In a matter of two weeks Kiteboarding has gone from being the most anticipated Olympic Sport for 2016 to a temporary footnote. Kiteboarding has also lost it's title as the Fastest Sailing Vessel when over the weekend SailRocket smashed the Outright World Speed Sailing Record with an average of 65 Knots!!
Blah Blah Blah I love going fast and I love playing in the Ocean. That is why I picked up a kite. Kiteboarding will most likely be in the Olympics some day and if we are smart and develop our gear in a more technical fashion then we can regain the Outright Record. But in the mean time it is so goddamn much fun to grab a kite and a board and go get wet.
I have been so lucky since Thanksgiving to get in a number of great sessions with some great Friends. Saturday was a real treat. West NorthWest Winds around 30 Knots. Building 4-6' surf with a rising tide up in Aquinnah. When I got to Philbins the waves were looking a little smaller than I had anticipated but given the fact it was already blowing 30 I knew things would build quickly. I was really excited because I was finally getting a chance to try my 8 Meter Nemesis from BEST in the waves. I had ridden it for Speed and did 47 Knots on it on long 30 meter lines but I was excited to see what it would do with the shorter 20 meter lines and a surfboard under my feet. Right off the bat I was blown away with not only how quick it was to turn but also how steady the power was on it. Usually when you get below a 9M the power can get really jerky. Especially on shorter lines but this was not the case.
For the next two and a half hours I chucked my goofy footed ass in and out of waves with reckless abandon. As I have stated many many times I suck at surfing but I think that Kite Surfing is easily one of the most fun and entertaining aspects of our sport and for some reason when I have a Kite pulling me around the surfing part gets a lot easier. So I have been working hard to develop what little skill I possess and I am happy with the way things are progressing. My "move" of choice for this session was to ride out at the surf goofy heelside then as the wave is pitching try my hardest to slash a rock solid toeside turn on the lip of the wave then carry my speed down into the wave. If I timed things right with my kite leading me and not getting too far back on my left foot then I would carry great speed down the wave and setup for that oh so gratifying bottom turn. It didn't happen very often but when it does and you feel all that power transferring and you see the wave curling up over your shoulder with the sunlight shining through it it makes the whole day worthwhile. No here is the point where my surfing skills often (but not always) fail me. This is the point where I would attempt the front side turn up off the lip. It's not easy as often times your weight is back a little from the bottom turn so you need to shift it forward and yet still be able to crank the turn off without losing wave, kite, control.....Everything. I love this joy of trying to learn something new, to take a constantly evolving formula and try and solve it in motion.
So yes I love speed, I will continue to focus on speed but as the winter storms keep rolling in and they keep producing some solid East Coast Chunk then yes I will keep going out and get beat up by Mother Ocean.
Blah Blah Blah I love going fast and I love playing in the Ocean. That is why I picked up a kite. Kiteboarding will most likely be in the Olympics some day and if we are smart and develop our gear in a more technical fashion then we can regain the Outright Record. But in the mean time it is so goddamn much fun to grab a kite and a board and go get wet.
I have been so lucky since Thanksgiving to get in a number of great sessions with some great Friends. Saturday was a real treat. West NorthWest Winds around 30 Knots. Building 4-6' surf with a rising tide up in Aquinnah. When I got to Philbins the waves were looking a little smaller than I had anticipated but given the fact it was already blowing 30 I knew things would build quickly. I was really excited because I was finally getting a chance to try my 8 Meter Nemesis from BEST in the waves. I had ridden it for Speed and did 47 Knots on it on long 30 meter lines but I was excited to see what it would do with the shorter 20 meter lines and a surfboard under my feet. Right off the bat I was blown away with not only how quick it was to turn but also how steady the power was on it. Usually when you get below a 9M the power can get really jerky. Especially on shorter lines but this was not the case.
For the next two and a half hours I chucked my goofy footed ass in and out of waves with reckless abandon. As I have stated many many times I suck at surfing but I think that Kite Surfing is easily one of the most fun and entertaining aspects of our sport and for some reason when I have a Kite pulling me around the surfing part gets a lot easier. So I have been working hard to develop what little skill I possess and I am happy with the way things are progressing. My "move" of choice for this session was to ride out at the surf goofy heelside then as the wave is pitching try my hardest to slash a rock solid toeside turn on the lip of the wave then carry my speed down into the wave. If I timed things right with my kite leading me and not getting too far back on my left foot then I would carry great speed down the wave and setup for that oh so gratifying bottom turn. It didn't happen very often but when it does and you feel all that power transferring and you see the wave curling up over your shoulder with the sunlight shining through it it makes the whole day worthwhile. No here is the point where my surfing skills often (but not always) fail me. This is the point where I would attempt the front side turn up off the lip. It's not easy as often times your weight is back a little from the bottom turn so you need to shift it forward and yet still be able to crank the turn off without losing wave, kite, control.....Everything. I love this joy of trying to learn something new, to take a constantly evolving formula and try and solve it in motion.
So yes I love speed, I will continue to focus on speed but as the winter storms keep rolling in and they keep producing some solid East Coast Chunk then yes I will keep going out and get beat up by Mother Ocean.
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