Compared to kite surfing theres not quite so much to say about wake boarding other than its TOTALLY AWESOME.
If you can snowboard already then you have a large advantage learning this sport. Its essentially the same rules as using a board on snow, just a fair bit more forgiving because water is so squidgy. At the same time, if you get fancy and start jumping off the wakes, land at the wrong angle and you're catching an edge with the pull of a speedboat... luckily water hurts considerably less than ice so its brilliant fun even when it goes wrong!
From what I could gather, when standing up, its important to keep yourself curled up as long as possible. Starting position is with arms fully stretched either side of your legs but your knees tucked up to your face so the heel edge of the board is under the water by your backside. As the power builds up your locked arms should keep you remained in this curled up position and with a little persuasion you naturally roll forward on to the top of the water. Once this has happened you simply point the thing in the direction you want to go, lean back as if you're riding pow and you're away! WHOOSH!
One thing a couple of us kept getting wrong was to fight the power of the boat and start extending our legs in the water as if we were standing up on a steep snow slope. Remember to keep yourself tucked in and let the boat take you. Once you've cracked it, you'll get it right every time (sort of)
Other things to note, similar to boarding, are to keep your legs bent to compress all the bumps. Keep them too straight and you'll wobble like a tea tray out of control and explode in a watery mess. Also holding the grip down at your hips keeps the boat pulling you constant. If you have your arms out in front of you theres a tendancy to let it pull you off balance and you'll have to pull yourself back in. Holding it with one hand also lets the board track back into the centre more naturally.
Throw in a sardinian sunset, multiple lightning storms in the distance, clear flat seas and some hilarious crashes and you're onto a winner.
So theres my first experience of what i'm sure will be a new hobby for many years to come. I'll find out where my local spots are and work on persuading you all to come with me!
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
Kitesurfing - first experiences (of doom)
Everything about kitseurfing is MASSIVE. The kites are 7-20ish metres big, the speeds reached are rediculous. A kitesurfer recently took the wind powered speed record from a windsurfer for the first time ever. The time spent in the air and the heights reached are crazy. Basically if you kitesurf, i salute you because its the most hardcore sport i've tried by far (this may be because i freak out in water)
The most notable thing about learning to kite surf is that the learning curve isn't steep... there just plain isn't one. You spend half an hour learning the theory of power zones and controlling a kite, practice on land for an hour or two with a small land kite and them WHAM you're in the middle of the sea holding on to the back of an instructor being dragged through the sea on an 11 metre kite with what feels like the power of a car. If you're comfortable with watersports already then this may feel relatively normal but for someone who has pretty much only ever swam in water its a nerveracking experience (but that may have something to do with the instructor falling off the back of me, leaving the kite to launch me out of the water and dump me several metres down wind on my first go....)
A couple more things that I picked up as a beginner may help you if you're going to give it a go.
-Most importantly, the kite pulls you from the harness on your hips. Unlike conventional land kites you have to let this happen because if you find yourself clinging onto the bars as they pull you along, you're actually pulling the kite to face the wind and dragging yourself even faster. By leaning back into the harness, your hands are freed up to finely control the kite. If something goes wrong, PUSH OUTWARDS, which when you're being pulled through the sea, is incredibly unnatural and hard to adjust to.
- When stearing the kite the bar always has to remain parallel to the angle of the kite. There'll be a tendancy to keep the bar with the horizon, twisting it like a stearing wheel. Not only will this make it harder to stear, you'll get told off by your instructor and you'll get embarassed.
- Less wind = bigger kites. Bigger kites don't necesarrily mean OH LORD I'M GONNA GO FASTER. If the wind conditions are rubbish a bigger kite is just out there to make the most of it. If you have the right size kite for the conditions this shouldn't vary the power much. It will affect stearing though as bigger kites are sloooower. This means you'll have to pull the stearing bar a lot mor in advance than you think to make the all important figure of eights.
- Don't expect to end up on a board instantly. We went for a week, did it for 4 days and were close but then the wind ran out. Its not really something you can pop out one weekend and pickup (unless you are a god) so give it a good amount of time. But then its expensive. So learn it on holiday so you don't realise how much you're spending!
- Also if you're not used to being dragged and splashed through, above and below a choppy sea, try not to panic. I did lots but after a few practices you realise you're not travelling as fast as you first thought and once you learn how to depower the kite (or evacuating it) you can relax a bit and concentrate on what you're learning. Just don't go too near the shore, because thats guaranteed to end badly.
All in all, i enjoyed learning as much as i did while i was out there but for now, the mental challenge of being smashed around the sea got in the way a bit. I'll certainly be doing it again though. Kitesurfers - you legends.
The most notable thing about learning to kite surf is that the learning curve isn't steep... there just plain isn't one. You spend half an hour learning the theory of power zones and controlling a kite, practice on land for an hour or two with a small land kite and them WHAM you're in the middle of the sea holding on to the back of an instructor being dragged through the sea on an 11 metre kite with what feels like the power of a car. If you're comfortable with watersports already then this may feel relatively normal but for someone who has pretty much only ever swam in water its a nerveracking experience (but that may have something to do with the instructor falling off the back of me, leaving the kite to launch me out of the water and dump me several metres down wind on my first go....)
A couple more things that I picked up as a beginner may help you if you're going to give it a go.
-Most importantly, the kite pulls you from the harness on your hips. Unlike conventional land kites you have to let this happen because if you find yourself clinging onto the bars as they pull you along, you're actually pulling the kite to face the wind and dragging yourself even faster. By leaning back into the harness, your hands are freed up to finely control the kite. If something goes wrong, PUSH OUTWARDS, which when you're being pulled through the sea, is incredibly unnatural and hard to adjust to.
- When stearing the kite the bar always has to remain parallel to the angle of the kite. There'll be a tendancy to keep the bar with the horizon, twisting it like a stearing wheel. Not only will this make it harder to stear, you'll get told off by your instructor and you'll get embarassed.
- Less wind = bigger kites. Bigger kites don't necesarrily mean OH LORD I'M GONNA GO FASTER. If the wind conditions are rubbish a bigger kite is just out there to make the most of it. If you have the right size kite for the conditions this shouldn't vary the power much. It will affect stearing though as bigger kites are sloooower. This means you'll have to pull the stearing bar a lot mor in advance than you think to make the all important figure of eights.
- Don't expect to end up on a board instantly. We went for a week, did it for 4 days and were close but then the wind ran out. Its not really something you can pop out one weekend and pickup (unless you are a god) so give it a good amount of time. But then its expensive. So learn it on holiday so you don't realise how much you're spending!
- Also if you're not used to being dragged and splashed through, above and below a choppy sea, try not to panic. I did lots but after a few practices you realise you're not travelling as fast as you first thought and once you learn how to depower the kite (or evacuating it) you can relax a bit and concentrate on what you're learning. Just don't go too near the shore, because thats guaranteed to end badly.
All in all, i enjoyed learning as much as i did while i was out there but for now, the mental challenge of being smashed around the sea got in the way a bit. I'll certainly be doing it again though. Kitesurfers - you legends.
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Sardinia - Porto Pollo and Horse Pizza
Well its about time i started properly using this thing. I've spent a while overhalling the main site but i've just been to Porto Pollo for a week with Freshtraxxx and i can briefly sum up the experience.
The whole trip was pretty much an accident. After a brilliant all inclusive week with the guys back in April we discovered that when the snow melts away, they bung their stuff in vans and head over to Porto Pollo, Sardinia, to run their summer side of operations. Focusing mostly on extreme watersports, primarily kite surfing but also wakeboarding, diving, snorkling, windsurfing and sailing. As we left Cham I promised we'd head out there... but then promptly ran out of money. Tax rebates are handy though!
Porto pollo itsn't on the stereotypically rocky and spectacular parts of Sardinia but it is host to some nice wide sand beaches and most importantly contant cross shore winds vital for the wind sports. This makes it known worldwide as a good spot for these and there are several schools along the beach where you can learn just about anything you want.
The actual sports themselves will get their own write ups in following posts as each one could be discussed for yonks but all in all we're were incredibly lucky because we went towards the end of freshtraxxx's season which meant we could use their own gear for a reduced prices. Under the circumstances this enabled us to to a lot more than we expected as a typical week course in kite surfing costs 280 Euros so thanks guys. Legends.
Apres-crazy splashy activities, you can grab a drink or even free food at Rupee's Chillout. Nothing beats having a couple of pints on a beach, remembering you're a light weight and arsing about in the sea every night. You can sit yourself on their roof to take in the sunsets too if you like. Although doing this while they played tubular bells was a weird experience.
Food prices out there aren't too crazy either. Got ourselves pizzas for 7 Euros which is pretyy much the same as here right now and the choice is a hell of a lot better. EAT HORSE PIZZA, ITS DELICIOUS! you know you want to.
If you're wanting a break from all the sports (or theres randomly no wind) get yourself to Capa Testa where the coastline is incredible. All the cliffs are sculpted by wind into bizarre shapes but remain solid as anything because they're all granite. Lends to some fantastic climbing, with a sea to land in if you go wrong. I assume its stunning when its sunny but we were stuck swimming in a lightning storm which is a different exciting approach to a beach holiday haha.
Oh yeah and don't let the driver lose his wallet before you hire a car. It makes life really complicated...
All in all, a cracking time. If you're looking to take up some new watery hobbies without the freezing grim water of the UK, i'd highly recommend it. Especially through freshtraxxx.
The whole trip was pretty much an accident. After a brilliant all inclusive week with the guys back in April we discovered that when the snow melts away, they bung their stuff in vans and head over to Porto Pollo, Sardinia, to run their summer side of operations. Focusing mostly on extreme watersports, primarily kite surfing but also wakeboarding, diving, snorkling, windsurfing and sailing. As we left Cham I promised we'd head out there... but then promptly ran out of money. Tax rebates are handy though!
Porto pollo itsn't on the stereotypically rocky and spectacular parts of Sardinia but it is host to some nice wide sand beaches and most importantly contant cross shore winds vital for the wind sports. This makes it known worldwide as a good spot for these and there are several schools along the beach where you can learn just about anything you want.
The actual sports themselves will get their own write ups in following posts as each one could be discussed for yonks but all in all we're were incredibly lucky because we went towards the end of freshtraxxx's season which meant we could use their own gear for a reduced prices. Under the circumstances this enabled us to to a lot more than we expected as a typical week course in kite surfing costs 280 Euros so thanks guys. Legends.
Apres-crazy splashy activities, you can grab a drink or even free food at Rupee's Chillout. Nothing beats having a couple of pints on a beach, remembering you're a light weight and arsing about in the sea every night. You can sit yourself on their roof to take in the sunsets too if you like. Although doing this while they played tubular bells was a weird experience.
Food prices out there aren't too crazy either. Got ourselves pizzas for 7 Euros which is pretyy much the same as here right now and the choice is a hell of a lot better. EAT HORSE PIZZA, ITS DELICIOUS! you know you want to.
If you're wanting a break from all the sports (or theres randomly no wind) get yourself to Capa Testa where the coastline is incredible. All the cliffs are sculpted by wind into bizarre shapes but remain solid as anything because they're all granite. Lends to some fantastic climbing, with a sea to land in if you go wrong. I assume its stunning when its sunny but we were stuck swimming in a lightning storm which is a different exciting approach to a beach holiday haha.
Oh yeah and don't let the driver lose his wallet before you hire a car. It makes life really complicated...
All in all, a cracking time. If you're looking to take up some new watery hobbies without the freezing grim water of the UK, i'd highly recommend it. Especially through freshtraxxx.
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
And so it begins!
Ermmmm right ok so this is my blog. Now i have to work out what to actually put on it. As many of you know I'm a avid snowboarder and when somewhere lacks snow, i downhill bike on it instead (and usually end up hurting myself) With these passions come all kinds of adventures. Some may seem small, some may seem rediculous, some may seem downright pointless but everything that gets put on here is because I feel it could benefit someone out there somehow. If anything I experience can inspire atleast one person out there to drag themselves away from the internet and try something new, get out there and live, then my work is done.
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