Zenith Kiteboarding

Fuerteventura June 2009

2009-06-07T07:23:00.000-07:00

Hey All

just back from a week in Fuerteventura.Bloody cool island. Weather was in the high twenties and cloud was few and far between. We were staying in Corralejo in the top north east of the island. A really nice chilled surfer-kiter vibe to it all.

Overall its a pretty small island. You could drive the length of it in 2.5 hours on a good day and at its thinnest further south its only 5 miles wide. I would go back there for a hell of a lot longer in a heart beat. I thought it would be built up like Tenerife or Lanzorote but was nicely surprised to the contrary. The landscape is sparse and arid. It looks like a mix between the Sahara desert and Mars. Volcanoes dot the landscape (inactive) and rocks of varying sizes are everywhere from previous explosions. In between section of this are huge expanses of sane and sand dunes, blown over from the Sahara desert and making for some absolutely gorgeous and pristine white sand beaches along the coast.

Our main spot for out stay was Flag Beach. Just a 5 min drive outside the small town of Corralejo. This really is a beautiful spot and had some pretty consistent and non gusty winds coming cross shore from the left while I was there. The slightly chilled wind made for a nice break from the high 20 degree celsius sun. Flag beach is a short walk across the sands from the road. It has its own kite, surf and windsurf centre right off the beach with some lovely equipment to learn on or rent depending on what you want. Be warned to bring what you need to this beach ie. water, food, sunblock etc. as there is nothing else here, not even a toilet (well not an official one anyway ie. bushes etc) and if you come without them the nearest shop is back in town.

It is a beautiful spot with with mountains and sand behind you, blue clear seas and islands infront. Well worth the very short hot trek.

We arrived on the island on the sunday, the winds stayed kinda slack til the thursday but was well worth the wait. I hired out a 14m North Evo and took to the seas. They were beautiful, refreshingly chilled and really clear flatish water. I expected it to be busier but was delighted that even at the best part of the day I only shared the spot with 17 other kiters and maybe 10 windsurfers. Plenty of room for all.

The island was well cheap. You could do it on a pretty small budget if you took it a bit handy on spending. We hired a car for the week for €120 and had to only refill once for €18, well worth it.

We also drove to El Cotillo on a no wind day. Its on the other side of the island on the north west coast, sounds like miles away but only took around 15-20 mins to get there. Really nice spot too. Supposed to be good in north to south westerlies. There were some huge sets rolling in there and there seemed to be a lot of surfers hanging around.

Another day we took a trip down south, way way down south to Sotavento near Costa Calma. This place was huge. A massive seemingly never ending hard sand beach with a massive tidal lagoon section that unfortunately wasn't filled while we were there but have seen pics and it looks great. Here again is a kite and windsurf school and rental centre. This beach is huge with the largest expanse of flat sand I have ever seen. Apparently its a bit more gusty at this spot then further north.

Overall Fuerteventura was absolutely brilliant, A very worth while trip and I would advise anyone to go.

Big thumbs up!!

22nd May Session Tramore - Hazey Dayz

2009-05-23T12:33:00.000-07:00

Haleluliah and Praise the Elements!!!

Its been 3 weeks since my last session but here are my sins.

Forecast during the week was for 16-19 mph winds for yesterday, which as it got closer died to 12-13 mph if I was lucky. Got off early so headed for Tramore praying something might come round for me and it bloody did.

Happy, happy days!!! Got there and the wind was hitting upto 24 mph, dropping to 20. Sweet. Got the kite together and hit the water. I was the only one out there apart from a few surfers. Lovely session. Some every size waves and some nice cross on from the left SW winds. Visibility was pretty bad as there was this strange almost mid winter mist that never cleared but was kinda cool. Another weather condition to get used to dealing with.

Check the pic to see what I mean.

Clonea Strand session 5th April 09

2009-04-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

Great session today. Managed to land a few more jumps. Winds were between 16-20 mph and I was on my 12m Atom.

Light wind session Clonea Strand

2009-03-16T07:25:00.001-07:00

Hey All,

Had my first proper session in Clonea Strand, Co.Waterford yesterday. Was a really nice session.

I was using my Cabrinha Contra 17m. I really like this kite it may not do exactly what it says on the tin but its dam close enough. Winds started off really slack as I was setting up, as low as 6 mph. I thought my curse with this spot was about the kick in again when just as I was thinking I should have gone somewhere else the wind rapidly picked up and stayed steady at around 10 mph. I decided to give it a lash.

The first few runs were a bit a of work out to keep the kite and myself going with the winds rising to 12 and back down to 8ish. Kinda frustrating but I was glad I stuck with it. The first few runs were all downwinders and even though I had to the option of lots of flat water out to sea a bit, my confidence in the winds was not really there. After about three quarters of an hour my prayers were answered and the curse was finally lifted.

The winds picked up and got more steady, ranging between 10- 16 mph, mostly steadyish around the 12.5-13 mph mark.

The sea apart from a few foot to 2 foot waves close to shore now and again was really flat, it was my first time on flat water and was really cool. It was like riding on a lake or lagoon.

It was an excellent, excellent day. I got around 3 hours in before the winds slackened again, but by that stage I was happy anyway. I got some small jump pracitice in landing the majority of them and also got some nice aggressively smooth turns in.

Overall I couldn't have asked for more. Plus my parents came with me and were great company and got some nice footage of the whole day.

Role on the next one!!

Great Session with my Flexi Atom 08

2009-03-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

had a bloody great session today with my Flexifoil Atom 08 12m.

For the first 2 hours it was like the wind was made for the kite. It was excellent. Around the 20-24 mph range. Bloody amazing. The most enjoyable session I think I have yet had. Was comfortably ripping up and down the most of the beach was so cool. Just park the kite and cruise.

There were some rough seas so the waves were plentiful and varying, it was great. Some but and small kickers. Got some jump practice in which was really fun, landed around three quarters of them so was really happy with that.

Also got some toeside practice in. Can ride along no prob and do an aggressive direction turn to heelside which I like. Feels really smooth and snappy. Just need to sort out the pressure and position for upwind on heelside now.

After about 2 hours the winds picked up to high 20's and I was a bit over powered at times but still managed to hold strong and had some good fun.

Overall was a really good day. Came in after 3.5 hours on the water wired on adrenaline.

Looking forward to the next one already.

Kite session Tramore 7th March 2009

2009-03-08T04:47:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

had a bloody great session in Tramore yesterday. Winds were cross on gusty as hell from 17 - 27 mph. The sea was the biggest I have been out on. The waves further out were like mini hills rolling underneath me. Really cool.

Got my first few small jumps in and even managed to land some. Great feeling flying silently through the air like that.Time seems to slow down and even though you are only up there for a few seconds it feels like longer. You also feel like you are alot higher than you really are. Its so cool.

Tried my first switch to toe side ride too yesterday. Felt really smooth riding toeside until I got taken out by a small wave. Funny! Really looking forward to getting some more practice with all that again soon.

All hail kitesurfing!!

Cabrinha Contra 17m light wind kite-First test

2009-03-02T07:26:00.000-08:00

Ok All,

got to get my first light wind test with the 17m Contra. I have to say this is a bloody nice kite. The feel in the bar is direct and steady. You know exactly where the kite is in the sky and you know where its heading to. It makes you feel at home on the water and relaxed. I have to give this kite a 9 out of 10.

I was nicely ripping out to sea and back in 10-11mph winds and flew it without realising upto 18 mph.

This kite sticks to the sky, you pick a point direct the kite there and forget about it. It will stay as steady as a rock in whatever place you leave it. It instills confidence and makes progression all the more enjoyable.

Loved it.

Cabrinha Contra 17m light wind kite

2009-02-17T07:25:00.000-08:00

Hey All,

its been a while. Been upto nothing since the last blog but working and being bloody sick with winter flus etc. To try ease the pain I did sort myself out with a new 17m kite. Cabrinha Contra, made for light wind riding. Can't bloody wait to try it out. Looks amazing and has some cool different looking control systems than my Flexi or F-One kites.

Says it can get you out on the water in 6 mph winds so really looking forward to proving the manual right. If it works it should be great, completing my kite quiver and will give me a 3 kite range of from 6 - 40 mph,not bad at all!!!

Will let you know how it all goes. Praying to get out this saturday, fingers crossed. Been going through total kite withdrawals the past few weeks.

Next Tronolone Kitesurfing DVD Review

2009-01-23T04:03:00.001-08:00

Pretty good kitesurfing DVD this one.

Some nice footage and some background interviews on riders like Lou Waiman, Andre Phillips Susi Mai and others. You get to hear some of their stories and some other behind the scenes stuff.

If you like Andre Phillips style of riding then you will love this. He is the main star of the whole thing with lots of footage of his wave, freeride and kicker kitesurfing. But others are mixed in nicely so you don't have an overload of it all being about Andre. There is a nice piece of footage of Lou Waiman doing some super styled unstrapped riding and its real sweet.

"Next" has a killer soundtrack with some great tunes from bands like System of a Down, Smashing Pumpkins, Gorillaz and many more. The music really helps to get you pumped up as you watch some awesome kitesurfing on screen. The opening section with a mix of styles and footage and System of a Down blasting out is one of my favourite parts of the movie.

One flaw is how short the DVD is. The main part runs for only 30 mins it kinda leaves you hanging, stretching it by adding more about the other riders involved wouldn't have broken the bank but overall it is well worth checking out.

This vid also has some of the nicest slow motion bikini clad girl wiping sand off her bum shot I have seen in a while and also two slow motion beauties swinging their wet hair for the camera on the beach. Super nice!!! They could have even left more footage of those two on it and bring the runtime length upto the 45 min mark and I wouldn't have complained.

I give this one a 3 out of 5 thumbs up.

Stormy Day in Tramore

2009-01-17T10:32:00.000-08:00

Wow!! went to Tramore this morning and was there for 9.30 am hoping to get some kiting in. Was not to be though.. The tide was in the farthest I have ever seen it and the waves and wind were picking up fast.

There were no other kiters there and only about 5 feet of rocky beach left before the wall due to the tide. So self launch was kinda out and so was getting some help launching. Pity, would have been great to get a few hours in.

The spray from the waves was rising maybe 15 feet above the wall off the pier before travelling across the walk way adn onto the road. Mad to watch. Toom some pics so I will try ad them in a bit. Parked up the car closer to the pier wall car park to try get a closer shot of the spray, the waves were so big that some heavy spray flew in through my car window, funny as hell.

Will let the pics speak for themslelves.

Fingers crossed I get a session in soon.

F One Bandit 7.5m

2009-01-17T06:42:00.000-08:00

Hey All,

got to finally try out my F One Bandit 7.5m kite the other day. Went down to Tramore at 9am on Saturday last and was on the water in 26 - 32 mph winds. It was the gustiest conditions I have ever been out in but turned out to be the best session I have had yet. Was bloody freezing down there but got 2.5 hours in before hypo started to show it head and I decided to call it a day.

The sea was pretty rough and waves were fast and furious. Not so much the highest I have ever been out in (being 6ft) but so fast one after another that it made for keep your wits about you riding. Highest waves I came across were roughly 4 ft high but coming in in broken up groups.

Like I said though it was a brilliant session. I was amazed by how easy it was to use the Bandit in such bad conditions and for the first time. It was really as if the kite was an extension of myself or was connected to what my brain was thinking of doing. I wanted the kite to turn fast or stop dead in a position in the sky and it was there. Really nice control which helped my confidence and riding big time. Was riding upwind no prob at all. Returning to and even passing further past the spot I headed off from. Great.

One thing that I found bad about the kite is that the inflation until you get the knack of it is a bloody pain in the arse. It took me nearly 20 minutes to get the kite pumped up and even at that I was not even 85% happy with how much it was inflated. This is due to how close the leading edge is to the valves, thye get in the way and make it hard to get the stopper closed. So after mcuh pumping and cursing I got as close to pumped up as I could manage. This did have an effect on the kite in the water as it would at times while changing direction lose its shape and fold and jolt a bit. I have heard this is a common enough problem with most peoples first attempts inflating these kites and is called "doing a helix" as the kite momentarily takes on the shape of the Naish kite.

But saying that overall for flying I wold give the kite a 8 out of 10 for flying, really enjoyed it and looking forward to more. On first day inlfation of the kite 3 out of 10 and when you get used to it 6 out of 10.

Kitesurfing Tramore Ireland Jan 09

2009-01-07T04:36:00.000-08:00

Hey all I was down in Tramore beach last friday 2nd Jan 09. Got my first session in for 2009. Myself and one other chap were down there braving the 2.5 degree celsius land temperatures and 14 - 20 mph winds. It was mighty chilly to be honest but the sea was warmer thank god at around 10 degrees. The sea was pretty rough. Waves coming in fast and high, hitting 6 feet alot and big white water. Wasn't the best wind day because it kept dropping but worth a try. Got my first few clean changes of kite direction without going back into the water and kept my speed up, felt great. Weather looking good for this saturday, gonna hopefully give Tramore a lash again. Winds over 20 mph forecast, coming in south south west. Sweet!!!

Zenith Kiteboarding Blog!!!

2009-01-07T04:00:00.000-08:00

Hey All and welcome to Zenith Kiteboarding blog page. This is my first ever blog so give me time, I promise it will improve!!!