Nitinat Kiteboarding

We are back from our 3 day Nitinat kiteboarding trip and it was killer! We are planning a return trip June 25-26th.

Day 1
25-30 knot winds and we flew 4.5m, 6m, 8m, 11m kites throughout the day as the wind changed. We spent most of the day body dragging and had 5 runs each. By run I mean, we would body drag down the lake and then get picked up in the Sea-doo and driven back to the launch spot.

Day 2
Wind did not pick up until early afternoon but we brought the boards out when it did and I was able to get up anjd have a 30 second run on my 2nd try. Later in the day on a 15m I had a longer run going a little upwind, changing directions and even rode switch for a few seconds :)

Day 3
No wind today so we messed around on the beach waiting for it to come up but no luck. I made a flag and pole that I am very proud of.

There will be a lot more details to follow, but I missed a couple of days of work and need to get caught up! Please check out our pictures from our trip in the Nitinat Kiteboarding Image Gallery

Into The Air DVD Trailer

You should check out the "Into The Air DVD Trailer"
http://www.cineforcefilms.com/media/wm_large.html

You can't buy the DVD yet but it should be available this summer.

Line Tangles & Self Rescue

John, Ron and I headed out to Boundary Bay for another lesson with Fergus and for Ron and I our second lesson this May twofour long weekend. The wind looked good in the morning but was light once we got out on the water in the early afternoon. A forgotten harness sent Ron back to the car after a 20 minute walk and Fergus set John for body dragging. I brought my 12 meter kite out to mess around with as there wasn't much wind Ron and I could at least practice with it.
John got 4 good runs of body dragging and caught up to speed with Ron and I. Ron and I flew the kite for a while and tangled the lines something fierce a couple of times. We practiced water launching techniques and then Fergus taught all of us self recue and kite retrieval exercises. All and all it was a good day. Afterwards we chilled out on the rooftop back at our place.


(left to right) Ron, Chris, John

John Blown (yes that's John's last name)

Canadian Long Weekend

So in Canada we have a long weekend for the late (oh so very late - she died in 1901) Queen Victoria. It's commonly referred to as the May twofour weekend as her birthday is May 24th and, in some parts of Canada, 24 beers is called a twofour. There's a complete history here.

On this Saturday of our May long weekend Ron and I headed out to Boundary Bay for another lesson with Fergus. John couldn't make it as he was going to a wedding for an old friend (snore). Ron and I got out early and met Fergus for our first body dragging lesson. We had a blast taking turns with Fergus's 20 meter kite dragging over the shallow sand bars at Boundary Bay. A couple of times I sacked myself as I planed over the water but figured out how to maneuver the kite while body dragging to get a lot of speed and good runs. Apart from some small gashes on my feet, the day was painless. I need to get some booties. Another newbie kiteboarder Patrick was out, whom we met briefly last week, and he had a flash new 5 line kite which was a black and green North 12 meter. He displayed how easy to re-launch the kite was but had to borrow a bigger board from Fergus due to the lack of.... err... wind.

Ron (is the board taller than him?)

Chris (me aka blog author - cheese pose)

Nitinat Kiteboarding Trip

John and I are going to join Francis on the Nitinat kiteboarding trip with Strong Kiteboarding on the 27th of this month and we are stoked! Ron can't make it unfortunately and will be missed. I got a funny voicemail from Francis after his lesson a couple of days ago - it seems that it was blowing hard during his lesson in Victoria and he got overpowered with a 9m kite. He said he was dragged about 25 feet down the beach and has some minor abrasions. I have never heard anybody so excited about hurting themselves :)

Keeping it in the Family

So my sister was questioning my MSN Messenger name - something to do with the lack of wind - and she told me that my brother-in-law Francis is having his 2nd kiteboarding lesson this week. Not only that, he is thinking about buying a 16 meter Ocean Rodeo Bronco kite. How funny is that? He is picking up the sport at the exact same time as me and a couple of my friends? He lives in Victoria and is considering taking a 3 day kiteboarding camp, at Nitinat Lake, May 27-30 with Dwayne Strong from Strong Kiteboarding. This sounds very interesting and I'm going to pitch the idea to Ron and John.

Boundary Bay Kiteboarding Lesson

Ron, John and I had our first kiteboarding lesson today out at Boundary Bay (Tsawwassen) and our instructor Fergus turned out to be a cool guy. There was only 4-5 knots of wind but we managed to get the 20 meter kite into the air and practice flying it. Finally things like the de-power straps make sense and some of the theory is coming into play that we have learned on the DVD. Fergus, in his 60's, each let us take 3-4 turns with the kite and things stayed fairly un-eventful until Ron decided to start running with the kite.

Ron was running diagonally downwind in an attempt to simulate the effects of the kite while moving. He basically tripped over his own feet and wiped out hard on the sand with the big 20m kite assisting in a cartwheel-headstand looking maneuver. Once stopped, he turned around to look at John, Fergus, and I up the beach and he had a big stupid sandy grin on his face. The 3 of of us erupted in laughter and Ron has now been credited with the first wipeout. Other funny moments of the first lesson included me crashing the kite into the mud and Fergus likening my kite-handling skills to crappy dance moves.

After the lesson, we piled back into John's truck and headed to AirTime Board Sports where John and Ron bought harnesses and I picked up a helmet and a wet suit. I now have all of the kiteboarding gear but still haven't been in the water! Fergus said he would take us body dragging if we take another lesson next weekend.



Fergus getting ready - need kiteboarding lessons in Vancouver? Call Fergus at 604.946.7900 and tell him we sent ya :)

Fergus aka Groundskeeper Willy

All week Ron and I have been nervously giddy about the lesson with Fergus on Saturday. Fergus has threatened to "put the fear of god" into us and "drag our asses all over the beach." We know Fergus is retired and picture him as being a "Groundskeeper Willy" type of character. Ron and I talk about kiteboarding all the time now whether its at home or in the pub having a couple of beers. Ron owns a successful graphic design company and designs all sorts of sports logos and I am a part owner of an Internet marketing company. We are excited about the sport of kiteboarding as well as developing some sort of business around the sport whether that be a Web site, or clothing line or... Maybe we should actually get in the water first.

We Need Kiteboarding Lessons

The practice kite is getting boring and so is the DVD. We want more action - we must fuel this new addiction. There are not many places where you can get instruction in Vancouver but the guys at AirTime Board Sports recommend a guy named Fergus in Boundary Bay in Tsawwassen. I got in touch with Fergus and I have booked a lesson for Ron, John and I next Saturday if the wind participates.

Playing Hooky

My business partner, John, and I decided to leave work early today because it's sunny and the wind is up. Our office is in Yaletown and is a short drive to my place, and the beach. We pick up the practice kite and we stop for 5 minutes to watch that portion of the DVD to bring him up to speed. The wind was up and we had a great time ripping the practice kite around. We mucked around for only an hour and a bit as I had a date. The practice kite was fun but the date was better :)

Kiteboarding Guide DVD

One of the other tings that I purchased the other day when I randomly splurged on buying a bunch of equipment was the Naish DVD, "The Complete Kiteboarding Guide" This DVD kicks ass and I highly recommend it. Ron and I have watched the 4 hours of instruction and footage multiple times. We are still struggling with a number of concept including the de-power straps and chicken loop. While the DVD instruction is good, we are still learning the equipment and jargon. The magazines are good from that and we probably have 5 issues of Kiteboarding Magazine floating around the apartment and not just in the bathroom.

Any Given Sundays

The 'Any Given Sundays' volleyball crew was back out at Spanish Banks today and Ron brought the practice Kite again. A friend-of-a-friend Dave brought his skimboard down and he and Ron managed somewhat successfully to merge skimboarding and practice kite-kiteboarding :)

Dave got a couple of decent runs in but basically they spent a lot of time in 3" inches of muddy sand water. I gave the kite a few spins and we got a few friends and girlfriends to give it a try too. Everybody who tries the practice kite out loves it -- smiles all around but probably none bigger than mine or Ron’s.