Richard Branson plans to kite across the English channel for his 60th birthday.When he gets to France, he is set to become the oldest person to manage the feat.

He turns 60 on Sunday, said:
“Kitesurfing is one of my favourite sports. I absolutely love the amazing rush you get when going at high speeds, in high winds, with the most beautiful kite acting as your only guide. I know that kite-surfing across the channel will not be quite the same as kite-surfing in the beautiful waters of the Caribbean but I can’t think of anything I’d rather do, with my family and friends, to celebrate turning 60.
My wife swears I get more barking as I get older – this year I’ve almost crippled myself running 26.2 miles in my first marathon and now I’m putting my poor 60-year-old bones through an arduous 24.4 miles, over water, hanging onto a giant kite. Joan could have a point!

But as Holly, Sam and my nephews will be doing it with me at least I can claim the whole family is barking and at the end of the day they are Joan’s children as well – so she’s 50% responsible.”

He plans to do it  in August, with the exact date to be decided depending on the weather.

Got to love that you can’t find the dude kiting without a pic of a hot Chick on his back!  I this case it is pro kiter Susi Mia.

We will have all the 2010 Ocean Rodeo demo gear for sale at 25% off.
The gear is all  brand new and will be what is used for that weekend.  So it will have very little if any water time on it.

Check back here or email me for if you want to to pre-pay to ensure you get it.

I was riding bikes with the family on the San Francisco Marin Green today and happen across the Family Kite Festival. www.fdkf.org

It was good fun. My son got me make a kite and fly it.

But the best part and why I really wat to share it with all of you is that the Hornblower Hybrid boat is giving bay cruises for $10!

The cruise was 45 minutes from Gas House Cove (across from the Marina Safeway) out to the Golden Gate Bridge and back.

There is a bike on board so you can pedal and put some power into the boat.

We got luck and took the 4:30 cruise tonight and got to shoot some pictures of the local kiting below.

So here are some pictures of the boards and people at the beach.

Chip getting his kites ready for day 4.

Here is team Cabrinha boards

Nils and Shawn talk about what fins to run.

Eric Due happy after a good day of racing.

Martin Vari and Mike Zajicek

Nils hits up Eric's majic cooler.

Bruno Sroka and Steph Bridges sit before a long day of racing.

Frank and Stefaans. Protest ?!? No way man.

Shawn Farley getting ready to set up for the day.

The last month or so Crissy Field has been a drag strip with local and international riders gearing up for the 1st ever Kiteboard Course Racing WORLD Championships.

After ever session I can’t help but think of one of my favorite sports photos where you see the Tour De France riders helping each other light cigarettes at the end of the race. 

I am not sure of the year of this photo but I am sure they where in a similar place.

Technology is changing race to race.  Some riders are paid and some are not.  So here are a few pics of what has been going on at Crissy Field in San Francisco.

There are  a few ways the locals have been training.  I think you can see why the smart money is on Chip.  Not only do I think he is currently the fastest local,  I think he has a real shot of winning the whole thing.

Heading to the start of the last race before the Worlds.

Dylan found a new toy as Stefaans mourns the lost of his favorite board.

Paolo Rista tells Jeff Kafka and Gibby  about the board be built for himself and Bruno Sroka.

Mike Gebhardt working on some fins. I hear he has 7 boards right now including a few Zajicek boards.  You can also see Paolo working on a board in the background.

And here is what I am sure you really want to see the fins.

We will be post updates here though out the event and a recap at the end so check back.

“Local kiteracing hero Chip Wasson has some serious competition when french kitemaestro Bruno comes in town. Tune in to find out more ”

Inspired by Talladega’s Nights story and characters, our designer Boriana made a quick image promoting the competition. Chip Wasson, Jeff Kafka and all the other guys face some serious rivalry now that the world is watching and participating in the Cabrihna Race series.

The St. Francis Yacht Club will hold the 2009 Course Racing World Championship event from August 04 till August 08. It is only fitting that the event will be held at the birth place of the sport, our backyard.

Talked with John Gomes and the registration will be online in the next 2 weeks.  I will post more details as the come.

St. Francis Yacht Club – On the Marina. San Francisco, CA 94123
Phone: 415.563.6363  -  Fax 415.563.8670

It is that time of  the year again!  The Pismo Beach kiteXpo will be on March 28th and 29th.  We will be down there with Ocean Rodeo.

Here are the details given by The Kite Boarder Magazine:

Spring is around the corner and that means wind, sun and swell for California kitesurfers! Come join the fun as kitesurfers from around the state converge in Pismo Beach, CA, for the annual Pismo Beach KiteXpo sponsored by Xtreme Big Air and supported by The Kiteboarder Magazine.

New this year, SUP Demos!

A great way to get your water fix and exercise when there’s no wind, the SUP demo portion of the event will take place between 9a to 12 noon daily. We will blog if this demo will happen as we are closer to the event. Stay tuned……

* Registration: Daily from 8:45a until 2p

* Demo Hours: 9a to 12p or whenever the wind starts blowing!*

* Skill Level: Use at your own risk. Need to be comfortable in the ocean, aware of others.

* Other: Must sign waiver and provide credit card info security deposit to demo gear. Demos limited

to 20 minutes unless otherwise arranged with vendor.

*SUP demo will be only happen if we get minimum four companies in SUP category.

Free Demo 2009 Gear and Accessories!

So far, 14 companies have signed up to demo. We think we’ll have around 20 total by the time of the Expo! You only need to be an intermediate level kiteboarder or better, able to go upwind consistently, self rescue and handle ‘congestion,’ to be able to demo.

Registered companies so far:

Advance, Best, Caution, Dakine, Eclipse, F-one, Liquid Force, Mystic, Naish (Sol Kiteboarding), Ocean Rodeo, RRD, Slingshot, Wainman Hawaii (Kite Naked) and Underground. Pending are Surf Industries SUP boards, Vari Kites, North, Cabrinha and ???

* Registration: Daily from 8:45a until 2p

* Demo Hours: 12p to 5p

* Skill Level: Intermediate or better only

* Other: Must sign waiver and provide credit card info security deposit to demo

gear.

* Demos limited to 20 minutes unless otherwise arranged with vendor.

Trade In Old Kites, Hang Gliding Sails and Paragliders for “Cash!”

Kitecyle.org is a non-profit organization that recycles your old gear into reusable grocery and all-purpose carrying bags. Bring your old kites, windsurf sails and hang gliding sails and get a tax write off (US Citizens/permanent resident)! Kitecycle.org will be located in/near the registration tent area.

kitecycle.org

Raffle, BBQ and More!

Once again we will have some exciting raffle prizes to give away on both Saturday and Sunday including some Waterproof cases and headphones from H20 Audio and new, high quality watches with kiteboarding graphics from DonkeyDickKiteboarding.com.Stay tuned for updates!

The UCSB Collegiate Kiteboarding Club will be back again to host the BBQ on Saturday the 28th. Tickets are $10 each and quantities are limited. BBQ will start between 5:30p and 6:30p, depending on how long the wind lasts that day! Email

cgherb@aol.com

to make a reservation. We are also trying to get some music. We’ll see!

www.xtremebigair.com/kitexpo for more info

Here is a promo video for the 2009 La Ventana Classic and Expo

We have got word the Mark has his camp set up and is ready and waiting for us.

10 days and counting! hope to see you there.

We will Kiteboarding, partying, and having a great time at the La Ventana Classic and KiteXpo event in La Ventana, Mexico, January 22-25, 2009.

The Windy Devil crew is going to be hanging at Camp Marky Mark from January 16th to the 25th.  For those of you that don’t know Mark is a legend down there so this is the place to be for this kiting event.
We have people flying into La Paz and Cabo so let us know and we can hook up and share rides to La Ventana.

Also this will be a great chance to see why the Rise is the kite to have for all styles of kitesurfing because you can fly it back to back with other brands.

Below are details I took off the Kiteboaders site.

See the final expo layout and more details here 2009lv_publicinfo.pdf

Final Exhibitors (16 total): Advance, Best, Caution, Eclipse, F-One, Freak Dog, Isle Surboards (SUPs), Liquid Force, Mystic, Naish (Sol Kiteboarding), North, Ocean Rodeo, RRD, Slingshot, Underground and Wainman HI (Kite Naked)

Treasure Hunt! All entrants in the Island Crossing will have the option to participate in a treasure hunt. Grand prize is a 2009 Naish kite and size of your choice, courtesy of Sol Kiteboarding! www.solkiteboarding.com

Rider Clinics: Details are being worked out by so far we have a freestyle clinic with F-One’s Etienne Lhote and a wave clinic with Caution’s Brendan Richards.

Top Raffle Prizes: Stuff is still coming up but you could win a 2009 BEST 12m Waroo, 2009 WAINMAN HI 12m Boss courtesy of www.KiteNaked.com, MYSTIC Kiteboarding gift certificates, board bags/luggage from NORTH and F-ONE and tons of other cool swag! Raffle tickets are $1 each and are good for day of raffle only. ALL tickets will go back into drawing for grand prizes on last day. Also just in, thanks to Transcend for donating a bunch of their new kiteboarding clothing designs to the cause! Raffle held under registration tent around 5p daily. Must be present to win.

Rescue Boats: Thanks to Ventana Windsports for sponsoring the ponga boats to get participants to and from the island safely! As we do every year, boat captains get a refresher  on how to rescue and pick up downed kiters.

Supporting Sponsors: Special thanks to Kitemasters, paddlesurf.net, Captain Kirk’s, Downwinder Inn, El Cardon Restaurant, La Ventana Builders, Dakine, iKitesurf.com and Transcend Apparel for their various support levels for the event!