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2014 Scottish Windfest Fraserburgh and KBC Tour

5/8/2014

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PictureWhat a beach!
As I made my way up to Fraserburgh, I didn't know quite what to expect. The wind forecast showed some promise for Sunday, and there was the possibility of some big kite action on Saturday - I'd packed all the light wind toys just in case.
After a six hour drive through picturesque Northumberland and the Scottish counties, I finally arrived outside Synergy Kitesports and was greeted by the familiar face of JP and we spent half an hour catching up. After chewing the fat we could see that the swell was building slightly after the tide turned, and I was eager to score some waves after the long drive.
After a good hour and a half on the water, it was time to book in to the neighboring campsite, have a bite to eat and catch up some more with the others and have some banter over a few beers.

PictureThe obstacles
Saturday dawned with a light wind forecast, which was set to increase by early evening, and we kept ourselves entertained by getting registered, moving the obstacles down to the beach, going over the rules and generally hoping for the wind to pick up.
By mid-afternoon the onshore wind was sufficiently strong to start running heats and a straight port tack course was setup parallel to the shore which was being constantly jostled by the breaking waves.
After a few test runs, the heat sheets were drawn up and the competition was well and truly on!

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We all watched on with great interest as the first heat started, and there was mixed success in getting over the obstacles - some of which were cleared with ease, some cleared but with a loss of control of the kite, and others hilariously face-planted into! The breaking waves were making the course extra tricky, and a certain amount of timing was required to ensure you didn't come up a cropper!
Next up it was my turn, and found it tricky to master the start procedure; getting over the line as soon after the horn blows. I still managed a pretty good start and powered toward the finish without significant mishap.
It was good to sit back again and watch a few heats as the others did battle; The double height 'wall' obstacle was causing significant issue for some riders, who struggled to pop and land well without the assistance of board fins.
Before long it was the Semi's and I was drawn up against JP Butterworth, who was to have an absolute worldie of a start - powering through the line just as the horn went. I powered frantically through the course to try and catch him, but the end was nearing fast and the opportunity was unlikely. However just as JP cleared the last obstacle, 10m ahead of me, he clipped it as he went over which dumped him into the water. I took the opportunity to power past and take the win and plenty of banter was exchanged when we met up again on the beach afterwards!

PictureDay 1 Results
It was good to sit back again and watch a few heats as the others did battle; The double height 'wall' obstacle was causing significant issue for some riders, who struggled to pop and land well without the assistance of board fins.
Before long it was the Semi's and I was drawn up against JP Butterworth, who was to have an absolute worldie of a start - powering through the line just as the horn went. I powered frantically through the course to try and catch him, but the end was nearing fast and the opportunity was unlikely. However just as JP cleared the last obstacle, 10m ahead of me, he clipped it as he went over which dumped him into the water. I took the opportunity to power past and take the win and plenty of banter was exchanged when we met up again on the beach afterwards!
After a couple more heats the finals were upon us, and Jake Higgins and Damian Carre joined me in the final showdown of the day. I made sure I had a good start this time, sitting close to the line and powering away as soon as the horn blew - this put me straight into the lead and just a matter from there of a fast, clean run to the finish line.
After helping clear up the equipment, the evenings events took us to Cheers bar in Fraserburgh town, and we sunk a few more beers whilst discussing the events of the day, whilst looking forward to the stronger conditions forecast for Sunday. 

PictureJP, Maggie and Mark
As we attended the morning briefings the wind cross-offshore wind was clearly building, and there was a significant swell present also.
The organizers set out a starboard tack away from the beach, around a buoy, returning back again further downwind. The had notably opted to put the 'Wall' obstacle on the starboard tack this time, which was most likely to be the weaker side for most people, which was further complicated by the waves jacking it up as they rolled past. 
The first few heats were simply carnage - the gusty offshore winds, coupled with the breaking waves and obstacles on peoples weaker side made for some very amusing viewing.
I opted for a 14m Lithium which would be well overpowered for most uses, but was perfect for the gusty conditions and powering out through the break and over the obstacles. I managed to lead from the front in most rounds, but was caught napping by Ross Knox in one round who powered away from the start, only to lose speed when the landing from an obstacle didn't go quite as he'd hoped. He could be heard screaming 'Nooooo' as I pulled ahead and went on to secure victory.

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As round 2 concluded, I'd secured an unassailable lead, but there remained enough time to run a third round with the wall back again on port tack. JP and Ross managed to improve their previous standing and make it to second and third place respectively in the overall standings.

After packing down, the award ceremony was upon us, and thanks were sent out to the KBC Tour organisers, Synergy Kitesports and Scottish Windfest for their tireless work on event planning and organisation.
As the results were read out and we took our places on the podium, we were all gobsmacked by the prizes which we gladly received. A great end to an exceptional weekend, and especially nice to be involved in an exciting new kitesurfing format which is open to all kitesurfers intermediate and beyond. 

Follow these links for more info about the KBCT and Scottish Windfest. 

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Scottish Windfest 2013

16/9/2013

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I arrived at lunch time on Friday after a 3 hour drive over from the North East, it was a nice day with a bit of a chill in the air, but very little in the way of wind. A group of school children were booked in for some powerkite tasters and it was a real struggle to even get the kites in the air - they seemed to have a fun time though. The rest of the afternoon was spent chatting with the other competitors, organisers and exhibitors. A meeting was also called by the BKSA race crew, and we discussed the events next year and looking at increasing future participation. The evening was spent in the usual fashion after dinner was served courtesy of the BKSA then we sank a few beers with plenty of banter, whilst listening to some vocalists on the open mic event and a very good 5-piece band. We were all very aware of the extreme conditions forecast for Sunday, and the excitement and anticipation was clearly building.

Saturday started with lovely warm sunshine and a light onshore breeze which lasted all day. I took the opportunity to get the turbine pumped up to continue the tradition of being first on the water. I borrowed a free-race board from Mike Birt and had a great time razzing up and down, whilst working on my strap to strap gybes in glorious sunshine. After a long break for lunch I hit the water again on the race board, but also got a few minutes on an 18m strutless kite - a real eye opener with crazy power once you build up some apparent wind - a little too much in fact!
The evening was kicked off with an amazing curry courtesy of the BKSA - it really hit the spot! It was a little more subdued than the previous night with a lot of the competitors wanting to save themselves for the big winds and high seas forecast for the following day. I expect the non-competitors had a great time though!

By early morning it was very clear that the conditions were going to be extreme - torrential rain was pinging off the van, which was being further rocked by punchy gusts. I poked my head out at 7am to see some very keen windsurfers already out on the water, making the most of the cross-shore conditions for some impressive bump and jump riding in the waves. Ant Baker was the first to head out on a kite, and came back in with tales of super harsh conditions and brutal gusts... we knew the competition was going to be a tough battle between ourselves, but more importantly with the elements.

The morning brief was held at 9:30, and we were told that the first possible start was going to be in an hour, and that the ordering was going to be am's followed by ladies followed by pro men. I opted to pump up my 5.5 Stormchaser and 7m Hadlow, and went out for a quick free-ride on the 5.5m to gauge the conditions. It was definitely very harsh, with wide variations in the wind strength - it was definitely doable on the 5.5 - but doing anything technical in those conditions was another question completely.

The am. men were first up, and we all watched with keen anticipation. Young Eoghan who had been promoted from the Youths, was way overpowered and got blown straight out of the zone and was unable to make it back again. Daniel was pulling off some nice boosts and back-loops, but Craig Smith really put the hammer down with some big airs, one footers, kite-loops and some attempts at unhooking.
We were next up, and hit the water with excitement and some trepidation. Pete Whiteley went huge from the off with a big deadman down-loop which got even the windsurfers cheering! but paid for it with a sketchy landing sending his kite down and his board off in the opposite direction. JP was clearly way overpowered on his 7m and struggled to stay in the zone. I managed to keep things under control with some boosts, 1 footers, my signature invert front-roll grab, tantrum, blind ride and raley. I tried going for a handle-pass but the conditions had the better of me. Whiteley managed to recover his gear mid-way through the heat and continued to go big to impress the judges.
As we left the water all the spectators commented on how much fun it was to watch, it was a great fun and really challenging.

We then had 2 more rounds of am's and seniors; Craig continued to show his dominance in the am's, landing a couple of airpasses and Daniel put up a good consistent performance; Eoghan retired due to the ferocity of the conditions. The ferocity of the first heat took its toll on the seniors, and the second was a little more subdued; Pete continued to wow the crowds with some big airtime and JP performed well too. I struggled to get consistency, missing a 313 and although I managed a Blind Judge, it all fell to pieces with a crash on landing. 
In the third heat the intensity was raised again everyone started by going big and I knew I had to land something technical to clinch it - after three crashed railey to blind attempts - getting ripped off the water on landing, I finally landed my fourth and knew I was in with a decent chance.
We all came off the water and shook each others hands and all shared the buzz of hard fought battle in extreme conditions.

Next up, was the turn of the Pro Ladies, who struggled at first with the gnarly conditions, but as the heats progressed and the wind moderated somewhat, their A-games really started to shine. They all performed really well, but Hannah Whiteley in particular started to land some really impressive moves. Before long, the final was upon us, and Hannah, Rosanna and Holly knuckled down to competition. They all put on a great show, Hannah struggled to land the moves she was taking with ease in the previous heats and Rosanna Jury picked up where she left off with Holly really committing hard to her moves.

The action up to now left us all very excited to watch the pro men. The first heat was Kevin Matthey against Robin Snuggs, which was a HUGE spectacle - Robin hit some huge megaloops right from the off which was received with whooping and hollering from the beach. He kept on going bigger, until he bounced out of a sketchy landing which damaged his ribs, causing an early retirement :( Kevin kept pushing showing some good variety until the buzzer went. In the other heats George Dufty hit some incredible form and landed almost everything with ease, Jon Bleiker landed a great mix of technical moves and some big loops, Richy Flindall was on form, but was tricking well out to sea making it quite difficult to appreciate and Morgan Tinsley impressed with huge power and big distances traveled between take-off and landing.
The final was a match-up between Richy Flindall, Jon Bleiker and George Dufty. Jon crashed and inverted his kite a couple of times, but recovered and got some impressive moves out in double-quick time. Richy continued in similar form to the previous heats, but had to retire early. George continued to be utterly clinical, landing pretty much everything he attempted, picking up mobes and airpasses with ease and there was little doubt who would be the winner.

With all the competition over, both the riders and judges were keen to hit the water again, and we all had great fun boosting as high as we could, whilst trying to dodge the windsurfers! Ali Barrett was going particularly huge and landing cleanly every time - props to him! Afterwards we all packed up and got ourselves ready for the prize giving.

Am's were first up - Craig Smith taking a well deserved win, with Daniel and Eoghan in second and third respectively. These results were mirrored in the championship standings.
Seniors were up next - JP taking third, Pete Whiteley second, leaving me delighted to have taken the win and the overall championship for 2013.
Next was the Pro Ladies - Rosanna over the moon to have taken the win and the championship, with Holly and Hannah following closely behind.
And finally the Pro Men - George Dufty stealing the show with incredible performances all day long, Jon Bleiker taking a highly creditable second and Richy Flindall in third place.

All that was left was to say our goodbyes and prepare for the journey home. The windfest crew and BKSA had put on another incredible event and I'm sure we'll all look forward to doing it all over again next time!

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2013 BKSA Tour - Round 1 - Barrow

22/7/2013

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Picture
I set off on the road to Barrow straight after work on Thursday evening. It's a drive I've made several times, but never in quite such clammy conditions.
When I finally arrived at the beach I was greeted with a light sea-breeze, and said quick hello's to everyone who had already arrived.
It was pretty marginal, but really needed a dip in the sea, so got my trusty Turbine out and had wonderfully refreshing ride for an hour or so.
The rest of the night was spent catching up with competitors and sinking a cheeky beer or two.

Friday morning was again very warm, and after the morning brief and chinwag with the new arrivals we had to go for another swim to cool down. Winds at this point were pretty light, but theoretically it was perfect sea breeze conditions, so we chilled for a few hours with our fingers crossed.
By mid afternoon, the wind had swung onshore and despite it being pretty marginal, it was decided that we'd have a slopestyle contest. The format was 3 downwind runs each - with a trick on both tacks, and the best combination taking the win. We were split into 3 categories: Ladies, Am Men&Seniors, and Pros.
It was pretty clear that I had to go for my 17m SS Turbine, which gave me a significant advantage over people which didn't have such a large kite; but i was amazed by the level of difficulty of tricks that Robin Snuggs and Richy Flindal were going for on their 12m kites - great to watch, and it drew quite a crowd of spectators on the waterfront.
During my runs I landed a Railey to Blind on the way out and a Shifty to Wrapped and a toeside 3 on the way in - I was hopeful that I had a resonable chance of placing.
After we'd all had our three runs and we'd all keenly watched the action, it was clear that there was going to be insufficient wind to run the main competition. We had a short freeride, then packed up and got ready for a very tasty carvery, drinks and merriment at a local pub :)

Saturday started with a decent offshore breeze and continuation of the hot weather - it was forecast to drop off through the day, and pick up again the evening. 
The results from the previous day's competition were announced at the morning briefing, and was over the moon to hear that I'd done enough to take the win, with fellow flexi riders Craig Smith and Steve Mews in 2nd and 3rd respectively.
The day was spent with a few people going out wake-boarding courtesy of Gary Powell and lots of socializing on the beach and around the vans. As evening approached the wind slowly started to fill in, and I took the opportunity to take the 13m Hadlow to the water in the offshore conditions - a pretty nice session - flat water and some good power at times. After this I hooked up with all the others and some local riders for the evening BBQ; sank a few ciders and listened to Gary Powell's guitar and vocal talents in the marquee. Some of the pro's decided to make the most of the increasing winds and drove around the coast a little to score a sweet evening session too.

Sunday started cooler and cloudy, and had a similar offshore forecast to the previous day but a little stronger on the wind front. We were hopeful that some competitions could be run. Ali, Robin and Kitemare Pete were sent out to test the conditions as the tide dropped, and it was decided that we'd run another slope-style comp in the hope that by the time it had ended, the wind would have picked up sufficiently to run the main event.
The format was a little different to Fridays competition, only one run but 4 trick attempts, with only the best one counting. The groups were split up as before, with Pro's, Am's and Ladies.
After watching a few people have their turn, it was my go. The second I hit the water there was no wind, so crawled out to sea working the kite all the way, and crawled back in again. As I went back out again, I was scouring the water for signs of a gust to trick in, and just after I passed the safety boat quite some distance out to sea, one appeared. I decided it was now or never, so fishpoled the bar for a kiteloop 3, and got a nice bit of wang from the Hadlow Pro as I was launched into the air. As the kite started to climb again I started the rotation for the 3, and was super relieved to feel my hand back on the bar before coming in for landing. I was happy with that, so rode in, and continued to watch the action to the end. It was decided that the conditions were unsuitable to run the main event as everyone was struggling to stay upwind.

The prize giving was just an hour away, and a few of us tried to free ride but the wind dropped off further and we all called it a day. We all got changed and walked up to the marquee for the ceremony delivered by Mark Ward and guest judge James Boulding. 
As the results of the Best Trick Comp. were read out it was great to hear that newcomer Daniel Oyston had scored 3rd place, that returning master Pete Whiteley claimed second, and that my kiteloop 3 had been enough to secure top spot. Holly claimed the honors in the ladies competition with Sukie and Jemima coming close behind, and it was great to see that ripper Joe Hockley had mixed it up with the pro's and claimed 2nd place with George Dufty taking top spot and Jon Bleiker taking a solid 3rd. 

It was soon time to say our goodbyes again, it was great to see everyone after a long winter and good to see the return of Mark Ward and Glen "PUMP YER KITES" Foley, and also nice to hook up with Jo Wilson and James Boulding.
I've been to many an event over the years, and I've come to recognize that in the end it doesn't matter if there's wind or not, a good time and lots of laughter is assured, with friends old and new. Big respect to the BKSA team and the efforts of Gary Powell - you guys nailed it once again! Roll on Troon in September!

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BKSA Round3: Kinmel Bay

27/6/2011

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The journey down to North Wales on Friday was a good one, helped along by some thumping tunes provided by Hospital Records. I Pulled in at Kimnel bay just before 3, and after saying hello to everyone it seemed that the conditions were good enough to give the Slingshot Turbine a trip out on the water. The wind was cross-offshore and pretty gusty, but it picked up slowly, allowing me to get some serious airtime, and also to try some unhooked moves with it (A full review will follow when I've spent a bit more time with it).
After a couple of hours on the water, I retired before the rain came through and enjoyed the BBQ and sank a few beers with the other competitors.

The forecast for Saturday was decent yet cross-offshore and gusty, and the plan was to try and get all the competitions completed that day. They opted to run the juniors and girls first, before getting onto us heavyweights, leaving plenty of time to get out on the water and get a feel for the conditions.
After a couple of hours of competition it came around to our first heat; I was up against Steve Mews, Marcus Hawkins and Kevin Matthey. All went well initially landed a high grabbed frontroll followed by a railey to blind in the tricky conditions; however I somehow managed to activate my safety release after passing the bar - sending the kite tumbling out of the air. Fortunately, it came to ground pretty quickly, and I managed to grab the bar, reconnect the chicken loop, and got some assistance to get the kite back into the air. The lines were all twisted up but the kite was flying, and I had no time to fix it, so headed straight back out onto the water, with sheer determination to make up for my mistake. After getting back upwind I strung a load of moves together in a frantic attempt to get some points; I didn't even hear the buzzer signalling the end of the heat - I was probably still out trying to get in as many moves as possible.
I was really pleased to see that despite the difficulties, I'd managed to score a win and a place in the final - the others must have clearly been struggling with the far from perfect conditions (albeit with their kite attached!).

This left me with plenty of time to watch the other heats and prepare for the final against Pete Whiteley, Kevin Matthey and Steve Mews. The final started off well, landed an early railey to blind after a previous attempt which found me flying across the water in a nasty gust. I opted to play it safe for the rest of the heat to rack up as many points as possible in the difficult conditions. When the buzzer blew to signal the end I had a good feeling that I'd done enough to secure the win, and all that was left was to wait for the evening event to get the results. I spent the rest of the afternoon watching the pro's showing us all how it's done - they were clearly struggling too but Ali Barrett was pulling off some amazing high handlepasses and powered low moves, but perhaps not as consistently as the North boys, who were ripping also.

We all headed down to the May Quay public house for a few ales and to talk about the days events. After food had been served, Mark Ward announced the Seniors' results in reverse order - Steve Mews 4th, Kev Matthey 3rd, myself in second and the old master Pete Whiteley taking top spot again! After loads of banter with the guys, I found out later that the judges decision was a split one, and had just not done quite enough to seal the win - my conservative approach had probably cost me.

Sunday was a very relaxed affair, and we awoke to bright sunshine, cal and warm temperatures. We all enjoyed the sun and generally passed the time on Dave's inflatable SUP's and helping Flindal with his kite-tow attempts in the light winds. At 1pm they decided to run the prizegiving and Whiteley did his best to shower myself & Kev with bubbly, but it was the King of Watersports award that came as the biggest surprise, as they awarded it to me for my never-say-die lightwind attitude - I was over the moon, as it was totally out of the blue. I was awarded a brand new Sector9 longboard which will keep me busy whenevr the winds not blowing - epic!

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BKSA Round2 : Barrow Report

13/6/2011

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Pete's take 1st and 2nd
It's been a busy few weeks for me, and this update is well overdue.
I rolled up to Barrow after charging across the country straight after work on the Thursday evening, there didn't seem to be a great deal of wind on the jurney over, but when I drove into Barrow, it was blowing a full on hoolie. A couple of people were out on sevens, the wind was blowing 35 knots plus, and the seas were huge, but after a week of work I was well up for a session before getting some food in.

The wind on Friday was a little calmer than the previous evening, but most of the pro's were opting for 7m kites. They were a judge short for the Pro competition, and was asked if I could do it, which I was happy to oblig. It was a real eye opener for how it works behind the scenes and the difficulties the judges face when watching 3 people simultaneously whilst noting down moves at the same time.
The Pro competition ran very smoothly, the wind was great and all the heats and finals were over in a couple of hours, leaving loads of time on the water with all the competitors and crew.

Saturday soon came around, after sinking a few beers the previous evening. As the wind was fairly strong they opted to put the seniors in first, and I was drawn in the first heat against Dave Williams and Kevin Matthey. I opted for a 9, but the others played safe and went for 7's. I had a decent heat and landed a decent amount of my core tricks, yet failed to get any handlepass out of the bag. The other guys were struggling with the conditions somewhat, and I was put straight through to the final. Pete Whiteley won the other Heat and Marcus Hawkins won the Playoff, which set the final up nicely.
The wind was fairly consistent 9m weather now, and all of us opted to use our 9's for the final. I opened up with a few good moves, but crashed out on a couple also, Marcus seemed to be struggling with the conditions a little, but Whiteley was showing how it was done with great consistency. I failed to land my switch shifty to wrapped and also an s-bend, but when our time was over we weren't sure who'd taken it.
In the evening event we were informed that Whiteley had taken it with me second and Marcus taking third spot. Richard Gowers 'entertained' us all with a rendition of Barbie Girl on the Karaoke, but nobody was asking for an encore :)

After a loong night out in Barrow Town, we awoke the next day to yet more wind. It took a while for the tide to go out, but an expression session was run, to provide a show and clear our heads! It was manic with all of us riding so closely together, boosting high and generally messing around, but also amazing fun. It must have been a great spectacle for anyone watching from the beach.
Shortly afterwards we all packed up followed by the award ceremony, then made our way home with memories of a truely incredible event.

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BKSA Round 1 : Redcar Report

11/5/2011

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The forecast for the weekend wasn't great, and as I turned up on Friday afternoon, I wasn't sure whether the competitions would run. There seemed to be enough wind to have a muck about, so headed over to Paddy's Hole for a bit of a practice - the wind was up and down, but enough to bang out a few tricks.
When the evening came, we all gathered for the excellent BBQ, hosted by Mark Ward and Sukie Robertson then sank a few beers and had a good chinwag with the riders.

Saturday dawned with light winds from the SouthEast and a fairly poor forecast, yet we all remained optimistic; The wind was up and down all day, and was sufficient to get some course racing done, but no good for the freestyle. The wind did pick up a little in the early evening, after the events had been called off for the day, so managed to get a bit of time on the water. Saturday night was party time, and we all headed down to O'Grady's for some bevvies infront of the live band. I called it a night at 12, but several riders hit the clubs after, knowing that the prospect of decent conditions on Sunday was unlikely.

I awoke on Sunday to heavy rain, but the forecast was for it to clear up fairly quickly. The forecast was still pretty marginal, but we were fairly optimistic that we may be able to get some events run. When we went for the morning briefing, a sizeable section of the seafront drive was flooded, and we were all talking about going skimboarding on it.. a few hours later we put our plan into practice, whilst waiting for the winds to improve. This proved to be a real laugh, and the youths even made a kicker and slider from a piece of wood which was lying around. A short video of the action can be found below.
As the day progressed the wind improved enough to get the junior kitesurfing done, and to also run some race and land events, but it wasn't consistent enough to get a full programme of events done. Events were called to a close at 3pm, and we all gathered for the prizegiving before starting out on our trips home.

As usual I managed to score more time on the water than anyone else (bar the racers) and hit a few tricks infront of the photographers who were anxious to capture some action on an otherwise pretty disappointing weekend. Here are a few great shots by Colin Falcon (http://www.pixvault.co.uk/pur):
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