Katy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Norway Snowkiting Haugastol 2008

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.