Tag Archives: kiting

Kiteboarding

Cape town Winter Kiting

G0010936EI will admit, it wasn’t by choice that I ended up in Cape Town for 3 months slap bang in the middle of winter! June, July, August.
But sometimes, work has to take the driving seat.

I remember spending a winter trying to kite in Cape Town about 10 years ago. It was wet, and cold… And I also remembered being disgusted with the kiting conditions. Then again i thought, How bad could it really have been?

There are some radical differences with kiting Cape Town in winter as opposed to summer: The wind mostly comes from the opposite direction, it brings rain, squalls, frontal systems passing through, cold and there are also lots of no wind days

Yeah well it seems that I remembered right.

IMG_20140704_132536Cape Town Winter kiting ain’t for the faint hearted. When there is wind, it is gusty, often cross off, the temperatures are cold and the swell is generally big.

With the equipment having evolved a fair amount in 10 years, conditions where more manageable. I mostly rode waves with my Peter Lynn Swell handling all the conditions it encountered. My Underground Mazu prototype got ridden as a thruster fin set up. I will go back to a quad and make some notes.

There were a few positive things…

Every so often you get a good session, and with wind from the right, for wave riding it favors my strong side.
The kiting crowds of the summer days were non existent. I actually had a few solo sessions. At most you had 10 kiters in the water.

The waves can be really nice.
And on the odd occasion you score a really good day, with sunshine and all

KiteSurfing @ Tableview 2014 (413)E
photo by Denwin Lewis
KiteSurfing @ Tableview 2014 (329)E
Photo by Denwin Lewis

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Photo by Denwin Lewis
Photo by Denwin Lewis

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As August hit, the Whales showed up lying in really shallow. I don’t think I’ve ever had so many encounters in one session!

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I got to spend some time with some friends including Anthony Berzack (featured in some of the pics). He’s been flying the demo Swells and really enjoying them.

I wouldn’t do another winter here out of choice… but there’s still some good sessions to be had. Enjoy the pics, next stop… Cannon Rocks!! Thanks to Denwin Lewis for sharing his photos.

Kiteboarding

Shooting the “Swell”

_MG_4128-RecoveredBy the beginning of October I knew that I would be involved in gathering marketing material for the new upcoming Peter Lynn 3 strut kite, “The Swell”. That meant photographs and video footage.

Everyone seems thinks that it’s a dream job… Well in some ways it is. You get to fly and test, about to be released, equipment and you get to take or be in a lot of pics.

However that is not the full “picture” (excuse the pun). Getting good photographs requires a few ingredients: the equipment (Kites, boards, and cameras) in top shape, the riders, the conditions (Wind, sun, waves) and all this with the different angles to avoid glare, and to capture the action in as many ways as possible. And if you are reading this you know that kiting requires wind on beaches which is the worst place for Camera equipment. On top of that, you need to get “hardcore” footage, and that requires hardcore conditions. Sometimes you get lucky with conditions, and sometimes you don’t. Of course if you are booking pro photographers to do the shooting, once you’ve committed to a day, you gotta press on, whatever the conditions…

planning the shoot is possibly the most important part. We discussed everything before and stayed in contact as much as possible on the beach.

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I have always thought that documenting wave riding is perhaps one of the more challenging aspects of Kite Boarding. It’s fast, it changes, and the kite is in odd positions to get it into the frame. So put all that in the mix and you’ve got quite a task in front of you!!

Our first session which involved two pro photographers took place on a day of strong easterly winds on the East coast of South Africa (Cannon Rocks and Kenton on Sea)

Having two riders in the water with a 6m and 7m and some 30 knots + winds made it hard work for the photographers. Andrew Miller from Frogg design took the beach, while Kody Mcgreggor stuck to his speciality of being in the water.

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Respect to both of them for being out there in those conditions. If the riding was hard, so was the picture taking. Equipment got sandy and wet.

The Swell being a wave oriented kite, we decided to focus mostly on wave riding of course.

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I did manage to throw in a few tacks on my 132 Styx and was pleasantly surprised by the kites handling. After all, the “Swell” does waves and more…

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Kody had to call it a day after 3 hours in the water and getting caught in some serious rip current in Kenton. Andrew stuck it out the whole day and got some pretty cool pics in the late afternoon by the wreck.

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Another 2 sessions were done with Melissa Smith and Henry Smith with whom I often shoot. Melissa is an up and coming photographer check out her website here

 

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Having had pretty hardcore conditions in most sessions, we decided to travel and find a more suited spot for some strapless action with Hudson Cummings. Andrew Miller once again did the honors behind the camera and even if the wind didn’t co operate and the clouds were moving in, we managed to get some good shots.

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few more pics where taken in Cape Town with the help of Kristine Keppel (Thank you) with one day dedicated to the “publicity” shot and the next a hardcore session on the wild side of Cape Town

 

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Along the way a fair amount of video was also shot. It is in the editing process and will see the light of day soon!! Look out for that!

On the photograph front, the result has become the foundation of the Peter Lynn launch of the “Swell”. There is a certain amount of satisfaction one derives from seeing the pics  giving the best representation of the kite (which by the way rocks)

Look out for the rest of the pics on the Peter Lynn website and on Facebook

Ced

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Kiteboarding

Big Kites save the Trip: Sardinia

IMG_0155 - Version 2Two years ago I visited the Mediteranean island of Sardinia. I was testing the new, to be released, “Fury” from Peter Lynn. Back then the tube kites were about to be released on the market.
I came back from that trip with a big smile, not only because the kites performed really well, but because I had found a place in the med where the wind can pump in the 30 knot range.

It felt like home.

So this year, when plans were materializing to visit Sardinia again, I asked the guys at Peter Lynn Kiteboarding to send me a 6m (the smallest fury of the new 2013 Range).
I was looking forward to a “top end” testing for all the kites.
I was also excited to test the Styx 132 from Underground in strong conditions.

As the departure date loomed, the forecast looked terrible. So I decided to pack the two Fury Lite that I am testing at the moment in Italy, and set off hoping for some “Sardinia Magic”. Well the “Sardinia Magic” didn’t work in the breeze but in other ways…

I spent a lot of time on the East coast of the Island near San Teodoro. In San Teodoro I ran into Emerico, the owner of the Kite shop called “Wet Dreams“.
Emerico, over the years,  has spent a lot of time in South Africa and we have a lot in common. Mostly in the passion we both share for this sport and beautiful places.
Thanks to his local knowledge, and his “large” board I was able to make something out of the bleak predictions.
If there is no actual wind predicted, all kinds of possible thermal local breezes kick in around the island … and who better than a local to give you advice!

Outside Wet Dreams in San Teodoro
Outside Wet Dreams in San Teodoro

Sardinian’s are in general super friendly, going out of their way to tell you about spots and great restaurants. Of course they get invaded by “not so friendly” tourist over the summer months, but even that can’t taint their enthusiasm and good nature.

I had 3 outings at La Cinta (near San Teodoro), where the wind was always super light. Thanks to Emerico, I got to try a race type board and got to kite the super light conditions. I also had a chance to really test the Fury Lite and push it to its limits in the low end. La Cinta is a really beautiful beach with amazing water colors.

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IMG_1253 - Version 2At “La Cinta” Wet Dreams operate their kite School and have managed to secure a designated area for launching. And when beaches get crowded, it’s a pretty important feature.

IMG_0460 - Version 2I had one session at “La Caletta”, further south, where the breeze looked promising. I put up the 11m hoping I would have to go smaller. Sadly fifteen minutes later I was taking the Race board out and only managed half an hour of cruising in the dying wind. Again, Carlo, the local instructer was also super friendly. The second visit there was dedicated to catching UV rays and chatting on the beach as the wind just never picked up.

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With a hint of North West Wind predicted up North, I decided to drive up to Porto Pollo. Porto Pollo is famous for its strong wind. Luckily it delivered something, even if not it’s usual 20 knots +.
Thanks the 15m Fury Lite and the photographic skills of Tania Romagnoli, we managed to capture some pretty good images. My Underground Styx 132 was a pleasure. With the wind up and down, it kept planning in the lulls feeling like a bigger board but then being small enough to throw around in the gusts. A great all round ride.

The last few sessions back on the east coast were again lite and dedicated to the Race board.

The wind may have been disappointing, but armed with the Big kites, I was still able to enjoy myself.
I have never been a fan of big kites, being spoiled with strong winds in Cannon Rocks, but if one lives in Europe, it might not be a bad investment after all.

The “Sardinia Magic” was the people. New friendships and hopefully new visitors to my part of the world. I look forward to welcoming them and showing them some of the “Cannon Rocks Magic”

Ced