With a Good season (not summer!) of wind most of the Students of GKR are up and cruising around.
With beaches for different wind directions and Flat water riding conditions chosen for boardstarting days most of our customers are happy enough to buy equipment after their course.
We offer 1-2-1 coaching to help build customers confidence before they venture out alone, but with the Kiting commumity growing, a windy day in south wales is the perfect place to progress your kiteboarding skills.
Check out 2 happy customers Paul and Nigel below
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
GK Riders styling
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008North EVO 2008
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
North 2008 EVO, Never before has performance been so easy! Impressive light wind abilities, an enormous range, forgiving flying characteristics and easy bar feeling are just some of the unique features of the new North Evo.
The Evo’s precise steering response always delivers predictable and controlled jumps even if your take-off is not perfect. The innovative Bridge Profile geometry optimizes airflow and gets you up and planing in extremely light air even when the Evo is fully over-sheeted. This profile balances the load distribution around the leading edge which prevents the Evo from ever back-stalling and is the key to it’s acceleration in light wind. With its simple bridle configuration the Evo can be used with a four-line bar or with the 5th Element. In 4 Line mode the Evo is ideal for everyone who favors easy water relaunch and simple handling, while the 5th Element mode additionally stabilizes the kite for optimized performance, direct handling and the best safety. With it’s solid Dacron trailing edge and kevlar reinforcement, the Evo is rigidly constructed for maximum durability even in extreme conditions.
The kites most oftenly used by our instructors are the 9m/10m/12m North EVO . The 9m which has an awesome range and has a really nice turning speed is great for a first time buyer.
The 10 and 12m are slightly more grunty and consistent in their power development the 12 feels more like a 14m ‘C’ kite and is great in light winds.
The size range for the North EVO is 5,7,9,10,12,15 they can be used on a 4 line EVO bar or better still on a 5th Element bar for added safety and performance.
Gowerkiteriders EVO PKGs
Board choice DRAGON 136 or 145, 5th element bar, Pump, harness and wind meter ALL FOR :
9m kite PKG-£999
10m kite PKG-£1049
12M kite PKG-£1099
Paddle round the pier event – Brighton 2008
Tuesday, July 29th, 2008Paddle Round the Pier Event
The Brighton “Paddle round the pier†event went down a treat! with glorious sunshine on the sauturday and with a host of tunes floating across the show area from the music stage.
There was so much going on – Brush boarding, Indo boarding , free running, Stand up paddleboarding, races, dancing, Free dive demos, olly popping to name a few
The event was hosted by ‘Custom’ and featured many names and faces from the stand up and surfing world showing the latest gear available.The Oxbow Stand up paddle endurance race had to be cut short to 5 miles from 10 but that did not stop the 20 competitors paddling it out against each other in a very challenging sideshore windy sea.
The event was won easy by Hawaii’s own Ekolu Kalama and in 2nd Wales’s own Elliot Dudley then followed by Mark slater 3rd.
The other paddle events were unfortunately cancelled because of strong wind and wave conditions but everyone put on Hawaiian smiles for the crowds.
Sunday was a washout unfortuntately with most of the stands packing away by midday because of the strong windy and wet conditions- But we’ll be back Next year for sure- maybe the hawaiian will meet fierce opposition ! then again maybe not !
Ultimate Stickers
Friday, November 16th, 2007
Stand up Paddleboarding
Friday, November 16th, 2007
Stand up paddleboarding or paddlesurfing as its also called is the newest watersport to hit U.K shores.
The sport which originated in the Hawaiian islands involves standing on a Huge surfboard not to dissimiliar to an ordinary surfboard but much larger and able to support a person standing up.
Hence the name ‘stand up’ paddlesurfing.
The sport has two aspects – On these huge boards you can decide whether if the surf is flat, to paddle around your local coastline taking in the views from a commanding position. Alternatively catch ocean swell or small to medium sized waves before they have even started to break which is very exhilerating.
As well as being lots of fun, stand-up paddling is a very good aerobic and strength training exercise – depending on how vigorously you attack it, stand-up paddling can be anything from a comfortable cruise down the coast to a heart-pounding, calorie-burning workout for your CORE muscles.
You may ask yourself ‘doesnt sound new and exciting to me’ however all you have to do is keep you eyes peeled down at your local beach and you will see more and more of stand up paddlesurfers parading the lineup or coastline.
A quality stand-up paddleboard is the best investment you can make in watery fun much more versatile than a kayak for instance. The ways in which you can have fun with your stand-up paddleboard are endless! You can use your stand-up paddleboard to fish, dive, explore, travel, ride waves, sail (some stand-up paddleboards have mast tracks so you can attach windsurfing sails)
Here at Gowerkiteriders.com we are all super soked and love standup paddlesurfing and paddleboarding.
For us kitesurfers if the wind isn’t blowing and the surf is flat or even pumping there is nothing like catching a solid 5ft wall of water on a paddlesurf board. Its really exhilerating to catch waves so early or surf an elusive spot which shortboards and even longboards would struggle on.
We have a range of Demo boards for you to try so give us a bell alternatively check out the range of boards availiable online:
Shop at: www.gowerkiteriders.com/kitestore
Newgale Downwinder 10/11th November
Friday, November 16th, 2007BB kitesurfing & Gower Kite Riders Downwinder
The downwinder this last weekend was a great success !!
For those that are new to kitesurfing and Downwinders .A Downwinder is a run taken downwind from point A to B and in this case 5 miles in length
The event had been initially marked for 6/7 of October .. but we had to postpone because of a poor wind forecast.
However at 10am on saturday 10th Big blue kitesurfing and Gower Kite Riders briefed the 20 or more riders on the safety of the proposed 5 mile downwinder from Newgale beach to Broadhaven.
With a good wind of 17 knots NW the first 10 riders set off into the big blue supported by 2 Zapcats as safety boat cover.
A great first run with plenty of sunshine piercing through the clouds and supported by Richard and Alan who followed us on land down the coastal road as Taxis to take riders back to Newgale.
With all 10 riders safely on Broadhaven beach after an awesome run which took around an hour the zapcats sped off back up to Newgale beach to re – fuel for the next Run.
By the time the 2nd run started the wind had dropped to around 15knts but all 9 riders managed to successfully cruise downwind to Broadhaven with beaming smiles.
The weather was perfect and we could not have had better wind, Sunday saw the majority of riders who had stayed over enjoying a brief play in a good NW wind and small surf before the switch was thrown around 12 as the wind died.
A big thanks to all who attended and to the ‘South and west wales kitesurfing club’ who supported the event .
If you read this post and want to be included or involved for our next event join the SWWKSC online at (www.kitesurfing.org )
Thanks The Gower Kite Riders Team