Kitesurf Tarifa

Kitesurf – 2010 Luderitz Kitesurfing Speed Challenge

admin — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 19:54:55 +0000

Many world records have fallen during the first three years of the Luderitz Kitesurfing Speed Challenge, boosting kitesurfing to the top ranking in speed sailing. Taking place October 4-31, the 2010 Luderitz Kitesurf Speed Challenge will continue to expand upon previous years’ innovations that have made the location the fastest kitesurfing spot in the world over the past three years.

A canal dug at last year’s challenge created a near perfect water state that allowed kiters to go faster than ever before in less wind (40 knots max). At just three meters wide, it was ten times narrower than the canal at “Les Saintes Marie de la Mer“ in France, where Antoine Albeau set the fastest time on a windsurfer (49.09 knots). This year, plans include expanding the canal and improving the angle, making it completely straight in order to gain better averages of the course of 500 meters.

Competitors help develop the sport and grow kitesurfing internationally, so take this opportunity to push the limits of other national and world records, including “L’Hydroptère,” with the present 51.36-knot record. As always, the World Sailing Speed Record Council will be present to sanction the event.

2009 LUDERITZ SPEED CHALLENGE ACHIEVEMENTS

Alexandre Caizergues – 50.98 knots (World Record)
Rob Douglas – 50.95 knots (USA Outright Record)
Melissa Gil – 38 knots (USA Ladies Record)
Jernej Privsek – 44.59 (Slovenia Record)
Felipe Johannpeter – 42.14 (Brazil Record)
Tim Turner – 33.94 (Australian Record)

Kitesurf – Ten Top Tips to Improve your Kitesurfing Learning to Fly Riding strapless, you should understand how your...
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Kitesurf – Ten Top Tips to Improve your Kitesurfing

admin — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 19:52:23 +0000

Learning to Fly

Riding strapless, you should understand how your board feels while in the air. This feeling is like standing on the beach on a windy day and angling your board into the wind so it hangs on your fingertips. First, find a balanced point on your board. Then, with lots of speed, start hitting little waves and letting yourself “float” through the air. Don’t ollie; just let the board come up slowly. Avoid grabbing the board — that’s not balance, just force. Mastering this will help you learn airs and also keep your feet glued to the board when just riding around. — Jon Modica

Keep Growing

You don’t ever want to become too comfortable and grow stagnant. I mean, you’ll do two tricks to your left and one to the right for months — but really never try anything else. To counter this, step outside the box, visualize a new move and then make it happen. Sometimes we focus too much on tricks we already know and don’t keep growing with the sport. — Damien LeRoy

Visualize Success

When pulling any trick, visualization is a really important factor. If you can’t see yourself pulling a trick in your head, it’s going to be even harder in the water. I’ve used visualization for years. I’ll study videos and use slow motion replay to understand what the person is doing and what the kite is doing. Once you’re able to visualize everything, walk yourself through the trick on land, so your body gets a feel for the motion. — Damien LeRoy

Upwind Anchoring

The key to staying upwind is to set specific landmarks, so you know your position in the water at all times. Before your session, assess the wind direction and your riding location. Look for points on the water and on land you can spot while riding. Your goal should be to get back to these points on each of your tacks. — Matt and Keegan Myers

Spin Control

When learning spins, it’s important to maintain control of your kite throughout the rotation. Many riders will initiate the trick but then lose control of the kite. First, mentally process how you’ll control the kite, and most importantly, know which hand you’ll use to get the kite in the proper direction for landing. For nearly all tricks, you’ll use your back hand to send the kite and lead hand to direct the kite down for landing. — Matt and Keegan Myers

Geared Up

Always make sure you’re 100 percent confident in your equipment before you get out on the water. You should know how to tune your kite, so when it’s fully powered up, with the bar all the way to the chickenloop, it’s not over-sheeted — where the rear of the kite is pinched together. Over-sheeted kites are very common, and they can destroy your session even before you hit the water. If you completely understand how your kite functions, you’ll get the most out of every session. — Matt & Keegan Myers

Kitesurf – 2010 Luderitz Kitesurfing Speed Challenge Many world records have fallen during the first three years...
Kitesurf Tarifa – New regulations in Tarifa So its finally happened the council in Tarifa have decided...

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Kitesurfing Kites – How to Maintain Your Kite’s Bridle System

admin — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 05:50:48 +0000

After repairing thousands of kitesurfing kites over the years, I’ve found that one of the most overlooked — yet extremely important — parts of a kite is the bridle system. The bridle is composed of the lines supporting the kite’s shape as well as the pulleys that slide along these lines to change the angle of attack. On most systems, when a bridle line breaks during flight, it can completely disable the safety system, resulting in a total loss of control. Because of this risk, you should routinely check the bridle for wear and tear before each session.

The most common forms of bridle wear:

— Jammed, rusted or worn pulleys caused by sand and/or normal use
— Broken or popped stitches on the loops at the ends of each line
— Frayed lines caused by the lines rubbing against one another or by contact with rocks, shells or old pulleys

Locations and components that should be inspected regularly:

— Check pulleys for proper use and smooth rolling.
— Check sheaths — the braided coating on all lines that protect the internal Spectra lines — for wear.
— Check connection points along the kite’s leading edge, which often touches the ground when not flying.
— Check main flying-line connections that get connected and disconnected with every use.

Replacing and fixing bridle components:

— Most repair centers can build replacement lines for any kitesurfing kite, so don’t buy a completely new bridle.
— The easiest way to replace a line is to remove and measure the corresponding line on the opposite side of the kite. It’s best to replace both the broken line and the good line to assure they are even in length and strength.
— Lay the line out and measure from one end to the other end, including the loops at the ends.
— Never tie a broken line back together with a knot! This shortens the bridle and can create a dangerous imbalance in the system.

Repair costs:

— A replacement sewn bridle line ranges from 10 € to 20 € per line.
— Replacement pulleys run 4 € to 7 € each.
— Pigtails are 4€ each, or you can get a complete eight-piece set for 25 €.

If you’re looking to prolong the life of your kite and bridle, remember to inspect and replace worn lines immediately, while replacing pulleys at least once a year. Regular maintenance combined with a little cleaning will not only ensure your entire system lasts much longer, but it will also provide you with a better return when it comes time to upgrade or change kites.

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Kitesurf Tarifa – New regulations in Tarifa

admin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 12:24:52 +0000

So its finally happened the council in Tarifa have decided to impose regulations on the kitesurf schools and the beaches of Tarifa. The idea behind this is to make kitesurfing in Tarifa a more organised, controled activity and the move has my full support even if it is causing me a mountain of headaches with paperwork and negotiating through Spanish red tape.

The basic idea is that all kiteschools now have to become members of the Tarifa kitesurf association, membership of this group proves that a kitesurf school is legal and is working to certain standards to ensure that the beaches are a safer place to learn. In return the council has agreed to provide safety boat cover, lifeguards and dedicated first aid stations on the beaches of Tarifa through out the summer season. Hopefully this will see the Kitesurf schools start to work together to improve the organisation on the beaches and the standard of courses being delivered.

I imagine this will however see the end of Tarifa being such a cheap place to learn to kitesurf, in the past the level of competition here has led schools to drop prices year on year in a bid to gain clients. These new regulations mean schools expenses will rise as Insurance, equipment and various other costs rise dramatically which will bring Tarifa in line with the rest of the world as far as the price of kitesurfing lessons goes. The client can be sure that they will receive a quality service for their money and that should there be an incident their school and Tarifa in general is fully prepared to deal with it.

Kitesurf – 2010 Luderitz Kitesurfing Speed Challenge Many world records have fallen during the first three years...
Kitesurf – Ten Top Tips to Improve your Kitesurfing Learning to Fly Riding strapless, you should understand how your...

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Drying day!!

admin — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:24:04 +0000

Tantrum windyometer reading 21m kts side shore, empty beaches, sunshine and a tonne of energy to burn…hmmm…good day for drying the washing methinks….maybe not!!

See you on the water!!

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Winter arrives

admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 08:19:21 +0000

Well the winter’s upon us..and the winds great, the sun is shining and the waves are here. All this and empty beaches aswell, the days are just perfect for kitesurfing. It always suprises me that Tarifa is primarily seen as a summer resort when the conditions in the winter months are, if anything better, with more of the constant Poniente wind and as much space as you could want. The sun generally shines all year round here and you still see people in bikinis at Xmas time! Oh well all the better for those of us who stay here year round!!

Kitesurfing in the winter in Tarifa

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8 hours

admin — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:17:56 +0000

8 hours teaching on the beach….beer o’ clock!

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Tartan and Tantrum

admin — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:38:09 +0000

New guys arrived today fresh from Bonny Scotland, to an awesome reception of perfect 20 knot cross shore levante. in 2 hours Billy went from having never flown a 4 line kite before to body dragging with contemptuous ease, i’m sure it was much harder when I learned, for Elliot today saw the resumption of his quest to get up and riding, managed about a 3 sec trip today, with the rest of the week looking good for wind we’re hoping for some real development.

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Sacrificial Lambs

admin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:21:59 +0000

Well the sacrifices made seemed to work we now have a steady 13 knots reading on the Tantrum windy-o-meter, unfortunately it came a little too late for the guys who have set off back home to the Ukraine, to be honest I’m not sure I could keep up with these Eastern Europeans any more and I thought the Irish could drink. Well a better forcast for next week coming up so should keep the guys turning up tomorrow (and my liver!) happy.

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The Gods of Wind

admin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:58:42 +0000

Well after a second of sitting in the beach bar sipping our favourite poison (water for me i’ll have you know!) waiting for a wind that never arrived we’ve decided its time to get serious. A pact has been made whereby we all sacrifice ourselves to the Gods of wind by getting as steaming drunk as possible tonight safe in the knowledge that by being totaly incapable of rising from whichever pit we sleep in let alone hold a kite in the sky, we guarantee a great day of wind. Forgot to mention to the guys that after a summer of excess I’ve made an unbreakable deal with myself to not drink for the next 3 months….I’m sure being the reasonable, understanding people they are they will sympathise with my plight and leave me alone to sip my green tea!

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