Kitesurf Atlas, Kiteboarding Holidays, Kite Surf Lessons

(or..the Season of the Down Winder...or Year of East Coast Mission for Waves):

OK, now we're talking!!! March and April '09 have been off the hook, making up nicely for the the early winter here! These two months really carried the season here...yielding 45 good kiting days in 2 months. Warm weather and warm water finally arriving with great winds, great kiting, great sailing...I almost need a vacation from this...(alright maybe NOT). March and April have delivered over 70% of good rideable days. The total for the season, from December 1st 2008 thru April 30th 2009: 76 legitimate riding days, or around 50%. In addition to that I was able to enjoy 30 days of sailing on the catamaran - which, together, put me on the water, powered by the wind, almost 5 days/week for 6 months! Can't complain!

With all this time being spent on my directional boards I now feel strangely uncomfortable on a twin tip. I have come to love the feel of directionals so much that I have now started riding a carbon fiber Aviso 5-8 Lost Round Nose Fish...a sawwweeet carbon fiber board with unique design/construction technology. The other major discovery of the season is the Dynabar...a spreader bar with a sliding hook, which makes riding toeside so comfortable that I will never ride with a fixed bar again. I've been testing the bar for Jay Factory, and Italian company, and they have made a lot of great improvements based on rider feedback. This bar has truly changed my riding style, the quality of my riding, my love for wave riding, as well as boosting comfort and stamina on the water. It would have been hard to believe that this single piece of gear would have such a profound effect on my kiting experience.

I have been riding the new Aviso Lost board strapless a lot in the last 4 weeks, and this certainly adds another whole new challenge and dimension of fun to riding, even beyond that of the Spleen Zone which I have come to love more than any of the (twin-tip) boards I was accustomed to riding.

While the Florida West Coast waves are no match for the East Coast, still one of the best things about St. Pete is the Gulf-side down-winders...pick your starting point and go for 10-15 miles, and then take the trolley back to where you started, which give you huge independence to go solo or with a group. This winter/spring I have done over 25 downwinders, many of them over on the East Coast of FL.

I made 6 road trips to Jupiter, Hobe Sound, and St. Augustine, scoring 3-day big wave/7m-9m-12m wind sessions and on each trip. While I am not thrilled about the driving (around 400 miles round-trip), the promising forecasts that lured me to “the road” delivered faithfully for some of the best kiting I have ever had. It's always an awesome experience riding in the warm turquoise blue waters and waves that sweep past the Jupiter/Stuart shoreline, ground zero in Florida for strong Northeast swell.

My last road trip to Jupiter treated me to an 11 second ground swell, 6' to 8'+ waves with peaks 50 yards apart. You could line one up on the outermost break and ride it thru 3 sections before turning back out over the top of the innermost break. On this last trip I managed two 15 mile down-winders on the strapless Aviso board and, an onshore wind and wave session on the strapped Zone. I was feeling pretty spent after 3 days of hard riding in challenging conditions, but I am now really dialing in on the 5'-8" fish, discovering the boards rhythm – finding the optimum speed – the proper stance – understanding the dynamic between the kite and this style of board, and feeling relaxed in the sweet spot of the board capabilities. I need to experiment with different fins to further optimize the board.

I have just a few days to go before the end of my season here. It's been a delight getting into the catamaran sailing and developing a stronger passion for directional boards and wave riding. Now, feeling fully confident on the strapless board, I look forward even more to reaching the Outer Banks the first week of May and plan on spending a lot of time ocean-side in the waves, the wind and wave gods willing. After that, it's back to Michigan for some fresh water riding and then a new worldwide quest for waves. Peru, Portugal, West Oz, Ireland...the world is my oyster.

postscript
Kite Politics – who needs it?
While I am becoming quite obsessed with wave riding my desire to ride in flat water, amongst a horde of other kiters, has fallen to a level of almost complete disinterest. What's the attraction? After a recent session at “THE primo flat water” spot here for just one day I yearn even more for the open waters of the Gulf and the Atlantic Ocean, where the riders are more respectful and skilled, it's more fun on the waves, and the culture on the water seems so much more copacetic.

Along with the lack of interest in competing for space I am tired of butting heads (and kites) with other kiters. It's amazing actually the lack of courtesy, common sense, (or knowledge of rules) that these people display on the water...and how a small group of idiots, led by one local self-described clown in particular here in St. Pete, are trying to act like they have exclusive rights to the popular flat water spots – dictating rules and igniting a kite community-wide conflict. I am staying clear of this controversy – as I have no desire to interact with the absolute jackasses who have lied over and over, intimidated people, humiliated new riders, and have polarized other kiters here for years in the effort to serve their own selfish interests.