Vancouver Winter Kiteboarding

Spanish Banks Winter Session Photos

I woke up this morning and had a MSN messenger message from John in Florida saying "Wake up, it's blowing at Jericho!" Around 9:30 I rolled out of bed, read his message, and checked the wind and the Jericho Beach webcam. Sure enough, it was blowing more than 20 knots. I then checked the temperature and tide information and while the tide was ok, the temperature was 6 degrees Celsius (42 degrees Fahrenheit). I decided that I was going to go to the beach to tune my new kite but there was no way in hell I was getting into the water when it was that cold and blowing hard. 3 days ago I was kiting in Florida and it was 23 celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit). I jumped on my beach cruiser bicycle and headed down to Spanish Banks where I immediately saw lots of kites and bundled up onlookers.

John was planning do visit Fort Desoto, Florida today but the transmission went in his car. He's choked but at least he's not going to get too much better than me until he can get that tranny fixed :)

Our other buddy Ron (from previous posts) is in the Dominican Republic at a wedding and is trying to find a way to escape for a few days and get to Cabarete. God speed Ronny!

There were approximately 12 kites out at Spanish Banks today and Mark Leng and Sandro Di Segni did a down winder with Mark going to Kits beach and Sandro to English Bay in downtown Vancouver (above picture taken near the Burrard Street Bridge).

Spanish Banks Winter Session Photos

Florida Kiteboarding Lessons

We took our Florida kiteboarding lessons at the Kitehouse in Key West which is a school owned and operated by Paul Menta. Paul is the founder of Kite Surf the Earth which evolved into the Kitehouse, is a championship-level wake boarder and competitive kitesurfer. He once kited from Key West to Cuba and has been bitten by a shark, twice. He also repaired our boat when it broke down in the middle of the flats :)

Our instructors were Nick and Michael Minichiello, with Nick taking the lead. Mike and his wife, Clarissa Hempel, took some great photos which I will post as soon as US Air finds and returns my luggage. Luckily I brought my new Cabrinha Crossbow as a carry-on on my flight home. You should check out Mike and Clarissa's Web site too at YouWereThere.com.

Key West Florida Kiteboarding Pictures

Key West Kitesurfing

Chris Breikss (blog author)



Chris Breikss Kiteboarding in Key West



What a trip! We have just completed 4 days of key west kitesurfing and it was unbelievable. There is a huge difference when you have warm weather and warm water that is only waist deep. Erika and Tyler also took lessons with us and are at the point where they are taking short rides on the board after only 2-3 days respectively. John and I are now almost staying upwind and are loving every minute of the sport. I want to stay longer but we need to go back to Miami tomorrow and then I fly back to Vancouver with short stops in Philadelphia and Chicago. I think I'm travelling for almost 20 hours tomorrow! We have taken many pictures and have many stories but all-in-all this is the best vacation I have ever taken. John and I are also proud new owners of 16m Cabrinha Crossbow kites!

Key West Florida Kiteboarding Pictures


John Blown Kiteboarding the Flats in the Florida Keys




John Blown, Tyler Hassman, Erika Weimer, Chris Breikss

Cabrinha Crossbow

John Blown, Clarissa Hempel



I love the Cabrinha Crossbow! We're just heading out for another kiteboarding session on Cabrinha Crossbow kites. Kiteboarding will not be the same once you try these kites. They relaunch very very easily and are ultra stable. The wireless connection here is not very reliable but I will upload all of our pictures when we get back. Tonight is John's 30th birthday and we are going out to Duval Street in Key West to celebrate.

Key West Kiteboarding

We've now left Miami and have arrived in Key West and are ready for our first kiteboarding lesson since we've been here. Miami was crazy fun and the 6 of us had a blast lighting up the town last night at a place called Crobar. We have a huge condo rented here and right now I'm posting on a 'borrowed' wireless connection on our patio that overlooks the ocean. Hurricane Wilma did a number on the beach and palm trees but things have been cleaned up nicely. It was funny, however, to see random boats on the side of the highway on the way down. Hopefully I will have some kiteboarding pictures up Sunday!

Key West Florida Kiteboarding Pictures

Miami: 1st Stop on Florida Kiteboarding Trip

I've been working like a dog and up all night and it's 4:13am and we have to catch our flight to Miami in 2 hours less 13 minutes. John's in a cab and Curtis and Randal and Tyler are in the air already since 11:30pm last night. We're meeting in Miami tomorrow to start a 7 day Florida trip that includes 3 days of kiteboarding lessons for John and I! It's also John's 30th on the 20th...

Canadian Kiteboarding Championship

The Iles de la Madeleine, Québec, will host in 2006 the first Canadian Kiteboarding Championship. Kitesurfers from every Canadian provinces will be able, for the first time, to participate in different competitions in order to access to the titles of national champions.

Opened to amateurs and professionals, male and female, the Canadian Kiteboarding Championship will be held August 24 to 27 2006, just before the beginning of the second PKRA Kiteboarding World Cup which will bring together the World's best kitesurfers. The Canadian Championship will then be a unique opportunity for the winners to gain access to the professional circuit since Wild Cards will be distributed by the Rendez-Vous Aventure organization to the best Canadian kitesurfers.

Details concerning the event will be available at www.rendezvousaventure.com

The Rendez-Vous Aventure 2006 will also host the Tour Bleu Paddlefest, June 30 to July 3, as well as the Coupe des Iles, Raid-ical ! dedicated to long distance kitesurfing and windsurfing races, September 3 to 9.