Finally the South-east has been released from winter and spring has begun to set in.

Its been a tough winter for kite land boarding, with the loss of Power Kite mag and poor riding conditions at the start of the season couldn’t come any sooner.

For me it was a welcome start to another summer, doing what I love best, pushing kite land boarding to its limits.

The BKSA returned to my home spot, the Essex Kite Park for the second year following a successful first year, with good wind conditions predicted and clear skies it was promising to be a cracker! Competing at home is always a special experience not only for the home field advantage but also for the chance for your local crowd seeing what you are capable of doing.

The weekend for me started on Friday, after a rush from work I settled down at the kite park with a pitched tent and a few evening beers watching the sunset. When the sun was down I managed to persuade some fellow riders including current British land board champ Lolo to have a night session on the kicker. This was something I’ve always wanted to do, it provides a unique opportunity to get some awesome shots. With a fanfare of photographers and a good breeze, myself and fellow riders from all over Europe had an intense night session!

On Saturday I woke up to a stiff breeze and BKSA flags, after registration I eagerly awaited the start of the competition. With good south-westerly winds the competition was going ahead and I was up in the first heat against current British champ Lolo.

The heat started with a big gust of wind, propelling myself and Lolo into big jumps! My aim for the comp was to keep it simple and land as many tricks as possible, I was off to a good start landing handle passes, board off variations and multiple rotations. When the end of the round came I was told I won advancing me to the final.

The final came around and it was myself, Lolo from France and Emmanuelle Norman from Germany. With a multinational final identical to last year it promised to be an awesome heat. My aim was similar to last time but I knew I had to step up a gear with Emmanuelle boosting massive handle passes and Lolo consistently going big I knew I needed to pull the rabbit out of the hat! With gusty winds I managed again to land handle passes, multiple rotations and some nice unhooked style. Unfortunately the heat was re-run due to Emmanuelle and Lolo getting their kites tangled in the first minuet, so with another five minutes I built on my previous points to mark the end of another great competition.

The prize giving came later Saturday evening and with massive suspense it was announced I had managed Second place ahead of Lolo and behind Emmanuelle. I was super stoked with the result Emmanuelle deserved the win for his massive unhooked boosts and passes. Big up to every one whom competed and to every one for making this a great weekend!

Thanks goes to www.flyozone.com and www.trampaboards.com for their continued support, for info on rankings and coming land competitions go to www.britishkitesurfingassociation.co.uk.

Peace.
Ash Garwood

Kiteboarding is for the whole family. No matter where you travel to, the wind will always make sure Dad gets his session in, then drop away to introduce your kids or wife to the sport.

You can guarantee Mum & the kids don’t want to kite all day long, but will appreciate your time to show them how. Happy Wife, Happy Life? Think of those all important brownie points, smiles & family memories family kiteboarding can bring.

Now. Before you announce to the family to pack their Bikinis, let me shed some light on the kit to see the family right.

For our trip to the Cook Islands, I packed an Ignition trainer kite. Its all in the name, Fantastic starter and confidence builder that’s also a fun and inventive toy. The kids played on the sand and in shallow water filling the day with kite fun.  Mumsy dabbled too with the trainer until she was ready for the next step, The UNO inflatable trainer.

The UNO allowed my wife and children to be introduced to all the concepts of Dad’s big boy kites, de-powerable bar, water launching, water pack down, launch and landing etiquette to finally enable me to get a launch or a land from the whole family! Life is good.

So get out there and enjoy kiteboarding with your family, with the Ignition & UNO you can spark any interest without the ambition for the family to go the Olympics as a team, Quite simply a couple of kites in your quiver to bring the family together!

Olly Brunton

Daniel Spiegel and I have just finished doing an epic 24 hours of land kiting.

We started at 9am Friday morning inland as high tide was at 10.30, Dan on the 10m Summit and I with the 4m race kite. After a hour I left Dan in the hard sand of the dry lake district, as it was to gusty for the race kites and went over the dunes towards the beach front, finding a nice hill with good clean wind. The wind was a bit light but after a hour it kicked in, and I had to change down kites from a 4m to 3m. At 2pm we meet up on the hard sand and clock up the k’s, all was going good for me, the modify Ozone harness with Splitter MK Race quick release was comfortable and the buggy and kite are perfect, maybe a little over powered

Dan was running the 5m Frenzy. The sun set across the water as the full moon come up, just perfect and so beautiful, we worked the beach till 9pm as the tide chased us back into the dunes for the night. I went back to my hill to bounce away, but taking some time to level bumps in my way with my foot on each pass to make a smoother ride. One time when I was checking the GPS’s are still on, I got off course and hit some hard bumps only to find out later that I lost my camel bac water tube, Not stopping to look for it in this light and I box on. At 1am I stop for food and water and look for the tube, not to be found. I move back to the main beach and work the hard sand totally over powered till 2 am when I go to find Dan as he is not showed up yet. He’s at the truck getting ready, That was a relief, I change to the 2.3m  and get back to the beach. I do a quick bit of maths with the GPS and realise I need to pull my finger out. That was the last time I stopped for water yup, I’m going to have one hell of a headache tomorrow.

Dan pulls the pin and goes to bed, it’s too hard in the strong and gusty wind, his legs are giving out and he’s getting dangerous, good call. I know what that feels like, it’s gutting to get so far and you can’t finish, I did the same in 2010 on my 24 hr kitebike record and left David land boarding by himself.

So the beach is all mine with a light at each end for turn point markers, I work the kite harder then before and push myself even more, downing a energy drink though a straw at 60 / 70 kph is fun I’m also dying to go toilet, but this bus is not stopping. 6.30 the moon is setting now and good morning to the sun, awesome and beautiful. At 7.30ish I go passed Gerd’s world record, I scream with joy and punish the air in victory. Then said sorry to my good friend Gerd who gave me the Splitter MK Race quick release that I’m using.

With 1.5 hours to go, I work the hard sand to the end and race back to camp for the last 10 minutes.

I finish with some time spare so I don’t go over 24 hours on the GPS’s , I feel good, not sore, hands are tender and I look like I’ve been though the washing machine.

A special thank to all my supporter’s, family, friends, Ozone Team and Kitezone NZ

We have two new World distance records. Dan on kite skates flying a Ozone 5m Frenzy and 8m Summit with 216km. I was in my kitezone minimax buggy, flying Ozone prototype race kites 2.3m, 3m and the 4m with 704 km.

This is what I sent Dan a week before, I think it’s quite fitting;

It’s better to look back on life and say:
“I can’t believe I did that”.
Than to look back and say:
“I wish I did that”

Land kiting on, Pete Foulkes aka Gannet

To do this the KTA teamed up with one of its most successful Champions Kathrin Borgwardt who holds four KTA titles and is the current undefeated women’s KTA Tour Course Racing Champion. Together with Kathrin and Ozone the KTA has been running KTA Kite Kids classes for the local kids for two days before each round of the Asian tour, giving them the chance to take the first steps towards becoming future kiteboarding champions.

KTA Kite Kids classes introduce the local children to kiteboarding by teaching them the fundamental skills through power kite flying, while at the same time getting them to understand the importance of safety when they are having fun.  Each of the four sessions that take place over the two days of the KTA Kite Kids runs with a max of 12 kids working in pairs each with an Ozone Ignition trainer kite under the supervision of Kathrin and her support team. A coaching team made up of local instructors along with extra helping hands from the KTA riders, to make sure the kids get the max out of their session.

So far this season the KTA Asia tour has visited Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines and successfully completed a KTA Kite Kids for each location.

The Indonesia Kite Kids took place on the island of Bintan and saw 32 local school children taking part in the power kite training courses, each in turn coming to grips with the skills needed to keep their kite out of the water and in the air. Regular Kite Kids sessions have since been continued as Ozone’s support also allows the KTA to leave behind the trainer kites with the local school for exactly this purpose. The concept being that the kiting continues after the KTA has left building on the foundation kite skills hopefully right through to getting them eventual out onto the water and kiteboarding.

For the KTA Kite Kids Thailand the classes saw a different recruitment, not just the local school this time by also the kids from the local fishing villages, many of who don’t get a chance to make it to mainstream school. These were the kids of the fishermen helping the main KTA event with their fishing boats acting as mark laying and start boats, giving the KTA Thailand a truly family affair. 26 kids attended the classes over the two days in Pranburi, this season’s location for the event.

The Philippines KTA Kite Kids in Boracay gave Kathrin and her team a very busy start to the week with a full 48 kids taking part in the programme. It was perfect to see the buzz and the excitement as each kid in turn got to grips with the skills of power kiting as the instructors demonstrated, coached and corrected their way through each session. It was truly international affair with kids from around the globe and the local island kids reflecting the multi-racial mix that exists on Boracay, great to see and best part of what sport is all about.

The KTA Philippines also became the first Asian tour event to hold a Kite Kids TT Race which happened over the final two days of the competition in combination with the Weekend Warrior racers. The 11 kids taking part aged between 10 -12 years old raced in four races over the two days on the full course being raced by all the classes, so big thumbs up to all the kids that took part and a special congrats to the top guys that hit the podium on the awards night and showed the potential outcome for the KTA Kite Kids power by Ozone!

Once the tide went out the sun also came out and everyone started warming up for the competition, my warm up was not quite along the same lines, mine involved sitting in my car watching feeling quite sick. When the competition was about 5 minutes away i started to get ready by arming myself with the always ready for action Ozone C4 2013 kites and my MBS Pro90 2013 board.

After riding through several rounds the competition was over and everyone headed to the off to the DFC clubhouse for the results.

The results came in and i came 1st and was awarded a large trophy and some other freebies.

1st AJ Philipsen - Ozone/MBS
2nd Lolo Bsd
3rd Maximilian Lux

I would like to say thank you to my sponsors Ozone kites, MBS boards and Edgeriders.com for their support and helping me win this, and thank you to all the organizers and riders of the competition for running it so well with such a great atmosphere.

Continue riding hard people!
AJ Philipsen

The courses were quite short which made them very technical. So no place for strategic mistakes, what I did perfectly by choosing an oversized wing… Lol.

The hardest was the temperature which was -10°C (felt like). We only could make 4 rounds as the wind was very gusty and the orientation changed every time. The wind got stronger and stronger all day long so I started with my Yakuza GT 6.8 to end with 5.5 and 4.5.

With these hard conditions, the Yakuza GT were easy to control even if I couldn’t feel my fingers as I was not wearing gloves…

I’m finally ranked 2nd and my buddy Thomas Bouzerand who rides with Ozone kites ended 4th.

Thanks to all the volunteers who organized such a beautiful race and to Christophe Cattelain for making such nice pictures.

Enjoy!
Thierry

We are happy to announce we have a winner for the Xmas kite give away… well done Magnus Ersson, your letter to Santa was honest, witty and close to home for all of us in the Ozone office.

We hope you enjoy your kite of choice, a brand new Summit 10m!

Cheers & Happy 2013
Team Ozone

Last year in September I broke the kitebike world speed record, but never had any footage or pictures. I went back out to Pembrey on Thursday 27th of Dec 2012 and with a 7m Ozone Frenzy supplied by John Eaton at powerkiteshop.co.uk. I managed to up it from my previous record of 50.1mph to 53.3mph.

I have video footage of the run, however a little misty on the actual run footage from the go pro, but the other footage from the day is all clear and good.

Below are videos from the speed run, and some more footage of me on the bike on the day.

Andrew

]]> http://www.flyozone.com/landkites/en/news/headlines/20907?source=rssfeed Fri, 23 Nov 2012 02:18:27 +0000 Ozone Landkites http://www.flyozone.com/landkites/en/news/headlines/20907?source=rssfeed Just back from the most awesome moose “ever!” with buggy Carnage the order of the day, Gav and I are practicing for the next Big Kite Powered Buggy Adventure, one that with providence and a little good fortune will rival the Sahara crossing and the more recent speed record success. As part of our 6 P’s (Prior Perpetration Prevents P— Poor Performance) due diligence in another man’s language, we are testing the metal of our gear to and beyond its limits, and Moose Land is arguably one of the best places in the world, with every kind of transition available in every conceivable shape or form, and with the Moose turning on the wind from all and every direction this year  we were able to destroy most of the gear we brought with us including removing tyres from the rims on landing and having to reseat beads with limited resources, always a challenge (thanks Perrin and Mad Mike for the help).

Along with all of the ground engaging gear Gav and I have been discussing over the previous months what we are looking for as far as our engines to power this adventure, two words keep coming to mind after the Sahara adventure and that is Bullet and Proof, i.e. indestructible, reliable, vast wind range, faultless/effortless  ground handling , and even more important on this adventure, pack ability and weight, because this time we are unsupported and will be far from civilisation in a vast country for a prolonged period . In other words I am looking for a an ultra-light super tough handkerchief that will pull 150Kg up a hill in 5 knots, obviously they haven’t made that kite “yet” but being on the lookout for something along those lines,  and being of the adventure design persuasion, that there are no bad ideas and all things should be considered, I had to take seriously Gav’s suggestion we try out Depower kites,  Hmmmm I had to really think about that one, as I am a dyed in the wool, one eyed Power Kite person, of the Flat Foil kind, I like Power with a bit of Mongrel in it ( I have a significant Weight advantage over Gavin hear) but money where your mouth is time and out the bag and on the harness came some crispy new Summits from Ozone (at the Moose for Demo) well a long story short, 3 days later I looked up from the testing work,  with two small piles of tired, bent, snapped and macerated metal and I am still flying the same kite (Sorry other Moose folk didnt mean to hog it) well a quick call to Matt while we are packing up our toys, to ask if we could take them home please, on the pretence of “so we can practice some more, continuity etc bla bla bla” and a more serious discussion of “Would you consider sponsoring us” some Power foils that have an off switch for our next adventure and could we have them in a Blue ultra light fabric Please? The good news is we got a Yes answer to those questions and un intentionally killed two stones with one bird “as the saying goes” at the Moose this year, all things considered a productive and fruitful time in the dunes once again. Along with all the serious stuff we did get introduced to and drank the whole bottle of a not too bad European drink brand named Bum (Czech rum made from potatoes), wore safety crocks talked a load of nonsense and fare welled our good Friend Charlie, scattering his ashes on to the wind, from a kite, as was his wish. Oh the adventure we are planning “Mad Way Mongolia”, It looks like we will be taking 3 kites each they will be Depower foils 2 Summits and a Frenzy each, specially rigged Gav style for some serious back country bugging.

Craig Hansen

DEPOWER FOILS REVIEW
I recently attended the annual “Moose Meet” kite buggy event near Auckland, I was a good chance to test out the new range of Ozone depower foils in the endless huge sand dunes behind Muriwai beach. Craig Hansen and myself were using the event to test a few ideas for a upcoming kite buggy expedition.
Before long we found ourselves on the new Ozone Summits.

With Craig on the 12 and me on the 10 we found ourselves evenly matched due my 30kg weight advantage. With light bar pressure and no stalling or overflying we could ride effortlessly in difficult terrain for 10 hours a day with one hand on the bar and no need to be constantly watching the kite, this will be very important on a 30+ day trip.

We did a comparison with a big fixed bridle foil on handles and the 12 summit expecting the fixed bridle kite to have more low end and better upwind, after swapping kites and buggy’s a few times we found the usability and windrange of the summit more than outweighed the small advantage the other kite has on some tacks.

I was very impressed with the turning speed of the summits, especially in the larger sizes.
The lift and hangtime that depower foils are renowned for has not been sacrificed in the new range, Even the surprisingly powerful 8m summit had no trouble lifting me and a big heavy buggy a meter off the ground.

I love the new colours and chunky graphics, the kites are easily recognised from a long way off.
The new summits and frenzys are very smooth looking kites, there is no wrinkles anywhere in the skins and the trailing edge looks thin and clean like a race kite.

]]> http://www.flyozone.com/landkites/en/news/headlines/20871?source=rssfeed Tue, 13 Nov 2012 02:24:41 +0000 Ozone Landkites http://www.flyozone.com/landkites/en/news/headlines/20871?source=rssfeed Hey people,

I’ve been landboarding for 7 years and kitesurfing for 3. My claim to fame is setting the landboarding 24hr distance world record.  Recently at the 2012 Moosemeet (an epic NZ kiting event) I got the chance to fly the 2013 Summits and Frenzy. Here’s my thoughts…

Being a Manta flyer of old I was very interested in the Summits to see how they flew compared to the Manta. My first flight was on the 12m Summit at midnight on the landboard around 10-15 knots. Night flying is a surreal experience and you need to know your kite intimately as you can’t always see it when its flying. Popping the 12 Summit into the sky was sweet indeed. I tack up the beach and enjoy the quick turning speed of this kite. It’s certainly a lot faster than the old Manta. In fact it fly’s a similar speed to inflatables. The speed across the window is impressive. Throwing down airs at night is very interesting as you can’t see the ground and have no depth perception. The 12 Summit did a nice job with predictable float in the marginal winds.

After tacking/jumping upwind for 5-10 mins I decide to do the downwind run. Wind is cross, cross on. Too downwind to get a good run down the beach. I throw the Summit into the wind expecting to have to loop it or work it because of the downwind angle I’m flying. To my surprise it just sits there and pulls me up to speed without slack lining at this crazy downwind angle. Next thing I know I’m doing 50+kph. What is this magic?  How can it be that the kite didn’t slack line and loose power? The next morning I wake up at dawn. Everyone is asleep and there’s a ton of buggies lurking around. I am a buggy virgin and have never buggied before this day. The wind is up so I swipe the 8m Summit and sneak off with a buddies buggy and give it a lash. So I’m in a buggy on the sand dunes. There 5-20 meter high rolling dunes. Interesting terrain for a first ever buggy. None the less I launch the 8m Summit and hoon off. Such a nice kite. The power delivery smooooooth. I loop the kite to get up a steep dune. The loops are super smooth with no power spike. I can easily loop up the dunes no worries. In my process of learning to buggy I make some silly mistakes and end up running straight at the kite slack lining it. I expect it to loose shape and fall out of the sky as most open cell foils would.  But no such action here. The kite drifts back and holds shape. How does it do this? I so don’t know but its glorious.

Later on the wind dies off a bit and I get to fly the 11m and 13m Frenzy. They have that familiar Frenzy feel. Obvious power and a tone of lift. Wind is really too light for any mad jumps. But I see the turning speed on the 11 and 13m is very good and the Ozone boys have managed to build the same stability and driftability the Summits have into the Frenzy. It’s certainly a pleasurable experience!… The Frenzy is more park and ride style and the Summit is a more dynamic flying style and definitely the kite of choice for me. Over the course of the weekend I fly the 12m, 10m & 8m Summits at any chance I get. Mostly in the buggy as winds are light. Each time I fly them I marvel at their smoothness, stability and ability to hold their shape now matter what silly thing I’m doing.  They are silken beasts in the air. Hmmm. Now how do I break it to the missis that not only do I now have to have a buggy I also need a quiver of Summits to go with it?…..Bugger.

Cheers
David Plumtree

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