Kiting in Milk

No photoshoping..
No photoshoping..

I know, you wondering why I would write such a title.

Well this is the story… Test day for Peter Lynn kite Chargers in Tuscany. On the 15th of august… Public holiday when all italians go mad. The beaches get full, the stomachs get full and the wind doesn’t blow much… Hence the presence of a Charger 19 on the Italian beaches and the hope for some wind.

I had arrived the day before in Vada to meet up with Roberto, the Italian team rider. This happened under the pouring rain and no wind. Kiting looked dismal. At 5 pm the rain stopped and we went down to the famed, ‘White beaches’.

If you have never been to Italy, you need to know that along the Tyrrehnian sea, the beaches are dark because of the past volcanic activity. These beaches are white due to the presence of this…

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This factory has been dumping Bicarbonate into the water for decades, the result is tropical white lookalike beaches when the sea is flat. IMG_1086 - Version 2However when the waves pick up, the bottom gets moved around and the layers of Bicarbonate mix in the water, result…. Milk.

Before the waves picked up on the first evening, the wind picked up… giving us (Amazingly enough, the few kiters on the 14th of August) a really cool session in clean water (or maybe the sun was too low). We started with the Charger 19, but soon enough, we jumped on the Charger 12 and had a whole lot of fun. I think someone took pictures, and I will add them to the post once I get my hands on them. We then rushed off to an amazing pasta at Dario and Cecilia’s place. The tuscan food is something else!

However the next day, the waves had picked up and the wind was dropping… and the water was  milky  (They say it’s safe… but I’m not totally sure…) So I let everyone else have a go…

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Thank you To Dario and Cecilia of Blue Reef Kite shop for putting us up. Dario is a top guy knowledgable about kites of all kinds which is not always the case in this industry. I hope his shop and school grows from strength to strength. I also hope to be able to welcome both him and Roberto to Cannon Rocks for a little African adventure.

Thanks for the hospitality guys.

Update, here is a link to a video posted by Dario … THANKS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Njf8ckGxZxc

A presto

Ced

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Island styles!

Getting back into it
Getting back into it

After 7 weeks of landlocked hell in Johannesburg with the sounds of Vuvuzela’s as a backdrop to the bitter cold winter… Fuerte Ventura sounded like Heaven. And it has been. Sure there are a few too many kites in the water, and the italians seem to have invaded the island… But the water is warm, the sun is shinning, the wind is blowing, and the woman are beautiful.

Been fun Catching up with Gunnar who is now riding for Flysurfer. I have been lucky with wind so far 4 days solid. between 15 and 20 knots side shore with relatively flat water.

During my 7 week forced break I tried to stay fit by going to gym. BORING. But besides being boring, it also seemed to have done just about nothing! my body has suffered through the minimum 4 hours of kiting everyday, and lactic acid is my friend.

I also found some moves to be a little rusty… So at first I stuck to old tricks

Old Tricks
Old Tricks

But after 4 days, I’m ready to start busting out some newer moves.

The water conditions have been great even if it does get a tad crowded. Today, I had to get out of the water for a while as it had become like an obstacle course and any trick atempt would have been suicidal.
But I’m not complaining.

Flag beach is a great beach to hang out at. Friendly people and it even has a kiosk on the beach which has the Italians lining up for espressos.

As usual plenty of interest in my “Different” kites.

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The Flag beach centre is a great place to hang out. Everyone is friendly and helps out.

So I can’t tell you about any other spots at the moment. Unfortunately my short stay needs to have a maximum time on the water, cause after this it’s Italia. And there the wind is scarce and the beaches are like a mall on a saturday…

So I’m really making the most of the time that I have got.

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The night life has been entertaining to say the least… somehow my guitar has come in handy! But for this blog, I’ll stick to kiting.

I hope to be able to come back and stay longer next time, perhaps not over August, but earlier in the season. To really improve my flat water riding, and enjoy the friendly atmosphere of the island. Thanks Gunnar for putting me up. One more day and it will be time to ramble on… Italia next but with a smile on my dial.

PS oh yes, I left the south of the Island to the PKRA boys…

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A case of endless summer


A good east wind...
A good east wind…

What a season we’ve had!  We’ve had downwinds, upwinds, waves, freestyle, dolphins,  all this in warm water.

Cannon Rocks Kiting adventure school www.cannonrocks.com was kept busy over the Holiday period. But once the holidays ended we got the beach back to ourselves and plenty of time to bust some moves…IMG_4014 - Version 2

With Michelle training hard for her next comp, I keep everyone entertained trying to keep up with her… Have had some spectacular wipe outs.

Crunch
Crunch
Michelle showing off
Michelle showing off
About to eat it again
About to eat it again

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Have been riding the new Chargers flat out all summer. Have found it a really fun kite to loop. Even the 15! The loops are getting higher… Here is a little clip of some of the footage I have:

loooooopy

Also have an onboard cam, but have been battling to get decent footage out of it.The evening temperature is showing signs of change, and the days are getting shorter. But at this rate a little break might be a good thing. Time to do some maintenance and for the body to recover.

However when the wind doesn’t blow….

About to hit it
About to hit it
Hitting it
Hitting it

Till the next post.

Ride it hard

Ced

Cedric Vandenschrik Kiteboarding adventures