Easter getaway in Tarifa...Day 1: Las Dunas
20th March 2008
We arrived at about midday and there was no wind until about 6pm when it kicked in - about 15knots. It was blowing Levante (easterly wind) so we went to Las Dunas It was such a nice evening session in the sun. Also it was my first time out on the 9m F-One Bandit that Tommy from Session1.com has lent me to try out (Thanks Tommy!). It felt really different to my waroos and Ion1 I have - loads of power and although it is not bow kite is can almost fully de-power at the same time. I was so happy to have got out on it. Tried a few forward and back loops - it did feel quite strange and I need to take it out more before I make up my mind! Our other mates that were coming were arriving on a later flight so we went to the bar and started trying out the mojitos while we we waiting! Between the 10 of us we polished off soooo many mojitos! It was such a wicked night. We also went to Vaca Loca, a really awesome restaurant and bar that is managed by my mate Lisa (who I met in Coche last year). The food is amazing!!! Kev, Lisa's boyfriend teaches kiting in Tarifa and they have both just set up their own company running all inclusive kiting holidays to Tarifa - offering accommodation in their new appartment, food, lessons for the duration of the stay, transfers to/from the airport, travel to various spots etc. It's a wicked idea and they are already getting busy with bookings and I hope it continues! check out their websitewww.highflyerstarifa.com
It's all coming back to me...nearly...
11th March 2008
Sunday was an amazing day!!! It was sunny too which always makes it more enjoyable and felt a bit warmer too! There was a cool bunch of island kiters out as usual
We were all out for hours! I'm finally starting to feel I'm getting my jumps and tricks back, still feel so rusty but good to know it's still there somewhere! I was surprised I didn't get cold but it was ok. I was last off the water, and didn't want to leave but by that point I was starting to loose feeling in my fingers towards the end so thought I should probably head in. I was pretty tired by then anyway. Then me and my mate Kev (who designed and built my website in less than a day! what a legend. THANKS KEV!!) went for a Sunday carvery at a pub on the way home, it was only about 5pm so quite early for dinner but we were SO hungry after our big day on the water, and then went to the cinema. A nice way to end a wicked weekend...reminded me how cool it is kiting on the island and how much I love this place...
Monday was tough going though after a weekend of kiting, but I love it when I'm at work on a Monday and I'm aching all over from kiting. I usually have kiting on the brain even more after a good session, so in dreamland for a day or so, but I think I do my 'I'm very busy and concentrating on work' face quite well now ;-)
First session on the island in a while...and it's good to be back
10th March 2008
What a wicked weekend of kiting! Managed to get out both days! I can't remember when I last got out for two days in a row so I was pretty happy about that! I've been away all winter and a couple of other kiters on the island have been away too so we nearly have a full house now, which is cool. It was wicked catching up and kiting with everyone, there's such a really cool bunch of kiters on the island - really good guys.
On Saturday, we met at the beach and although we are all really keen kiters, I think we all had a moment of doubt...! It was raining, not particularly warm, and looked SO miserable!! We walked down to the beach to check it out, and chatted for a bit (bit slack really but hey!) About 15mins, and after one of the guys called Eric got out, we all decided we needed to get involved and stop being soft...and I'm so glad we did. It doesn't feel as cold once you are fully kitted out in wetsuit, hoody, boots, gloves. The tide was going out and there were some reeeally nice flat spots which make it so much easier to do tricks, and land them - nice clean take off! We were out at Brook, on the west coast of the island. It's a great spot but works better mid-tide because when the tide is really low, rocks appear so you have to be really careful, and try and stay out a bit deeper.
The spring tides this weekend made the tides really extreme and the water flooded out so quickly and the rocks appeared quite soon. It's not normally this sketchy! Our session was quite short as the wind dropped so it was hard to stay upwind out of the way of the rocks. I did a few tricks but as the tide went out it got quite dangerous with the rocks so towards the end of the session I just ended up cruising around and practising my backloop/pop transitions and popping to toeside, basically anything where there was no risk of having a nasty wipeout in to some rocks! I was really appreciating just being out! Over the winter, I was based in Barcelona working on a round the world yacht race and I hardly had any free weekends where I wasn't working! so weekends have been a bit of novelty to me since I got back! It makes me appreciate them so much more now!
So anyway, when the wind dropped on Saturday and rocks started to appear we all ended in knowing that it would be windy tomorrow so not feeling too bad about a slightly shorter session than usual!
Full-on Tarifa
22nd February 2008
Just got back from four days in Tarifa, where we had two epic days of kiting. The wind was blowing Levante so it was strong and quite gusty, probably 25 knots gusting 30+. I'm usually fine on my 7m, my smallest kite, in 25-30 knots but when it starts gusting over 35, it starts to get a bit full-on and kiting switches to survival mode... I tried a few tricks but kept getting wasted because the wind was so unpredictable, and the kite kept doing things I didn't want it to but that's normal when kiting in gusty conditions so you just have to accept that and get on with it! When I redirected the kite after doing a trick it just felt like it sped up and was almost on the water by the time I landed so had a few super-fast and bit-too-powered landings...after a winter spending most my time working that session really woke up my senses so felt good even though it was hard to brush-up on tricks or improve. That time will come soon I hope!
Like most people that have not been away kiting this winter, I feel quite rusty but hopefully it'll all come back soon enough! Hoping to get away again in a few weeks, I'm thinking maybe Egypt, somewhere warm and flat where I can get my kiting back to how it was last year, then I can start learning some new stuff! Tarifa is an awesome place even if wind doesn't always play ball, there's such a cool vibe there, and it's good practice getting out in gusty, choppy, and at times, full-on conditions because as we all know it's not always a perfect 20 knots and flat water day! I'm planning on coming out to Tarifa again for the Easter bank holiday - can't wait!!
Escape to the sun!
12th December 2007
Just got back from a week in Lanzarote. I managed to escape work and head to the sun - yahoooo! Me and my mate Charlie had a wicked time out there, only had three days of kiting but I hadn't kited for a while after a little accident I had end of October (involving my knee and a kerb, and not being able to walk properly for a little while), so it was good to just be on my board again! I was quite nervous about it as most people are after a recent injury but my knee held up just fine, which was a big relief. Over the three day we kited at two different spots: Famara on the north of the island and another one on the south (can't remember what it was called now, I'll ask my mate who lives there and then add it!)
Famara was a great spot, nice long beach and great backdrop of black, volcanic looking mountains. Most the time there was probably 15-18knots of wind, with big, pretty powerful waves, and flat in between the waves, with only 5 kites out and sunny! sooo good! It wasn't easy kiting because the waves were quite strong bu it was good practice to get out in it. One day I decided the only way to get past the waves was to jump them, so was doing forward loops over them, thought I had timed one so I would land behind it but turned out I landed just as it was closing out...whoops, it hit me in the face quite and then I spent about 20seconds in a virtual washing machine until it let me surface. Not sure how I managed to keep with kite in the air but luckily I did! That took me out of that comfort zone which I had been longing for for so long, and there was a happy ending, so aaaaall good!
The other spot we went to, Playa Honda, was on the south of the island and pretty flat so a lot more kiter-friendly, and managed to do a few more tricks and get a bit of practice in without battling with big waves! It was wicked, only two of us out too. Unfortunately that day our session was cut short as the police came to the beach and asked us to leave! They said kiting was banned on the beach because it was close to the airport...so we did as we were told and left! Was a shame as we were both loving the flat water and having a wicked time, but hey! we had a good session anyway so we headed to the bar for a mojito!
