Surf Diary

Dan Sweeney Airhead team rider went down to the BKSA round 1 at Watergate Bay and this was the action as seen by him.

So over to Dan for his view of the weekend

Dan sporting his new kit from Hurley

“Friday - So here it was the first competition of the year was finally here but the forecast wasn’t looking so good, north easterly 20knots and most probably gusting up to 30. Still then plan was to get up early Friday morning to miss the traffic and get to Watergate by 9am, so a bright and early start it was, 3am in the morning we left, in my dads girlfriend’s VW passat packed full of kites and boards. There isn’t really much to say about the journey because I was wrapped up in my duvet in the back dreaming about what the weekend was going to be like.

So we turned up at Watergate at 8:15am, said “hi” to some of the guys we hadn’t seen since last years comps and then settled into the hotel and checked out the beach.
The wind was a strong north easterly as forecasted so the pro’s were all registered and set up there kit, I saw I few kites fly off as they were not tied down properly, one Naish Torch was lofted into the air about 40-50 foot high because of the turbulent winds coming from the cliffs.

Flexifoil Kites at Watergate

As the day when on, nothing really happened, the red bull tent was up and most people were chilling under the red bull tent sitting on the beanbags.
Around 2-3 o’clock some riders got back from a local spot where they had been out as the bay was in a good direction for north easterly wind, so Ali Barrett and Sam light went for it and tried going out in the gusty wind. Ali was the first one out so the Turbulence sponsored rider went out in the gusty turbulent wind, he got lofted about 25-30 foot with his kite spinning around his head, he was travelling over the beach but he looped his kite to get into deeper water where he could release onto 5thline. Where as Sam Light got out for a while and got a kiteloop in, and still managed to get back to the beach safe and sound. For the rest of the day nothing really when on, some surfing and just chilling out.

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The weather is now warming up and we are starting to see people coming out of winter retirement and getting back on the water…

Kitesurfing Littlehampton.

Kitesurf lessons are now starting to get booked as the kitesurf school re-opens at the end of April… Airhead Board Sports Ltd has one of the oldest kiteboard and kite schools in the UK, established in 1998 our kitesurf school based in Littlehampton West Sussex has produced some of the top kite surfing talent the UK such as Debs Carling, Pete Shiplee and Claire Bunton to name just a few… this year keep an eye on the BKSA juniors for Dan Sweeney and Oli Sweeney who will competing in the Ams… these two young lads are set for big things in the coming year.

Our team of Professional kitesurf instructors are qualified to the highest standard through the BKSA and IKO. Please note Fingky Inc no longer teaches at the Airhead Kite & Surf Academy

For information on booking kitesurf or kite lessons with Airhead check out the Airhead Kite & Surf Academy

If you are turning up to Littlehampton for kitesurfing for the first time please note there is a dedicated lunch and land zone to the east of beach huts in front of the Airhead blue container… Take time to read the signs and please do not rig up in front of the beach huts… if you are un-sure where the kite zone is then please ask a local rider they will be more than happy to point you in the right direction.

Littlehampton Kitesurf Zone.. Please note this map is not to scale

Ride safe and have a fun summer.

More info from the Airhead very soon

For those of you who read the SUP forums or are regulars to the Airhead web site you will know that the Airhead Paddle Board demo day has been set for quite a few months…

Snow on the beach

Imagine my surprise when I looked out of my window at 8.30 am to thick snow falling… it’s not like we are in the depths of winter, last week it was 18C + and I was thinking of getting my shorts out of retirement…. anyway shortly after the snow started to fall my phone started to ring and beep with text messages “I take it that the demo is called off due to the weather” my reply was simple THE SHOW MUST GO ON… and sure enough it did.

Bill from Jimmy Lewis was first at the beach and he didnt look keen to get out of his van… his first words where “shall we book another date” but once we opened the container up and got the kettle on more folks started to turn up… Matt from SUPUK and George from Starboard… then Pete & Mel already with their wetsuits on and ready for action… Mel Shiplee and Dan Sweeney where the first brave souls on the water… I have got to say I was un-sure about donning my wetsuit with the temp only just over freezing but I could not let the side down and I guess that was the general feeling from everyone.

Mel Shiplee in the snow

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Here is a review of the 9 foot C4 Waterman Batwing Swallow Tail by Pete Shiplee…

Pete Shiplee on the 9′0″ C4 Waterman: Image from Mellow Wave

Here’s what C4 Waterman say about their board

The Bat Wing Swallow is actually a winged bat tail with high performance rocker and compact size. This Dave Parmenter shaped 9″ foot rips in the surf. The BoardWorks TEC construction makes this board light and strong. Comes with a 2+1 fin set up.

Wing-Bat Tail
26.75″ wide
3.5″ thick
Fin array: 2 X 1

Rider guidelines: Beginner, 75 to 125 pounds; intermediate up to 150 lbs; advanced up to 190 lbs.
Construction: Epoxy lamination with a 1-lb EPS core sheathed with 1/8″_ Divynicell high-density foam, compression and heat molded to form a monocoque-style fuselage.

DESIGN NOTES: While this smaller and more manageable SUP was designed for lighter surfers like kids and girls, it features contemporary shortboard components that make it a front-line preference of the C4 surf team when they want a board for high performance surfing and/or competition. Under the command of advanced riders this thin, light, progressive-rocker SUP shortboard refuses to take no for an answer.

So over to Pete for his view on the board

Now I normally ride a JL 10FT which surfs great and is stable but I have been looking for a performance short board SUP for quite a while and Andy managed to get me this 9FT C4 and it has answered my prayers ..big time! Let me tell you though that this board is NOT for the beginner or faint hearted and needs a lot of skill to paddle through the waves and stay on board but when you catch that wave and fly down the face (because this board is FAST) it will all make sense.

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