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22/dic/2009
08/dic/2009
TOP 10 QUESTIONS About Kiting in the Surf
For kiteboarders who have already been surfing for years before they picked up a kite, the progression into the surf is a natural and relatively easy one. However, not every new kiteboarder is an experienced waterman. For some riders, kiteboarding is their first ocean sport. The surf can be an intimidating place for those who do not have any experience there, but the fun that can be had is well worth the effort. We pulled together the top 10 questions asked by kiters who do not have any ocean experience. If you are thinking about heading to the surf for your first time, remember to start small and work your way up from there.
1. When am I ready for the surf?
In general, if you cannot handle yourself in flat water, things are not going to go any better for you in the waves. You should be able to ride comfortably in both directions and be able to quickly change directions before you tackle the surf. Pick a day with small waves for your first session in the surf and take baby steps from there.
2. What can I do to get more experience in the surf?
If you are new to being in the ocean, kiteboarding in the surf can be very intimidating. If you have never been in the waves before, give paddle surfing or even just swimming in the surf a try. The only way to get experience in the surf is to spend time in the water, and being comfortable in the waves is very important if you want to kite there.
3. Do I have to ride a directional in the surf?
Despite the fact that almost everyone shows up at the beach with directional boards, you can still ride a twin tip in the surf. If fact, if you are beginning, sticking with your twin tip removes the factor of having to learn how to jibe while getting used to kiting in the waves. With a directional, you can ride a smaller kite and really get into the pocket and ride the wave, but twin tips can still be a blast in the waves.
4. What size board should I ride?
This depends a lot on how you ride. For your first sessions in the surf, you should just ride the same twin tip that you ride in flat water. If you want to ride a surfboard, the general consensus is that you should ride a board that is similar in size to a board you would paddle surf on if you want to really surf the wave. For the average size rider with little or no surf experience, a board in the 6’ range is a good starting point.
5. Should I wear a leash?
No, you should not wear a leash in the surf as they can be very dangerous. Many people have been seriously injured when their board leash caused the board to slingshot back at them. If you cannot manage without a board leash, your skills are not yet ready for the surf. That being said, some riders do wear leashes under certain special circumstances, such as when the shore is rocky, which would cause a lost board to quickly become a broken board. If you ever use a board leash, then you absolutely need to wear a helmet, but we strongly recommend that riders do not use board leashes. Read The Exception: Kitesurfing with a Leash for reasons to wear a leash in the surf.
6. Should I ride with or without straps?
Most riders usually ride with straps, but it’s best to stay flexible and change it up based on the conditions. Kitsurfing strapless can be a lot of fun, or it can be incredibly frustrating. When the surf is relatively clean and smaller than chest high, go ahead and take the straps off. When the surf is choppy, you’ll usually have more fun with straps.
7. How do you get out when riding strapless?
The first trick to getting out past the surf without straps is to pay close attention to the waves as you are setting up. At most locations, you will be able to see channels between the waves where the waves break less often and much smaller. Kite out through these channels and you can quickly find yourself on the outside without much effort. If you do need to go over a wave, slow down and keep your kite high. As you hit the whitewater, suck your knees up and try to be light on your feet. Keep more pressure on your back foot and guide your board up and over the whitewater while most of your weight is supported by your kite.
8. What do you do if the kite crashes in the surf?
If your kite goes down in the surf, get it back up as quickly as possible. A kite that gets sucked into a wave has a good chance of coming out broken. If you cannot get your kite up before the next wave hits it, swim towards the kite as it is hit to take the pressure off the kite.
9. What conditions are good for learning to ride waves?
When you are just starting out kiting in the waves, you want small waves to learn on. Knee-high waves with 15 knots of side to side-on wind make just about ideal conditions for getting down the basics in the surf.
10. What do I need to know about surf etiquette?
In the surf, you have to give considerations to surf etiquette, which basically means that you should not get in the way of anyone who is surfing, whether that person is a kitesurfer, windsurfer, or regular paddle surfer. Always yield to the rider on the wave regardless of who is on port or starboard. Avoid riding near surfers and never spray them. Stay outside of the surf until you are ready to ride a wave. Don’t try to catch every wave out there. The ocean is not going to run out anytime soon.
Bruna Kajiya World Champion [movie]
First of all, lets also lets congratulate Bruna,
with here World title!
She has worked hard for it, and keeps pushing the girls
into a more powerfull direction.
I know she rides harder then most of the guys. ;)
02/dic/2009
27/nov/2009
Parking Lot Kiteboarding Repair Kit
There may be nothing more frustrating than broken gear. If you have never had any gear problems, you have not been kiting for very long. Kite gear only seems to break on the epic days, and the only way to avoid sitting on the beach is to fix the problem. I do about half of my kiting south of the boarder, very far from the nearest kite shop. If I break gear in Baja and cannot fix it, it ruins a whole trip instead of a single session.
Over the years I’ve learned what is important to have and what can be left behind. Here’s a look at the items in my kiting tool box that can fix almost any broken gear short of a shredded kite. Get a tool box that has small divided sections built into it. If you can’t keep your spare parts neat, you’ll never even be able to remember what you have.
- Spare screws for your footstraps and fins.
- Extra bladder plugs, one-pump hoses, and zip ties.
- Spare parts for your bar. Some items on your bar will never wear out, but keep spares anyway. If something breaks you might loose parts.
- 1/4-20 and 10-24 taps. You can use these to clean threads on almost any board and fin.
- Baby powder and line for installing bladders.
- Spare bladders. I only carry two spare bladders: one the size of the largest rib in my biggest kite and one the size of the smallest rib of my biggest kite. With these I can replace any rib of any of my kites. You can also carry a replacement leading edge bladder for your bread and butter kite, but I find I can usually repair them instead of replacing them.
- Extra fins, especially if you ride a surfboard.
- Spare kite leash. I don’t know why, but I loose these all the time.
- Replacement pump hose.
- A complete spare bar. I always have a spare bar with me and this is your most likely piece of gear to have problems.
- FCS installation kit and spare plugs. This item may seem excessive, but I can use it to repair fin plugs that have been ripped out of my board.
- Duct tape. It fixes everything. Don’t put it on your kite unless you absolutely have to.
- Spare straps for your harness.
- Sail repair tape. Good sail repair tape can temporarily fix tears up to about three feet long.
- Bladder repair material.
- Solarez. This stuff is available at any surf shop and is a great product that anyone can use to repair dings and chips on your board.
- Superglue. If you have it, you will find a use for it.
- Basic tools. You only need a few tools to work on kite gear. You should have screwdrivers, scissors, a razor knife, pliers, and vise grips. Also carry spare fin keys for your surfboard.
- Spare spectra line. Carry enough spectra to replace the leader lines on your bar.
- Spare chicken loop. This might be the piece of kite gear that fails the most.
- Spare lines.
The best way to fix gear is to never have it break in the first place. Take care of your gear and inspect it often. If you see a problem, don’t use it until it’s fixed. Build yourself a repair kit and always have it in your car – it doesn’t do you any good sitting in the garage at home. With the right repair kit, you can fix problems that would send other riders home for the day.
From http://www.prokitetour.com/
Today would go down in kiteboarding history as the day the PKRA World Championship crown is passed on to two of the most promising kiteboarders in the world. Kevin Langeree (Naish, NED), after many years of battle, finally was crowned the PKRA World Champion in an unprecedented event that saw many upsets and triumphs. Bruna Kajiya (Flexifoil, BRA) would also end the 2009 season with a bang, capturing the women’s World Championship title from Spain’s Gisela Pulido (Airush) after years of reigning the women’s division.
The triumphant second day of the Teri Kite Pro 2009 started right on time with a 12:30 start, but the day would prove different from yesterday. Clear blue skies dominated the scene and was warmer than yesterday’s temperature. It was an extremely action-packed day even though the wind never picked up strength compared to the other day.
At exactly 10:00 am, there was a start for the long distance race which was won by Torrin Bright (Ozone, New Zealand) while the ladies’ division was won by Angela Peral (North, Spain).
The day wrapped up at 5:30 pm at the beach. Although the official prize awarding is not until Saturday or Sunday, today’s game results already decided the overall Tour winners:
Men:
Kevin Langeree (Naish, NED) – World Champion
Youri Zoon (Slingshot, NED) – 2nd overall
Aaron Hadlow (Flexifoil, UK) – 3rd overall
Women:
Bruna Kajiya – (Flexifoil, BRA) – World Champion
Joanna Litwin – (Nobile, POL) – 2nd overall
Karolina Winkowska – 3rd overall
Highlights
Highlighting today’s events, A renewed Marc Jacobs (Airush, New Zealand) came out firing in Heat #22a, riding super powered moves knocking out Thomas Paris (North, FRA). Ironically, Jacobs lost to Sebastien Garat (RRD, FRA) in the 26th heat ending his bid for any podium spot this year while Garat lost to Aussie Andy Yates (Slingshot) in the 28th heat via a narrow win.
Local bet Tom Hebert defeated Mario Rodwald (North, GER) in the 28th heat also after a tight game but Hebert’s win would only proved futile after Aussie rider Yates knocked out his hope for a podium spot in the 30th heat. Meanwhile, Cesar Portas (North, ESP) knocked out team mate Reno Romeu (North, BRA) in a game of switch tricks in the 29th heat.
Reigning 2008 world champion Aaron Hadlow (Flexifoil, UK) defeated Dmclaux in the 29th heat, then Portas in the 30th heat to start his climb up the ladder. The UK champ then overpowered Yates in the 31st heat to keep his title bid alive and then adding Alberto Rondina (Cabrinha, ITA) to the list of would-be hopefuls. It took an ever-determined Youri Zoon (Slingshot, NED) to stop the charging Hadlow in the 33rd heat. Zoon won the heat with more powerful tricks and height advantage, landing a regular and switch slim, front mobe, front mobe to blind, shifty 3, mobe 5, hasselhof, an s-bend to blind and a double s-bend.
Zoon however, would succumb to the riding powers of title contender Kevin Langeree (Naish, NED) in the second to the last heat of the day. Zoon landed a regular and switch slim, mobe, 313, front mobe, blind judge with air pass, grab kgb, hasselhof, front mobe to blind, and a double s-bend. Langeree went all the way with a regular and switch kgb, grab 313, mobe, grab mobe, mobe to wrap, double back mobe, blind judge with air pass, grab s-bend, grab kgb, double s-bend and a blind judge. It was a close heat but the judges ruled a 3-0 decision in favor of Langeree for variety and tech grab moves.
In the men’s final round, Alex Pastor (Naish, ESP) landed a regular and switch slim/kgb, mobe, front mobe to blind, kgb to blind, and hasselhof but Langeree landed a grab 313, regular and switch front mobe/kgb, double s-bend, front mobe to blind,, grab s-bend, and a blind judge with air pass. Langeree took the first round with more technical moves (grabbed) moves.
In the second men’s final, Langeree landed a mobe to wrapped, kgb, grab back to blind air pass, front mobe to blind and a kgb but crashed a double back mobe, kgb to blind, a front mobe 5 attempt and a blind judge 5.
In the women’s 18th heat event, Gisela Pulido (Airush, ESP) was well and truly beaten in the heat with Karolina Winkowska landing some powerful moves. In a show of support and true sportsmanship, Gisela’s dad was already packing up her gear before the heat was even finished while the Spanish rider had to be rescued and brought back to the beach.
Congratulations to the new PKRA World Champions!
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