Uber Kitesurf Kit Clear Out! Up to 70% DISCOUNT ON NEW KIT

Hello!

Hope ur having a fab w’end… or a positive start to your week, if it’s much later than that there’s a chance the kit’s gone but always worth an email to: luke@kitesurfkings.com if there’s anything you’re interested in.

Thanks for taking time to check out this uber Kitesurfkings clearance kitesurfing kit up for grabs for the first time. On Thursday I pasted in a load of kitesurfing, SUP and windsurfing clearance kit for a friend at Cabrinha HQ, today I thought I better pop up some of the uber gems that I have kicking around b4 they continue depreciating in storage!

Brand new kitesurfing kit, still in original packaging but some of it’s been kinda forgotten about (oops!) Over 55% off some of these gems (one board’s @ -70%):

• 2014 5’6 Cabrinha Skillet Complete £450 (RRP £749) – legend of a board, bought this one as a back up as have exactly the same model and wouldn’t want to be without it but after hitting groynes and some hard landings have decide I’m safe to pass up my spare to a good home).
• 2014 5m Cabrinha Switchblade £450 (RRP £749) – this kite needs no introductions, again, I got greedy… after all, how many 5m kites does one person need?!
• 2014 10m Cabrinha Switchblade £650 (RRP £999) – no introduction needed.
• 2013 11m Cabrinha Chaos £580 (RRP £1159) – bridled C-kite that offers the most fun you can have getting high! Not a good first kite but totally dreamy if you’re ready for it.
• Cabrinha Wake-skate (maybe 2012?) £90 (£299ish?) – Make a great Christmas gift, it’s a rudeboy grip tape stylie one, was hiding away but wants a good home. Requires 2 small fins.
• 136x41cm 2014 Crazyfly Raptor Pro LTD Complete (full carbon) £500 (RRP £619) – this is a kiteboard that should need no introduction, beautiful on and off the water.
• 2x 138x43cm 2014 Crazyfly All Rounder Completes £309 (RRP £409) – stylish kiteboard that, as it says on the tin, is an all rounder. Crazyfly kiteboards are world renowned for good reason. This is their entry level board but super sweet at £409, bloody awesome at £309!
• 2014 Crazyfly Scalp 10m Complete (includes bar, lines,leash and pump) £850! (RRP £1159) – Great reviews and feedback on these – grab yourself a bargain whilst I’m in a generous mood 😉
• 2014 Crazyfly Scalp 11m Complete (includes bar, lines,leash and pump) £880! (RRP £1199) – Great reviews and feedback on these – grab yourself a bargain whilst I’m in a generous mood 😉
• 2014 Crazyfly Scalp 13m Complete (includes bar, lines,leash and pump) £950! (RRP £1239) – Great reviews and feedback on these – grab yourself a bargain whilst I’m in a generous mood 😉
• XL Cabrinha Deluxe Waist Harness £60 (RRP £135).

In addition it seems my personal kite quiver has got out of hand too! Here are some gems that are in exceptional condition after minimal use in safe hands:

• 2013 11m Cabrinha Chaos £480 (RRP £1159) – bridled C-kite that offers the most fun you can have getting high! Not a good first kite but totally dreamy if you’re ready for it. This kite is mint! Kind of got forgotten about due to…
• 2014 11m Cabrinha Chaos £605 (RRP £1099) – 2nd generation bridled C-kite.
• 2014 8m Cabrinha Chaos £550 (RRP £999) – 2nd generation bridled C-kite.
• 2013 9m Crazyfly Scalp Complete (includes bar, lines,leash and pump) £550

Thank you for taking time to have a look through, please email requests and enquiries to: luke@kitesurfkings.com

If there are any kites or boards listed that you know you want then feel free to text me on: 07878 399 419 as everything is first come first served.

Loving the change in weather? You can avoid SAD and have the time of your life with a kitesurfing discovery trip to Zanzibar: http://www.kitesurfkings.com/documents/kitesurfkings-zanzibar-2015.pdf (linked from home page of Kitesurfkings website)

Hope to see you at the/a beach soon 😉

 

Luke, Kitesurfkings.

2014 X-Demo Cabrinha SUP & Kitesurfing Kit Up For Grabs

Hello!

Shamefully this is the first blog for over a year! Oops!! There’s been loads going on and so much to shout about… it’s just we’ve been getting on and doing it 😉

Now that the nights are drawing in I’ll try and pop a few blogs up and share what’s been going on and what’s happening in 2015. For now I’ve been asked to share the details below as there’s a sale going down! Still 30% on other available 2014 Cabrinha kit but 45% is a pretty sexy sale price for kit that’s hardly used.

Get in touch ASAP if you’re interested in anything on the list (07878 399 419 or 01273 88 88 33 or email info@kitesurfkings.com), there are some real gems:

Ex Demo Kite for Sale
					Colour
Cabrinha 2014
Kites
2014	Cabrinha		Switchblade – Siren	9	Col 1
2014	Cabrinha		Velocity – Complete	16	Col 1
2014	Cabrinha		Vector – Complete	11	Col 6
2014	Cabrinha		Vector – Complete	12	Col 6
2014	Cabrinha		Chaos – Complete	9	Col 11 (Wild)
2014	Cabrinha		Chaos – Complete	11	Col 11 (Wild)
2014	Cabrinha		Contra – Complete	15	Col 1
2014	Cabrinha		Drifter – Complete	7	Col 2
2014	Cabrinha		Drifter – Complete	9	Col 1
Boards
2014	Cabrinha		Xcaliber – Board Only	135
2014	Cabrinha		XO Siren – Complete	136
2014	Cabrinha		XO Siren – Complete	136
2014	Cabrinha		Custom – Board Only	136
2014	Cabrinha		Custom – Board Only	140
2014	Cabrinha		Tronic – Board Only	137
2014	Cabrinha		Spectrum – Complete	141
2014	Cabrinha		Trigger – Fins Only	5’11”
2014	Cabrinha		S Quad – Fins Only	5’10”
Neil Pryde Sails 2014
2014	Neil Pryde		Combat	5	C1 Orange
2014	Neil Pryde		Wizard	5.4	C2 Blue/Green
2014	Neil Pryde		RS Slalom	7.8
2014	Neil Pryde		EO VI Racing	7.8
JP Windsurfing Boards 2014
2014	JP		Magic Ride Pro	104
2014	JP		All Ride Pro	116
2014	JP		Slalom Pro	68
JP SUP 2014
2014	JP		Surf Pro	8’2
2014	JP		Surf Pro	9’2
2014	JP		Venus WS Gloss	11’2
2014	JP		Race Flat Water Carbon	14’x27
2014	JP		Surf Wood	9’6

Kitesurfkings Catch Up

Blogging standards are at an all time low; I’m going to try and pull it back by reflecting on 2012, filling in some of the missing bits and bringing us up to speed.

We failed to mention that we saw 2012 in with another Kitesurfkings kitesurfing multi-spot expedition to South Africa; not much to write home about, other than… a TV production company flew out from the UK to film us as we kited all of the exciting spots that Cape Town and the surrounding areas offer, enjoyed free style sessions with Kevin Langree (as in Kitesurf World Champion!) and took on Cape Point on a 6 meter day.

We put in the effort and got the maximum amount of kitesurfing out of our two weeks in south africa. Just like the year before we were blessed with wind for the entire trip. The flat spots super flat and the wave spots…

January continued to be all about the waves as some of the Kitesurfkings crew met up with Dom Moore in Newquay for his first Ocean Confidence course. We learn’t loads, drank too much and surfed both days. Due to alcohol consumption and the passing of time we’ve another Kitesurfkings Ocean Confidence course with Dom is on the 11^th May 2013. We all want to be the best we can in the water so training in all disciplines is recommended. Kitesurfkings will be offering additional Ocean Confidence course dates and more first aid safety days throughout the year.

Kite sessions were skinny on the ground as we went into 2013. The UK really wasn’t pumping until we got into June and then it hardly stopped. Obviously we took what there was but the forecasts were unreliable until the local sea breeze effect came into play.

Shoreham Kitesurf Club was borne and plans set afoot to work with Kitesurfkings to continue Shoreham Beach’s impeccable safety record and offer more to Joe kiter that will not only benefit themselves but the people they kite with. ‘Back to beach’ and ‘first aid safety/rescue’ days proved super popular and caused other clubs and schools to also create similar program for their customers and beach users. If ur local club’s not running such sessions then suggest it to them… or just come down and join us. We post on Facebook when we are running sessions but will also endeavour to keep you informed here on the blog 😉

With the summer brought the release of the 2013 Cabrinha collection and really blew a lot of people away by bringing out Cabrinha’s first C-kite since bow kites came on the scene in 2005. As well as Cabrinha launching an awesome new C-kite (the Chaos) they also brought out a girls range of Cabrinha kites with easier to reach controls and less masculine colour lines.

With the season already in swing it was a shame the wind didn’t choose to come without rain for the 2012 Paddle Around The Pier event on the first weekend in July. Kitesurfkings have had a presence at Paddle since 2008 and this was the first soaking we received… fortunately it was also the first year one of Kitesurfkings new van’s was more like a mobile office, come show room, with flat screen TV and protection from the rain 😉

Soon we were in full swing and there were many a success story with super happy, safe, able and excited kitesurfers reaching their kitesurfing independence with Kitesurfkings. Everyone has to work hard at kitesurfing, it’s not a sport that you can just do and fully understand from day one, but with time, tenacity and perseverance the skill of being able to kitesurf confidently then changes lives. For the work to happiness trade off to be equal kitesurfing should really be much, much harder!

We continued with our Kitesurfkings Cabel to Kite sessions at Hove Lagoon for the 2012 season. The cable has started getting busier now, which were really pleased about as the guys at the Lagoon work really hard but it also makes it all the more important for us to keep a Cable to Kite night in each week. We’ll try and make it a regular session for everyone again this year.

The Big Air Open took place on Saturday 14th July 2012 in Worthing, West Sussex. Part of the Olympic Torch Relay Weekend. Luke from Kitesurfkings, that’s me folks, was stoked to have been invited to judge the competition. The event was based on a ‘how high you can jump format’ with points being awarded for the maximum height reached.

We were so close to reaching the end and securing a winner but the wind died on us; all was not lost as I still gave out my prize (Kitesurfkings Style Prize) of a new 2012 pro model wakeskate signed by Andre Phillip and better still we put all of the prize money behind the bar and drank it!

Some of Kitesurfkings proudest moments of 2012 saw Kitesurfking students going from never flying a kite to kiting safely with confidence and landing back rolls in three months! Taking two young school groups through the Kitesurfkings Beginner course and them all receiving the rewards for their hard work. A 74 year old student who took themselves for a body drag and continues to practice with the view to sailing into the sunset in 2013 (watch this space!). Students who have triumphed over their own initial fears, listened, put in the effort and then fell in love with kitesurfing.

Our Egypt coaching weeks sold out again and we lucked out with totally awesome groups and awesome wind again!

We were really lucky with wind, especially in week two and maximised it by running regular down winders through some awesome lagoons, through mangroves and over sandbars 😉

No South African trip this year as 2013 kicked off with another of Kitesurfkings kiting extravaganzas to Zanzibar!

All of our Zanzibar kitesurfing trips have been magical but for some reason this was the best so far; the group were perfect, the wind blew everyday, the food was incredible and the kite sessions out of this world amazing… we’re trying to offer a July 13 trip just to meet demand!

Big Air Open – Kitesurf Competition

The Big Air Open has been confirmed to take place on Saturday 14th July 2012 in Worthing, West Sussex. Part of the Olympic Torch Relay Weekend, Worthing is proud to welcome a new sporting event into the town which is set to become a classic Kitesurfing event well beyond the Olympic year and Luke from Kitesurfkings is stoked to have been invited to judge the competition.

The event is based on a ‘how high can you jump format’ with points being awarded for the maximum height reached. If wind conditions on the day do not allow for a big air format to be run alternative arrangements will be made.

Entry to the event is limited to a total of 36 places, 12 of which are local wildcards. Local wildcards will be selected by The Big Air Open Committee and announced at a later date. The event is open to male and female competitors, and the format is based on a total of 28 heats, each of them lasting 8 minutes. There will be 3 riders on the water in each heat, with the 1st and 2nd place finishers advancing to the next round. The overall Champion and winner of The Big Air Open 2012 will be determined by a final heat of 3 riders.

The entry fee for competitors is £30, with only 36 places available to compete. Registration will be open from 14 March 2012 and the minimum age for competitors is 18.

Lewis Crathern, Worthing resident known internationally for his big air skills & Pier Jumping, is actively involved in the event and commented: “I am extremely excited about The Big Air Open, especially as it takes place in my home town of Worthing. This will be an amazing format for Kitesurfers of all levels to take on the wind and waves, show off their skills and compete for The Big Air Open Title. We have all worked hard on making this one of the best Kitesurfing competitions of the year!”

Read on to see how you can get ready for July’s competition…

The Wind looks great towards the end of this week and Lewis Crathern is offering ‘big air’ coaching to keep in theme with “The Big Air Open” event by running 2 clinics on Big Air. In each clinic Lew will focus on various techniques to gain bigger jumps.

If you have just started working out how to get airborne and are looking to improve he’d like to see you there, if you’re getting air and looking to add some style to it (maybe a back roll or front roll?) he’ll look at that too.

Friday 14th June 2:30 pm – Big Air
Saturday 15th June 3:30 pm – Big Air

Edging Technique, Kite Control, Hand Position, Kite Choice, Posture, Kite Setup…. you name it Lew covers it….

Clinics will run for 2.5 hours, tea and coffee will be available before the clinic during briefing and debriefing in Lew’s van. The price is just £55 per person and 10% goes to the RNLI. Good on you Lew!

Contact: lewis@windmachine.biz to reserve your place. *Max 4 per person per session so don’t hang around!

Whilst we’re sharing Lew’s news you need to know about the next Lewis Crathern Kite Clinics happening in October 2012. Luke Denny (of Kitesurfkings) taught alongside Lew last year for his Ras Sudr Kite Clinic, they enjoyed it, the students loved it! This year there are fewer spaces on offer for the Lewis Crathern Kite Clinic so that Lew can coach his group of upwinders and jumpers and Kitesurfkings are freed up to coach beginner and intermediate kiters… hopefully ion preparation for future Lewis Crathern Kite Clinics. There are two Lewis Crathern Kite Clinic options: 6th-13th and 14th – 21st October 2012…

Lewis Crathern Kitesurfing Clinics – Egypt

‘’This October I’ve teamed up With African Space to put on two clinics in Egypt. I’ve been to Ras Sudr 5 times and I really believe its the best place to go for people to progress. In all my trips to Ras I’ve never had less then 5 out of 7 days of wind and I considered those weeks as bad weeks! Paradise Beach Resort provides the perfect place to take a week out and focus on kitesurfing. Its very uncrowded, waist deep for ages, warm (I don’t wear a suit much), sunny and I suppose I could go on and on but to view the full info on the trip download the PDF here http://www.windmachine.biz/lewisegyptclinics.pdf’’

Kitesurf Lessons – lessons, sessions and events for all kitesurf students

All kiting can be awesome but those first few kitesurf rides revisit us in our dreams and keep us content when we can’t get to the water.. good times.

Summer’s back… and so are the Blogs! Sorry for the lack of Blog action guys; we’ve been pretty hot with Facebook updates but sloppy with the Blog so apologies.

Since the last Blog post regarding the Kitesurfkings Beginner Kitesurf Holiday to Egypt, Kitesurfkings have been running kitesurf lessons around Brighton, on Shoreham Beach over at Greatstone/Cambersands (when we have to!) and taking groups for kitesurf sessions and lessons in South Africa and Egypt. So, there’s been a lot going on and we’d love to welcome you to come and join us for kitesurf lessons and in the fun or free kitesurf sessions…

We offer kitesurf lessons here at Shoreham Beach (Shoreham Beach is the closest beach to Brighton that you can learn to kitesurf and the only beach in the area which has no groynes in the teaching zone, so there’s nothing to crash into) 7 days a week and we are happy to teach anytime of day (as long as it’s light!). We have to be flexible to meet our customers needs and to catch the wind when it blows. For kitesurf lesson info you can go to the main Kitesurfkings website http://www.kitesurfkings.com or give us a call on 01273 88 88 33 or 07878 399 419.

We have teamed up with Shoreham Beach Kitesurf Club to help give something back and to keep Shoreham Beach the safest and friendliest beach around. We’ve been offering students who have already covered the basic course with us the opportunity to come back for coaching days, asking only that if happy to do so students make a donation to the RNLI. The last Shoreham Beach Kitesurf Club day clinic was a ‘back to beach’ refresher day and it could not have been more perfect! We will confirm the dates of the next kitesurf day clinics soon so sign up to receive this blog and we’ll pull our fingers out and keep you in the loop.

On the 9th June 2012 Shoreham Beach Kitesurf Club and Kitesurfkings will be representing kitesurfing at Shoreham and the Shoreham Beach, Beach Dreams Festival. It’s a fun day, well two days but really all happens on the Saturday with many nursing hangovers on the Sunday. We would really like it if anyone would like to pop over and say hi, hang out and enjoy the festival with us. Kitesurfkings will be offering lessons as usual (wind permitting) and we will be generally enjoying the festival but there to answer any questions, chat about kiting, show off some of the kit and have a good time. On the Sunday (10th) we will be kitesurfing down wind from Worthing or Littlehampton back to Shoreham Beach. Down wind kitesurf sessions are so much fun and the more of us the more fun we have, so all are very welcome.

Hope to kite with you soon.

What’s New @ Kitesurfkings? Kitesurfing & cable sessions, down winders, trips, Kirsty Jones & Lewis Crathern

Dude!

Don’t like getting the ‘Dude’? Just double Dude then Dude… it’s the way forwards! Personally I love the ‘Dude’, Dude…

Been ages since the last Kitesurfkings blog entry, won’t apologize as I’m sure no one’s that bothered but going to make an effort to catch up today and share the love, and more importantly the news. There’s a free kite clinic with spaces left up for grabs, Kirsty Jones has invited 6 kiters to join her over in Lanzarote, Lewis Crathern has the launch of his documentary next week, Paddle Around the Pier is just around the corner, the cable’s provided fun times and more sessions are booked (I’ll post some fun pics from Tuesday’s Kitesurfkings private session :)), kitesurfing lessons have been a blast, we’ve discounted the pants off the last 2010 kit, there have been some epic kitesurfing sessions had locally and we’ve epic international sessions coming up. I’ll post in sections in case you wanna cut straight to the chase…

Firstly, if you can get away from the 25th June for a week then don’t miss this opportunity…

Kirsty Jones

Kirsty Jones, 3x World Champion and more importantly super lovely kite and yoga coach:

Named as The Kirsty Jones Experience, this one week kitesurf, yoga, surf and SUP trip is being run by Kirsty Jones herself from her second home of Lanzarote. Kirsty will be looking after a group of no more than 6 people for 7 days of kitesurfing lessons, yoga and surfing fun. The beach house that has been booked for the week is awesome, right next to Famara beach where you’d be kitesurfing and where you’ll be finishing some of your down winders, the beach house has it’s own pool, terrace, BBQ area ect ect… I’ve seen it, it’s seriously smart. As well as 5 days of kitesurfing coaching there’s loads more, including a boat trip to near by Graciosa Island, best plan is to have a read yourself and get yourself out there. The trip has been put together by African Space Kite Surfing, so go to the African Space website if this LINK TO THE TRIP is not working.  

Another big name in the kitesurfing world is Lewis Crathern, and hasn’t he been busy…

Lewis Crathern

Lewis Crathern, The Man That Touched The Sky:

What a dude! An inspiration to all kitesurfers, Lewis’ story of how he came to jump Brighton Pier is now part of a documentary about Lewis that will be released eminently. You can watch a trailer for Lewis’ documentary ‘The Man That Touched The Sky’ by following this link: Lewis Crathern, The Man That Touched The Sky or going to the Kitesurfkings Facebook page. We’re invited to the premier of Lewis’ documentary next Tuesday and so will be able to fill you in then.

Lewis was seen this week on BBC One’s Blue Peter, a link’s up on the Kitesurfkings Facebook page and we recommend checking it out, regardless of your age, for some top tips that’ll help with your wakeboarding. The BBC guys all met up with Lewis at the wakeboarding cable at Hove Lagoon and he put them through their paces.

Lewis runs his own UK clinics and you can get info on those directly through his own windmachine website, there’s also loads of interesting info and Lewis’ own take on wind, kitesurfing and wakeboarding. If you want to get away on one of Lewis Crathern’s International Kite Clinics then you need to get in touch with African Space Kitesurfing, CHECK OUT THE INFO HERE, or get in touch with us a line at Kitesurfkings (WWW.KITESURFKINGS.COM) as I, Luke,  will also be joining Lewis on his next international kite clinic which is happening on the 13th October in Egypt… can’t wait!

There have been some epic sessions of late and I’ve enjoyed hearing about other people’s so thought I’d share a couple of my own from the last few weeks as they seemed to get a laugh out of the guys in Shoreham and might encourage you lovely readers to tell us what you’ve been up to…

UK Kitesurf Sessions

Late for an appointment:

Thursday the 1st June 2011 was an epic day by all accounts; the sun was thinking about showing it’s face, the wind was up, waves were in and lessons were cancelled due to the serious, window rattling, conditions that we were greeted with early doors. seldom do kitesurf instructors get to kite the really sweet days as lessons need to run lessons around low tide, when the wind is really pumping lessons can’t run and by 11am on the 1st the wind was already solidly over 40 mph. I made every effort to complete some of the back log of admin (yawn) so I could get out for a cheeky kite session before a doctors appointment at 14.00 in Kemp Town. At 12.00 I phoned John E B in Shoreham to see if he’d be up for a kite, he’d been itching to get out too and so there wasn’t much convincing needed; we agreed to meet up by the beach huts in Shoreham at 12.30. I arrived late and so John was already on the water, powered on his 6m and riding a surfboard. There was no one else around so I quickly pumped up my 7m (should have gone 5 but you know how it is) and self launched, thank you Cabrinha for making such a long centre line!!

We were having an awesome session, the wind was solid and the waves were some of the best I’d enjoyed in Shoreham this year, as you’d imagen there wasn’t much skill needed to do massive boosts so spent half the time in the air and the rest lost in the waves. At the back of my mind I knew I could only stay out for a short time if I were to be back in Kemp Town before 14.00. Before long it was time to come off the water but we’d travelled half way down Shoreham Beach and edging upwind on the 7m was seriously tiring. I started to battle myself about what to do, scrap the appointment, self land and run to the van, keep edging upwind or go for gold and just kite there? John knew I had the appointment and so I gave him a wave and off I went with my kite.

In total it took about 35mins to get from Shoreham to Kemp Town; when you’re driving the route it feels slow when you do it in 25, try it on a kite when it’s 45 mph and you’re heading straight down wind! I went past a couple of groups on the way but didn’t have time to be sociable. There were a couple of people kitesurfing Hot Pipes and just up from King Alfred but there weren’t many kiters out. Gotta say that if you weren’t out that day you really missed out, the waves were sweet all the way along and seemed to get much larger the further out the back of Brighton and Hove I went.

As I came in I was greeted by one of the Brighton Sea Front guys on his quad, he’d been watching me kite as I came in and I recognized the dude. He didn’t have any beef at all but said that there’d been a report of someone hammering down the coast on a kite so he had to come and check it out. Wearing a wet wetsuit and having bare feet in the appointment I obviously felt like a plum and my mrs wasn’t best but I did clear up the puddle before I left, anything goes in Brighton and if I’d have missed the kite session I’d have been kicking myself. 

I’m planning the same route with some mates and we’ll take our time and enjoy it all this time! Kiting alone is never a good move but in my defence I did have an impact vest on for buoyancy, the Cabrinha kites relaunch effortlessly, I only ride new kit so it’s in optimum condition, the safety system always works, I didn’t kite much further than I could swim or go too close to the piers, John knew where I was going and a 35min down winder doesn’t seem like a long trip after having done down winders in South Africa and Zanzibar… safety hat on, box ticked.  

Night kite:

On Wednesday the 8th June 2011 I met up with a best friend, Chris (aka Simo) with the view to having a kite, it was already 20.30 and we knew we had to get on it if we were to get a kitesurf session in before it got dark. We didn’t get on it and it started to get late, we roped in the assistance of a helpful kite bitch (none derogatory name for kite helper) and got a lift to Hot Pipes, set up and got out for 21.40. The light was amazing, yes there was still light, the wind just enough for a sweet 7m session and the waves had way more volume than we usually get in Brighton. I have to say the start of the session was the best I have had this year.

We didn’t get too close to the groynes or various bits of metal work that protrude from the sea behind the industrial estate but did go Mc Donalds stylie LARGE! Simo smashed up the waves, clearing each groyne space with a single wave and I tried doing the same airborne, until it got darker when we both just enjoyed the power of the waves and being perfectly lit on our 7m Switchblaes and ‘at one’ (yo) with the elements as we tuned in to the light from the half moon and white of the waves.

It really was a dream session until we got to about Moroccos where I came unhooked on accident, easily fixed as not over powered. After getting hooked back in and back into the session my foot strap came out, doh! Not ideal but just ment riding down wind like a man with one leg until that got boring and flipped to using the board to body drag. We came in just before Regency Square and the old West Pier at 22.25 where our favourite kite bitch waited with a flash light to greet us.

Generally night sessions are massive no go for kitesurfing but like base jumping and the likes there are things one can do to make such sessions as risk free as possible. We do not recommend kiting at night, who knows what’s in the sea and how would anyone find you if you had a problem? We kite together all the time, didn’t get any further than 200m from one another, didn’t go out further than we could swim, still had enough light to see the important stuff and had beach support following us along the road and waiting on the beach for our return. Tick.

Beer tastes so much better when you’ve really earnt it.

if you’ve any epic sessions or just one that’ll get a laugh or teach a lesson, then ping it over to us here to the Kitesurfkings blog, post it on the Kitesurfkings Facebook page or email it over to info@kitesurfkings.com and we’ll pop it up for you.

Cable Sessions at Hove Lagoon

Our Kitesurfkings private cable sessions are always fun… unable to upload the quality pics but will try and get a couple from Tuesday’s cable session online later as they’re well worth a look. Next session is next Thursday; we don’t run them to make money, there is no financial gain to us just a saving to you and guaranteed laughs. Find us on Facebook if you want to get involved.

Free Stuff

KB4 Girls next event is happening in Lancing next weekend but sadly blokes don’t qualify just by wearing a skirt, I have checked. I’m not sure what the ruling is on ladyboys… I encourage any of you kitesurfing ladyboys out there to test the water. There are still places up for grabs and if you’re keen then give us a shout at Kitesurfkings and chat to Andrina as she’s organising the event. Did I mention it’s free?

Paddle Around the Pier is just around the corner and although there might not have been the usual amount of advertising for the event this year it’s set to be bigger and better than ever. Kitesurfkings will be down there with a stand and hanging out with our friends at Orb360, Hove Lagoon and the likes. Do come and say hi, there’ll be prizes and offers exclusively for the event and it’ll generally be a fun weekend with stuff to do, to watch and to try. So, that’s Paddle Around the Pier on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd July.

Gotta finish this blog! Kitesurfkings have some new and still boxed Cabrinha 2010 IDS kites that we can practically give away… well, not quite but almost! There’s a good chance it’s been too windy recently for your current kit or you’re lacking in confidence because you don’t have the latest, safest safety system?? Well, here’s your chance to put that right and grab a 7 or 9m Cabrinha IDS kite for a song! Well, about 600 quid including the bar, lines, leash, pump ect (which cost £360 on their own!). If you want one then gimmie a call on 07878 399 419 (Luke).

Multi Spot Kitesurfing on the 9th May?

Just putting this out there in case any of you lucky people are able to jump on a last-minute kitesurfing holiday… now, this is another one of those trips that really is aimed solely at kitesurfers and everyone needs to be riding up wind…

So, manage to tick some of the boxes??? If not but you like the sound of the session the get some mates together and it can be arranged for groups of 6 to 10, if you’ve got three then check us out coz there might be another 3 after the same trip.

What is it then? Well, as you’d guess from the title you’ll be kiting lots of different spots. Based in the south of Egypt at a newly built ‘surf’ style guest house you’ll have your own apartment in a small kitesurfer owned block of 9 newly finished apartments. You’ll stay on half board bases with a lunch time snack included, you’ll have a guide to take you kiting each day and will be kiting the spots based on the conditions and the amount of people at each spot on the day. Boat assisted down winders are also planned and your guide speaks the lingo, lives the dream and loves to kite… join him and a nice small group of like-minded kiters on the 9th May for a week of south Egypt’s best kiting for £595pp + flight. If you want to book this then contact African Space directly at kitesurfing@africanspace.co.uk or 0121 382 9000. This is not a Kitesurfkings trip but we do know the guys in resort really well and can totally recommend it… the guys that have their names down already ready are super sound too so that’s why it get’s the Kitesurfkings seal of approval and a big up on this blog.

Now, a quick hats off to Kitesurfkings kitesurf students that learnt over the bank holiday as everyone really did do well; even when wind’s picked up yesterday and we were already using a 5m our students were calm, controlled and loving it. If you were kiting over the weekend but had a bit of a battle or were bricking it somewhat then why not get in contact and book a refresher lesson? Booking line for lessons is 07878 399 419; kitesurfing does not need to be difficult or dangerous but it does have to be taught correctly and for students/kiters to feel completely confident, in control and independent… mummy can’t always be there to hold your hand but we could put a dress on.

Kitesurfing +++ in South Africa

Location: South Africa, based in Table View, Cape Town

Date: Mid/End November 2011

Duration: 14 Days

Do you have a passion for life? Love kite surfing? Want to get away this winter?

100%!

Prepare to get excited then as this could be for you…

We love kite surfing around Cape Town and have always been in ore of how windy the area can be. On one of our recent trips we spent two weeks living an intrepid kite surfers’ dream and have been working hard to make it a reality for our customers.

Staying together in a super cool surf house facing the famous Table Top Mountain we’ll have kite surfing on our door step, kiting on tap, nice! When kiting from home we’ll be able to downwind to and from our own front door or kite in front of our digs to stay closer to ‘refreshments’. One of our South Africa based guides will be living with us for the duration of our stay and hooking us up with luxury breakfasts each day to best fuel us for what’s in store…

Driven around in a couple of seriously stylish VW T2 camper vans our guides will take us to South Africa’s best kite surfing locations, some well know but many top secret. We’ll be hitting numerous beaches to kite surf flat water and wave spots that will have you rubbing your eyes with disbelief or clearing tears of joy!

As well as kite surfing there’s unlimited us of SUP boards in front of our surf house and we’ll also be taking them on the road with us when we go exploring, there are places that need to be seen but just sitting and admiring… not as much fun as exploring with SUP’s.

Other activities we have planned include kloofing Suicide Gorge, hiking Table Mountain and abseiling down, hike up Lions Head Mountain and paraglide down, Lions Head full moon, SUP on Franschoek Dam, rock climbing, wakeboarding at the cable park, trips with rubber duck to tow in, wakeboard, fish and catch lobsters. There are additional activities like shark cage or scuba diving that you might want to try which can also be arranged. Some activities might not be for you and they’ll always be kite surfing alternatives. There’s too much to list but have to mention the famous South African braai and sun downers.

Kite surfing is our number one aim and although this is not specifically a coaching trip you will learn masses and we’ll help you to nail tricks you’re struggling with as well as getting the most out of the waves. Our friends that will be guiding us along our adventure are some of the nicest guys and gals we’ve had the pleasure of meeting, they have helped us realise an intrepid kite surfer’s dream trip and are exceptionally good kiters themselves.

Aaron Hadlow, Ruben Lenten and Lewis Crathern choose to frequent Cape Town and the surrounding areas during the winter months because of the solid wind, awesome weather and epic kite surfing; we’re after the same but offering so much more.

We’re excited and hope you are too; we guarantee this will be an amazing trip that will stay with you forever. If you are interested in joining us then please get in contact with our head kite surf guide/instructor, Luke (yeah me, the one from Kitesurfkings), he’ll be one of your guides in South Africa and has recently returned from such a trip. You can also get in touch with African Space who are the guys making this trip happen through their extensive contacts and years of experience in South Africa. You can email the kite surfing team at kitesurfing@africanspace.co.uk or call the office on 0121 382 9000.

Although we do run beginner trips this is not one of them, everyone must have the minimum competency of being able to stay up wind and perform a deep water pack down. If you’re not quite there yet then contact us about making a plan so you can be or have a think about joining one of our beginner or intermediate trips.

Kitesurfing & Cable

Hello!

So, we’ve been hitting the cable (literally) but now have some wind… woop, woop!! We’re still running Kitesurfkings private sessions at the cable (and still just out of love), our next private session is an evening one 18.30 to 20.00. We’ve hooked up an even sweeter deal for you lovely people so you now just have to pay £20 including your online discount and including your board hire for the session. Here are a few pics and bits from yesterday’s cable session, scroll down if you’re only interested in kitesurfing. Umm, kitesurfing, how nice it is to have wind!

Please do not talk to the operator!

Last night’s Kitesurfkings cable session was a laugh, everyone did really well and there were some inspirational moves from those who were trying the cable for the first time. One of the guys, Fabio, asked me not to post any pics of him riding but Fabio you had some styles dude; on one board start Fabio span the board 180, which he says was on accident but we still give you the points Fabio.

Nice carve turn... sure this is ur first time?

Two more Kitesurfkings students were there riding the cable for the first time and we had them up and riding in no time, Kevin ended up having sweeter turns than anyone else there! Go Kevin! Fortue attempted some pop 180’s, hats off to you Fortue, you’ll nail um next time.

Pop 180' caught on camera

Last two pics… one classic slider mishap and to be kind one slider success, both by Jeff.

Slider success!

Oops! Less successful slider attempt!

There is no way I could not post this last pic from yesterday’s cable session, Jeff said it didn’t hurt and I believe him as the slider really doesn’t cause much damage; I think I might have pulled something though through laughing so hard!

Cable, cable, cable… kitesurfing, yeah baby! We’re loving the cable but when there’s an opportunity to kitesurf there is no competition. There has been some lovely weather recently and although we’ve not been able to kitesurf I think everyone has been enjoying it but enough’s enough, it really is time for some good wind. During the light wind days we’ve been having a lot of fun kite landboarding and powerkiting but still always dreaming of getting into the water for a good kitesurfing session.

Finally we have wind and it looks like it’s here to stay, well, for a week at least! We’re loading up the minibus and going kitesurfing along the coast and anyone’s welcome to come along. If you’re a beginner then you need to book lessons in (call me directly on 07878 399 419 to do this) and if you’re already kiting then why not arrange to hook up and have a good old kitesurfing session with us (contact us about this via the Kitesurfkings Facebook page).

The wind forecast shows solid wind for the next 7 days and the likelihood of more to follow, low tides this week are all afternoon and running into evenings next week. We teach until sunset on a low tide and kite any old time regardless of tides.

Here’s a link for booking our next kitesurfkings private cable session for you nice dudes who’ve taken time to read the blog: CABLE BOOKING LINK

Brighton & Hove Have Cable!

Yesterday’s press launch at Hove Lagoon for the new wakeboard cable was a real eye opener and we’re all really excited about having such a great facility here in East Sussex… yesterday’s sausages were rather special too, thanks guys.

Yesterday Harvey, Hove Lagoon’s director and a super nice dude, explained that he’s had the vision for the cable park for 18 years and it has taken a huge effort by the guys at Hove Lagoon, their sponsors and the commitment of Brighton and Hove council to make it happen. To Harvey, Mark, Seb and the rest of the guys at Hove Lagoon we salute you!

Here you can see some of the photographs that I took at yesterday’s press launch; there were a number of pro wakeboarders, pro kitesurfer Lewis Crathern and a handful of first timers on the cable for our entertainment. The Kitesurfkings hat is also off for local kitesurfer Jezmondo, who although was trying cable wakeboarding for the first time, managed a raley on his first tack and s-bend attempt on his second! Not sure if ‘tack’ is the right word for one distance of the cable but it sounds a lot better than length… feel free to educate.

The action shot above sees Pro kitesurfer Lewis Crathern showing us mad skill as he executes powered wake style tricks that he’d more regularly be seen doing under his kite. Join myself and Lewis at the cable for coaching days and learn how to nail tricky kitesurfing moves without having to think about the kite.

Never having seen a 2.0 cable system, other than online, it was great to have the system explained and be shown some of the system’s capabilities. You really have to go down there and check it out for yourselves as it differs massively from the other cable parks.

Other cable parks I have been to have numerous people travelling in a loop around a lake where as Hove Lagoon’s new 2.0 cable system offers a much better experience for the rider by tailoring each ride to the individual rider based on their ability or what kind of trick they’re wishing to attempt.

We’ll be having exclusive sessions at the cable and welcome you down to come and join us. We’ll be having  sessions for those completely new to board sports, sessions for those who want to nail some new tricks and plenty of sessions for people that just want to meet up and have a bit of fun. Do give me a shout directly if you’d like to meet up for a session: Luke, 07878 399419, luke@kitesurfkings.com

I’ve met a number of people with misconceptions about the cable that are worth setting straight…

Because it’s a single line cable you must stop and start again at each end. No! Go and check it out, the ride is fluid as you’re able to do a carve turn at either end. After a few sessions you’ll probably be able to nail some pop jump transitions at either end like the guys yesterday. Mark told me about a huge raley transition Harvey nailed that makes me think that with the right cable controller we’ll be able to bring some of our favourite kitesurfing tricks off the sea and onto the Lagoon.

Because it’s for ‘everyone’ it can’t be that extreme! Dude! Because there’s only one rider at a time and the cables system offers instant stopping of the cable, change of direction and accelerating/decelerating the speed in which it travels the ride is tailored to the individual.

Loads of swimming! Yes at each of the cable parks I have ridden you stack and then struggle to get the board off your feet before swimming, then walking, back to the start point wasting most of your session time. Because there’s only one rider at a time it’s all about you, the cable controller plays a massive role here by stopping the cable when you stack so that you can get straight back up when you’re ready.

More time cueing than riding. Drop in sessions are an hour long, Mark’s told me that they’re planning to have no more than four people for each drop in session. The guys at Hove Lagoon will be monitoring the sessions and insuring time is split evenly and because there are no more than four riders, no one’s swimming and there’s no walking back from the far end of the lake after stacking, time’s spent on the cable rather than just at the cable park.