It seams that kiteboarding gets more exposure everyday….now as background action sport for Audi promotion

http://www.autoblog.com/photos/audi-q3-jinlong-yufeng-0/

A short film by Fiona Graham that explores the joys of building and riding your own Alaia kiteboard.

Shot entirely on GoPro cameras with the Blurfix lens by Snake River Prototyping. Powered by Kaenon Polarized.

The LEN10 Megaloop challenge, the Brainchild of Red Bull Athlete and ‘King of the Megaloop’ Ruben Lenten, saw 24 participants compete for the title in Big Bay, Cape Town.

The waters surrounding South Andros are so shallow (only 1ft-4ft at low tide), that they create a safe and fun environment for newbie kiteboarders, but also provide an amazing playground for advanced riders. Combined with the famous Easterly trade winds, which blow from morning till evening (powered by a local thermal effect created through a reef separation of the warm shallow waters from the colder deep sea), this makes for a perfect spot for an amazing kiteboarding experience.

Here is the deal:

Beginner Kiteboarder All inclusive Package includes: 7 nights accommodations, 3 days of Lessons (total 9 hours) plus equipment  rental for the rest of the trip – $1250.00.

Or choose your options:

Kiteboarding Lessons : 3hr – $250-private/$185 semi-private
Accommodations Only: days – $300.00  per person (based on 2 person per room occupancy)

* Also we can have a Housekeeping person who will cook us lunch, keep the house tidy and do our grocery shopping so we can maximize our time on the beach. The cost is $50 day + grocery cost which will be shared between the participants of the trip.

For more info check: KiteClub NY

Thank you for your previous purchase of the 2011 Beverly Triton Beach annual permit last year. We are pleased to announce the 2012 Beverly Triton Beach annual permits are now available for purchase.

There are only 75 permits available for purchase. Permits will be sold on a first come first serve basis.

The permit fee is $75 for the entire year (cash or check only). Annual permits may be purchased at Quiet Waters Park Visitor’s Center, during regular office hours. Prospective applicants do not have to pay entry fees at Quiet Waters Park.

Office Hours
Monday, Wednesday, – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday, – 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Closed Tuesday

Address
600 Quiet Waters Park Road
Annapolis, MD 21403

If you should have any questions or concerns, please contact us at (410) 222.1777.

Sincerely,
Chanell Clemons
Office Manager

Quiet Waters Park
600 Quiet Waters Park Road
Annapolis, MD 21401
Phone: (410) 222-1777
Fax: (410) 222-1545
Email: rpclem10@aacounty.org
Website: http://www.aacounty.org/RecParks/parks/quietwaters/index.cfm

The Chase was on….
After an amazing time in Jackson, Wyoming the North American Snowkite Tour was on the move seeking wind and snow. We were faced with some tough decisions as the winter weather in North America has been a little under par this season. Conditions and snowpack were looking marginal for the week and amazing snow total reports for Idaho were haunting us in our decision to move south. In a last minute decision we moved on to Idaho.
Hours into our trip we were into some great conditions. Kiters raced out into the rolling hills of Idaho in 11m wind and smooth fresh snow. Many high speed runs were made reaching top speeds of over 60 mph. As the session progressed riders moved into some fun cornice areas for some freestyle.
The Chase continued throughout the week but Mother Nature failed to deliver. Wherever there was snow there wasn’t wind, and wherever there was wind there wasn’t snow. The athletes of the Tour made due with many practical jokes, goofy antics, and building kickers off houses. Whether there is wind or not the show goes on…
Awaking Friday morning we all got the break we were looking for. Bluebird Skyline blowing 15 out of the SouthEast. The 2012 Snowkite Masters was underway. Kiters from all over the country had flocked to the most famed snowkite location in North America to partake in the action. For the next 3 days kiters played throughout the amazing Skyline playground, jumping off cornices, gliding off hills, and getting some great powder turns. It was a festival and a celebration of our sport. Much thanks to Brian and Heather of Windzup snowkiting, putting on a great event and entertaining all kiters throughout the evening at the Triangle Bar. With a great week of kiting, filming, and socializing, the North American Snowkite Tour was on the move to Summit County Colorado.

For a limited time only, enter to win a Naish Mission harness: lightweight and low profile, with all the bells and whistles…
Complete the short (we promise!) questionnaire by clicking on the button below. Contest closes at midnight, Monday, February 20th, 2012. Only one entry per person. Good luck!

The National Park Service announced Friday that rules designed to limit beach access and protect the environment will require drivers to pay between $90 and $150 for an annual permit, with a weekly permit going for about one-third of that. Visitors also will be required to watch a seven-minute educational video at one of the designated visitor centers.

In addition, the Park Service is making 26 miles along the 67-mile-long seashore permanently off-limits as of Feb. 15, when the new rules kick in. It’s the first permanent ban of stretches of beach in the park.

more info here: Hampton Roads

Shorter lines give the rider a decreased power stroke, so the theory goes that short lines are more difficult to jump high on. I am not buying this. Extremely short lines may be a problem here, but I believe that has more to do with the fact that they fly in my turbulent wind closer to the water. A short line set allows the rider to put the kite up high, in the exact spot for an optimal boost very quickly. When you start to send your kite, you have a little time to edge hard and relase before the kite will just simply rip you off the water. I find that with long lines, the kite wants to pull me into the air before it is in the optimal position for a big boost, and before I would like to set my edge hard and release. This is especially true if it is nuking.

Kiters looking to do loops will benefit even more on short lines. When I first started looping, I would only do it if the wind was moderate. I would fly the kite up towards 12-o-clock, and then crank it around as I edged and released. With long lines, the kite would do a fairly tight loop, and complete the loop high in the air, making for an easier to land kiteloop. This all changes in high winds. Now, if you loop a kite with long lines, it will try and lift you off the water before it gets very high. You have to crank the loop low to the water, and the kite will fly right through the most powerful part of the window. Also, the drag on the line connected to the outside wingtip is going to give your kite some undesired steering input on the wrong side of the kite. This means the kite will loop even lower. the results can be pretty bad. Anybody at Matapeake yesterday saw me crash hard over and over again.

So let’s try it on 20m lines. At first this kiteloop will feel crazy. You can steer the kite up hard, then edge and loop it, but even if your kite starts up high, it will still loop pretty low to the water, becasue your wind window is so much smaller. But this time, the high start of the loop will give you good vertical acceleration as you initiate the loop, and the short lines will help the kite keep a tight loop. The result is that the kite will easily complete the loop while the rider is still airbornbe, but most importantly, the kite will fly up to the top of the window quickly, due to the small wind window, and less drag on the lines. So although the landing is fast, it is softer. One way to put it is that the kite pulls hard like any kiteloop, but it gets all the pull over with really quickly, and then eases up as you land with the kite over your head.

One downside to short lines: unhooked stuff. The kite will redirect fast, so it is easy to accidentally fly the kite too high, and end up inadvertantly dangling. Although I’m not anti-dangle like some people here, dangling unhooked looks and feels pretty gay.

Anyone feeling hesitant to hack their lines, should just find an older bar, pull the stitches out of the sleeved ends, and slide ‘em a good 7-10 meters down the line, and restitch. People spend big bucks on new gear, when the best improvement they could make to their quiver is really just a shorter line set.

We saw this scene more than a couple of times at our local launch…Does it look familiar to you?

Rode this board several times in Mexico. it’s a very comfortable board. it handled chop much better than my 555 and still delivered great pop. it rides pretty differently from the 555, but i like it. the 555 wants to track hard and ride on edge. the trax feels much looser, almost to the point of being squirrelly if you’re not used to it. it will happily point in any direction you ask and swallow chop like a champ. it’s a light board, landing on it was very soft.

the straps were nice, liquid force-esque but firm pads. they were snug and easy to get on/off.

this board + the b4 = dream setup. anyone want to buy a 555?