Instruction: Tacking a Kite Surfboard.

Here is a great video on how to tack a kite surfboard.   Tacking allows you to gain a little bit of extra ground upwind instead of losing ground with a Jibe.   Its a great technique for racing an geting back upwind to ride that next wave set too. 

Here is a slightly different version called a duck tack were its more like a back roll and a tack. 

Tacking takes lots of practice to get it down.  Start with a larger sized board in flat water and before long you will be impressing your friends with your cool new transition. 

- DC

SUP - Save your sholders

Paddle season is just starting as warm weather ruturns to the north.   Here is a great post I found on how to strengthen your sholders to help avoid possible injury this season.   Thought it might be a bit more important this season with the addition of a raceboard to my board quiver, I'll be on the water a lot more paddling much harder. 

PADDLE HEALTHY: SAVING SHOULDERS WITH JENNY KALMBACH

In this installment, elite paddler Jenny Kalmbach gives us the inside scoop on shoulders and how to save them from injury so you can keep on paddling. “Early on in my paddling career I struggled with a recurring shoulder injury. I thought this had to do with overuse, but apparently, it’s not that simple,” Kalmbach said. “I recently had the opportunity to sit down with movement specialist, David Darbyshire and trainer Mary Mullahey, who explained to me that shoulder injuries are commonly seen in standup paddlers due to the body’s physical limitations. These limitations can be a result of a number of factors including habitual posture, repetitive movement patterns and muscle imbalances,” Kalmbach added.

To start, Darbyshire and Mullahey explained that most shoulder injuries occur in the rotator cuff. The rotator cuff consists of the supraspinatus, subscapular, teres minor and infraspinatus. These muscles hold the head of the humerus into the socket of the shoulder and aid in stabilizing the shoulder girdle. The shoulder girdle needs to have both mobility and stability, and when this happens, it will allow for a more efficient and effective paddling stroke.

Read the rest of the artcle here: http://www.supthemag.com/features/paddle-healthy-saving-shoulders/

Spring South Padre Island Trip 2012

April brings up my annual trip down to South Padre Island in Texas on the Gulf of Mexico.   South Padre or SPI is one of the top places in the country for kiteboarding.  The island offers warm waters great wind with spots for waves to flat water and beginner to expert, SPI has it all. 

2012 has been a different year for weather all across the country and this effected the spring kite season too.   This year the wind was running a few weeks late and I lucked out when I showed up in late April as I caught the first really good sessions of the season.  Usually the season starts in march, but like the snow this year the wind wasn’t normal. 

Trip summary:  

• Time on the SPI 10 days
• Rideable days 8
• 20knt+ and 10’+ wave days 3
• SUP surf days 2
• Water temps Gulf 75, Bay 77
• Days needing wetsuit - 0 

The Highlight of this trip was three days of strong southeast wind that made for some classic SPI surf kiting on the Gulf side of the island.   Waves were shoulder high on friday and by sunday well overhead in the 10-14’ range.  Sorry no video, as I was having too much fun and didn’t want to lose a gopro if I happened to crash in surf that big. 

photos to be added soon. 

If you are looking for a warm late spring trip join us in SPI next year. 

- DC

Remi Meum - Snow Kiting

Check out this great video of what snow kiting on terrain from Pro Kiter Remi Meum. 

Rems - Back on track from Remi Meum on Vimeo.

Video: Downhill Dash 2012

In addition to kiteboarding we also ride bikes as a great way to keep busy when we can’t kiteboard.   Here is a video from the recent Downhill Dash which was part of the Winter WOW Festival in Traverse City.  We are riding down a slalom course on a ski run at Mt. Holiday.   The Rider in the video is John Babka and he is riding a Salsa Mukluk snow bike. 

It was a fun night of riding and no riders were injured during this event. 

- DC