion, but I did actually manage to bang a tripod out for the evening and we got some nice light, even if the waves were really small, it was bolt onshore, and Sarah wasn't riding at her best! She was stacked on a 9m and strapless. I may reuse some of the footage for the English Riveira Part II, the yet to be planned or even though about sequel. The evidence stacks up below:

Advent Storms

2011-12-16T18:34:00.000Z

It's been a big old week down here in the South Hamsters. For once, Windguru didn't under cook the forecast and we got dealt a serious week of big wave, and big wind hi jinx. It's been the longest storm we have seen down here in the last four years of Devon. The week previous we were fairly sure most of it would be to windy to kite, but it actually turned out alright.

Slapping the close out with a salty Go Pro on Tuesday 13th

Monday was one of the best days for progression before the storm really hit. Powered 9m and the swell had arrived before the storm kicked in. There were nice rides to be had, but if we are honest, it was a little too onshore, made up for by how clean it was. We got a couple of good hours in the morning, and packed up just before the wind went crazy.

Extreme 6m weather

Tuesday was the strongest forecast, with 35-55 knots predicted on the Guru. We went down set up, only for a mega squall to arrive which left us sheltering under the 6m in a hail storm. Quote of the week from our recently retired friend Bert was "I feel like one of those f@*king penguins off frozen planet"

Thurlestone working with no wind

Sarah and I both got an hour or so on Tuesday on the 6m Da Vinci, in humongous swell. When it gets hairy, this is still the kite we turn to. We literally pull it off the dusty shelf in case of emergency. In the end I actually got a few decent rides, which I wasn't really expecting. The swell period was so large that there was a lot of space between waves at high tide, meaning you had plenty of time to jibe and prepare to haul your arse over the white water going out. It was actually far safer than some days we have with smaller swell, less wind and shorter period. A windsurfer managed to lose his rig and was swimming in about 300m out and half way across the bay from where his rig was. I hovered around him and watched him in which he was very grateful for indeed. The current was ridiculous with the river flowing out full of Dartmoor's brown sheep shit and tannin rainwater. I obviously earned my karma points here as straight after that I got the best five waves of the day. It was very eerie out there with the low sunlight and mist. Another squall was building behind me, so I called it quits and came out of the water extremely euphoric, and for once the Go Pro worked and I forgive it for getting salty.

Burgh Island Bigggies

Wednesday came and went with very unstable weather. We rode for 20 mins or so, but it was literally 10 to 40 knots as the squalls came and went. Not exactly conducive to fun and we got quite cold. Thursday and Friday were spent doing work and repairs, and in the morning in between the storms I went out and took some photos of a few reef / point spots that have potential to work on big swells in WNW. They were firing, but the wind wasn't quite right. 20 dgrees further north and I would have been all over it. With the onset of Manflu hanging over us like a bogey encrusted overlord, we stayed out of the water and in front of the wood burner. But we know where to head, and when, next time and the exit strategies are in place.

In fact next week looks like it's on. The winter of love continues.

There are more pictures from the weeks antics and scoping here:

December Scoping Album

BKSA Wavemasters 2011

2011-12-02T22:39:00.001Z

After a fair amount ‘umming and ‘arrring and due to yourstruly smashing up my gammy ankle the previous week, Sarah and I postponed ourloose idea of an autumnal trip to warmer climes, and with Jet ski in tow,headed across the bridge to the BKSA Wavemasters in Cornwall. Dicky Gowers hadcalled us a few weeks previous and asked to borrow it for safety cover. I saidfine, as long as I didn't have to sit on it all week.

Jetski Phil

We arrived at our luxury static accommodation at the St IvesBay Caravan park. It turned out to be a very topical place to be with the DaleFarm eviction going on. Still, after a little modification it was verycomfortable, and after burning most of the North Sea gas reserves, it was alsofairly warm. Sound proof it wasn’t. We were sharing with friends Neil and Lisafor the week, who became even more familiar by the end of the stay.

Biggies at Godrevy

Day one greeted us with bright sunshine and humungous surf .The view from the floral cushioned Horizon Contessa was pretty spectacular downtowards Godrevy. Mr Vento hadn’t arrived yet, but he was scheduled to turn upbefore lunchtime. After the rider meeting at the Café, unsurprisingly theGirlies were on first as the wind filled in. It filled in faster than expected,and as Pro Kiteb*tch for the better half I pumped up 6, 7 and 9m PD4 kiteswhilst her ladyship literally crapped her way through the pre match nerves.Unfortunately disaster struck, and the council had decided not to unlock thegates to the track to Godrevy meaning the man left in charge (BKSA ViceChairman, and all round nice guy, Pete Shaw) had to make some frantic phonecalls to get the key. The competition couldn’t start until the Ski was on thebeach. After an hour the gate then got opened, only for Jetski man Phil to findthe access road to the beach had a chuffing great big sand dune across it.

Grinning like a winner

After all this unfortunate messing around the 11am start hadturned into more of a 1.30pm start. Good conditions were being missed and itwas quite frustrating. Anyway, the ladies eventually got off to a good start,with head high plus conditions with about 25-30 knots slightly side off. Sarah’s first heat was against good friend ofours and local pocket rocket wave slayer Debbie Kennedy. Sarah didn’t ride thatwell, and came in a bit peeved, but made it into the next round where she wasagainst another friend of ours, Welsh lovely Sarah Eager of Blast Kiteboardingand a plucky young Scottish lady called Sammy Wiseman. Suddenly Sarah seemed toclick with the conditions, and in the relatively short 7 minute heats shescored three nice long waves with some powerful turns. This got her into thenext round against Steph Bridge. For those of you not in the know, Steph is 3 xWorld course racing champion, and just got a 3rd place at the KSP tour(the international wave event). A formidable opponent to say the least. Sarahthought she was done for , but was pleased with her performance in her lastheat and went into it quite relaxed, changing down to a 6m. She got three goodwaves with some nice slashy turns in the pocket, and cruised in not expectingto win. She was oblivious to the fact that Steph hadn’t had a great heat.

Cheeky session at Marazion on the way home

So much to her surprise, she had progressed to the finalagainst Debbie. At this point she said to me she didn’t really mind who won,and again went in extremely relaxed. She worked her way out back, and took twoor three quite large waves with her usual smooth style, made one very committedtop turn and took a big one right on the head! She cruised in casual as acucumber.

So after a rocky start, she won it. British Champion 2011! Thekey point being is that she relaxed, didn’t think about the other competitorsand results and just rode.

The rest of the week was spent getting through the men’sheats which in the end ran in very small conditions. Light 1-2ft and almost boltonshore. It was still a good display ofriding, specially the strapless guys with the top five all at a ridiculouslevel. The great conditions from the first day didn’t really reappear. A jam session was held later in the week insome light but nice clean side off conditions (Sarah came second in this). This wasa good laugh, and much less serious with twenty minute heats and three or four ridersout at a time in quite technical conditions.

There has been a lot of feedback from various sides on howthis event should be run in the future. I think this is a very positive thing,as the people involved are a really good group, and we have some very highlevel riders in the UK. It should be a showcase of talent, and definitely deservesmore media coverage, sponsorship and more hands on deck to help coordinate.There has also been talk of making it a series, or running more of a jam formatwhich takes the pressure off, and maximises time on the water. It will beinteresting to see what happens. A huge thanks to Pete, Phil, Josh, Tessy and flag girl Lisa for soldiering away all week in chilly conditions.

Le Champ

Lastly the British Wavemasters was won by two South Africans,with both Sarah and Richie Sills hailing from the land of Springbok. TrevorHale won the seniors though, and I think he’s from Devizes (Wiltshire’s hiddengem) so well done Trevor for keeping the British end up.

Lekker

The top three women were also all on 5 line kites. Funny old world isn't it?

JN PD4 12m 2011

2011-10-13T18:41:00.003+01:00

I have used PD4 12m available for £450

It's 6 months old, and in very good shape, and the material is still crisp.

There is a 2" canopy repair just tucked behind the LE, so well hidden.

Colour is Green LE, white/grey canopy as pictured above.

This is very nimble for a 12m light wind kite for freestyle and the largest kite I use for wave riding. It is comparable to a Vegas, Torch or other high depower C shape kites with a 5th line.

See: HERE for more info.

Drop me an email:

info@jn-kites.co.uk

JN Bouddok 138cm 2011

2011-10-12T09:35:00.003+01:00

Ideal board for heavier riders, or for lighter conditions, stomps upwind and can handle a lot of power. Light concave makes for easy landings.

Parabolic outline for superb grip, and easy edge and release.

Wood core, and made in the Atomic ski factory in Austria.

3 months old in mint condition.

Liquid Force Luxury pads and straps.

£275

2011 - The summer of wind.

2011-10-05T09:07:00.005+01:00

Last year we were starting to get a little depressed by the lack of wind in the UK. We had two fairly iffy seasons. In a place where most of the trees near the beach have all grown at a 45 degree slant from being battered by the prevailing south westerly, the evidence wasn't stacking up.

A friend of mine works in renewable energy research, and has access to MET office data. He said the wind stats last year were the lowest in 150 odd years. Most of the turbines performed under capacity compared to what was forecasted.

This year has been ridiculously windy in comparison, and with decent southerly swell from the hurricanes whizzing around in the Atlantic we have had some great wave sessions and new spots have been opening up.

This sort of wind is also very good for business. We can watch our sales figures go up and down literally like the wind.

So the moral of the story is to keep the faith.

In the wise words words of King Crimson:

"I talk to the wind , The wind cannot hear"

The English Riviera - Part 1

2011-07-09T16:42:00.001+01:00

The plan was to film on day with a good forecast and see what footage we could get.

Shot and edited in 24 hours on 8th June. Part one of the series celebrating a great summer of Kitesurfing in Devon.

UK conditions, UK riders.

Equipment:

JN Prima Donna 4 9m
JN Wild Thing 3 10m
JN Chit Chat Neo 130cm
JN Chit Chat Neo 134cm

Riders:

Jon Bleiker
Sam Lawman
Sarah Sylvester

jn-kites.co.uk
sdkc.co.uk

Summer clear out

2011-07-06T16:38:00.003+01:00

Summer garage clear out:

Kite leashes:

• 6 x Powercord Handlepass (posh) = £30 (RRP = £42)
• 4 x Standard JN Leash (normal) = £15 (RRP = £20)

Boards:

• Used Jib Surfboard 5”10 Quadfin 2010 = £200
• Used JN Chit Chat 2010 134cm deck only = £225
• New JN Circus 136cm 2010 deck only = £180
• Used Slingshot Fuse 2008 149cm 6 fin mutant (complete north straps and Slingy pads) = £120
• Prototype JN Circus 136cm 2010 deck only (white, no topsheet, big JN sticker on it) = £100
• Old 180cm F-One (SX 90?) directional, needs a little TLC and some fins = £50

Pads, straps and fins can be easily organised for deck only boards.

Kites:

6m JN WT3 2011 (with a few small patches) £375 kite only

Pads and Straps:

• Used Liquid Force Luxury straps and pads used, but VGC = £50 (cost £120)
• New B3 lace up pads and straps. These are dead posh, have interchangeable heel pads with different densities. = £60

Give me a shout on info@jn-kites.co.uk or pop in, or ring me, or carrier pigeon, smoke signals.

If anyone wants any pictures of the goods in question, let me know and I will send them on.

Used 2010 PD3 13m for sale - £350

2011-02-22T12:15:00.004Z

Used 13m PD3 2010 available: £350

Kite is in great condition, and hasn't had a lot of use. Ideal for light wind freestyle. Fast turning and stable for a 13m.Will work on most 5 line bar systems.

Beware youngsters....

2011-01-07T16:21:00.004Z

Take heed: Too many kite loops and hard landings over too many years knackers your ankles.

I recently had a trip to the MRI scanner, where I spent 45 minutes being scanned in sections by a giant, and very noisy magnet. After declining the option to listen to 'Now 71' to drown out the weird noises, I lay back and managed to relax enough during the scan to nod off, the nurses found this all extremely amusing.

Well, it turns out the middle of my ankle has collapsed and as an added bonus there's a bit of bone floating about in there as well.

So where does this leave me? Good news is I don't have to spend any time off the water initially. I get a flouro guided steroid injection and see what happens. I also get special inserts for my shoes. I always wanted special shoes, so this is a bonus to be honest. Every cloud.

Getting owned (on camera)

2010-12-09T11:47:00.006Z

I had a nice little swim at Bantham a couple of weeks back. I got munched and rolled by a wave, and binned the kite. My Go Pro HD got blasted off by the force of the wave, and went on a bit of a journey for a few days, and miraculously we found it washed up and it was 100% OK, even the footage was in tact.

I had to release the kite, and it also survived being washed into the rocks during a 3m swell with a couple of small holes. All in all, I count myself very lucky. Big thanks goes to the guys on the beach who kept an eye on me as I swam in.

Big thanks to Go Pro for making such a robust camera as well. We were sure it was mincemeat.

Oh and a big thanks to James at www.kentkiterepairs.co.uk for re-sleeving my bar and sorting the little holes in my kite. He's a legend.

13m PD3 for sale - £350

2010-11-25T11:51:00.009Z

Ex team rider kite, with a couple of minor pro canopy repairs in the wing tips. This kite doesn't look like it's had a great deal of use, and has just had one big impact which has been sorted. Bladders are solid and tested, material is pretty crisp.

This kite was instrumental in steering Pete Whiteley to his 2010 BKSA seniors title. By buying it you will no doubt inherit some of his mad skills.

JN PD3 5m for sale - £250

2010-11-23T14:49:00.004Z

Amazing condition freestyle kite for mental winds. Really excels in the waves. Ultra stable in the gusty conditions you experience with this kind of kite size. Trees and houses will start falling over before you reach it's top end. Ideal for a Cape Town season.

Price includes delivery.

Australia Article

2010-10-27T12:46:00.004+01:00

Last season we had a fantastic 3 months out in Australia chasing wind and waves, and found some great spots. We wrote an article for Rou at IKSurf magazine which is below.

IKsurf magazine article

Legendary local pest Mark Dingo from Supersaturated also knocked up a fresh batch of video for us as well, located here:

JN Down Under

Beyond Blouberg article in IKsurfmag

2009-09-15T13:16:00.004+01:00

Good news! We got published.

We wrote an article about our trip to South Africa, detailing all the spots we visited on the way up to Durban.

The link is here: http://www.iksurfmag.com/issue16/?page=71

BKSA 2009 Swansea

2009-06-06T13:59:00.008+01:00

The first stop of the BKSA 2009 tour in Swansea, Wales was my first freestyle competition. I threw myself straight into the deep end (in the form of the Pro Ladies’ event), and came out the other end with a 3rd place ☺

All the pros turned up for registration on Friday morning. Being my first freestyle competition I was pretty nervous and as the wind didn’t kick in until the afternoon, there was plenty of time to let the nerves get on top of me. But I had already learnt from doing a wave comp in SA that the best strategy was to just chill out with the other riders and take lots of deep breaths! When the wind finally kicked in about 4pm, it came in pretty strong, was slightly cross off and very gusty. All the Pro’s heats were completed but the finals had to be carried over to the Saturday due to a sudden drop in wind (and there was me raring to go on my 13m). Friday also saw local school kids turning up to have a go on some trainer kites. Swansea might be seeing a sudden increase in the number of young kite enthusiasts.

Photo courtesy of Tony from www.kiteboarder.co.uk

Saturday arrived along with a lot of riders turning up to register for the Amateurs freestyle, Seniors and Juniors freestyle, course racing, landboarding and buggying. With the wind blowing full force and an occasional rainstorm soaking us and the locals who had come out to see what kitesurfing was all about, riders had to keep their wits about them. The Ladies final was well underway when a threatening squall meant the judges stopped our heat. I made the mistake of being tidy and wrapping up my lines, so when the heat re-started 10 minutes later, my lines had got in a muddle which left me a bit flustered. Still it was a great experience for my first freestyle comp. Once that was over and I had warmed up in the hot showers (thanks to the event sponsors for them!) I hung around and watched the other events (and poor Rich who managed to get lost in the course racing!). Both Saturday and Sunday were very busy days with the wind blowing solidly, and there was some great kiting action in all events, although I must admit I missed some of the action on Sunday when I escaped a rainstorm by heading for a pub lunch. But I was pleased to be there to witness JN rider Pete Whiteley’s classic Deadman rendition in his heat!

Swansea was a great success for JN. As well as myself taking 3rd place, Hannah Whiteley took 1st place in the Pro Ladies, and her dad Pete Whiteley took 1st place in the Men’s Seniors.
Congratulations to all the riders, and to the organisers for such a great event. Thanks to the sponsors for the live music belting out on the beach, the barbeque, the pub buffet, and a warm beanie to counteract the freezing temperatures. Oh and thanks to Aaron Hadlow for my podium winners’ kiss on the cheek. I touched greatness!

Cape Town, South Africa

2009-02-26T07:25:00.004Z

Well we got to Cape Town safe and sound with a minimum of fuss. Virgin provided a damn good in-flight meal and on-demand episodes of Blackadder at rock bottom prices, even though they did try and weigh our hand luggage. We have vowed never to fly BA again.

Cape town is amazing. Visually, it’s an incredible place. The city centre is set in a bowl surrounded by the mountains, and then the city spreads north along the coast and into the cape flats. The climate is fantastic. Not too hot, not too cold and it varies a little to keep you on your toes. The contrast between rich and poor here is extremely apparent. You see people from the townships begging at the traffic lights, trying to sell coat hangers to people in a Porsche Cayenne. It’s definitely a city of opposites. From a personal safety point of view, we both feel more comfortable here than in Brazil.

So after arrival, and initial wow factor we needed to complete all three sides of the job, house, car triangle.

We have had 3 different flats. We started in Rondebosch on the side of the mountain, then we were with friends in Milnerton (thanks Tricky and Sonia) on the coast close to the city centre and now we have finally settled for the next couple of months at Big Bay. It's fantastic to be able to wake up, and look out the window at Table Mountain, and then decide what to do with the day.

Job-wise we spoke to a few schools and settled working for Cyclone kiteboarding at Big Bay. It was by far the best location to teach and the guys that run the shop are super friendly. Cyclone is owned by Gavin Spowart from Durban, who was big in surfing and now shapes his own range of kiteboards, surfboards and SUP boards. It was all settled over a beer at Doodles, the local kitesurfing hangout at Table View.

Finding decent transport was a difficult one. There are a lot of very broken second hand cars on the market. In the end we settled for a Mitsubishi Pick up or ‘bakkie’ 4x4. Just to get the thing insured we had to get alarm, immobiliser, central locking and anti-hijack fitted as well as a gear stick lock and a hidden panic button (This cost about £80!). It’s a great truck, we named it the ‘Imperial Chariot’. Nice to have all the kit in the back and the ability to offroad.

We plan to do a lot of overland driving when the season ends here at the end of March. Durban, Lesotho and Mozambique are ideas we have been throwing around.

So since settling into the new flat we have been teaching, kiting and spending time with Sarah’s numerous Capetonian relatives.

The food here is incredible. The meat is great, the fish is great (specially kingklip) and the curries are out of this world. We had an amazing Cape Malay meal on the hill overlooking the business district just the other day. Crayfish curry rocks.

The kite conditions are really great, but a rude awakening after Brazil. The waves can be so perfect with amazing powerful left handers. We bought a small 5”3 surf board which is perfect for the nuking conditions, and big fast waves.

The wind is really dense here as it comes from the south (Antarctica), which means your jumps are twice as high and floaty as usual and your loops are crazy. You can easily get 50-100m of downwind travel on a big kite loop.

The wind seems to follow no particular pattern on Bloubergstrand. You just have to be opportunistic. If it’s blowing South easterly, you can normally guarantee that it will kick in around lunch time and then just build and build until sunset. You can pump every kite from 11m to 6m in an afternoon. Big Bay is one of the nicer spots as it’s protected by two large sets of rocks and you have massive kickers and flat water sections. Freestylers stay on the inside in the flats, and the wave riders go downwind a bit for the point break that comes out just a little north. This separates the two disciplines nicely. We have had some of the waves of our lives out here. Really long, large predictable wave riding. After all the crowded lagoons and body destroying freestyle in Brazil, this is exactly what we needed. It’s the sort of variable conditions that keep you interested, keep you on your toes and bring the passion back into your kitesurfing.

Everyone who thinks of Cape Town, thinks of those big hungry fish with teeth. Wildlife wise, we have seen some seals surfing with us, which is always a complete joy. They love the waves as much as we do! There has been the occasional dolphin and a lot of very smelly penguins and other assorted seabirds who sit on the rocks at Big Bay. Every now and then you get freaked out by a bit of kelp which is floating about but so far, so good.

Other JN folk are out here. Leander is living just out the back of our house, it’s nice to see the cheeky young Belgian fellow and we plan to do some trips with him. Mike Schitzhofer is here with his family and is absolutely ripping at the moment. Making the two of us feel very old and inadequate! We went to visit Hannah Whiteley and co in Langebaan and she has also come on loads.

So the plan is to carry on doing much the same for the next couple of months and then go on some adventures. We have been taking some video and will put something together at the end of the trip.

Nassfeld

2009-01-12T14:12:00.004Z

We managed to sneak off snowboarding to Austria just after new year with the cousins. It was great conditions with loads of snow and bright sunshine every day, and very cold. We would highly recommend going to Nassfeld, it's nearly all red runs which is perfect for us snowboarding. We had a bash on the half pipe as well which was a first. The off piste potential there was amazing as well, with plenty of really safe areas to explore. Next time we go back we want powder, and lots of it!

Pic: Cousin James and the Imperial Stormtrooper boots. Duh Duh Duh.

Cape Town on the 15th January- can't wait to be kitesurfing again and see some familiar face from Brazil!

Taiba Finale

2008-12-02T13:48:00.003Z

When we packed the 13m we didn't think we would need it in Brazil. It turned out the wind stopped completely on the first week of December. We all shared the 13m and had a blast on the empty lagoon. It was nice to fly a big predictable kite on mirror flat water.

The Brazilian Air Force also decided to give us a fly past, which was a little bit low for our liking. It was a nice way to conclude the 4 months of great conditions we had in Brazil.

See the full sequence of the Taiba fly past photos here!

Paracuru

2008-11-27T13:37:00.001Z

We spent a week or so of our time on the coast was spent at Paracuru. We stayed at another great Pousada just off the main square called Vila Verde.It was cheap and lived up to the name by having loads of trees and plants around. Without a doubt this was the best breakfast in north east Brazil. Delicious juice and baked stuff, fruit, eggs and all sorts.

There's also a great Cafe on the corner of the square called something like Cooperativa. Head for the pastels and arabic bread sandwiches, which were nothing short of amazing and really cheap. The Churrascaria on the square is awesome as well for meaty treats.

After nearly four months solid, we were very much winding down on the kitesurfing front during the last week, and turned attentions to the sometimes bizarre costumes sported by fellow kiters.

We liked Paracuru a lot more than Cumbuco as a town. It wasn't quite as touristy and busy and it felt a lot more like a real Brazilian town. The surfing there is excellent as well, with 4 point breaks in a row in front of the town, sheltered from the wind. I would go back for the food alone.

Barra Grande

2008-11-26T18:17:00.001Z

We had heard tales of the mystical Barra Grande the first time we went up to Prea in the 4x4, but at that point we were too knackered from down-winding to drive into the next state to see what all the fuss was about. Some said it only worked at high tide, some say only at low tide. As we had already seen Jeri we thought we may as well make the effort and get up there and have a look.

So we hesitantly left Icarai after about a week with great varied conditions and terrific French food and saddled up the Gol for what was to be one of its more interesting journeys. We got to Jijoca fine with no worries and pretty quickly, only to find out that the road to Barra Grande was a bit on the unfinished side. No problems though, after a pointer from a motorcycle guide we found the road mid construction with a small service road next to it. Follow this for about 50 km in a Colin McRae Rally style, whilst dodging massive construction vehicles, and you get back on some decent gravel and tarmac. Shortly after that you cross the border into the next state, Piaui. This is the poorest part of Brazil, and it was visibly very underdeveloped. The first town we went through after the border was amazing. It had huge building sized boulders dotted around the usual basic housing and we all thought it looked a lot like the Flintstones.

On arrival in Barra Grande we were hassled by just about everybody. There are a fair few Pousadas and restaurants dotted around all aimed very much at the European kite surfer end of the market, and nowhere near enough kite surfers making the effort to go up there. The other problem is none of them are willing to negotiate on price. They all seemed a little desperate but at the same time expensive, so we opted for the Brazilian option, which was clean, functional and right on the beach. I don’t remember the name of it***, but it’s the last one on the east end of the town on the beach with red doors and windows. You could kite right out the front and they were really friendly as we were the only guests!

Barra Grande bay is a great flat water location. Low tide is much nicer than high tide, but to be honest it only gets a little more choppy. Don’t go there looking for waves, there just aren’t any. It’s shallow for a long way out with small rocky outcrops protecting the flattest water on the inside of each small crescent bay. Our Pousada was perfect for getting right in the flat stuff. It’s very windy up there. Pumping from 9am onwards when Cumbuco and Taiba wasn’t really working at all. The wind is also very clean here as well, much nicer than Prea and Jeri. For the 1^st day or two we just kited outside the Pousada, after a bit more investigation we found out that there was a river mouth and mangrove about 3 miles further downwind. Only problem was, you can’t drive vehicles on the beach ***, so the only real transport option was to downwind there and then get a donkey cart back. This proved for some amusing return journeys.

The mangrove is without a doubt one of the nicest places I have ever kite surfed for flat water. It seemed to work on all tide states, although we didn’t see it at spring tides, and was just butter flat with smooth wind and also barely a soul there. We spent the best part of 4 or 5 days down there with Toby, Louse, Pascale, Chad and Nick. A beautiful location where we all progressed well.

There was also a clump of bushes you could jump as well as large strips of land. It was a great place for photos and the donkey rides home were very cool. The only thing to remember up there is to not go near the fishermen. Kitesurfing is very new up there and they seem a bit sensitive of people ripping around their mangrove. They were only there early morning so for the most part we barely saw them.

Icarai Monkey Business

2008-11-20T18:17:00.001Z

We arrived pretty late at night to discover that there was a windsurf regatta on (bad news) and most of the accommodation was full. After driving round in circles for a bit and disturbing an incredibly stoned man in a hammock we found a small family run place on the beach which was built completely of drift wood and had a fishing boat somehow attached to the front as a feature of the bar. The whole place felt like it would fall over if you stood in the wrong place and some of the floorboards moved a worryingly amount underfoot. It was a very cool place that eventually got nicknamed ‘Ewok village’. Other interesting features included the town gym, also run by the same family, being just next to our rooms so we had muscled Brazilian men dressed in day glo lycra pumping iron to the latest commercial dance tunes until 11pm every night. The kids ran the bar and pool table and would dish out beers and peanuts. There were chickens everywhere.

We kite surfed at low tide on the upwind point of the village which was a short walk from the Pousada. It was a lovely spot, protected by a shallow dead reef in front of some old fishing gates. It made a great backdrop and the wind was very smooth. There were about 4 or 5 windsurfers blasting about who seemed very aggressive towards us. In fact a small blonde woman shouted ‘Get out of my way Mother f**cker!’ at Toby. I also managed to have a small altercation with a French kite surfer who was screaming at Sarah for no apparent reason. This put us off using this area a bit, but we went down the next day to discover they had all disappeared, and we had it to ourselves again. Later we discovered that the windsurf centre was under the impression that they owned the entire ocean and didn’t like having other kite surfers there, explaining the random expletives and gesticulation. All in all it was an incredible spot. High tide also made for a nice beach break.

The next problem we discovered was a slight lack of food in the village. Initially we survived on chicken on a stick from the street vendors round the corner, which was delicious.

It was coming up to full moon and the family wanted their spare rooms back as they were having some friends round for a party, so we were out on the street. We ended up staying at another place owned by the woman in the supermarket, who also owned the restaurant. We could see a recurring theme here.

The next morning Chad, Pascal and Nick arrive out of the blue. They had driven all the way up there following a one sentence email from me saying we had wind, apparently there was very little in Cumbuco. They had very much landed on their feet and had found space at one of the French Pousadas, and had also had the foresight to find us a bungalow to stay in as well. What really clinched it was tales of fantastic food. By this point we had discovered that man and woman cannot live by chicken on a stick and sardines alone.

We settled into Pousada Malea, which was one of the best places we have ever stayed. A shining example to all European Pousada owners. It was run by a lovely French couple and their French servant boy, Seb, who we think was working for food and a roof over his head. Every night we had a fantastic sit down family meal with local food and friendly conversation. The breakfasts and lunches were also equally as incredible, and what’s more good value. It was exactly what we needed after chicken on a stick diet. The rooms were great as well, with big fluffy towels for Sarah. Two mischievous monkeys also lived here called Capi and Rinha. They bit us, pulled our hair and one morning they also hung off a lamp shade and crapped on the breakfast table which was an amusing addition to the morning.

The other good news was that they had a buggy, and weren’t afraid to use it. Seb would get 10 people plus equipment and small children onto the buggy and tank off downwind to another protected reef spot. This time it had waves. Small waist high reef breaks that funnel into the beach with perfect cross shore wind and flat water in between. A fantastic spot which we used for a couple of days, followed by sunset sessions at the upwind point to annoy the windsurfers. The tide was really high at this point and the water was eroding the windsurf centre. Justice.

Seb suggested a bit of an adventure and offered to take us to a secret lagoon. So we saddled up two buggys this time and headed off for 2 hours drive across a mangrove, several rivers and a set of dunes to an amazing, huge flat water spot. It was huge and a little inland, but the wind was very stable. There was nothing there apart from a few grazing cows, donkeys, the odd goat and us.

We all had an awesome session here. Including some comedy jumping of sandbanks and painful spiky weed experiences.

We reluctantly left the amazing cooking and headed on a few days later. I am sure we spent 10 days in the Icarai comfort bubble. An amazing place we hope to go back to one day.

Chad

2008-11-11T18:16:00.001Z

Chad was a straight up wave ripper who kites Cape Hatteras. We met him when he arrived from Florida to join the bizarre love triangle. This man could push the ocean backwards and jump 1000 ft in the air over almost any obstacle. We hope to head out to Hatteras at some point to jump some sand, and smash some waves - Chad style.

Taiba Revisited

2008-11-10T18:13:00.001Z

By the end of the month we had a complete overdose of Cumbuco. It was getting to peak season and the beach as well as the lagoon was getting extremely busy. We needed escape so with some old friends of Sarah’s, Toby and Louise, we decided to hire a trusty VW Gol (Thank you Tina from Cumbuco Rent-a-Car) and head off up north for the last month of the trip in search of a bit of space from the marauding masses and room to train.

We didn’t go too far to start with, about an hour up the coast to Taiba where we had been before. Taiba lagoon in the mornings was really deserted so we spent a good week or so there doing an early morning sessions. Sarah really progressed fast here, and we both discovered we both thrive on a bit of space. In the afternoons we all trooped back upwind and Toby and I would head out into the waves just downwind of Taiba town. Consistently there is a nice cross/cross on shore beach break there with enough space to pull some freestyle shapes in the flat water as well.

We stayed at our old favourite, the Taiba Inn which is a family run Brazilian place right on the beach. It’s cheap, clean and breakfast watching the surfers was consistently brilliant. The coffee is also bloody good here.

Before we came to Brazil, everyone we spoke to said something about gun crime and up until this point we had seen no crime at all really. It had to happen at sometime! On one of our morning sessions at the lagoon whilst I was training Sarah a buggy pulled up about 30 metres away. I took no notice of this at all until four big Norwegian guys came running towards me as the buggy roared off into the distance towards Paracuru. Apparently what had happened was two guys had approached them from beyond the dunes with painted faces armed with a gun and a knife and had basically asked them for all their money, anything else valuable and their buggy. They sensibly had agreed to everything and had come away unhurt but with no cash or transport. It was a good wake up call for us all security wise. It’s very easy to get complacent. I drove them all into town to try and find them a way of getting home, and we miraculously found a Brazilian guy that spoke perfect Norwegian. A crowd of about twenty Brazilians gathered in the fish market. Someone called the police, someone else got them all a beer and within 5 minutes everything was sorted out and they were on their way back home with a free lift. When things do go wrong in Brazil you can almost always rely on the kind-heartedness of the locals. You would rarely get that much help from complete strangers in Europe.

Good food in Taiba included a newly opened English place http://revolutionkiteboarding.com/. We had some nice Pizza and beer in a pretty terrace there, it’s very well hidden though. There was also a great but very bog standard Brazilian fish meal on the square on the right.

The wind decided to die off a bit, so we came to the decision to head up to Icarai which was somewhere we passed on the mammoth 4x4 down-winder that looked worth exploring.

Nick

2008-11-07T18:18:00.000Z

Being another Canadian, with beady eyes and a flapping head all full of lies (to quote South Park), Nick turned up brandishing several cans of maple syrup. Pancake mayhem ensued and after this, we ended up teaching him to Kitesurf. His progress was fast and and bulbous. He did his country proud and has since received awards from the likes of Celine Dion and Bryan Adams as a mark of respect from his people. Jokes aside I have never seen anyone come on so well in 2 weeks – he was busting 15ft airs before he went home. His equipment definitely helped though. Snarf, snarf!

Leander's Video

2008-11-04T06:42:00.004Z

Whilst Leander was around for the KPWT we helped him shoot at bit of video up at the small lagoon at Icarai. He has used some of the footage in his profile video, have a look below. He is competing at the final KPWT in Morocco at the moment. Good luck dude!

Richie's 26th

2008-10-07T13:15:00.000+01:00

After a comedy day at the water park, we came back and embarked on a lobster barbecue of epic proportions. Mayhem ensued including house climbing, and various items being throw into the swimming pool.

Big thanks to Bibi and Jona for paying for that deck chair, it made the night so much more fun. Also a huge thanks to Eva for not letting then throw the TV out.

Pic: Leander training hard for the KPWT

Pic: The Reverend JT playing pool

Pic: House climbing practice. Followed by sun chair off balcony

Pascale

2008-10-05T18:19:00.001+01:00

We first met Pascale when she rocked up and asked us for a pump. When she proceeded to set up her kite upside down we knew we had a problem.

I wouldn’t dream about mentioning a 200m Switchblade dragging resulting in some very nasty friction burns and some mild shock. She was extreme in all aspects of her life, specially partying and kite surfing. Once we all got her to calm down a bit, her kiting was awesome as well busting some crazy back loops and violent jumps in a frantic Canadian style.

Pascale did her level best to destroy the lovely new kite that Dani brought over from spain for her. As far as we know it's still all OK.

She's going to kill me for putting that last one up. We miss you Pascale 'Danger' Deschamps.

Kiwi Speedo Madness

2008-09-30T18:05:00.001+01:00

Rob the Kiwi had become something of a local legend by this point, after living in Cumbuco for 4 months straight and ripping the piss out of literally everyone (diplomatic immunity revoked) a few of us decided that before he left, it was time to get one back on him. So during a trip to the Fortaleza night market, a plan was hatched and an undersized orange purchase was made. When presented with his Speedos he gracefully accepted, got them on and knocked out some good wang shapes.

Since then someone has entered the footage in a competition for an ice cream commercial in New Zealand, meaning Robs parts have at last gone global. We always thought they might.

Katy

2008-09-28T16:47:00.000+01:00

A breath of fresh air in Cumbuco is someone that doesnt kitesurf. Katy the Canadian arrived a confused girl, and left slightly more confused. She tempted us to the mountains on a weekend away from Cumbuco kitesurf fever. This mainly involved driving, and staying in an extremely bizarre German owned hostel in an African themed room with stolen beer from next doors mini bar.

Katy was a pro bonnet rider, krumper and p-popper. We learned a lot about hip hop culture from her. A sense of humour is a precious thing.

Cauipe

2008-09-27T16:09:00.002+01:00

We spent pretty much every morning for two weeks straight going down to Cauipe early and getting a couple of hours uncrowded riding in before the hordes turn up at about 11am. Initially it was great as we got some new moves nailed and its good socially.

Pic: Sarah's railey development.

After a couple of weeks though you realise the reason your eyes are bloodshot is because the water is pretty dirty. I also started to develop kite rage as you have to wait for ages for space to do your moves. After freeriding in such nice uncrowded places for so long back home, it starts to drive you a bit mental.

Pic: Classic Sylvester frontloop grab with a downloop.

Two weeks straight of kitesurfing for three hours a day ruins your body as well. Knees and ankles start to give up, and you suffer from constant whiplash! All in all we got a lot of stuff sorted out, specially with Sarah's freestyle, but in the end it got frustrating being in the same busy place all the time. This was a real groundhog day. As peak season hit, it was even busy in the mornings with 35-40 kites plus. We needed a bit of a change!

Pic: Kiteloop supreme (Thanks to Jordan)

KPWT

2008-09-17T15:47:00.001+01:00

This week the KPWT came to town which meant loads of Pro riders everywhere and some seriously good competitions to watch. We went down to keep an eye on our new JN buddy Leander and act as his kite bitches for the day. If a kite needed pumping, lines needed preparing, or his helmet needed buffing we were there to sort him out, and get some pictures. He ended up ranking a very respectable 2nd in the Kite Pro World Tour. See www.leandervyvey.com for the cheeky scamp's website.

Pic: The Pantene brothers

Jokes aside it was good experience for both of us to watch the competition. Its a bewildering and stressful environment at the best of times! We also bumped into Mitu and Tik Tik, who we worked with in Cape Verde. It was great to see them, although they were not impressed with the waves compared with home, and rightly so.

Pic: Leander is very good at kitesurfing

The next day the freestyle finals were held in the lagoon at Cauipe. The Brazillians completely rocked and the atmosphere was amazing with so much local support. Was good to see the local guys completely kick ass and get some well deserved recognition.

Pic: The brazilians completely stole the show

It was also great to see Frango man sell so many sandwiches, he probably had a week off afterwards.

Pic: Frango man - purveyor of quality kite snacks

North Eastern Brazil Road Trip

2008-09-05T14:50:00.010+01:00

So over the last week or so we have taken it upon ourselves to go on a bit of a mission up the coast to Jeri. We never made it to Jeri unfortunately as we had no idea what a bloody long way it was. I think we are going to leave it until the PKRA is on up there in late September.

Paracuru is the first major spot north from Cumbuco after Pecem. It’s an awesome little spot. Reminds me a little bit of our home spot back in Bantham. Flat water on the inside at low tide, and then large waves on the reef. A really perfect location, other than the fact it was completely overrun by Italians. We had one really good day there, but the second day was so busy we nipped off early. I really want to go back there in a couple of weeks when the Italians are all back to work! The wave riding was great, nice long waist high waves in both directions. Made me want my surf board.

Taiba was a weird place, it looked like a ghost town. A classic example of where foreign investment can go horribly wrong. Apparently, BEST kiteboarding had bought an enormous plot here, and built a giant wall round the outside of it. It looked hideously out of place and really dominated the landscape. Have a look on google earth. It’s insane. There were other Pousadas dotted around half finished. You could see how much confidence there had been in the area. So the problem? We got down to the lagoon and it was tiny, with barely any water. Someone had literally pulled the plug out. It could support 4 or 5 kites maximum. The one thing the Brazillian government don’t let you do is mess with Lagoons. No dams, no bulldozers. So I guess all the investors have to wait and see if the water and the kite surfers decide to come back.

Flexeiras

This is a really cute Brazillian seaside town, not unlike Broadstairs in Kent. Kiting in the village was total bullshit - way too gusty . The accommodation was really nice, but there was a massive street party all night right outside, and we were way to knackered to join in. We headed 20 km up the beach to the small lagoon north of Lagoinha. This was a really cool little journey along the beach. We crossed a river with the car on a tiny raft pulled by a very butch woman. It was a bit sketchy to say the very least.

We both had really good sessions here and I got my F16 back after a couple of weeks of going easy on my shoulder following a little shallow water dislocation at Bantham. Sarah also ‘had it large’ so to speak, and was pulling shapes left, right and centre. Unfortunately one of the guys we were up there pushed the envelope a little too far. He managed to time a jump badly and came down very hard in not a lot of water and hurt his ankle. It had swollen up like a balloon by the time we were back in Flexeiras. Two days later we heard he had gone to the hospital and had an X-Ray and it was well and truly broken. A slightly crappy start to his month’s holiday.

Next stop on the Austro-Germanic-Anglo-Saffer tour was the hotly promoted investment opportunity of a lifetime which is Isla da Gaujiru. See www.theflatwatersea.com for grade A investment bullshit.

Pic: Don't be fooled. It's a god awful place to kitesurf.

So firstly, they got the name wrong. It’s actually called Isla da Barra. Isla de Gaujiru is about 10 km west, and there is also another place called Guajiru on the way from Cumbuco. Nice and confusing. The marketing man didn’t think about that one. I mean, if you are going to rename something at least do it properly. I can see lost kite boarders all over the coast.

The wind comes over from the mangrove to the east of the lagoon, which is more of an inlet so it’s seriously lumpy. I have had cleaner wind in offshore locations.

The tide runs in and out at a fair old rate of knots, making it very difficult to pop properly. It also makes the water really choppy, that sort of small, high density chop that leaves your knees in pieces with 10 minutes, and alleviates any chance of your kite boarding progressing.

At low tide it’s bloody shallow, and as the water is a little cloudy it’s hard to judge the depth. So you don’t really know what you are landing on and in.

All in all it was a really uninspiring place to kite surf. I can’t believe the hype they have generated in Cumbuco about it. I was expecting some sort of kite surf Shan Gri La. I ended up with cut feet, and a lot of frustration. I would rather stack up €120,00 in a pile and burn it, perhaps toasting a few marshmallows whilst I was at it than buy a plot there.

On the plus side, it was extremely windy there. Realistically 6m or 7m weather from 10 in the morning onwards. So try and run a school there and you are going to destroy a lot of kites and people’s confidences.

So as you can tell, I wasn’t over enamoured by the place. We were only there for 2 days, so I am only drawing conclusions from that time we spent there. We will go back and check it out again at a later date. If the wind changed direction 20 degrees more northerly, it would paradise. I think it’s very unlikely to change. Rant over.

We had a really ropey drive home on Sunday night. The Brazillians enjoy their weekends by getting shitfaced at the lagoons and driving around. So you get a drunken rush hour at about 5pm before it gets dark and the carjacking starts! We won’t be making the mistake of driving on a Sunday night again

All in all, it was a great few days road trip and it’s given me the taste for more highway adventures in bad cars. The plan for next week is to go south of Fortaleza and check out some spots there.

Cumbuco

2008-08-31T23:08:00.013+01:00

Well we got here with all 120 kilos of gear and it’s incredible. We have got into a repeat pattern of getting up, eating boiled eggs and waiting for the wind to kick in at about ten. We then both saddle up on our 9m PD2s launching straight in front of the apartment and trot off downwind.

On the way downwind there is a mixture of chop, various waves and flat sections. I normally head for the waves and smack the lip about 50 times on the way down to the lagoon. The down winder acts as a relaxed warm-up to aid egg digestion and shake off any Caipirinha induced hangover. It’s about 30 or 40 minutes, but I usually get distracted if the waves are particularly nice, and wave ride for a little longer.

So 6 km downwind, you hop out of the sea, walk across a small stretch of sand and you get to Cauipe. It’s a mid size shallow lagoon, which is perfect for freestyle. This is where all the Pro’s hang out, and it can get a bit hectic, but hit it right and you can have a really good session. All that flat water is great for progression, and being surrounded by ridiculously good riders also helps push you a bit. You can also get a plate of fried cheese balls for about £3, beer, fresh coconuts and other local delicacies.

When it’s time to go home, you hop in a beach buggy. These are a bastardised VW beetle which look like something out of mad max. Our latest driver took us the back route home by the sand dunes as he was avoiding the police.

I think we are really going to enjoy it here. We are looking forward to a bit of a road trip north in the near future.

Waterproof camera fun time

2008-07-14T11:17:00.007+01:00

The Sunday after the BKSA event, we had a cheeky session down at Bantham in some nice little lagoons. An aquatic photography genius (also known as cousin Will) was on hand with his waterproof camera and got some very nice shots. He put up with being splashed and jumped over like a true professional and was actually encouraging us to come closer each time. Hopefully he is going to take some more shots with his SLR/ housing at some point. We might have to get him some sort of helmet to avoid any board to head nightmares that may occur!

Pic: Jumping Burgh Island

Pic: Smirking Sylvester

BKSA Course Racing Exmouth

2008-07-14T10:46:00.012+01:00

Last weekend Sarah and I decided it was high time we entered a competition, so what could be better than the BKSA course racing event about an hour away up in Exmouth.

Pic: Rich feeling like a giant standing next to other diminutive competitors

It was good to see both familiar and new faces down there. The competition was fierce, with pros like Steph Bridge and Denzil Williams both entering everything with race specific equipment. We thought it would be interesting to see how we could do completely on the blag with no previous experience, twin tips and C shaped kites.

Pic: Sarah worrying the Pros up front

The event suffered from a slight lack of wind. Exmouth seafront isn't ideal in a westerly, as the wind comes off the land, and it's pretty gusty. This didn't lower the level of enthusiasm, and the number of spectators!

Pic: Sarah in her fisherman's racing smock

Every race I entered I seemed to storm off ahead when it was windy, and then sink in the lulls letting all the short people catch up. In the end I thought Sarah would have more chance of winning, so we put her on the 13m instead of the 11m. Tactics. Sarah had a storming race and managed to rip to the front of the field on a 13m WT2 and twin tip and overall got 2nd in the ladies. Woo hoo! Richard, our hydrofoil riding friend from Bantham, won 2nd in the senior citizens race. His Hydrofoil was brilliant in the gusty light wind and he was only held back by his rubbish kites :)

It was a great event, with a relaxed atmosphere and not a hint of elitism. Massive thanks to Steph and Richard for putting on the event and we look forward to it again next year.

Middle sized Thursday

2008-06-25T21:38:00.007+01:00

We have had some amazing conditions in Devon over the last two weeks. Normally we have been on 11m and 9m kites. Bantham is probably one of the most beautiful kitesurf locations in the UK, and offers that perfect blend of solid waves and pitch flat lagoons. If only it was windy all the time and wasn't so ridiculously cold in the winter!

Sarah managed to get some pictures of some late evening wave riding last Thursday. It was blowing about 15mph and there were some chunky waves. This was the 1st time we have had a chance to use the Da Vinci on the wave. It works extremely well. You can run towards it endlessly, and it's very stable. All that depower/repower allows you to postition yourself perfectly and concentrate on putting your turns in. I can't wait to try the 6m in a storm swell here.

Devon is Heaven

2008-06-13T16:51:00.014+01:00

After returning from Norway, we both felt we needed to get our feet on the ground and be in one place for a while so we set up camp near Bantham in Devon. It's an incredible beach with waves, lagoons and plenty of scope for Kitesurfing, Kayaking and Surfing which we have been doing lots of. It's the sort of place you can get out on the water and do something literally every day.

Pic: Light wind wave riding in front of Burgh Island

Pic: Sarah ripping through the lagoons at Bantham

We have also been kiting in various other parts of the south west including the east coast of Devon as well as Cornwall. We have been testing some of the new JN equipment in UK conditions and helping out with the promotional side of things.

Pic: Waveriding with the PD2 in Goodrington, East Devon

We have made it up to Polzeath and Daymer a few times to see Axel and Astrid the JN importers. This has been good to test new equipment and surf on the north coast. Daymer and Hawkers are brilliant, and the next time Greenaway is firing we will be there like a shot!

Pic: Rich and Axel testing the JN Prima Donna 2 and JN Da Vinci BAT

Pic: Axel doing what he does best at Greenaway

We have also been doing the odd session over at Exmouth, which is a great flat water location and has been helping a lot with the freestyle. Sarah is now trying powered kiteloops, and my handlepass is much less far off than it was. It's good to ride with high level riders like Steph Bridge, and also Jo Wilson has been back from the tour and we spent a day waiting for the tide to drop at Exmouth with her. It's great for pushing your riding, great inspiration for both of us.

Pic: Mmmm, the Duckpond

Pic: Steph and her magic race board

We both love Devon, and plan to spend some of the year here when we are not off instructing. We would stay here all year if the wind was consistent and it wasn't so bloody cold in the winter. Next stop is Brazil, we are all booked for mid august.

Norway Snowkiting Haugastol

2008-05-11T10:03:00.002+01:00

Whilst sat sweating in an overpriced Cape Verdean internet Cafe, we decided to book something cold. It doesn't get much colder than Norway so we decided to go on the annual snow kite trip organised by Turbulence. After a brief, but wine-heavy trip to see our mate Tyrstan in North Wales and another slightly drunken mission on the ferry we arrived at Haugastol at arse O'clock in the morning and settled into our very pimp accommodation with new wife swapping potential Sarah and Steve.

Pic: Roger the cabin boy! We are off to Norway.

The wind was flat as a proverbial pancake for the first few days so we amused ourselves by going on the internet, chatting about wallpaper, flower arranging and making novelty breads. We also went to the snow park at Geilo and did some park-rat downhill shredding. There was some pretty good offpiste, some big jumps, and some comical sliders. I used my snowkite board (JN Snowtiger 150cm) which actually went really well down hill, if feeling a bit strange to start with.

Pic: Sarah gets some park rat kicker action.

Pic: Other Sarah in slider to the face shocker.

Pic: JN Snowtiger 150 - also works downhill.

So after 3 days of farting about at the snow park, and lengthy discussions on the merits of various tedious topics, a crack splinter group spearheaded by Andy the Vet (he once ate a cat's balls) headed up for a beautiful evening session next to the power lines. Snowkiting turned out to be so easy it was ridiculous, and you can even go uphill.

Pic: In the words of Bernard Matthews: "Boooootiful"

So after a bit of a false start we started getting out pretty much every day and got loads of snow kiting in. The wind was still up and down like a hooker's draws though. Kickers proved great for launching a bit of cheeky wake style and kite loops and unhooked jumps were the order of the day. Blasting off ridges is also incredible as the updrafts lift you huge.

Pic: Snowkitewangtime

Pic: Ridge blasting

All in all it was a good trip. The equipment performed really well as usual, and I think inflatables seem way more practical on snow, unless you want to do proper back country and pack the kite down. The JN Snow Tiger 150cm board felt just like a twin tip kite surfing board and develops similar pop. It feels really familiar to anyone that has been on the water. The Prima Donna 2 seemed the most practical kite for the job, stable, easy relaunch and lightning fast in the turns. Anything you can do on the land or water will transfer over straight away.

We will definitely be doing it again next year, but maybe not in such a big group. It's a great easy access sport in a beautiful place, and the snow park is a great no wind contingency plan. Big thanks to everyone involved.

Cape Verde

2008-03-10T07:03:00.002Z

Sarah and I both spent the winter (November through to March) on Sal in Cape Verde. We were working for Surf Zone Cabo Verde with Mitu, Djo, Dani, Rod and Sheena. We had a fun few months instructing and riding the waves.

Ponta Preta scared the hell out of me several times. Sarah had the good sense to avoid it! The PD2 9m worked particularly well on Punta Preta, and the Easy Rider 7.5m when it was really blowing. Punta Preta is cross off, gusty and really challenging but a seriously special place to kitesurf. It worked 2 or three times a month when we were there.

Pic: Me trying not to get killed.

Pic: Local genius Elvis showing how it should be done.

Pic: Downwind of Punta Preta near the Riu hotel can have great flat water for freestyle.

The other side of the island is onshore and choppy with some waves on the outer reef. This side of the island was alright for freestyle, and we spent loads of time there. You have to get 4x4 cabs across the desert (We would recommend Tequila or Paulo!)

Pic: Sarah at kitebeach putting in a cheeky grab.

Punta Leme actually turned out to be one of our favourite spots, even though it was a rocky launch and a bit offshore if we were going to be technical. It also was where the locals said the sharks hung out. This didn't worry us much (it probably should have done) because with butter flat water on the inside of the spit, and some of the most consistent and long waves on the island on the point it really rocked.

Pic: Sarah ripping at Punta Leme

All in all it was a good trip. It's not really a place for freestyle and it's a tough location to teach and to learn. It was good experience for instructing (we don't think it can get any harder!) and also the wave riding is great when it happens. It was a slightly inconsistent season whilst we were there, but so much better than a winter in England. We met some great people along the way: Big shout out to Mitu, Djo, Keenya, Jai, Dani and Sata (even though he's a windsurfer) also to our adopted cat (Catloop) who hassled Josh Angulo on the beach one day.

Trying not to be too negative here, but don't go to Sal expecting flat water, vegetables and easy conditions. Also most of the island is a building site and it's expensive. There is also nothing to do but kitesurf. On the plus side it's very safe and the locals are really friendly.

Sao Vicente on the other hand........

Pic: Salamansa