This time last year.....

Remember the good times?

So last year we were graced with decent ground swell from the south and some cranking north westerly wind, and this year we seem to have nothing but light offshores and fog, which is all well and good for surfing but the kitemonster is literally clucking to get out.

Bored out of my tiny mind yesterday, I decided to take advantage of the massive spring tide (0.4m low) and go and see what makes this wave jack up so nicely.

Mordor. Wouldn't want your leash stuck round that.

OK, so you are always aware that it's rocky under there, but I wasn't expecting it to look quite so evil. This is definitely a no leash situation (board or kite leash for that matter) The only saving grace is that I normally only ride this at a highish tide meaning that if the proverbial did hit the fan there would be some safety margin. The wave also isn't exactly heavy so chances of being taken this far downstairs would be fairly slim. So as you walk out west from here, further towards the sea it shelves off pretty steeply down to sand. When I had my mega washing incident a year or two back I swam in and clambered out over similar stuff, the secret being to duck dive the wave as best as possible, and if it does throw you down, protect your head.

The mind boggleth....

Extreme Dog Walking - 2012 storms

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.

South Devon Kite Club 2011 Christmas Video

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 thought about sequel. The evidence stacks up below:

2011 Advent Storms

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

After a fair amount ‘umming and ‘arrring and due to yours truly smashing up my gammy ankle the previous week, Sarah and I postponed our loose 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 had called us a few weeks previous and asked to borrow it for safety cover. I said fine, 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 Ives Bay Caravan park. It turned out to be a very topical place to be with the Dale Farm eviction going on. Still, after a little modification it was very comfortable, and after burning most of the North Sea gas reserves, it was also fairly warm. Sound proof it wasn’t. We were sharing with friends Neil and Lisa for 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 down towards Godrevy. Mr Vento hadn’t arrived yet, but he was scheduled to turn up before lunchtime. After the rider meeting at the Café, unsurprisingly the Girlies 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 kites whilst her ladyship literally crapped her way through the pre match nerves. Unfortunately disaster struck, and the council had decided not to unlock the gates to the track to Godrevy meaning the man left in charge (BKSA Vice Chairman, and all round nice guy, Pete Shaw) had to make some frantic phone calls to get the key. The competition couldn’t start until the Ski was on the beach. After an hour the gate then got opened, only for Jetski man Phil to find the 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 had turned into more of a 1.30pm start. Good conditions were being missed and it was 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 of ours and local pocket rocket wave slayer Debbie Kennedy. Sarah didn’t ride that well, and came in a bit peeved, but made it into the next round where she was against another friend of ours, Welsh lovely Sarah Eager of Blast Kiteboarding and a plucky young Scottish lady called Sammy Wiseman. Suddenly Sarah seemed to click with the conditions, and in the relatively short 7 minute heats she scored three nice long waves with some powerful turns. This got her into the next round against Steph Bridge. For those of you not in the know, Steph is 3 x World course racing champion, and just got a 3rd place at the KSP tour (the international wave event). A formidable opponent to say the least. Sarah thought she was done for , but was pleased with her performance in her last heat and went into it quite relaxed, changing down to a 6m. She got three good waves with some nice slashy turns in the pocket, and cruised in not expecting to 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 final against 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 two or three quite large waves with her usual smooth style, made one very committed top turn and took a big one right on the head! She cruised in casual as a cucumber.

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

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

There has been a lot of feedback from various sides on how this 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 high level riders in the UK. It should be a showcase of talent, and definitely deserves more 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 format which takes the pressure off, and maximises time on the water. It will be interesting 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. Trevor Hale won the seniors though, and I think he’s from Devizes (Wiltshire’s hidden gem) 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

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

The summer of wind 2011

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

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

BKSA Course Racing Exmouth 2008

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

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

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.