"Back on here and back kiting after almost a two year hiatus. Living inland has taken its toll on my kiting! :-(

On Sunday went to Bracklesham to check that I could still actually kitesurf.Had a nice little session and everything was working like clockwork, but came off as the tide came in.

It was still early in the morning so I popped over to Hill Head. Rigged up and was also enjoying some nice simple riding. The wind picked up a bit, and the depower cleat on my kite's bar (a SS Rev 09) slips, so I go to tighten it up a bit to get a bit more depower. However instead of pulling that, I end up pulling the Lock n Load safety release; for non-SS riders this is the thing that releases your chicken loop. The two knobs are very close to each other on/above the chicken loop so kind of 'out of sight'. The kite was released to the CSS line which, in the case of the Rev, allows you to re-ride.

Now, I'd not had this kite long before I stopped 2 years ago so wasn't completely dialled to it, so I'd never done the re-ride process from the CSS. Being off for two years no doubt made me rusty too (although I think that it was the proximity of the locknload release to the depower strap rather than my rustiness that caused the release!).

So I'm floating a couple hundred of metres off Hill Head in a 25kt cross-on, and I'm trying to reassemble the chicken loop. At the same time the lines are getting a little bit tangled. So once I reassemble and try to relaunch, the kite loops. I try again, and this time the tangle is worse, the looping is worse, and what's more a bit of line was wrapped around my thumb (unbeknownst to me). As the kite powers up, the line tears through my thumb and I end up ditching the whole thing.

Luckily Lucan from Airtime had spotted I was in trouble (and had already checked in on me earlier). He hurtles after the kite which is heading towards land, and manages to rescue it and my board safely before the kite reaches land. I swim in.

The cut to my thumb is, thankfully, superficial (deep but no tendon damage) and thanks to Lucan no-one on shore was affected, and my kit is still all in one piece.

Some lessons learned:
• if you're getting back onto the water after a long break, ensure that you are 100% au fait with you bar/safety.
• if your set up allows a re-launch, practice it in controlled conditions (ie light wind / shallow / with assistance).
• always take care with tangled lines - I've seen from other posts that they're the things that cause bother.
• don't forget a knife. I didn't have to use it this time but it's nice to know it's there.

I've made a donation to RNLI to thank Airtime for the rescue, so if someone helps you out don't forget to thank them somehow.

See you on the water...!

Paul."

Bad workmen blame their tools, but I did feel a bit underpowered on the 7.5m Best Kahoona today (initially) and eventually hopped out after well over an hour of unproductive power spiking, to switch to the 9.5m Best Kahoona - I had good control, never ditched the kite, but just couldn't get the lift!

I then could not find my car key (!!!!!) and spent the next 2-3 hours (ages) farting around looking endlessly on the grass, around the car and then eventually giving up, borrowing a phone and asking AA and Annie (wife!) to come and rescue me, as I had nothing except the gear I was standing in. Met loads of people including another beginner which was one positive!

Then (before the rescue party arrived), and on my 4th check of backpack, the key appeared magically, stuck in the bottom corner of the inside lining - heaven only knows how it got there and hid so well.

As the wind had picked up by then, I stayed with the 7.5 (despite having the key at last), but was a bit knocked about by the time I saw you on the water.

A disappointing day, especially compared to my really positive last lesson with good 'on water' as opposed to 'in water' time, but c'est la vie and I'm not going to improve without more graft.

Hope to get in the water over weekend and next Tuesday at latest.

I've had very little water time in view of wind (mainly) but obviously work as well. Still only managed 2 solo visits and drysuit still unused! The (high) tide has only prevented me from going out once. I'm checking wind many times per day, so I'm certainly keen and haven't lost any enthusiasm yet!

It is totally extravagant and Annie (wife) will kill me, but I've even thought about a 5-7 day trip somewhere sunny and windy e.g. Tarifa, Egypt...to get some solid water time in and hopefully come back to UK confidently sailing upwind, turning etc.

Somewhere with a school for a few tips/lessons would be good, but most importantly the right consistent conditions to get me in the water for many hours every day.

Any thoughts about the best locations for consistent wind and not too chilly ideally? I'm still determined to get 'sorted' and crack this thing and guess a lot of people may have thrown in the towel by now. I know I've been unlucky with time/wind and that any wind based sport is dependent on Mother Nature.

If I have the dosh to fly somewhere, then where are the best places??

YES, at last. Time off work, the wind (and tide) were all good and so I was out yesterday from about 1.30-3.30pm.

First time for ages (despite trying) and believe it or not, still only my third time solo!!!

Annie helped me launch up at the beginners area, which was a good idea and really helped re water depth and pratting around.

First 15-20 minutes was crap, then it all clicked and I had quite a lot of really good, long, proper runs were I really felt 'in the zone' i.e. nearly going across wind (as opposed to hell for leather downwind) with kite set in one position. Really chuffed and good progress.

Last 20 minutes I was totally shagged out though and had to give up, despite wanting to keep going - things started going tits up again due to arms/legs no longer working.

So, the Ion man suit finally got it's maiden dunk in the Solent. Lovely and warm, although I did get one (single) gush of water down the neck seal when wiping out spectacularly at high speed at the end of an otherwise well controlled run! Had spare clothes thankfully.

Good news and certainly spurred me on, despite the massive break, to try and sort out a week in Egypt in Feb/March.

That Friday was 'ok' (first time in water since Egypt 6 weeks earlier) but nowhere near what I had expected I should be achieving after being led into a false sense of security with the butter flat waters in Egypt - I even thought it was really beginning to click.

I know there has been loads of good wind since then but work means getting to HH before 8pm is impossible in the week (apart from days off). This weekend just gone would have seen me blown to Portsmouth or in casualty - the water and wind on Sunday (when I did go and chat to some of the guys setting up on the grass) was pretty full on.

So today was ok too. Definite progress but still not holding position at all well to the left and only just to the right - bring back the calm waters of The Red Sea...

More sitting down and more edging needed. I'll get there eventually..... hopefully.

Blog 15 as Day 15 (all counted) in the water today. Bloody windy and (steadily more) choppy is all I can say.

No guts no glory and I would have been an utter wimp not to have had a bash today - had the family car too, so needed to return home with some new tale of woe, intrigue or injury.

Happy, albeit it blown downwind a lot for first hour, but Superman wiped out a few times which really wasted time body dragging back upwind to board. Had a break and chat to Ross at this stage who adjusted my power/depower - clearly an attempt at sabotage... as after that I farted around like a total twat.

By the time I saw Lucan in teaching area about 20 minutes later I was waving a white flag and flapping around like a total, utter idiot - I could see Lucan thinking, 'Who's this knob end coming my way..?' (It was a really strong 6/7 by then, in my meager defense).

Anyway, the battle continues!

Cheers guys and hope I'll get more that '3 sails in 10 weeks' over the next 10 weeks........I need to stop work and family life and camp at the beach.

A couple of weeks ago 26-year-old Ricky was out on the Caribbean waters around Antigua. But he and Ross insist they’re always happy to come home.
‘It’s fantastic down here, we have really good conditions. It’s true home is best, I always love coming back,’ says Ross, although he laughs and adds. ‘Mind you I keep threatening to move to the Caribbean.’
But on a summer’s day with just the right conditions, you might see scores of kitesurfers off the village’s shore and at popular water sports centre Hayling Island, impressing passers-by with their speed on the water and tricks in the air.
And you will also see others being taught the basics of kite control and moving through the water.
Training is essential for anyone taking up the sport, to prevent them becoming a danger to themselves and other beach users.
But Ross and Ricky say there is very little to fear from kitesurfing. ‘At the end of the day it’s an extreme sport but a lot of people learn and develop in quite a relaxed way,’ says Ricky. ‘It’s brilliant because the challenges are there. You can do all these tricks, but you don’t have to.’
Of course, at the highest level kitesurfers pull off amazing feats and build up incredible fitness and strength.
A hugely successful member of the local kitesurfing scene is Sam Light, who was crowned British number one in 2009.
He travels the world with the sport and is currently in Australia. But he’s still very much part of the kitesurfing world on the south coast and gives pro clinics for those at a higher level.
What Sam does is awe-inspiring but it is also an accessible activity. One of the Hill Head regulars is 74 and Ross says it’s a misconception that you need incredible arm strength.
‘Some of the people with weaker arms do better actually because if you’re gripping too hard, you can oversteer.’
And although strong legs are a requirement for the aspiring kitesurfer, much of the skill is in handling the kite. Ross says anyone who has flown a normal kite will pick it up relatively quickly.
Ross, 27, loves his work and admits that kitesurfing is a bit of an obsession. It has to be as you need exactly the right conditions to have a good but safe time on the water.
‘It does become an obsession, checking websites for wind speeds and tide states,’ he says. ‘Things change so much so kitesurfers will keep checking through the day, otherwise you might hear that everyone’s been out having a great time and you’ve missed out.
‘Forget Facebook, we’re always looking at the weather.’
But for Ross and his friends it’s worth it. ‘I just love getting out there on a windy, wet day. I think I could be sat in watching EastEnders, but we’re out here having an amazing time.’

Silly photo, cool prize... Best one-liner wins!
Winner will be chosen on the 21st Dec 2010 - Chose from the following pizes,
Hippies Use Back Door Sign
Hang Ten Metal Sign

The 2011 kiteboarding championship rules see an addition in the line-up of major events. The new major discipline is called “Kite Cross” and incorporates the former side-disciplines as BoarderX, Slalom, Long Distance, Crossings etc. into one competition format with official world ranking and championship title.

As a natural progression of racing as well as being the perfect crossover discipline between the various kiteboarding disciplines, KiteCross is designed to bring the action close to the beach and right in front of the crowds and media in an easy to understand K.O. elimination system.

Fully utilizing recent developments in equipment, the KiteCross format allows a wide variety of courses to be set, enabling each race to be tailored in a way that allows both public and TV cameras to easily follow the competition, creating maximum excitement, interaction and enjoyment for spectators both on the beach and watching the event on TV.

Courses are generally based around downwind or figure-eight slalom courses (with or without obstacles to jump over), but can include any number of variations, some of the most dramatic of which include including long distance and between the island style races for the entire fleet. The spectacle of up to one hundred riders blasting across a start line, at over thirty knots, to do battle over miles of open water has to be seen to be fully appreciated!

The majority of competitions will be held on downwind slalom courses with or without obstacles in a multiple single elimination format, where only a number of competitors advance from round to round. While the final championships are not published yet it is expected that the format follows an adopted “no rules” format with direct refereeing and only a minimal set of rules like “boards on opposite tacks” and “dangerous sailing”.

The dates for the 2011 world and continental championships (champions decided in one-off events) are to be published beginning of January 2011.

Full-length "behind the scenes" of the 1st annual Best Fest, held in Cumbuco, Brazil. In addition to possibly the coolest party held on the North-East coast of Brazil, friends flew in from all over the world to demo new gear, meet team riders, and spend a week together in one of the most epic kiteboarding locations on the planet.

Let the Best Girls keep you warm through those cold winter months

The first ever Best Girl Calendar is now available, and what’s more it even comes with a ‘behind the scenes DVD’ including the making of the Best Girls Calendar shot entirely on location in Cumbuco, Brazil during this year’s Best Fest .

Throughout the summer, we went on a worldwide model search for fun, athletic girls who wanted to represent Best Kiteboarding by becoming the new Best Girls. The winners participated in a 5 day long photo shoot with renowned professional fashion photographer Michael Williams and from those amazing photographs we have compiled the 2011 Best Girls Calendar.

Our Best Girls traveled from all over the world to take part in the photoshoot, plus we had a lucky local winner from the Best Fest Bikini contest join us for the week. The lovely ladies that grace the pages of this calendar are Jelena Kudrjavtseva (Estonia), Deonna Marie (USA), Brittany Martinez (USA), Geórgia Simão (Brazil) and Nine Time World Kiteboarding Champion Kristin Boese (Germany), I’m sure over the months you’ll come to like them all as much as we did in Brazil.

As a member of Best’s International Pro Team, Kristin was not only working on the Best Girl Calendar while in Brazil, she was busy shooting pictures of the 2011 Best Kiteboarding lineup as well as taking time out to teach all the girls how to kiteboard. In addition to her duties as a team rider and international fashion icon, Kristin has been traveling around the world promoting KB4girls, a clinic motivating more women to learn how to kite and accelerate their skills. It was great for the newest Best Girls to bond with Kristin through the photo shoot and to receive personal instruction from her at the same time. Each one of them had a blast learning the basics, and Lena was even up and riding by the end of the week! They really were able to see what it takes to be a true Best Girl!

The 2011 Best Girls Calendar is available now and priced at 19.99  it's the perfect Xmas gift for the kite boarder in your life. 2011 Best Girls Calendar

Months leading into this event, models were beckoned from everywhere to compete for a chance to be in the first Best Girls Calendar. Along with Kristin Boese, the 9-time world champion kiteboarder (Best Kiteboarding), the top 3 finalists were sent to Brazil, bikini'd up and placed all over the beaches and dunes by professional photographer, Michael Williams. Michael was accompanied by his crew of Richard Keogh (Hair and Makeup) and Rob Kolb (Post-production). Between these 3, a masterpiece collection of poses and lifestyle shots were collaborated into one hell of a piece of eye-candy for 2011.

Just fly on the Lunghin

An in depth look at what it took to break the outright world speed sailing record! Rob Douglas is currently the fastest sailor in the world. The training, his world record run and more.

Kitesurfers have got the speed sailing record back again and great run by Alex Caizergues with a speed of 54.1 knots at Luderitz speed challenge in Numibia