Wet 'n' Windy

Date : 18-nov-2006
Location: Gower
Team: SWAT, Froggy, Missile, The Tom, Arwen.

The forecast was 15-18mph W with a slight chance of rain in the afternoon.
On the way there we had a call from Tom and S - the M4 was shut - so we met up with them at the services (where tom had a puncture in his Landy) and then detoured through Bridgend. We eventually got there at about 10:15 - not too much time lost, but it was hailing - heavily.

The next problem was my kitewing. I noticed that there was a 4" gash in the clear plastic. Luckily a roll of gaffa tape sorted that for the day.

Eventually I got going and what a blast. Although the wind wasnt quite as strong as the forecast and there was more rain than expected, it was dead onshore so perfect for runs up and down the beach.

I spent a hour doing upwind turns, in all combinations (regular, goofy, heel to toe, toe to heel) I did a run from llangenith to Rhosilli, back past Llangennith and on to the northern end of the beach. OK I stopped once to swap sides when at Rhosilli, it must have been a 5 mile run.
Also did some great runs through the surf... that always gets people's attention!

Intermittent rain, hail, sun and wind meant we packed up at about 3:30 and went to the pub.

Great day.

there's a video here:
http://www.wingsurfer.co.uk/generic/template.asp?ACT=nav&mID=169
wet n windy

New kitewing speed records? - 47.8 mph!

Location : Gower
Date: 21/10/2006

Via the forum, a few of us arranged to meet up and take advantage of the wind forecast.
Tom, SWAT, Missile, Foilman, Foilboy, and me (froggy). The "Foils" left home at 3:15 to avoid the traffic and get there for the crack of dawn. Tom had been out on a "free bar" works do the nght before and for some reason arrived a bit later. We got there at about 10:30.

Beach was the more common rippled effect makeing runs to the sea impossible, but the wind was SSW so we could do fast runs Northwards and just about manage to ride back. And fast runs they were.

The wind was 24mph when we arrived. SWATs fist exploratory run up the beach clocked over 40mph. So did mine. The sand was hard packed so we thought.... woooo hoooo!.
It wasnot long before I had clocked 45.4 mph (73.06kph) with my 4.8 Kitewing and SWAT had reached 48.7mph (78.375 kph) with his 5.5. New records for both of us, and a knats whisker away from the 50mph target.
Unfortunately the wind moved round to a more westerly and dropped a little, so no matter how hard we tried, no more speed.

Foilman was doing some impressive jumps and hopefully there are some pix on the forum soon. My camcorder seems to have been playing up, so Foilboy's recordings may not be there. Hopefully some of Tom's will. and Foilboy's digital pixs too.

At one point, when we were just about to do a photo shoot with out nosnow.pl t-shirts on, a serious squall came in and the wind went from 20ish mph to 40+ mph in a matter of seconds. As SWAT dissapeared, we had to drag Foilman back from the dunes, seriously overpowered - he couldnt keep his feet on the ground. So couldn't walk upwind to drop his kite. and it rained. SWAT has dissapeared in to the beyond the 50m visibility of rain/wind/sand combination. We sorted Foilman out and the wind dropped, visibiliy cleared and sun came out. That was mad. Next thing, we saw SWAT walking back up the beach. He was ok, but he'd had the wing ripped from his hands and on impact with the ground, broken a mast tube on his 5.5 pro. We wondered what had happened to the 5 or so kitesurfers who were out on the water. I wouldnt like to be out on the sea when that happened.

Anyway we got the ramp out, did some jumps. The wind moved round to SW and dropped a bit more. so we still couldn't beat the morning's records.

Great day though.

Becalmed at Les Hemmes

Great place - no wind, (when we were there). Must go back when there is a better forecast.

New Video - Flying off the Ramp

We've uploaded a new video! - Kicker!

With our £20 ramp from Argos, we set off to the beach at the Gower on August 26th. With 6 wingsurfers there, we all had a go, but Tom managed to jump the farthest as well as crash the most spectacularly.

The wind wasn't great, but enough to get a feel for it. I think with a better wind next time, we should be doing some serious "flying".

http://www.wingsurfer.co.uk/videos/

Dirtsurfer Meet ups planned

There are 2 meetups planned :

• - Halfway forest in S Wales for a bit of downhilling
• - Les Hemmes in France for a bit of kite/Kitewing wingsurfing

Check the forum for full details:
http://www.forums.wingsurfer.co.uk/forum_topics.asp?FID=1

No more Kitewings from the Munkey

Skywings in Finland have asked us to post this message to inform you that Munkey Distribution are no longer the UK distributors for Kitewing.

You can now place your orders directly with Kitewing. They are in the process of establishing new partnerships in the UK.

Please contact Jan-Erik Luther at Kitewing HQ on : mailto:info@kitewing.com

Tel : +35894551716

Skype : kitewingfin

For international enquiries please refer to the Kitewing Dealer Network at http://www.kitewing.com/contact/

New Dirtsurfer Flexi 16" - First Impressions

SWAT got his new Flexi (well I picked it up for him) last week, and we assembled it ready for a session at the weekend.

It came in 2 reasonably small boxes, so much so that I thought that it couldn't all be there... but it was.

One box contained the wheels, and the other one the frame and all the other bits.

The following are notes & thoughts in no particular order:

1. The frame and metalwork is of good quality.
2. The deck looks somewhat rough, with loose fibreglass on the edged and on the back.
3. The Footstraps are great, but fitting them takes a little working out ()- See here for my instructions -
4. The board looks long with the 16" wheels
5. The assembly was slow, as the captive nuts in the deck didn't line up with the mounting holes in the frame. In fact we have only managed to get 11 of the 12 bolts in place. - even after an lots of struggling.
6. Its a great ride - very smooth
7. On rougher terrain it feels great (I've never tried the original flexi, so that could be the same for them too)
8. If the deck was to actually fit the frame it would take less than an hour to assemble.
9. The brake, although a new type, is essentially the same design as the old one. the cable soon gets clogged up with sand and muck and siezes up.
10. The calf brake lever is still too far back to comfortably reach, and there is no further adjustment on this (I thought there was going to be)

All in all, a great ride, cant wait to have a go on the 20".

Dirtsurfer wheels

Had a bit of a problem last session. Several of my spokes have corroded through at the nipple! SWAT has lost 5. I suppose its a factor of riding near salt water. I managed to bodge a few spokes to get mine back together, got a spare wheel for SWAT and put old one in for repair at the local bike shop.

New Dirtsurfers in the UK

ooooooh. last night I collected SWATs new 16" flexi dirtsurfer from Munkey.
Started putting it together for him, but hit a problem with the deck tolerances.

I couldnt get the captive nuts in the deck to line up with the holes in the frame. at 1bout 1:00am I gave up. Look like it will take a bit of "adjustment" with a file, to open out the holes in the frame. I decided that this is something that SWAT can do in his own time!

Anyway off the the gower tomorrow. Promises to be a GOOD session.
We have a keen photographer coming down, who wants to take some shots.
Missile is coming down sat later, as well as Tony with his new DS and Kitewing he picked up on eBay.

4 wingsurfers on the beach at the same time - cool!

We'll post a review of the new flexi after the weekend!

Llanaber West Wales.

Is it just me or dos it take me more time and more space to load my toys into the car when I go away? What with my Dirtsurfer, Mountain board, windsurfer + 2 sails, mast, boom, kitewing, box of bits etc, I barely had room for the tent and the family. Lucky I've got a 7 seater otherwise I'd have to leave the kids at home.
Anyway, we went to Llanaber, just up from Barmouth. I've been to Shell Island before (before I was married, before I had a car, before I got any toys), but decided to try the Barmouth area as there are lots of campsites next to the beach.

We arrived on Sunday after a 3 and a half hour drive cross country (I get fed up with motorways, so cross country is more interesting, shorter and probably more economical) Arriving at 5:00 the wind was blowing 18mph directly on shore, however once we'd set the tent up, sorted out food, welcomed my sister and family it was 9:00 and starting to get dark. That night brought torrential rain, thunder, lightning and lots of wind.

The next morning it was still raining - heavily. Funny how in the longest dry period anyone can remember, I go camping on the 3 days it rains. Still, it stopped later on and I got the Dirtsurfer and Kitewing out and started runs up and down the beach.

The beach at Llanaber is I suspect, the same beach that starts at barmouth and goes up to Shell Island. a stretch of about 6 or so miles. Unfortunately although the sand is pretty solid, there are huge great holes, and rivers,and I found it difficult to judge the depth of the holes until I got onto (into?) them. Some were shallow, others were up to 18 inches deep. Spaces between the holes were limited, so speed runs were difficult. I decided to take advantage of the distance available amd did a 4.5 mile run up the beach, and a 4.5 mile run back. In total, day 1 I covered 25 miles and a max speed of 35mph.

Day 2 I decided to get up early (7:00 and was on the beach by 7:45) to get the most from the tides and wind. Wind was about 17mph and SW. More runs (max speed 38.9mph, without having enough space).

Day 3 the wind went round to the North, so long runs were out of the question, so I got the ATB out and practiced throwing it around and practicing my jumps. A max jump distance of about 12-15foot (although not very high) was achieved, I was pretty chuffed with that. I even succeeded in jumping over a small (but deep) pond on the beach.

Day 4 I ran out of time and came home.

Learnings:
Harlech beach looks good
Black roack sands is not far away.
Loads of campsites there.

First UK Dirtsurfer-Fest

15 dirtsurfer riders from across the UK met up for a weekend of riding at Out To Grass (OTG) in the Malvern Hills on the 22nd and 23rd July. I think the centre, which is normally full of mountain borders, was a bit surprised to see so many DSs, and the usual comment was "not seen one of those before". Great fun was had, especially down the Snake Run. A few even tried the Border X track. - until the rain came and washed us out. (even the 4x4 got stuck).

There's a video here:
OTG Video and some photos here: Photos

It was good to put faces to names. Thanks to Tom and Tim who organised the event, I'm sure that there will be many more, and thanks to OTG (http://www.outtograss.com/) who were very welcoming. We'll be Back!

Its all downhill...

It may sound daft, but I live about 1 mile from a pretty good dirtsurfing hill. Cleeve Hill. So, I went up there with Missile, and we had a bit of a look around. I must say, riding without a wing to balance yourself with takes a few goes ot get used to, but I soon regained my confidence, and between us with did quite a few runs on the grass, and finished off with quite a long run down the path back to the car park. Its then that you realise the benefits of having a wing. No hills to climb!

Still good experience, and we agreed we should go back there again whenever we get a chance.

The ultimate ride would be on the road back into Cheltenham. From the Golf course, back into Prestbury Village, is probably 2 miles and pretty damn steep. Its also very busy, so I need a bit more experience and confidence before I have a go.

18/06/2006 - Jumping practice

Location: Gower
Wind: up to 10 mph S / SSW
Distance Travelled: 25 miles
Max Speed: 34 mph with wing, 27.9 with Windsurfer Rig.

OK, another day, usual place at the Gower.
Wind was forecast to pick up during the day and the tide was fully in when we arrived at about 10:00 am. So we waited, slowly the beach exposed itself and we gradually claimed it back for ourselves. The wind was SSW, so running up( ie north) was too far downwind, and running back (S)was hard work beating into the wind.
I set up my large windsurfer rig (6.5 metres) and had a few runs with it. The wind was only about 10mph, but It felt good with a reasonably large rig. I managed to reach 27.9mph, which is a new record for me. I wanted to top 30mph on the day, but it wasnt to be...
Lots of runs about, but not the best conditions. I clocked 25 miles during the day, but the wind never reached the forecast 17mph.
We spend most of the afternoon practising jumps. There wasnt enough wind to make a real go of it, but I think we all got the principles clearer in our heads.

Missile did a few jumps with just the wing, which I capture on my (oops, my wife's) new camera using the multi-shot mode.
We messed about for a while with an abandoned car on the beach. Well to be honest it was a pink plastic toy car, but it was rather silly, and we took a few shots of Missile in it with his wing - Until he fell out the back.

29/5/2006 - The wind's picking up

Location: Gower
Wind: up to 28 mph NW / NNW
Distance Travelled: 30 miles
Max Speed: 34 mph

Drove down again. SWAT and Missile had been there for the weekend, and were having a ball. I'd tried to fix SWATs kitewing, but the temporary joint had broken again. So we were a wing down. The wind was picking up, most of the kiters on the beach and even the buggies were struggling. The wind being NNW meant we only had small amount of beach to play with, but fun anyway. Being a wing short we decided to take it in turns. SWAT did a few jumps, with the ATB, Missile and me did some standing jumps, missile having the weight advantage seemed to jump twice as high as me. Technique probably.

Loads of fun on the kitewing with the Mountain Board doing power slides.

27/5/2006 - Kiting in the rain

Location: Gower
Wind: 14 mph West
Distance Travelled: 43 miles
Max Speed: 33 mph

Another good day. Wind was good and steady, but lots of rain. The beach was "ploughed field" again, appart from a stretch near the dunes. However, with westerly winds that was fine. plenty of space, not many others on the beach until the weather cleared in the afternoon.

Highlights?
Missile found a 2' deep hole at 25 mph and went flying. I saw him and thinking he had hurt himself, fell off during an emergency turn.
SWAT broke another mast tube on his kitewing by falling on it. He did manage to create a temporary splint with gaffa tape and spare wing tips. He could fly it but the aerodynanics were all wrong.
I did a fairly spectacular crash in the stream. The rain had turned the stream into a river and what normally is a simple process of crossing, became a 2 foot deep torrent. So my disrtsurfer stopped dead, and I went flying. Much to the amusement of onlookers. My dirtsurfer then started to wash away downstream, so I had to wade after it.

Anyhow, I brought SWAT's wing back and left him mine as he and missile were staying over. He texted me later to say 83 miles, which I assume is the distance he has travelled. Surely another record? I'm back tomorrow with a slightly better temporary fix on his wing. Forecast is 23mph NW, sunny. Should be a good day. Must crack those duck gybes.

Wingsurfing uphill!

21st May 2006.
Quick session today between rainstorms. It was blowing 20mph, so I thought I could justify a quick late afternoon session with the Dirtsurfer and Kitewing on Cleeve Hill.
I have always wanted to run from the common by the arials to the next hill top by the golf course. Well, today I managed it :-)
Very gusty, as the kitewing kept lifting over my head and behind me at times. Good fun though as I did 3 runs there and back (probably less than 1/4 mile each way), but the fun thing was that it was down and up the hill. Going down is a bit mad, as you could go flat out. I didnt, as it was so gusty, but powering up the hill is quite an experience. I've done it at the same spot using a normal power kite and a mountain board, but this was a first with Kitewing and Dirtsurfer.
Then it started to rain so I came home :-( what a wimp.

Our New Website - wingsurfing, kitewing, dirtsurfing

We've got our new website live now.
Loads of great videos, pix, news, hints and tips.
Feedback has been great so far, and we'll be adding loads more content on a continuous basis.

http://www.wingsurfing.co.uk

new kitewing / dirtsurfing video

http://www.wingsurfing.co.uk/videos/Kiting_may_1_2006_5.wmv (20mb)

some good dirtsurfer slides - lots of fun

1st May - May Bank Holiday at the gower

We really must go somewhere else. The problem is it's such a good spot.

Anyway: wind forecast was different on each website, but windguru said 25mph. It ended up at about 15 which was good. The beach was pretty bad again, with a surface that wouldn't be out of place on the moon. Just as well that the wind was mostly westerly, as we had good runs up and down the beach. Managed to fly/ride (flyde?) 40 miles over the course of the day, and it felt like it this morning. top speed 33.7mph.

Lots of use of the harness on the Kitewing; lots of dirtsurf powerslides; Lots of video taken (will post when i've edited it); lots of crashes from Missile; an abortive attempt to try jumping and flying from the dunes by SWAT and Missile; raced a few kitesurfers (they were in the water, I was on the shoreline - they won, but the beach was too bumpy for me to go for it. - my excuse anyway); a bit of ATB powersliding with the kitewing.

Missile is doing really well, I must sabotage his kit so he doesn't get better than me.

Nothing particularly new learned, but did get some video of one handed kitewing flying. (and SWAT's "wave to mum"), and did get loads of practice of turning and sliding

Powerslides

Session Report: 17 April 2006

Went down for the Bank Holiday Monday to Meet up with SWAT and Missile. Missile had his new dirtsurfer and kitewing to play with. Not a vast amount of wind when I got there at 10:00, but forecast was to pick up to 19mph during the day. Hard work to begin with, but as the wind picked up it proved to be a good day for messing about. got 33mph and kited 40 miles over the day, and spent most of the time practicing powerslides. A few crashes are on video here http://www.wingsurfing.co.uk/videos/powerslide_outtakes.wmv.