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Posts Tagged ‘tips’

Make sure you’re ready for summer sea breezes

Sunday, July 24th, 2011

A summer breeze at Lancing Beach, UK.

If you’re new to kitesurfing then you are likely to be already bamboozled by the unique terminology associated with the sport – beaufort scales & south-westers, chicken loops & donkey dicks…..One thing you may have heard people talk about, particularly during the summer months, is a “sea breeze”.

So here are a few facts and tips about sea breezes that will bring you up to speed and rigged up ready on the beach with the best of them to make the most of these brilliant summer conditions….

What is a Sea Breeze?

A sea breeze is an on shore wind created by the difference in temperature between land and sea.  If the land gets hotter, faster than the sea, then the warm air that rises from the land is replaced by cooler air drawn from the sea surface:

(Image from Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_breeze)

The strength of the sea breeze is directly proportional to the temperature difference between the land and the sea so this gives you some idea of how to plan ahead for them….

 

Be Ready – The Best Conditions for a Sea Breeze

If it is a hot and sunny day and you live in a country where your sea rarely reaches above 18 degrees centigrade then the chances of a sea breeze are high.

If wind direction is already cross or cross on shore, even if its only blowing a gentle few knots, this will give the sea breeze a helping hand.  Even if the wind is offshore, as long as it light, then it can generate some of the best sea breezes as it starts up the cyclic effect but if the offshore is over 15 knots then don’t get too excited! And surprisingly a dead onshore wind is more often than not a let down – it might tempt you with an increased 10 knot breeze but it rarely rises to much more and just frustrates the hell out of you!

The best time of day for a sea breeze is typically between 2 – 6pm, this is because the land has heated up sufficiently and has not yet started to cool.  Time to start thinking up some good excuses to get off work early……

Some spots rely purely on this effect and can reliably do so because of the consistent appearance of the sun. Other land features can enhance the thermal effects further – mountains or channels specially. The South Downs which run along the South Coast of England aid in giving places like Brighton & Worthing amazing summer seabreezes. The channel between Baja and mainland Mexico helps La Ventana to get consistently strong cross shore winds thought winter season.  Check out the wind line approaching in this picture of La Ventana – it can turn on like clockwork every afternoon!!

 

Some spots that have good ‘natural’ wind can also benefit from an extra boost in wind from a sea breeze effect. Places like Cape Town for example see this a lot due to their hot weather and cold water – 5m kites are the norm here as it “f@*king nukes” on days like that!

Seabreezes can be light if the sun gets interrupted by patchy cloud or the natural wind direction holds it back, but this doesn’t mean you can’t get out.  We have some tips for light wind riding in our blog next week so keep an eye out for them if you want to improve your technique.

 

Be Safe – Sea Breezes Can Be Unpredictable

It may seem impossible that the wind can go from zero knots up to sometimes high twenties or early thirties but it does happen. Often people are caught out, rigging large kites or only bringing one size of kite to the beach.  Although its tempting to get out and make the most of it, it can be useful to wait for an 1 hour for the wind to build and then make your decision on which kite to take. The wind will also be cleaner and smoother which is definitely worth the wait, if the forecast says sun all afternoon then its likely it will only get better.

Sea breezes can also drop off quickly as the day starts to cool. I have had to self rescue myself when a sea breeze dropped – and then the wind flipped round to off shore!  As with any session, keep an eye on the wind and the clouds, and come in as soon as it starts to lull as it can quickly drop from there – much more so than on ‘normal’ wind days.

There are also usually a load of other beach users enjoying the sunny weather so keep their safety front of mind and if there are designated areas for bathers and kiters then stick to them.

I personally LOVE seabreezes as it basically means Kitesurfing in the Sunshine, and as this type of wind is rarely forecasted it kind of feels like a bonus session! Where so many of us, across Europe at least, will have to put up with grey rainy miserable low pressure weather systems to get any good surf in, sea breezes make you feel like you are kiting on holiday.  Finish it off with a beer on the beach with your mates, now really, what more can you ask for??

So get out and enjoy those summer breezes :-)

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Don’t blame your kite, she might just need a little tuning

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

It’s all too easy at the end of a bad session to point the finger at your kite for holding you back – it felt gutless/no bar pressure/slow to turn etc etc – we’ve all said it and sometimes it may be true, but more often than not it may just be that your kite needs a little love to bring her back to her former glory!

This is especially true of second-hand kites, those which you are not using the supplied bar with or maybe you’ve just past the beginner stage and have been dumping your kite in the water repeatedly causing all your lines to stretch under the strain! Whatever the case with a little knowledge & advice from us  you will hopefully be able to diagnose any potential problems. There are three key areas to focus on:

  • The difference in length between your front and back lines and how they affect your kites handling and performance
  • The difference in length between the right and left sets of lines and how they will affect your kites balance or cause erratic behaviour.
  • The attachment points for the front and back lines along the tip of the kite

1. Front & Back Lines Common Problems:

  • Front Line too long, back lines to short
    • Visual tells: The tips of the kite are flared out
    • Handling: Bar feels heavy and the kite is sluggish & turns slowly.
    • Solution: Depends on the available adjustment points on your kite and bar but commonly start by trying to lengthen your back lines, probably at the kite end, by use a pigtail knot further from the kite or at the bar.
  • Front lines too short, back lines to long:
    • Visual tells: Back lines are visibly sagging
    • Handling: Bar feels light and pulling on each side has little effect on the kite, the kite reacts slowly. You feel like you need to be sheeted in the whole time.
    • Solution: Again depends on the available adjustment points on your kite and bar but commonly start by trying to shorten your back lines, probably at the kite by use a pigtail knot closer to the kite or at the bar.

2. Difference between Right and Left sets of Lines:

  • Visual tells: When the kite is stationary above your head, you have to pull lightly on one side of the bar to keep the kite directly over head.
  • Handling: The added co-ordination it takes to keep the kite flying straight will affect your ability to simply ride along and stay upwind. The kite will react differently when flying from right to left or left to right – noticeable during times when your use extreme moves of the kite like waterstarts, changing direction and jumping. On one side the kite will be too fast and catch you out, on the other it will be slow and less responsive.
  • Solution: Check your line lengths for your sets of front and back lines separately. You can do this on the beach by attaching them to a solid object. For the inexperienced this is an article in itself! The Tuning chapter in our Kiteboarding Intermediate Volume 1 DVD shows this in detail and maybe the easiest option. (See the introduction to the chapter below).

If after checking your lines they turn out to be equal then you may need to check your bridle. This far harder to check and something that can be very different between bridled kites. Speak to your local kite shop or the manufacture for help with this.

3. Kite Attachment points Over the years kites have been developed and refined, with handling characteristics becoming broad reducing the need for multiple kite attachment points. However, many kites still have two or more options and they can have noticeable effects on the handling characteristics of your kite:

  • Front line attachments – alters the depower range of the kite available by sheeting the bar in and out
    • Forward position – increase the amount of depower
    • Rear position – decreases the amount of depower
  • Back line attachments - alters the speed at which the kite can be navigated
    • Forward position – Kite will turn slower, in a wider more powerful arc
    • Rear position – Kite will turn faster, in a tighter less powerful arc

As you can see there is a lot you can do to tune your kite, to solve negative handling characteristics and also to broaden the range and style of your kites function. Next time you head out, give your kite a little bit of attention and ensure she is giving you her best!

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If you are new to kitesurfing and some of this still confuses you, you need to watch a 30 minute DVD chapter that completely focuses on Tuning your kite across all these scenarios. Check it out on our Kiteboarding Intermediate Volume 1 DVD.

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The Art of Popping – Part 1

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

In Issue 51 of KiteWorld, their Motordrive section cover how to “Get Pop”. Now for any riders wanting to perform unhooked tricks learning to pop is a necessity but for those of you who aren’t quite ready to make that step yet, popping hooked-in is still a vital skill to learn. To that end we have created two ‘Top Tip’ videos for kitesurfers learning to Pop Hooked-in & Pop Unhooked.

Now fundamentally the technique for popping is the same whether you are hooked-in or unhooked:

  • Keep the kite low and stable
  • Edge hard off your back leg, with your whole body moving back against the kites power
  • When you release the edge your whole body comes forward

The unhooked version however requires better timing and control to ensure you can harness that power correctly – but start learning your pop hooked-in and you’ll be half way towards the next progression of unhooking.

Hooked-in Popping

Popping hooked-in is a great technique as it will not only giving you leg up when it comes to unhooking but also offer you a range of new tricks to learn whether its popping to toeside, popped grabs or trying back rolls without sending your kite.

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Want to master this trick in full? The Progression Kiteboarding Intermediate Volume 1 DVD covers popping in-depth within a 45 minute chapter of high quality instructional content about learning how to jump in kitesurfing - buy it now from our online store.

Unhooked Popping

For those wanting to uphook, getting good pop is vital for Raley’s, S-bend’s, in fact every powered trick that exists! Quite often the most common problem for any unhooked trick comes back to the very beginning and mistakes in that initial pop.

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Want to master this trick in full? The Progression Kiteboarding Advanced DVD covers everything from setting up and learning the basics of unhooking, to learning to pop and then on to in depth instruction for how to throw down a raley and a s-bend -buy it now from our online store.

So this is just part one of the ‘art of popping’ from Progression, in the next blog post we’ll run through some of the progressions you can take after the basics of popping to spice things up a bit!

 

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A Survival Guide – 5 Tips For Kiting In Strong Winds

Sunday, May 22nd, 2011

Last night the wind howled all night here in Tarifa, rattling my shutters – and me – awake in the early hours. Kiters are rarely praying for less wind but with only a handful of diehards able to make it out here the last week or so you wonder whats best – howling strong winds or no wind at all?  At least in no wind you can turn to activities like cable or SUP, and of course lounging in the sun without being sandblasted!

Now we would never advocate going out in winds that you didn’t think you could handle but sometimes people limit their sessions unnecessarily when really it just comes down to learning good technique that will enable you remain in control in all types of conditions.  Being able to go out in a wider variety of conditions not only will stop you being a frustrated kiteboarder but will make you more skilled – ready to deal with challenges when they arise even on an average day.

Approach new conditions and locations as you would any new trick.  Assess, understand and practice. Strong winds can deliver some awesome sessions so don’t be put off, just be prepared and follow these five top tips:

Tip 1 – Keep The Kite Low.

You want to be in control and in kitesurfing, control is all about your edge.  It might feel natural to keep your kite high and out of the power zone when its super windy, but this will pull you up and off your edge making it hard to resist gusts. Keep your kite low at 45 degrees, that way you’ll be flying the kite and not the other way round.

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Tip 2 –  Edge Really Hard.

Pushing hard with your back leg, push your board edge deep in the water. Not only is edging about staying in control but its about keeping your speed low.  By edging hard you also drive your kite to the edge of the window which again, will allow you to reduce power and stay in control.

Tip 3 –  Power Stance

The classic piece of advice you get when you learn is “shag it don’t shit it” as an eloquent way of illustrating the right position to hold your body in.  In strong winds though you need to “shit it” a bit more.  Sit back down in your harness so your hips aren’t so forward but still keep your shoulders back and arms slightly bent.  This is the power stance!

Tip 4 – Assess The Risk Factor

In new places you probably do this all the time but you need to do this even at your local spot if the winds are strong. Hopefully others will be out or rigging up so first up see what sizes they are on, but importantly also consider their size, weight and ability in comparison to you. If you only have one size of kite and its not right then don’t just risk it – you wouldn’t drive a car down a busy high street if it could only go at 90mph!  Sit it out this time and keep yourself amused by watching how others cope with the conditions – it could give you some useful insight!

Tip 5 – Be Safety Conscious

This is basic stuff really but we all know how we can lose our head when we are excited to get out!  In strong winds though if something is gonna go wrong, its gonna go really wrong. Double, triple check your lines are set up ok, preferably find someone to launch your kite who you know and trust, never self launch and don’t hang around on the beach. Sometimes you can feel overpowered on the beach but fine on the water so get out as soon (but as safely) as you can.

Kiteboarding is all about taking considered risks – well, it is an extreme sport!  Never put yourself in a situation you can not handle and be as prepared as you can by watching instructional content, listening to others advice and taking time to assess the situation before you take the plunge.  Most importantly though, have confidence and enjoy the session, if you can nail your tricks in extreme conditions you are that much closer to being a more competent and skilled kitesurfer!

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Pro top tips from the BVI Kitejam

Friday, April 1st, 2011

The guys at New Wave Kiteboarding have filmed a great video at the BVI kite jam with loads of Pro riders top tips:

Here’s a quick summary of the tips mentioned:

  • Shannon Best – Check your hands are in middle of bar during tricks
  • Susi Mai – Training to build up muscles to prevent injury
  • Kristin Boese – Trick progressions, start with the less advanced tricks and work up to harder parts
  • Sander Lenten – Ensure you kite is tuned correctly
  • Youri Zoon – Don’t give up, keep trying, watch videos of others doing the tricks you want to learn
  • Madison Van Heurck – Safety…don’t walk up wind of kites in high winds
  • Tommy Fields – Ride switch – learn your tricks both ways
  • Pete Cabrinha – Riding waves – use a smallest kite you can and medium sized board
  • Andreas – Use a trampoline to practice flips and spins
  • Bruno – Trick Progressions, talks through the steps up to a Blind judge

There are some great points there and many are echoed in the Progression series of dvds and online content.  One in particular we found interesting was the tip from Sander Lenten on tuning your kit.  In our newest release – Kiteboarding Intermediate Volume 1 – we have a full length chapter all about tuning.  It is the first time we have covered this topic in detail and  have had great feedback from our customers on its value alongside more trick based instruction.  Here is a short clip that gives you a taster for our tuning content:

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Tuning is about getting the most out of your kit and ensuring nothing holds you back from your best ride possible. It may seem a pain to spend 10 minutes more on the beach instead of the water but it could make the difference between an awesome session and a frustrating one!

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Get nutrition smart and kitesurf for longer!

Friday, March 25th, 2011

Have you ever had trouble getting up the next day after a kitesurf? Muscles tired and joints sore?

Kitesurfing can be a demanding sport and involves using many of the major muscle groups. When you exert these muscles groups kitesurfing, what you’re actually doing is tearing the muscle tissue – in a healthy way – allowing for your body to rebuild them stronger. However this requires lots of energy, and unless you are eating correctly (massive burgers don’t count!) you will wake up the next day feeling a bit worse for wear, potentially even missing valuable water time. This can be very frustrating, especially if you are away on a kitesurfing holiday and had planned to  have that new trick nailed by your flight home!

Nutrition is key to making sure you are in great shape to go out for a session and allow for quick muscle recovery.  However for many of us kiting is just a hobby so there is no need to go all on out and follow a strict regime of gym workouts and food plans, but you still should make sure you fuel yourself up before & after  you have gone out.

There are many ways of doing this, but by far the most effective i have found is Whey protein.

What is whey protein?

Whey protein is a pure, natural, high quality protein from cow’s milk that is available at many supermarkets and health stores.

It is a rich source of the essential amino acids needed on a daily basis by the body. If you regularly visit a gym you will probably witness scores of gym-enthusiasts imbibing protein shakes.  A common misconception is that protein shakes will turn you in to a beefcake, this is not totally true.  A ‘simple’ whey protein shake will only aid recovery and help your bodies natural process for repairing damaged tissue and these come in at around 80-100 cals per shake. However the ‘all in one’ formulas you can get will aid with bulking as these contain extra calories (between 500 to 1500) and extra supplements. These types of shakes however will still not work at bulking you out unless you do the correct style of workout at the gym, which is heavy weights and low reps – and usually some grunting :-)

 

Why Should i take it?

1. Increase in protein consumption - Protein is an important nutrient needed by everyone on a daily basis. It is made up of essential and non-essential amino acids, which are the “building blocks” for healthy bodies. Protein has a number of different roles in the body including the following:

  • Repair body cells
  • Build and repair muscles and bones
  • Provide a source of energy

2. Easily digestible - It’s always good to get some food in to you after any exercise, this is when muscles absorb the most nutrients and when glycogen, an energy reserve in your muscles, is replaced most efficiently. Whey protein is very easily digestible and is the perfect post kitesurf snack.

3. Quick - no need to worry about cooking anything up, just pop 2 scoops of shake in a bottle add some water and your ready to take it.

 

How do it take it?

Whey protein can be purchased in pre mixed formulas or in powder form. If you decide to try using this i would recommend purchasing  a whey powder. It’s also about 80% cheaper per serving compared to premixed formulas and you can mix it in with a variety of things such as adding a scope to your cereal in the morning or popping it in a smoothie. (Check out some great smoothie recipes i’ve been using from Brighton Active for this).

 

Ideally if you can, take one shake 30 mins before your session with milk – this will allow for a slower release of the shake – and then straight after your session, with water. You can purchase special shakers that will hold up to 2 portions of whey, and they are a great size for taking down the beach.

 

What to look for?

There are tons of  brands on the market and your best bet is to go to a sports store that deal with supplements such a GNC or Dolphin fitness. For those of you not wanting to bulk up yo need to look for the low cal versions. These should contain about 20/25g of protein per shake, and are known as whey Protein Isolates.

Out of the many i have tried the two brands that stand out to me as being the best in cost and results are Reflex & PHD nutrition. They are both great value and have a nice range of products whatever your goal.                                  

REFLEX INSTANT WHEY

PHD PHARMA WHEY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other benefits

  • Whey protein can aid in the loss of body fat
  • Increase in Protein can helped repair damaged or torn muscles
  • Great way to manage weight
  • Lower calorie consumption

Many of the proteins will also contain the “good bacteria” found in yakault or other similar products.

How much do I need to take?

You can just use a protein supplement for recovery pre and post workout, however if you want to include a shake in your daily routine to increase your protein intake then try this simple sum i found on a great Naish affiliated fitness blog to give you an idea of how many grams you should try consume a day: “divide your current weight in lb by 2.2, multiply that number by 1.4, the number you come up with is the number of grams of protein you should consume”. If you don’t think your making this through your normal diet add a shake in when you feel a bit peckish, I like to take one with milk in the evenings as this stops me snacking and allows a slow release of protein in to my body while i sleep.

So don’t let those tired muscles and low energy levels stop you from riding when you want to. Try out a protein shake and see if it can make the real difference to your progression!

 

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How to Waterstart on a Strapless Surfboard

Wednesday, February 9th, 2011
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I have been injured for quite a few months now with a troublesome ankle tendon.  This kind of injury is rarely from a big impact, more from overuse which also means that it takes longer to repair and only flairs up when you use it in the same way which brought it on in the first place.

So riding in foot straps has been near on impossible as it requires me to flex those aggravated tendons. To stop me going completely insane watching all my mates on the water, I thought I would try out a different kind of board – a strapless wave board/surf board.

It took only a few goes to actually nail a waterstart and get going, we got a small clip of me riding along in Langebaan (South Africa) yesterday as you can see.

From my experience yesterday and reading around a few other places online, in particular iksurf technique article from Christian and Karine, I have put a few top tips for anyone else trying this out:

1. Try it first in flat water until you get used to riding both a wave board and/or strapless.  You may look strange heading out into flat water with a wave board under your arm but you’ll certainly look better when you eventually head out to the waves and don’t get pounded!

2. Get a board with grip pads on like I had – or use lots of wax.  You do tend to stand up more as oppose to edgeing against the board, without straps its hard to keep your feet ‘stuck’ to the board.

3. Hold onto the board with one hand (your back hand) whilst you position it in front of you and get your first foot (front foot) on. These boards are much more buoyant than a twin tip and have the tendency to bob along, drifting away from you!

4. Try and keep a little power whilst you position your feet on the board – if its not windy enough then move your kite a little back and forth to help as these guys in Kiteboarder suggest.  The iksurf article also suggests a ‘soft’ waterstart where you navigate the kite backwards first to give you a bit of pull up before diving it. This is for the same reason I imagine – to help get your body & feet positioned a bit more above the board before waterstarting.

5. Keep a fairly wide stance as this will help with balance. If your board is one designed for kitesurfing then the pads will give you a clue of where to put your feet. For me (5 foot 9) this was about two foot apart, ensuring my front foot was a lot further forward than I originally thought.

6. Stand up straight. You need a lot more front foot pressure that you would on a twin tip, with the aim to flatten out the board.  When I first tried I was digging in the tail and the nose was too high to plane.  If you think about standing up a little straighter, maybe in the stance you would use for light wind riding, this will help a lot to get up and going.

Everything else is the same for any waterstart – dive the kite, point the board downwind to get up the speed and then lean back gently (not as hard as you would with straps) as you drive the board more upwind.

As you can see on my video I didn’t quite know what to do when I wanted to turn around so I will try out a carve or gybe next time I go out!

I found it a completly different feeling riding this way.  It definitely felt more ‘free’, more cruisey and more fluid. It was also nice to go and learn something completely new without feeling like i needed to put my body through hell to do it!

I am keen to follow this up but as Progression have yet to cover off this style of kitesurfing i’ll need to source my instruction from elsewhere!  Any good tips, links or articles please send my way :-)

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New Video Interview – Dan Sweeney

Monday, October 5th, 2009

Another week another Progression interview! This time we caught up with Dan Sweeney at his local beach to have a chat about the tricks he is currently working on and we got some great insight into the steady progression from a raley up to one of Dan’s latest tricks, the S-Bend Pass.

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And for those of you who don’t know Dan, he’s one of the UK’s best up and coming riders, currently leading the Junior category at the BKSA national tour. Definitely a rider to watch out for in the future!

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Tips for tangled lines

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

Kristin Boese tweeted out about rescuing some kiters and this photo showed the evidence of the tangle! And it made me think of something we never mentioned in the new kitesurfing beginner dvd, we just released.

During the kite setup chapter we do talk briefly about untangling your lines but I think its worth making a point which may seem obvious to some but will save you some frustration in the future.

So you’ve been out kitesurfing for a couple of hours and for some reason you have arrived back on the beach and your lines are a mess – you may have had to self-rescue, self-land your kite or simple got your lines tangled whilst your kite was sitting on the beach. Anyway, you’re knackered and you probably just think its easier to worry about untangling your lines next time your out… DON”T!!!

Next time you’re down the beach it will be 20 knots, there will be a prefect blue sky and you will want to get on the water as quickly as you can – then you’ll look at your tangled mess of kite lines and your session will be ruined from the start. And you can think again about getting a friend to help you (essential when untangling a birds nest of lines), they’ll all be on the water!

So take 20 minutes at the end of your session to sort your lines out, so next time you can get out as quick as you can :-) Simple point but well worth considering…

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