What a start to the year!

What a truly awesome month January turned out to be.....first we had pumping surf (but iffy winds) then an all time classic snow kiting in the Welsh Brecon Beacons and finally it went out with a bang with some epic grinding peeling point break surf.

Rest Bay, Porthcawl Jan 12th

 See Blog below for more on the snow kiting!

And finally...the Welsh Point Breaks turned it on big time!

We are blessed with not just one point break but two right on our door step here in S.Wales. I have been lucky enough to have lived and surfed both of these spots most of my life and now I get to combine my 

The Welsh Alps

What an awesome week we've had here in S.Wales!
How many places can you snowboard/kite/surf all in one day?

My leg was still in the cast from recently breaking it six weeks ago but it felt strong enough so I was not going to miss out on a rare day of snowboarding/snowkiting. So a small group headed up for a snowboard session on the hills around the Beacons. We arrived pretty early to find the main snow slope  with only a handful of people making the most of the untracked slopes.

After a few hours snowboarding we drove a few miles further up the A470 where we met a few other kiters there making the most the fresh snow. I had a good few runs on a mates kite/board and the leg felt even better than it was snowboarding....giving me more confidence if we were to have another dump of snow.

 Snowboarding in the Beacons

Followed by a sweet snowkite session.

 

 Another awesome SUP session in Porthcawl in between the dumps of snow.

On Tuesday we had a day showing off kitesurfing at the RAF Health and wellbeing exhibition, whilst we were there it was constantly dumping a fresh lot of snow especially up on the mountains.

My wingman Andy9Lives txt me early the next morning and we rushed up to Storey Arms where we found blue skies and up to waist deep fresh snow. It was a very long slog up to the top of Pen-Y-Fan especially as my cast had only been removed two days earlier.

What followed was easily one of the most memorable days kiting we both have ever had. We both took seven metre kites up but soon realised that this was way too small for the approx. 10knots of wind we had. 

We had a few hours in the super soft crystalised powder before heading back down to the car park, the treck down turned out to be the best part of the day as we found super soft smooth powder all the way down.

 Andy and I heading back to base camp.

 Austria, France, Switzerland..Nope Wales!

Once back at the cars we rushed back home to Porthcawl....forty minutes later we were at Rest Bay with a nice clean 3-4 feet breaking into the bay.

Anyway here's a vid of the last day we had

As I'm writing this we are about to get hit by a BIG swell from the Atlantic so we're hoping to get plenty of wave riding sessions over the next few days.

Photo time...........

Red Screamer

Rest Bay, Porthcawl

Ads, a student we taught this year!

Sav, leaving a little smoke trail......

So I broke my leg a week ago so and am off the water for a little while, however in between the ususal sorting of orders etc here at Blast HQ in Porthcawl we have managed to get to the beach each time the wind has been up with my trusty camera.

Gareth another of this years students now ripping!

It's getting pretty cold here now and been very wet the past few weeks so I'm not missing it quite so bad.

I've always loved taking photo's and dare I say it I almost enjoy it as much as actually kiting/surfing/mtb'ing myself...but not quite!

Rest Bay, Porthcawl

Llangennith, Gower

Anyway, being forced off the water has allowed me to spend a little more time on the beach capturing the moment for the other uber keen guys here rather than the ususal POV style GoPro shots I've been quite obsessed with over the past 12 months since we bought one.

Lighting has been pretty poor with many dark grey days and very little sunshine but in some ways that's cool as it shows the kitesurfing for exactly what it is in the depths of winter...hardcore!
The crowds have long gone and only the few hardy souls are left with empty windy beaches...you have to love it!

Camera is a Canon 560D with Canon EF 100-400

It's an addiction.....

What motivates otherwise normal people to brave the cold atlantic waters in the desire to kitesurf, even on the coldest, darkest of miserable winters days?

It never ceases to amaze me that there are always plenty keen enough to do so, indeed any day there is a decent breeze you'll now find a crew of hard core kitesurfers filling thier boots, driven by the need for adrenalin.

No need for gloves or hoods just yet

Freestyle warriors, wave riders or simply just "mowing the lawn" it doesnt matter as long they're out there come rain sleet or snow all sharing the same simple passion that is kitesurfing!

Then again with the correct gear it's no longer as hard core as it used to be, gone are days of marrigolds. Now we have super efficient and flexible neoprene...thermal rash vests, hoods, boots and gloves that can handle the harshest of winter conditions.

As the numbers of kitesurfers continue to increase the more vans you can also find in the beach carparks, lined up with the heaters on full blast. Inside any one of these cosy wagons you'll find a social gathering of like minded adrenaline junkies, searching for thier next (natural) fix.

We have had probably the best autumn/winter period we have ever had here in the UK, since September it's blown and it's blown bloody hard too with mild westerly storms one after another pushing through. Most of our sessions here have been on 5's & 7's with a splattering of 9m Sessions also...but no need for 12m

I find that if I go for more than a week without a session my mood changes, doesn't matter how bad the session is either, it will still be enough to give you a lift.

As I write this it looks like we are about to enter a calmer period with cold easterlies forecast, temperatures are likely to drop drastically but at least we may get some snow sessions too...another fix!

It's an addiction, simple as!
I need a fix and I need it now!

The past few days Jan'12

Smallest kite's only needed!

The winds have been pretty mental here the past few days and quite honestly pretty dangerous for kiting, being so gusty. Today the winds were 30-50mph so we did the right thing and didn't bother.
We were very tempted though as the surf was huge and Coney Beach right near our house has been going off!

Check out the set out back!

I also decided to put my beloved board in for repair since I reckon it only had a few more sessions left in it anyway with a nasty crack wrapping around the rail near my front foot. Let's hope Roger Cooper can work his wonders whilst we are away snowboarding for a week!

Whilst walking the dog each day I was able to get a few photo's of both Coney Beach and the Pier getting hit by a few large ones!

Xelerator Surf

Just received this much anticipated new board in the Xelerator line up...how sweet is this!

And only £525 for one of if not the best boards available!

http://blastkiteboarding.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=196

The Point, Porthcawl

Saterday a few of us met at Rest Bay, but very light winds. Alun Jenkins and Tom Butler set off for Aberavon, I set off for home!!

On the way home I thought the wind was picking up slightly so checked one of my favorite spots, a point break near our house. The wind was showing steady 20mph on my wind meter so I called the other guys who were still watching light winds at Aber.

I had about 1 hour of pretty good conditions on the point. Small waves peeling right and the N.W. winds also from the right, perfect conditions for me!! I was joined by Alun, Tom and Gareth Jones all extremly conpetant kitesurfers.

Above is a photo from the point back in December on a slightly bigger day.

NB. This is not a spot for novices or even intermediates as there are rocks surrounding you everywhere plus strong rips etc.

Llangennith, Gower

My life flashed before me!
Huge swell at Llangennith!

Well kind of. Very heavey session yesterday at Llangennith in what can only be described as HUGE surf. The wind was cross shore and very light, in fact too light for the size of the swell.
We had a go anyway on my 1st attempt I was making my way out through the swell when a massive wave rearred up in front of me, I tried to kind of duck dive into it. It was like a bomb going off!! I got mullered!
Eventually emerged out of the wave only to find the kite still in the air but had zero power and heading for the water, with another set wave approaching. I quickly released the kite so as not to get dragged/tangled with the lines etc. Once back on the beach I sorted out the lines which only took a minute and headed back out.

This time I managed to thread my way out through the enormous swell. Even when about 3/4 mile out the swell was still pumping and waves still breaking. I caught a few waves back in and as the wind was getting even lighter decided to call it a day.

Quit while you ahead.
It's days and sessions like that, that make you feel alive!!