Force Six
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Older Reviews >
      • 2009 North Vegas Review
      • 2008 Nobile NHP Review
    • 2010 >
      • 2010 Nobile NHP Review
      • 2010 Slingshot RPM Review
      • 2010 Takoon Chrono Review
      • 2010 Takoon Furia Review
      • 2010 Takoon Lux Review
      • 2010 Takoon Pure Review
      • 2010 Xenon La Luz Review
    • 2011 >
      • 2010/2011 Wainman Smoke
      • 2011 Slingshot RPM Review
      • 2011 Slingshot Rally Review
      • 2011 Slingshot Fuel Review
      • 2011 Takoon Chrono Review
      • 2011 Flexifoil Hadlow Pro Kite Review
      • 2011 Xenon Infra Review
      • 2011 Xenon LaLuz Review
      • 2011 Flexifoil Hadlow Board Review
      • 2011 Takoon Reflex Review
      • 2011 Slingshot Turbine
      • 2011 Epic Oxygen Review
    • 2012 >
      • Slingshot Joint Review
      • 2012 Slingshot Misfit Review
      • 2012 Slingshot Darko Review
      • 2012 Cabrinha Switchblade Review
      • 2012 Cabrinha Nomad Review
      • 2012 Flexifoil Hadlow ID Kite Review
      • 2012 Dakine Renegade Harness Review
    • 2013 >
      • 2013 Slingshot Turbine Review
      • 2013 Slingshot RPM Review
      • 2013 Slingshot Fuel Review
      • 2013 Slingshot Rally Review
      • 2013 Flexifoil Force Kite Review
      • 2013 Flexifoil Hadlow Board Review
      • 2013 Slingshot Asylum Review
      • Ocean Rodeo Soul Drysuit Review
    • 2014 >
      • 2014 Flexifoil Hadlow Wakestyle Board Review
      • 2013/2014 Hadlow Pro Kite Review
      • 2014 Flexifoil Shiva Kite Review
      • 2014 Shinn ADHD Wakestyle Board Review
    • 2015 >
      • 2015 Airush Razor AP Kite Review
    • 2016 >
      • 2016 Airush Razor Kite Review
    • 2019 >
      • Airush Ultra II
      • Airush Union V4
      • Airush Vantage V3
    • 2020 >
      • 2020 Shinn ADHD Distortion Board Review
      • 2020 Shinn Slicer Board Review
      • 2020/2021 Airush Lift Kite Review
    • 2021 >
      • 2021 AK Phazer Review
  • Top Video Picks
    • Kitesurfing >
      • All Time Favourites
      • Old Skool
      • Feature Films
      • Stunts
      • Humour
      • Personalities >
        • Aaron Hadlow
      • Bring on the Girls
    • Other
  • Weather (NE)
    • NorthEast Beach Webcams
    • Beadnell Area Weather
    • South Shields Area Weather
    • Redcar Area Weather
    • Newcastle Area Weather
    • Walney Island Weather
    • Allonby Area Weather
    • Gullane Area Weather
  • Wingfoiling
  • Trick progressions
    • S-Bend to S-Bend 3
    • S-Bend to Front Mobe
    • Raley to Blind Judge 3
    • Raley to 313
    • Shifty to Shifty 3 Airpass
    • Backroll to KGB
    • Backroll to Low Back Mobe
    • Backroll to F16 Airpass
  • Bio
  • Links

BKSA National Finals - Lifestyles 2014

24/9/2014

1 Comment

 
After a long journey down from the North East, we finally arrived on the shores of Hunstanton, and popped into the sailing club to see who was about. We were greeted by the Race Crew - Pete Shaw, Ali Barrett, Richard Flindall and Sukie Robertson. After saying our hello's it was clear that everyone was making preparations for the event, so we set off to get the keys for our caravan and hook up with Aaron and Sally, who had made the journey down from the North East also.
We were to be joined later by another of our friends; Andrew; whose birthday was today, so we set off to the supermarket to make preparations for a birthday BBQ, complete my gaudy pink 'Happy Birthday' sashes and a 'My Little Princess' birthday cake, all to be washed down with a bottle of Jaegermeister!
Andrew had set off much later and got caught up in traffic on the way down. Our BBQ plan also proved not to be such a good one, as it was now chucking it down with rain, but we got it lit, sheltered under the awning and proceeded to cook by torchlight. Andrew also had the job of putting his tent up in the pouring rain - not the best start to his birthday evening!
The night was spent sinking our fair share of alcohol, whilst exchanging plenty of banter about the competition to follow, we were all looking forward for what was to come, and bets were being placed upon who would come out on top!
Saturday started with an early briefing, which was complimented nicely by bacon sarnies at the sailing club. We were informed that it was unlikely that any competition would run today, except for a SUP race and the possibility of running the juniors if the wind became strong enough.
By mid-morning the wind was starting to pick up, and we decided to get our light-wind kites out on the water, hoping that it would increase further from there. 
The SUP race had started by the time we got down to the water, and whilst it was just about possible to keep up wind, doing any tricks was a different matter entirely!
The juniors however did have enough to get out on the water, and competition began. After a few stop and start heats they managed to battle through to get a result. They also tried to run the am ladies too, but there clearly wasn't sufficient wind for them so competition was halted for the day.
The rest of the day was spent watching the Parkour, BMX, Scooter and Inline displays, whilst catching up with everyone on the tour who we hadn't seen for the past year. It was clear that everyone was very excited for the conditions forecast for Sunday - wind all day! and I think most took it easy that night in preparation for an early start.
I was awoken early on Sunday to the sound of wind, and lots of it! It sounded like near gale force as the rain lashed the caravan. As I'd left my smallest kites at home I hoped that it would calm down a bit by the time the competition started.
At the briefing, we were informed that the running order would be seniors followed by amateurs, then all of the pros. I was drawn up against my good friend Dave Wilde in my first heat, which I was certain would be a tough one! Andrew and Aaron were drawn up against each other also, and it was clear that the talk of Friday night would soon be brought to the water!

As the first heat approached a tough call had to be made on which kite size to use. I opted to copy Dave and go for my 11m Airush Razor. As the heat began it became very clear we'd overestimated the wind, and we were both very soon struggling to stay in the competition area. I struggled to land anything significant except a tantrum, grabbed front roll and raley to blind; Dave landed a back to wrapped and a blind judge and hence progressed straight to the final. As I was waiting for the second round heat to begin, I'd heard that young Aaron had beaten Andrew in his heat and progressed straight to the final with a guaranteed podium.
The second round put me up against cable park master Dave Whiston and Mark Seager. The wind continued to be on the light side, and whilst I managed to get a raley to blind, a grabbed front and an underpowered f-16, I couldn't manage to stick a 313 despite several attempts. I was pleased to hear that I'd done enough to make the final against Dave Wilde and 5 times former champion Pete Whiteley.
The final started much better as the wind powered through, I knew I had to up my game from the earlier rounds, so went out straight from the off and hit a nice powered blind judge. I then looked to get the 313 in, and failed at the first attempt. Looking downwind I could see that Pete Whiteley's kite was tangled up and spinning on the 5th line, with daughter Hannah trying to get it under control. On my outward tack I managed to stick a front to blind, and finally got my 313 on the way in - I knew I had a good chance of winning now, but wanted to make sure and get some more tricks on the board.
By this time, Pete had miraculously got his kite untangled and was already back on the water - great skills! I went for a kiteloop 3, which wasn't as powered as I'd like, and whilst I did catch the bar in mid-air, I didn't stick the landing. I tacked back out again, and hoped to have time for another attempt, but by this time the heat was over and I just had to hope I'd done enough.
Now that it was all over we relished the opportunity of watching the insane action courtesy of the many pros which had entered, and it was great to watch such big names as Sam Light, World Junior Champion Tom Bridge, George Dufty, Jake Kelsick, Rosanna Jury and Hannah Whiteley to name but a few.
Tom was impressing by landing technical moves with ease and George's powerful style was great to watch whilst Sam Light just made it all look too easy, adding grabs in left right and centre. The other pro's also put on a great show and it was great to sit back and watch them as the heats progressed.
Before too long the finals were upon us. The ladies showed great grit and determination as the conditions proved to be more difficult as high tide approached - it was clear it was going to be a result which was hard to call between Rosanna Jury and Hannah Whiteley.
The men's final was a mouth-watering affair with Sam Light taking on Tom Bridge and George Dufty. Tom was going big and technical for someone of such a young age and was clearly a match for the other riders. George was firing on all cylinders with some big powered moves, but soon found himself at the downwind mark and continued to bang out his big moves down there, whilst Tom and Sam remained centre-stage in front of the judges. Sam continued to be the one to watch with his effortless Slim Chances and grabbed back mobe, but then Tom Bridge really put the cat amongst the pigeons with a clean 317. Sam replied immediately with a Blind Judge 5 which swiftly restored the damage before the finals came to a conclusion.
The tide by now was well on its way in, and everyone packed up in preparation for prize-giving and results. The juniors were announced first, with Young Tom Seager taking the title. Both amateur titles were taken by newcomers Joe and Holly Keenan, and I was very pleased to find out I had indeed done enough pipping Dave Wilde and Pete Whiteley to the Senior title.
I was super stoked to hear that the ladies pro title was awarded to Airush team-mate Rosanna Jury, and that Sam Light's flawless style, variety and power was enough to take the victory ahead of young ripper Tom Bridge and George Dufty. 

We knew it would soon be time to be saying our farewells for another year, and reflected on an epic day of competition. It was great to catch up again with the competitors both old and new. Roll on the 2015 Competition Season!

Logo'ed pics by EXPIX Extreme Action Photography
1 Comment

2014 Scottish Windfest Fraserburgh and KBC Tour

5/8/2014

0 Comments

 
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!

Picture
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.

Picture
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. 

0 Comments

Slingshot Turbine Kite Review

29/6/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
Check out my review of Slingshot's new lightwind weapon! Great performance, built to last and many more happy hours out on the water... Bargain!

Slingshot Turbine Review

0 Comments

BKSA Round3: Kinmel Bay

27/6/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
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!

Picture
0 Comments

    Force Six Updates

    What's new in the world of kitesurfing!

    Archives

    March 2022
    May 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2016
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    March 2015
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

    Categories

    All
    2010
    2011
    2012
    2013
    2015
    8m
    Airush
    Barrow
    Bksa
    Blackpool
    Board
    Boardercross
    Cabrinha
    Competition
    Darko
    Flexifoil
    Foilboarding
    Foilkite
    Fraserburgh
    Fuel
    Hadlow
    Id
    Kbc
    Kinmel Bay
    Kite
    Kiteboard
    Kiteboarding
    Kitefoil
    Kiteival
    Kitesurfing
    La Luz
    Lifestyles
    Mini
    Newcastle
    Nomad
    North Wales
    Rally
    Redcar
    Reflex
    Review
    Rpm
    Scotland
    Slingshot
    Smoke
    Snowkite
    Snowkiting
    Switchblade
    Takoon
    Test
    Testing
    Tips
    Town Moor
    Turbine
    Wainman
    Windfest
    Xenon

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.