Has Autumn finally arrived....?

The past week has been firing here on Guernsey. When I say firing, I mean it's been the best that we've had all summer! Two full on days kiting and one powered up session on the wave board with some lovely little waves at Vaz which was a real bonus. Check out the link to vivelabreeze.blogspot.com for Matt's low down on the windsurf session at Vaz.

The Torch has had a couple more outings, firstly with myself and Baz on Tuesday at Vazon and then on Thursday, big Danny boy put it through it's paces. The general consensus from the boys is that the Torch is a rocking kite! If your looking for some "C" shaped goodness then you can't go far wrong with this little beauty.

Thursday was also quite windy and it was a good time to get out my other new toy - the 9m Naish Bolt.

My initial thoughts are very good even though I was slightly under powered. The design is very similar to last years Cult so the flying characteristics are also pretty similar too. The de-power is really good and it's quick in the air as you would expect for a kite of this size. It's a great kite to fly, very easy and good in the waves and I'm looking forward to getting it wound up in a bit more wind.

Unfortunately I don't have any photo's of it yet as I was down the beach when everybody else was at work-That's the beauty of working shifts so mustn't complain, I could be stuck in a 9-5 nightmare!

Here are some photo's that Baz's girlfriend Mia took from our Vazon session on the Tuesday-Cheers guys..

Is it a bird, is it a plane?? No, it's the new Naish Torch!!

You can put your life savings on it that when you get some new equipment the wind stops blowing??
Yep, the past week has been highly frustrating. I've had three sessions on the new Torch now and each time the wind has been borderline and there's nothing worse than trying to get to grips with some new gear and there isn't enough wind to get going.
Today was a slight exception though. We managed to get in at Richmond this morn but the wind wasn't quite enough again but late this aft it picked slightly and had a good low water Vaz session.
This is the first time I've tried the 5 line Torch and first thing I noticed that is different from the 4 line Helix/Cult is that the bar pressure is significantly heavier. This is due to the fact that there are no bridals and the lines connect straight to the kite. This makes for a highly responsive turning machine, but when the wind is light you really have to work this baby so she definately needs slightly more wind than the norm but will also probably hold down more wind too.
Once powered up the kite flew really well. It flies a lot closer to the window than Helix/Cult and really likes you to edge the board hard. Jumping is sweet compared to the bridalled kites, as the kite is so responsive. Saying that it also sits well when un-hooking and the 5th line is definately an advantage when retrieving the kite after screwing up when un-hooked as you can just grab the chicken loop and you get instant de-power.
Overall, after my limited time on the water with the Torch, I'm a little bit more optimistic than I was up until lunch time today. It definately requires more wind to get going than say, the 12m Helix but once up to power, she's lively, great for jumping and great for un-hooking.
Hopefully, I'll get a few more sessions this week to try her out fully as the forecast is looking good.
I also received the new Momentum, previously I have been riding the Thorn. The Momentum is a fantastic board. Its wider throughout it's profile with more rocker and flex than the Thorn. The major advantage of this board is that it rides chop well and you get no spray thrown into your face which the Thorn had a tendancy to do. If your riding choppy water a lot then the Momentum is one up on it's brother the Thorn which prefers smooth water.

Here are some photo's of this morning's session at Richmond.


Torch 2011-Nice profile!













Dimi gets some air with the new Torch


























Trying to work it in the light wind..













It helps when you only weigh 50kg













Backloop kiteloop













Mike and Ian enjoying the great weather!

Unchartered waters

We've had some good kiting recently but the wind has been pretty dire for windsurfing. Myself, Simon Marshall, Jason and Stevie Smith managed a Perell sesh last week. It was good to get out on the wave board and be powered on a 5.3 even if there was no swell to write home about.
The high pressure has dropped south a little, pushing the odd slack low pressure through giving us some moderate winds which have been ideal for the big kites.
Vazon and Ladies Bay have been the best beaches to kite but on Sunday the wind was blowing NNW which gave me the first opportunity to kitesurf my local surf beach - Portinfer Bay.
The wind probably had a bit too much North in it but it was a good first session anyway.
A quick phone call to Dan and we were rigged and out for about a 30 minutes before the wind dropped and we had to come in. It's only possible to kite on the high tide and the wind was blowing across a reef upwind creating a smooth ride inside the bay. Considering the wind was slightly offshore it was also incredibly steady. Now we know it's possible to kite this bay we're looking forward to the next session with the wind a little bit more from the west with NW probably being the best direction-definitely some potential in this picturesque little bay.

View from the balcony of our house

Me and Dan kiting-Portinfer Bay

The boys after the session and Dan looking particularly happy with himself!

Unfortunately Dimi arrived down the beach when the wind had dropped but managed to get the first couple of shots from the balcony of the house.

Le Road Trip!

Not too long ago we recently made a joint purchase with my folks on a camper van and we had a week free in the middle of July to load her up and head south in search of wind and waves.
Over the past couple of years we have made several trips down the west coast of France and every trip away has produced the goods with regards to wind and waves so hopefully this time, van loaded with kiting kit and SUP we were going to score lucky again!
Initially I wasn't sure which way we were going to travel but after studying the weather forecast prior to going we decided to head down to an Island called Noirmoutier. The charts showed an approaching low pressure and the chances of scoring some good wind seemed very optimistic.
Also one of the local surfers had mentioned that he had been to Noirmoutier before and it was a great place to surf and kite.
We set off on the Monday evening and arrived at Noirmoutier on the Tuesday morning and were greeted with sunny skies and a steady force 4, the only problem was, that the sat nav had taken us onto the island via the cobbled low tide causeway and not the recommended bridge. I could see the kites in the distance but it took about 20 minutes of driving to finally get to the kite spot. The tide was super high and the spot was at the edge of the estuary so it was damn choppy but never less great to get in the water.
We spent a couple of days down at Noirmoutier, it was a great place to chill out, eat and kite. The tide went out for a fair old distance as it does around a lot of these places but we scored some brilliant conditions and the wind blew constantly.
A brief check on the net and the forecast showed the wind tailing off towards the end of the week so the call was made to head North which brought us to a great little spot called Gavres where we had been to a couple of years earlier.

This is the scene that greeted us at Gavres. On one side of the road was the sea and on the other when the tide was high there was a sheltered inland estuary which was unbelievably flat.
.....get me my 9m!

Now that is smooth as....

Tide out at Gavres

Gavres is a brilliant spot. On one side you have the waves and on the other you have flat water perfect for learning those kite loops or riding blind. So far the trip had been epic but we were running out of holiday time and needed to head north. The next stop on road trip was a place called Penhors. This is the only time we stayed on a camp site whilst away so all in all our accommodation costs probably amounted to around 35 euros in total-not bad for a week away.

The plan was to get some surf time in when we headed north but the slight onshore wind left over from the passing low pressure made the surf messy and unrideable.
Penhors

Eating out French style..

Dimi chilling after a few hard days kiting

Ours is the blue beast

We spent the last couple of days in and around the St Malo area mostly shopping and chilling out. We certainly did very well on the kiting front even if the SUP didn't get off the roof of the van. France has some great spots to kite and the people are friendly and the food fantastic. The camper went a treat and the living can be cheap if you've got your home on your back. Next year we will have more time so hopefully we will get to travel a little bit further and find some new spots to kite and more waves to surf!

Sunset, St Malo area

Team Hutch!!

Basstastic!

It's great living on this beautiful little rock in the middle of the ocean. Even when there is no wind or waves there is always something you can do involving the sea. This time of year is great for snorkelling and the warm seas have had a brilliant effect in attracting the sea bass into shallower waters. I've been a couple of times recently and have had some lucky strikes with my spear gun as you can see from the photos.

Who's the man?



















Ready for the oven..

Summer cruz'in

We've certainly been starved of wind recently. The wave sailing fraternity have been chomping at the bit and are in need of some serious action which is still looking pretty bleak.
Saying that, it is the height of the summer and windy wave sessions are few and far between at this time of year anyway.
On the plus side the weather has been unseasonably warm and we've been blessed with small but consistent swells. The paddle board has had numerous outings and Oly and I have had some fun little sessions. Portinfer and Perell are the venues which have produced the best waves, our most recent outing was on the big peak at Perell. This place is a daunting place to SUP. It picks up more swell than anywhere and you have to have your wits about you as the odd rogue wave can catch you out and give you a good pasting if your not dialled into the place.
The forecast is looking good over the coming week for bigger swell and I've got a new Naish 9'6'' on order which will hopefully be here towards the end of next week just in time for the trip to France.
Here are a few photos taken by Dimi at Portinfer the other day. Unfortunately she arrived too late and I was just getting out and Oly was looking for the last wave in.

Oly looking for the big one..









It was pretty good..honest!









Good cover shot for the Naish SUP brochure

Magical Mauritius

We've just returned from our kitsurfing holiday which we spent on the magical Island of Mauritius. This awesome place can only be described in one word - Paradise!

We decided to stay on the East coast of the Island which was a bit more off the beaten track, the majority of kiters/windsurfers head to La Morne on the south west tip of the Island. This is the main spot with the best rideable waves but we were after a silky smooth lagoon and when we arrived at our hotel the La Palmeraie we weren't disappointed.

Our room overlooked the kitesurf lagoon and the launch area was a mere 20 yards walk from our front door.

Views to the left and to the right from the balcony











This is Paradise!!!

Mauritius is a fair old hike from London, 14 hours in total and we were all tired after the long flight but our spirits soon perked up when we greeted by the warm breeze and the thought of heading in for our first session on the water.



Early Evening session



















The motley crew getting into the flavour of a themed night at the hotel.

Left to right: Me, Dimi, Dan and Ellie








The lagoon was fully enclosed by an outer reef which was constantly pounded by the endless surf. During our entire stay the outer reef never went flat and on the days that the wind didn't blow (3 in total) the waves were looking sweet. Glassy walls peeling onto the ankle deep reef. According to the locals, this place wasn't surfed as it was too shallow and dangerous but everytime I gazed out I wished I could grab a surf board, paddle out and try my luck.




























During the first half of our holiday the wind was relatively light and it tended to pick up towards the end of the day. Dan and I had some great sessions just before nightfall when the water was butter flat and perfect for learning some new tricks.


Me... Dan...













Now, that is a lovely looking kite!

When it rains... it pours!

These are my favourite photos of the trip. They were taken by Dimi from the balcony early in the morning. Dan and I are the only two in the water and it was great fun blasting around pushing and egging each other on. The tide was low and Dan pushed it just a little too far near the shallow reef, he ended up being speared in the bum by a sea urchin. We all found this highly amusing and to my mis-fortune I also ended up with some sea urchin spines embeded in my hand which Dimi had great pleasure in digging out.
.

We all had a great holiday and the Hotel La Palmeraie was amazing. The staff were so friendly and the food was delicious. If any of you are contemplating heading out there, we can thoroughly recommend it. We have some brilliant memories of this holiday and look forward to the next trip.

Here are a few more photos of the guys and girls in action.

Dan..Nice Raley Dimi...airtime