Victoria Bay Monday 29th December

Went to Victoria Bay near George yesterday. Victoria Bay is the best surfing spot in this part of the country.  George is located in the Southern part of the Cape approximately 400 km east of Cape Town. The wind blows about 10% of the time  in this area in summer as opposed to Cape Town where is blows about 50% of the time. So in the absence of wind we went surfing. The bay is in the form of a V and has a steep rocky hill on one side and a steeply stepping hill with a row of houses just above sea level on the other. The funnel shape of the bay concentrates the swells into a good shorebreak whilst there is a really good point break on one of the entry sides of the V.  Kitesurfing here is not an option with the steep slopes on the sides and the smallish width of the bay. A couple of photos taken by Ariel Kappa. I was in the water.

Buffels Bay - Wild Side - 26th December

Am in Sedgefield on holiday at the moment. Sedgefield is about 425 km east of Cape Town, located on what is known as the "garden route" because of the beautiful indigenous forests, fields and mountains there. We went to Buffels Bay this morning to check out the surfing conditions. 4.2 metre deep sea swells and 15 second wave period. These are some images of what the wild side of Buffels Bay looked like. No one was out surfing.

Jonathan rides Big Bay - 15th December 2014

A few photos of my son Jonathan kiting at Big Bay on a day when the deep sea swell was 4 metres and the wave period 15 seconds. The wind was around 25 knots.

This is only his 3rd kite since he had a shoulder operation which put him out for last season. Stoked to be in the ocean.

( To see larger images click on an image and then scroll on the icons below  )

Where to kite when the wind blows South Westerly in Cape Town

Was at Haakgat recently and the wind was blowing south westerly. Wind from this direction is not common but when it happens it is known that it will not pick up the nuclear speed of the afternoon south easter. It was only predicted to get to 14 knots later in the day. A kite tourist from Australia asked me where she could go to kite on the south westerly. My mind went back to when I had waited some time ago at Dolphin Beach where the south westerly which was predicted to be 13 knots had not materialised. On my way home to Melkbos I noticed that as I moved north the wind was blowing more as predicted. I then realised that I had been waiting in the wind shadow of Table Mountain for a wind that had been blowing  outside of the shadow.
I was not sure what happened at Witsands, Scarborough or Cape Point during a south wester, as when the south easter blows it generally blows harder towards the more south you go. 

As the south westerly is predominantly cross on shore or pure on shore in places this does affect the swells at virtually every ocean kiting spot around Cape Town. However there is still fun to be had.

I answered the kiter as best I could. However, that evening I looked at some wind charts off a few kite spots around Cape Town. The picture became a lot clearer though I cannot guarantee that these conditions repeat every time the S.W. blows.

For comparison I added the sum of the wind speed at 12 midday and then 17:00, when it usually is close to it.s maximum daily speed, and the average in between, and then divided it by 3 to give some sort of comparative score.  The score does not reflect the consistency of the wind so have a look at this on the graphs, as the last thing you need is the wind dropping off and your kite dropping into the ocean.

Check this out:

General wind direction at Kitebeach

Cape Point: 3 knots at 12 midday 10 knots at 17:00 hrs. Averaged about 6 knots in between. Score 5.3

Witsands: 5 knots at 12 midday and 5 knots at 17:00 hrs. Average in between 4 knots. Basically unkiteable. Score 4.6

Muizenberg: 11 knots at 12 midday 17 knots at 17:00 hrs. Dropped to an average of about 10 knots in between. Note the wind dying from time to time. Score 12.66

Strand: 14 knots at 12 midday and 14 knots at 17:00 hrs. Consistent all day. Score 14.

Kitebeach: 12 knots at 12 midday 15 knots by 17:00 hrs - dropped in between to an average of about 9 knots. Score 12.

Melkbosstrand: 11 knots at 12 midday. 14 knots at 17:00 hrs. Averaged about 15 knots in between. Score 13.3.Consistency good all day.

Langebaan: 16 knots at 12 midday and 16 knots at 17:00 hrs. Averaged 16 knots in between. Score 16. Consistency good all day however look at the gap between highs and lows - gusty.

O.k. so whats the conclusion ? Get away from the mountains and head east to Strand or north - the further north the better. Will it be like this every time it blows south westerly - not sure but the odds are that getting as far from the influence of the mountains the more the chances of a good kite session are increased.

How to Kitesurf a Wave

This is a short and basic lesson in a few pictures of how to use the kite to tow you into a wave and then ride it.

Wind blowing left to right. Select a wave spot breaking in the same direction. Wait out at the back and try and select a good size swell - preferably part of a set. Follow whilst moving slightly upwind away from the kite onto the lip of the swell keeping tension. Keep in mind where the swell peaks and commences it's break, trying to keep from going in too deep into the break zone. Once you have judged your position is good start the descent. 

Once on the face and sliding down drop the kite low with some determination to get power .

Ride down the face keeping the kite low to get a good dose of power to boost you into the bottom turn and then along the face

Commencing the bottom turn raise the kite up and concentrate on the turn and the breaking wave. The thrust you have received from dropping the kite low has given you the speed you need to run with the break.

Continue the bottom turn looking for the moment to cutback up the face

Ride up the face, hit the lip and turn either going back down or ride the shoulder. Kite is parked until more boost required. Note that a kite designed for wave riding is best for the job as it is designed to give you power without launching you out of the water, to turn fast again without too much power and then to park and drift while you do your surfing. In this case an Airush Wave kite was used.  

Ride the shoulder or carve up and down on the face

Ride off the shoulder and back out to do it all again. Kite power is engaged as required

Haakgat goes Large - 15th December 2014

Haakgat with 4 metre deep sea swells and 15 second wave period. 20 knots plus.

( To scroll enlarged photos only click on an image and scroll icons below )

Sets had 15 foot faces

Amongst the bombs

Outrunning the whitewater

Clean top turn. Riding unstrapped.

Kite rising

Lady in the whitewater

Riding the walls

In the bowl

Whats going on here...... ?  Actually the kiter was just behind this break and riding

Turbulent Big Bay and the 73 Year Old Kiter

Below find a picture of Fred. 
I met him emerging from Big Bay smiling from ear to ear.   
He told me he has been kiting "since the beginning" of the sport. He kites 120 days a year

He is 73 years old and tells me he plans to kite for another 10 years. Before taking up kiting he was a windsurfing champion in Germany.

Not enough to impress as yet - well it was a turbulent day at Big Bay. 4m deep sea swells at a 15 second wave period. See some pics from the day below. He told me he even kites in waves up to 5m! 

Bless you Fred - you rock dude !

Fred totally stoked after the session

Conditions on the day.

Turbulence !

South African Kitesurfing Championships - Round 2 - Kitebeach - 6th December 2014

Was a beautiful morning at the beach. Blue sky, people sunbathing, light breeze - just what the average beach-goer would want but not the avid kiters waiting with an armada of kites lining the beach. SAKA round 2 of the S.A. Champs was scheduled to get underway on this day. What was happening however out on the water were some really solid 4 - 5 foot sets of waves which stacked up into steep walls of about 8 to 12 feet.
The wind started to blow at about 12:00hrs. It built up  to about 12 to 15 knots and the contest got underway. Due to the good swell and light wind the surfers were released first. The photos I took were of the heats for the junior, women's, and pro's surfing heats. 

For results of the competition see http://www.saka.co.za/#!results/c1ttq


( Note: To scroll enlarged versions of the photos please click on a photo and then scroll on the icons on the bottom of the page. )

And what kites were being used ?

North Dice 2015

Best TS 2014

Airush Wave 2015

Best GP 2014

RRD Religion 2015

Best Cabo 2014

Naish Pivot 2015

Slingshot Rally 2015

Airush "S.A. Flag"

Airush Solo 2015

Airush Varial

North Vegas "Aaron Hadlow"