Tag Archives: waves

Riding waves in Off Shore Winds

March 29, 2018 CedFly

I spent last Week End in Cape St Francis. For those who don’t know, it is famous for it’s wave, (and yes I did dust the old Waveski and got a few good rides in ). So if you ain’t scoring wind, you got the option of an awesome wave with friendly locals as long as you respect their spot and play according to the rules (Not all visitors seem to understand that)

I was on a mission to kite it, to see how the wind was on the South Westerly direction knowing it would be pretty off shore.

Riding real waves in those conditions Â is challenging for a few reasons:

Firstly the wind is invariably gusty as it comes over land.

Secondly the timing and way of rinding the wave has to adapt to deal with the wind direction and where the kite sits in the window whilst on the wave.

The first day I went further down around the bay where the wind is a more friendly cross off shore to a spot called “Ducks”. The waves break on sandbanks and are pretty fast and gnarly. You also got some rip currents which canÂ create chop on the wave. The wind as expected, was gusty but manageable for an experienced rider. The close outs did catch me a few times, but I also got some nice runs and turns. The beautiful backdrop of the Cape St Francis lighthouse makes for a good picture.

On the Sunday, with the wind still around, I tried seals point where it is totally off shore. Â I realised that my board was lacking a little bit of volume to get me through the dead spots in the wind, so if I’d had the choice, I would have used a board with a little more volume.My Peter Lynn Kiteboarding “Swell”Â handled nicely as it has great drifting capabilities, I think without a good drifting kite, I would have battled in those off shore conditions. Another observation is that when the wind drops on you, you need to be able towork the kite to generate power. A quick and responsive kite definitely helps.
It was amazing to be riding such clean waves, but challenging to time the turns on the beach break. You almost need to turn a little late to catch the lip coming down so you stay on the wave.
The spot is also a little daunting because of dealing with off shore conditions, and I definitely only recommend it to very experienced kiters with the option of a rescue craft should things go wrong. (I had someone with a JetSki on standby)

During the Week End I came to these conclusions:

A slightly more buoyant board is an advantage as it allows you to surf the wave through the luls.
You need a kite that drifts nicely and is super stable even when depowered.
The timing of your bottom and top turns needs to adapt with the off shore wind so as to connect the lip of the wave.
Kite placement and anticipation is super important otherwise it wants to pull you over the wave.
Riding forehand (facing the wave) is a serious advantage to hold the power of the kite.

I Look forward to some more session there.

Thanks Manuela Borsato for the pics.

Kiteboarding

Dealing with Big waves

March 21, 2016 CedFly

It has always been in the nature of mankind to push the limits. Further, faster, stronger, and also bigger. Although for a majority it means their waistline, I suspect that people reading this post would be more likely thinking along different lines. kite lines perhaps?

So this time we are talking waves.

In the last 3 weeks I hadÂ two sessions is some pretty big waves. It sparked the idea of sharing some thoughts and experience on the subject.

Whether it’s bodysurfing, body boarding, wave skiing, supping, long boarding, surfing or kite surfing, few will deny the fact that the bigger wave is always the more exhilarating ride. But how does one approach big waves?

I do not profess to have the ultimate experience in big wave riding, there are a multitude of kids in places like Hawaii who have much bigger balls than me and perhaps more frequent outings in massive surf, however I can vouch that I have a fair amount of experience dealing with big surf on my own and with no immediate help nearby.

For the purpose of this blog we will define a “big” wave as follow:

“A wave that has the potential to put your life at risk by either keeping you under or knocking you unconscious. ”

So how does one face these exhilarating monsters. Perhaps the following advice will allow you to shortcut a whole lot of painful real life experiences (mostly due to having gone through them myself and having been lucky to come out alive)

Conditions

Big waves can come in all kinds of shape and form. From messy wind swell to solid ground swell. It can crumble from the top or tube top to bottom. And of course in the context of kite surfing with all kinds of wind conditions altering the wave face and the way the wave breaks.

Always try and understand the conditions as best you can before heading out.

Choose a kite size where you will be properly powered and start byÂ having a few test runs before dropping into that pit.

In my opinion, rather be overpowered than underpowered.

Personally my worst scenario is a cross onshore fickle wind, underpowered with big swell. As far as I am concerned, a recipe for disaster.

Equipment set up

This is how I would personally set up my equipment:

No board leash

Kite leash to be removed. If necessary for some reason, attach it to the front of the harness so it is easily reachable.

I would say a floatation vest is a must. When you getting tumbled, you can easily loose your sense of up and down. the life vest doesn’t.

Straps/ No Straps: This is all dependent on conditions. Most people would amaze themselves at how big a wave one can get over without straps. The decision is not so much about size (although when its crazy big there is no doubt that straps are a must for safety and enjoyment) but more about the wave face conditions which is generally linked to the direction and strength of the wind.

Cross-off shore tends to clean the wave face where a cross-on makes it more bumpy.

Of course different experience levels will also mean that your “strapless comfort zone” will increase or decrease.

If it’s crazy big, long lines will allow your kite to sit above the potential wind shadow of the waves.

Make sure you have tried and tested equipment out there and know your release mechanisms intimately.

So what if something goes wrong

First thing to do is NOT PANIC.

Assess the situation as quickly as possible and stay level headed. Time is generally a key element to your survival.

The number one rule is to keep your lines tensioned and the kite in the air.

Kick the board away from you to avoid collision.

If the kite drops in front of the white water get away from your lines and release everything

If the kite drops behind the wave and you are not getting dragged, you generally have a few seconds to see if you can re-launch it, but always be ready to release everything.

The most dangerous thing is the lines wrapping around parts of your body. So releasing is always a better option…

It is obviously super important to understand and know the difference between a fun big wave, and a big wave that can do serious damage. We all have different experiences and perspectives.

A few of my kite-mares in big waves have included almost losing consciousness after hitting a oncoming lip on a mistimed jump, getting anchored to the bottom by my kite lines wrapped around my hand whilst foolishly trying to rescue equipment and getting dragged under water for a good while and unable to release. But level head and some luck got me out of those.

But even if big wave riding has some dangers associated with it and is not for everyone, Â it isÂ one sure way to get an adrenaline fix and your blood pumping!

Kiteboarding

Shooting the “Swell”

December 3, 2013 CedFly

By 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 jobâ€¦ 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.

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.

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.

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…

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.

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

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.

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

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 Â 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