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2010 KITESPORTS Challenge 6-7th March
2010 Canterbury Champs winner Anthony Hopkins with Tim from Kitesports- Ant's sponsors, Ocean Rodeo & Underground
Ant in action 23-24th Jan
17m Zephyr in action...
WANAKITE 09
Kitesurf trip to Peru
KITESPORTS Challenge 28th Feb & 1st March
5-8th Feb NZ Nationals
2008 Taranaki Wave Nats
Wanakite pics...
6, 7, 8th June 08
8th March 2008
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RESULTS: Buggy 8km Time Trial: 1st Craig Knights (10.09), 2nd Kirk Hansen (10.12) Wave Master Mens: Blair Cooke Wave Master Womans: Kim Bunt, Landboard Freestyle & Best Dressed: Mason Griffiths, Fastest Landboard over 8km: 1st Jo Scorgie (13.23) 2nd Mason (13.27) Retro Blast & Hardout: Roy from Nelson Fantastic weekend! Thanks to all that came & enjoyed the great riding! In association with our windsports club here in Christchurch the CWA www.cwa.org.nz we are again running the annual Kitesports Challenge this weekend the 6-7th March. 2010 Canterbury Kiteboarding Champs This year the prevailing southerly winds in Canterbury had us take the competition out to Lake Ellesmere Domain. For both days we had great riding & winds gusting from 10-30 knots. This made for high adrenalin competition in all classes, with 34 competitors. The teenagers were the show stoppers this season with Anthony Hopkins, 15 years from Linwood dominating the competition & taking out the Canterbury title plus the Junior titles. Brianna Boyd also from ChCh won the title for the Canterbury Womans division. It was great to get such a high level of talent from all over New Zealand attend, especially Marc Jacobs, NZ Champion! Organised by 'Canterbury Windsports Association' committee members Blair Cooke & Tim Stockman, this annual event never fails to get a good result here in Christchurch, which was also the location for the very successful 2009 Kiteboarding Nationals. OZONE Zephyr Review- I had the pleasure recently of getting a 2010 Ozone Zephyr 17m SLE kite sent to me from Matt Taggart, Ozone owner, for demo purposes here in Christchurch. Unfortunately October was not a month for good weather as it normally would be, with endless cold days of rain & even snow! This is normally what we get in August, but apparently October was the coldest on record for the region in over 50 years! I had only a few opportunities to test the new kite, making sure others had the chance to demo also... As the advertising says, you can certainly get riding in 6-8 knots on a normal size board (mine a 131x40) maintaining upwind reasonably easily, even able to do small jump transitions & maintain a good plane. If your on a surfboard in the waves, certainly enough power to carve up a small swell:-) My best day was when we had it out at our local flat water spot, The Estuary. The wind was 8-10 knots for hours with heaps of crew about. Many riders trying, & floundering in the light breeze on thier regular kites. Wee Kim, all 45kgs of her & a 10m SLE kite, & myself 85kgs & 17m in hand were the only ones out riding hard...nice big jumps, transitions, & even powered kite loops, & sooo good for unhooking...man, I had the biggest grin on my face for such light wind conditions:-) So...I had to pass the kite round, to share the stoke, & for others to see how easy this beast was to fly! As for Kimmy, she reckoned it was a grovel for her on her 10m, but she could see I was having fun... later in the afternoon the wind finally kicked in, 16-18 knots. All of a sudden there were 25-30 kites on the water, riders ripping it up.. I thought I'd try out the upper end of the 17m, so out I went again. The light, yet positive feel on the bar made me feel like I was flying a much smaller kite...the grin came back, no need to change down in kite sizes, just keep on flying...into the evening I jumped onto Scotty's wake skate, having an awesome time coming to grips with that & nailing shovits & other wee tech tricks.. I was just about the last one off the water, & 6 hours at the Estuary... Good on ya Ozone for making such great kit! Next, bring on the C4...I can't wait! CHINA COMP- China has just held it's 1st International kitesurf Comp on 21-23rd August at Bohai Bay in Binhai, Weifang. It all happened real fast, my involvement started 7 weeks prior as event director, working with organisers in Weifang China. All the wind seemed to be in the days leading up to the event, but even so a result was achieved... WANAKITE- Thanks to everyone involved with the 2009 Wanakite Snowkite Freeride, it was an epic week of high wind snowkite action & freshies for everyone who ventured high into the Pisa range on Saturday for some of the best snowkiting ever! It was however difficult catching up with everyone who was there, as we were spread out & with so muching kiting, leaves not much energy for socialising... May 2009- Myself & Cookie took off to the North Coast of Peru for all of May to escape the harsh Christchurch weather that usually leads winter...sounds like we missed the worst storms that May has dished out in years. I am certainly impressed by the snow cover on my return. We had a mission, to kitesurf the famous long lefts at as many places as possible while making our way up 1000km of coast anyway we could, all we had were our kites & strapless surfboards...bus, tuktuk, taxi, or donkey...from Lima to Mancora, eventually catching the Wanaka crew who gave us the heads up on the trip. After a blow out in Lima we headed north to Huanchaco...not much wind but good times, nice surf...then we hooked up with a surf tour & headed for Chicama, the longest lefthand point break in the world. On arrival the wind was howling through, quite offshore, blowing through the desert off a high cliff...standing on the beach it seemed sideshore-ish, but we're use to difficult conditions, so we both rigged 10m kites. Had three sessions over that day, all high octane, pumped when we got a long ride of 100-300m. Definately a heads up for things to come. We surfed over the next couple of days while checking out other possible spots...we then headed up the road to Pacasmayo...here we found wave kiters heaven, everyday was windy, everyday a wave to play, the kites most used over the week we spent here, 8m & 10m, with swell up to 2m. Here with much cleaner wind, you could ride one wave for over a kilometre! We'd been emailing Mark from team Wanaka, they'd been getting riding in, all their trip via the local guides they'd hooked up with. We decided to head to Mancora as we heard Lobitos was a place we had to go...we got the overnight bus to Mancora, small sleep then off in a van with the crew of Mark, Jo, Kirsten & Whitney, plus our guide Inigo. The waves were small, but soon the wind came in & the waves picked up, fun day at Lobitos. The second day we went back to Lobitos & did a downwinder, along the way we struck a nice big rocky out crop point break called Baterious. We made our way to Lobitos beach & kited & surfed all afternoon. After a couple of days at Mancora Beach kiting & relaxing myself & Cookie were itching to get back to Lobitos, so when we finally got there we spent a few days kiting & stayed while a good swell kicked in... was a fun wave to kite, powerful, fast & barrelling the whole way down the beach. Towards the end of our trip we headed back to Pacasmayo for three more good days of kiting, then started our journey home. Peru was a great place to ride waves, nice people, consistent weather, a really fun trip. Looking forward to returning...next time though I want to know more Spanish! 3 March 2009 RESULTS: SPONSORS: A big thanks to Peter Lynn Kites, DAKINE, Stance DVD Mag, RUCK JACK, Watershed Bar, & The Bach Bar If anyone wants a Tee or Hoodie of the event, just email me tim@kitesports.co.nz within the next couple of days... We had great conditions last weekend for the NZ Kiteboarding Nationals here in Christchurch. Sixty or more riders from all over NZ came to battle it out for titles in the Juniors, Womens, Open, Masters, & Legends divisions. For 2009 the level of riding has never been higher, with International Pro rider from Tauranga Mark Jacobs taking out the 'open' title. KITESPORTS & OCEAN RODEO team rider Anthony Hopkins placing third in the Juniors amongst a very high level of Junior competition...Dave Kay took out 1st in the 'Masters' & Karl Soulos 2nd, both riding OCEAN RODEO Rise kites! We had great support from the Christchurch business community, City Council & CWA club...for details of results & sponsors please go to event website www.kiteboarding.org.nz
TARANAKI WAVE EVENT November 08...When I heard that there was going to be a wave event in Taranaki I new I had to be there. It was seven years since I kited that rocky coastline on the North Island westcoast & I have distinctive memories about the huge surf & the strong cross off shore easterly winds. I drove up from Christchurch with John Thyne & Craig Knights. It's a big day but with our midnight start from ChCh & first light ferry crossing we were looking for kiting spots along the westcoast road from mid am. Not much wind as we drove north but by mid afternoon we'd made New Plymouth & there was a steady seabreeze at Eastern beach. We have a fun time riding in the light winds & very small surf. Later we headed back to Okura & 'The Wave Haven', the backpackers where Sam was hidding out. The next day we met up with everyone at the Eastern Surf Club for a briefing, was looking like a freeride day as no particular call was made & local leaving us with a split decision....Kina Road South Taranaki...light wind & waves, or, hang at the surf club, no waves, little wind.....no choice really, I'll take my chances on the 45min drive & the chance of a wave.... We weren't to be disapointed, over head high surf & sideshore wind from the south about 15-18 knots....Big Grins! Those that kited this day were pretty stoked....Sam won the wave non-event for the day in my book, but we all had fun, sore feet from walking over all the rocks at low tide though. That night we had tickets to see a band in Openake, just up the road. This turned into one huge night......the next day we woke to a rustle in the trees & an early call that we were all meeting at Kina Road & starting the wave comp from 11am.....The conditions back at Kina Rd were great, side onshore wind with a nice wee wave, already plenty of people out kiting. I had a sore head from a big night, but was keen to go riding...once on the water the head cleared. All the heats went well & I think most were pretty pleased with the conditions. By mid afternoon Kina Rd was getting pretty rocky, riders were struggling getting in & out through the minefield so they left it at that & those that wanted to headed south for waveriding from the sandy beach just south. That night at the event party the riders who made it through the heats were called out. There were some who didn't make it through, that probably should have, but the rider judging made for a tough & not necessarily fair decision, especially since the condition were small for Taranaki standards. The next day there was wind, cross off this time, still for the north. The waves had all but gone, just a few set waves whipped up at times. My heat was lame, but still enjoyed the riding, as it was hard to find a wave on lake Taranaki....Those that made it through deserved it! The finals saw the swell build & the men & woman all compete in true style...the results were deserved also. Jamie Barrow taking it, & Laura Adams top female. Great event, great fun! Lets see more surfboards on the water next year:-) WANAKITE Late August 2008 June 08 Wanaka Trip. Last weekend four of us decided to get an early snowkite session in in Wanaka. Myself, John Thyne, Sam the Pom, & Genis the Spanish. Forecast- Galeforce winds ALL weekend!!!....oh shit! plus a bit of fresh pow pow at some point.....good enough for us I thought We arrived very late Thursday night, the updated forecast for Friday was 120km/hr winds NW, the snow from Tues...was rained on:-( We headed up to Snowfarm early, about 10ish....the snow was thin, & the wind was strong 20-30knots....I wasn't that keen to get out of the van even, but we new we had to test the conditions, you don't come all this way to sit on your ass when its blowing. John (who's always keen) was first in his gear, the other two followed....then me. Once we got across to the next hill which is a bit higher, straight in front of the main carpark, it was obvious the snow was OK, softening nicely in the very windy but sunny NW day. We all rigged small kites...I was now very excited, cool sounds blasting on my ipod, I new what we were in for It rained during the night in Wanaka... was not that cold either, I didn't think the snow that was forecast had come, so we just mooched round till after lunch, then decided to head for the hill. We could not have been more wrong......At least 10-20cm of freshies at Snowfarm, a cool 10-20 knot wind prevailed SW....talk about move quickly...I pumped the 7m, the wind dropped back though....got out my trusty lightwind landboarding weapon the 7.7 Twister...powered, kiting straight out of the carpark jumping & landing well below, then kited across to the setup hill & up to the top....the wind now gusted up, I was way overpowered...time to get the small kite, so headed back to the van, grabbed the 7m & my 11m Rev (just in case). Sunday, we were up the hill nice & early....more fresh snow, light SW, so rigged big & waited with a bit of grovelling mixed in...soon it swung West, 10knots, then 15-20....later up to 45km/hr.....anyway, very windy for an 11m, but having way to much fun to go smaller as the others did...we found natural quarter pipes to rip through, some wind drifts up to waist deep....later I found some really fun things to jump off...yee harrr.....yes people we're talking the best snowkiting I've struck in the last seven years of going to the Snowfarm It was a late trip getting home as we stayed their all day... Mary Lee who owns the land has now given clarity on protocol...here tis Rock up to the main building, down the hall to get your 'trail pass', this will cost you $10 for the day Pick a windy day & your guaranteed a fun time, any wind direction works. Kitesports Challange 8-9th March- Saturday was a light NE during the afternoon that kicked up to 10-11 knots at South Brighton Beach mid to late afternoon as we were losing the low tide, still a bit of kiting fun to be had landboarding & buggying, & a couple of people in the water. We had some great support from the local players , I'd like to thank Peter Lynn Kites, Underground, DAKINE, Stance Magazine, Groundswell, & KITESPORTS, plus all the keen kiters who participated, from as far as Nelson down to Dunedin... I think everyone came away with a good feeling of what the kiting scene here in Christchurch is all about... or at least a good hangover! 2007-08 Summer here in Christchurch is proving to be a bundle of fun for all the locals & visitors. Check John Thynes news-reel on the CWA wesite HERE, a good read... Canterbury Kitesurf Champs- January 2008.The Champs began with a clear skies, NE breeze summers day.The Wind built consistently allowing for a relaxed expression session to begin the promising weekend. Kiters came from all over New Zealand (Dunedin, Nelson, Wellington, Tauranga, Auckland, and Whangarie) to participate in a well organised event by Blair "Cookie" Cooke, who created quite a stir with his mankini.Which might I add looked way more impressive than Borats.After the expression session the Mens Open began on a high note with 26 riders which was followed by Women (6 riders - some in fancy dress), Junior (5 riders < 18), and Legends (5 riders 40+). After all the challanging heats in the now gusty northerly wind, some made the best of the tide or went to the beach while others needed a kip. A few stayed for the Underground BBQ, drinks and music, however the nite had just begun for Tim Stockman who put on an impressive show of buggying,landboarding and geting ramps stuck under the buggy.The Sunday Morning was met with strong NE breezes which the Kitesports Team took full advantage of with an 8am session. The wind was blasting 20 knots gusting 30 as everybody cruised down to the beach for a wave session after which everybody headed to the Estuary for the BIG AIR Comp. A few accomplished downwinder from New Brighton experiencing beautiful scenery but large chop. The BIG AIR called for some stunning jumps just less than seven seconds, but Dave Kay come out on top with 6.48 seconds of Hangtime flying a 10m Rise Venturi kite. After that all headed to the Sand Bar for Prize Giving even though the wind was still blasting with a well deserved rest needed by all. October-Ocean Rodeo RISE Venturi. The new 'Vented canopy' kites turned up last week & we've been testing them in a wide variety of conditions from coast to coast! lol....no kidding! To see how this 'vented canopy' works go to Ocean Rodeo.com 1st Sept.NEW School Program for 2007-08 Summer! Out of our commitment to provide the highest level of instruction available in todays kiteboarding industry, here at Kitesports we have incorporated the 'KITES Method' (Kiteboarding International Training Evaluation System) into our kite school program for the 2007-08 summer season. This teaching system will be the most comprehensive available to newcomers to the sport, covering all aspects including kite, controls, lines, environment, preservation of life, becoming a self sufficient & competent kiteboarder. We realise every person is different & learning curves vary, so this system works for everyone! 20th August. Just returned from the annual Wanakite Snowkite freeride. The first day was great, had good wind all day, plus had the pleasure of snowkiting with Chasta who heads the OZONE team & is world champ. We had mixed conditions the rest of the week with limited riding for some. The OZONE team struck it good with the three weeks they spent down south, getting great footage for their new film plus looking at returning to Wanaka & using Snowfarm as a base for testing new kiting equipment in the future. I'll definately be setting more time aside next winter as kiting with these guys was aweinspiring! FIJI Trip- This year a small crew of us headed for The Yasawa Islands north of Fiji for 10 days of kiteboarding fun, we also had two friends with us who were new to the sport, so my mission was to get them hooked so they take up the sport on their return. Parked up at Otto & Fannys on Tavewa Island by the Blue Lagoon & Turtle Island, we had the best spot for cross on shore E-SE trade winds, a small sandy beach user friendly enough for students to gain confidence & not to much nasty corel to get cut up on. Although we didn't get epic 20-25 knot winds every day as I was hoping, we did get 15 knot winds most days except two, which was still enough to get the learners in the water. The windiest day we had kites in the air by 6am, Tony using his torch to light the way while attaching lines, I estimated he had 8 hrs on the water that day, my self at least 6. With an average of 20-25 all day we kited round to the far side of Turtle Island which is mostly a rocky shore to the East, here we were elated to find a nice wee swell busting shoulder high waves over the rocks you could see through the crystal clear waters. Myself & Tony were in heaven, like kiting at Brighton but add 20 degrees C! Had another 6am start the following day, later that day we had to catch the 4.5hr boat ride south to Beachcomber. No wind here till the second afternoon, then I was blessed with 18knots plus all afternoon, great way to wrap up the holiday. Both students are now dialled in on kiteboarding using techniques from The Method KITES system that we are incorporating into our school this summer WANAKITE 2007 Snowkite Freeride. The OZONE snowkite team are in New Zealand during August, so we're aiming for a long weekend in the snow round Wanaka, maybe checkout some spots round Tekapo on the way down south, it's likely we'll be hitting some new terrain too....August 16-19th looks good, so this gives everyone plenty of notice... South Coast, Easter 2007. Great sessions were had in Southland. Started on Thurs morning, Matu arrived in Christchurch from Nelson at 9am after a 4hr drive. We geared up the van & hit the road, first stop New Brighton beach as the NE had kicked early on this wicked Autumn morning. Driving by the mall we spotted Matt & dragged him up to north beach with us. 18 plus knots, nice swell. Sessioned there for two hours the wind hitting 21 knots, awesome wave riding, ended with me getting dragged up the beach after a missed bar pass, kite in the dunes. On our way out of town by 2.30pm. Hit Balclutha late pm & shore enough others started to turn up at the camp grounds to, 16 in all. The plan for the next day was to visit my Grandma 95 years young in Papatowai, then head round the Catlins coast checking out kite spots. We found a few that would work in the right wind, but the SW tended to favour Invercargill & beyond, especially accessibility. Curio Bay & the Tautuku Peninsula looked very special. We made our way through to Invercargill, Matu & myself checked out Awarua Bay, super flat water 20-25 knots blasting from the SW. We had a call from those up front, Colac Bay was on, side shore 20 plus. Great session there, everyone out on their bigger kites. Awesome riding into the evening, a nice we wave to peel down on, everyone had happy faces by the end. Granville from Invercargill putting us up in his luxury beach house, easily accomodating the masses. Saturday was the no wind day, a nice wave in the bay had a crew out surfing most of the day. Saturday night turned into drunken mayhem, fortunately I missed the antics of the early hours but the sad faces the next day said it all. Sunday, very windy, my mission was to hit the super flat water of Te Waiwai Lagoon & also get into some BIG waves. 30 knots, gusty as in the La-goon, but super fine riding & boosting. Kited down to the river mouth the hoped over to the seaside. I'd easily say the swell was about 4m, but in reality it was much bigger. Myself & Matu ventured forth & slayed out way through the monsters, running from sum, but also riding & carving our way top to bottom on many, getting way to cocky as I messed with the swell. Headed back over for more flat water, jumping from the 5m high shingle wall to water. After awhile of hitting high speeds & heights head for the waves again....Later in the afternoon we headed back to Colac as half of the crew had hung in there for the side shore conditions, managed a we go on Cookies Fish surfboard, fun session....next day, dying wind, clean up time, travel home, looking for wind that was disappearing. Great sessions once again on the South Coast, Spring or Autumn the wind blows & the swell grows..... KITESPORTS Challenge March 3 & 4-Great weekend of NE & E winds! Saturday was a light 10 knots all day at South Brighton great for buggys & mountainboards, then we hit the Estuary for a late afternoon kiteboarding session up to 15 knots. Sunday, windy from early am at the beach, awesome buggy time trials, freestyle buggy/mountainboard. Wave riding all day, the swell picking up nicely in the afternoon. Finished the day with a powered session on the Estuary, & BBQ prizegiving. Special thanks to DAKINE & Peter Lynn KItes. Thanks to everyone, once again a great fun event! NZ Kiteboarding Nationals- January 19, 20, 21 & 22, Nelson. Wow, what an awsome weekend! Great kiteboarding the day after I arrived, then little wind for three days while we all partied hard. Sunday early evening breaking the drought with some stonking SW winds blowing off shore on a fast flowing incoming current at Tahunanui beach. Monday from first thing it was all on again, SW 25 knots, during the day all heats & the finals were completed with brilliant riding from all who competed, it's great to see so many people inspired to another level by their peers. A shout goes out to Martin Harris from Ch-Ch who came 3rd in the Juniors, Tom Cook & Mike Chapman for close placings, everyone was inspiring to watch. Find out more... NEW YEARS kite trip to Farewell Spit (Golden Bay) & camping at Pakawau beach, & kiting in the Whanganui Inlet, there you have the most amazing flat water sessions available in howling westerly winds. It was amazing to kite in glass smooth flat water reaching speeds of 70-80km, (GPS a must next time) 25 knots, while racing your friends who are only a few metres away, jumping sand bars......awesome! Then we hit Paturau beach on the west coast....this place is wicked, the first day we had a nice side onshore 20 knot session, head high surf, this second day it was 25-35 knots sideshore left, most weren't keen, either spat out & now packing up, or looking at it wondering if they had a kite small enough. I couldn't get on the water fast enough. A heavy wave bigger than double over head at times, I enjoyed a two hour session of the best wave riding of my life, with a mountain back drop that could have been mistaken for Hawaii, this place is kiting heaven in beautiful New Zealand. The four days I had here will stay with me for a long time, & draw me back soon & often.... WANAKITE Sept 06 |
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