the ultimate trainer kite...I even want one!!!

Do you want to learn to kiteboard?  Then hopefully you know that you should start off on a trainer kite.  However, did you know that most trainer kites have only 2 lines connected to them, whereas real kiteboarding kites have either 4 or 5 lines? 

Having a 4 or 5 line kite allows you to "sheet out" ( push the bar away from your harness causing the back of the kite to flag out) which depowers the kite by dumping wind.  It also mean that you can fully power the kite up at will by pulling the bar towards yourself, or your harness.

Have you thought about landboarding?

If the answer to either or both questions is yes, then you absolutely can not go wrong by purchasing the OCEAN RODEO RISE SLE 2 METER KITEBOARDING TRAINER KITE.  (it is the one in the picture above)

Even though it is a trainer kite, it is a true 4 line SLE.  SLE means solid leading edge, so this kite inflates just like the real thing.  It also comes complete with bar and lines.  I would love to get my hands on this kite!  It would also make a wicked land kite for cruising around on a mountain board or even a skateboard.
It would be perfect for teaching others how to fly a true 4 line kite...but it would also be the ultimate kite for teaching a child how to kite, both on land and in the water.

If you happen to purchase the OCEAN RODEO RISE SLE 2 METER KITEBOARDING TRAINER KITE let me know. I would like to fly this kite so much that I will give you your first land lesson in a local park, and help you get your kite flying skills up to the point that you can take a water lesson from an IKO certified instructor.  (I live in Seattle)

Check it out.  And like I said...the Ocean Rodeo is the ultimate in trainer kites!!!

If you plan to get this kite, ideally you will also need a harness.  This makes it possible to hook the kite to yourself, which will allow you to depower the kite by sheeting out.  Here are a few options for getting a kiteboarding harness.

packing for a kiteboarding trip

You might ask yourself, "how does someone travel with 3 kites and 2 boards to a foreign location?"
- note: (what Becky and I own)

Further, if you know anything about the airlines, then you know they like to charge an "overage fee" on surf boards and snow boards. And I am sure that you can guess that no kiter wants to pay that!

So, what do we do?  Well, we deceive the airlines...that's what we do.  You see, golfers do not pay an "overage fee" to travel with their golf clubs.  Why?  Well, the story goes something like this:

Golfers are usually rich.. or at least well off, so the golfing associations and what not have negotiated that golfers should get their clubs shipped for free when their owners' travel. Snowboarders, surfers, windsurfers... or whatever are viewed as punks... probably more likely to cause trouble than anything else... so they don't get a break.



Enter the Kiteboarding Golf Deceiver Bag.  There are several different brands out there, but all of them do basically the same thing.  They trick the ticketing attendant into thinking that a kiteboarder is a golfer, and as such into checking several kites and boards without the additional fee.



Becky and I have the Mystic Golf Bag which we purchased from Bellingham Kiteboarding (aka BKB) here:  http://www.shop.bellinghamkiteboarding.com/Mystic-Golf-Bag-020-002.htm

BKB is absolutely our favorite kiteboarding shop in the northwest, with Urban Surf (located in Seattle)coming in close second.  Both shops are great, but the guys at BKB always go the extra mile, putting 150% into their effort to make doing business with them the best experience in the industry.

Here is what they say about checking your deceiver bag at the airport::

When you are at the counter, the attendants will likely feel stupid asking... hey... what is inside that GOLF bag.... If they do ask, you just calmly answer "various sporting goods" as you straighten the color of your polo shirt and straighten your golf hat.



If they ask to specify, you calmly state it is sailing gear, and you now look like an uber rich golfer... and they should be passing your gear along.


If they get really in depth with you, say it is like a water ski, and kite.... but try not to say the word "board" or "surf". If you say these, you are likely to get charged an overage fee.


Anyhow, at BKB we have a community golf bag that has been to Costa Rica, Hawaii, Mexico, and California, and has yet to be charged an overage fee.


Anyhow, think of this as an investment in your traveling future. If it saves you on one round trip ride, it has almost paid for itself.

The bag comes in 2 sizes, 140 and 155. Just to be safe and have extra room, for most people I reccommend the 155cm size.

So, if you need to travel abroad with your kites and board, definitely think about investing in a Golf Deceiver Bag.  Give BKB a call, or order the NSI Golf Deceiver bag right here from my blob via amazon.com

Trust me on this one!  3 kites, 2 boards = 48lbs.

Ok.. now travel safely..... and discreetly

La Ventana webcam... look for us!

So, there is a webcam that looks directly into Ventana Bay.  It is right in front of Baja Joe's which is a resort in La Ventana.  Check out their website here: http://www.bajajoe.com/

This picture updates every minute or two, so hit refresh to see things update.

Be sure to check it out between Feb 2nd and the 9th.  Becky and I are planning on pumping up our kites and launching right in front of the webcam every day.  Let's make it a contest to see if anyone can snap a screen shot with either Becky or I in the picture!!!!  That would be sweet!

Other than that, I started packing for the trip.  Let me tell you...2 boards, 3 kites, speargun, snorkel gear, fins,etc...... a serious game of Tetris if I ever saw one. 

I will keep you updated as to how the packing is coming along later this week.

"Where'd you get that parachute?"

That seems to be the question, or at least some form of it, that I hear from non-kiters at the beach over and over.  I can understand why, I mean the kites are big enough to generate boat-like power for us boarders while we are out on the water rockin it.  But, it's not a parachute guys...it is a kite...and it's for kiteboarding.

Above is a picture of me with my light wind kite, which is a 2007 16m Naish Raven II. It give perspective on just how big the kites we use are.  And yes, we can control them fully, making them fly in the direction that we need them to in order to keep ourselves hydro-planing on our kiteboard.

Becky and I also have a 2009 11m Eclipse Nano and a 2009 6m Liquid Force Session.
The size of kite used is determined by the speed of the wind.  I have used all three of our kites, while Becky has only used the 11m and 6m.  The 16m is much to big for her.
Anyways, that the scoop...it's a kite.

speargun has arrived

Well, I am stoked!  My 24in AB Miller speargun arrived yesterday.  Today my extra 5/8in bands arrive too.  I am ready to hit the water and start hunting reef fish and collecting shellfish to eat!  Yummy....

I found out from one of the guys that lives there, Glen10 (a virtual celebrity in La Ventana), that a lot fo the spear fishing there is done at night so I ordered a flash light for diving.  Not just any flash light but a Princeton Tec Torrent Xenon 8AA Dive Light  which puts off 115 lumens of light with a tight pattern.  This means, according to the manufacturers website that it can travel 95 meters under water.

Check out the picture below, it shows the light pattern, spread, and distance the light will travel underwater.

So yeah, I am going to light those babies up!  The fish I guess get more docile and easier to spear when it is dark out.  I think they are sleeping.  Bummer for them I guess, but good for out tummies.

Here is a map that shows the basic layout of Ventana Bay, the Isla Cerralvo, and the various species of fish and where they are located.

http://www.mexfish.com/lapz/lapz/ventmp/ventmp.htm

Here is a full list of the fish species in the Sea of Cortez with links to pictures.

http://www.mexfish.com/fish/fish.htm

Ever wonder what the rules are for spearfishing?

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  Spear fishing by free diving only...Absolutely no SCUBA
  
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  Scuba equipment must not be on a spear fishing boat
  
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  Must have a Mexican fishing license for every one on the boat
  
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  Only Rubber powered guns or slings
  
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  No Pneumatic powered, cartridge powered or Co2 powered spear guns.
  
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  No power heads.
  
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  No rifle or pistol ammunition.
  

Here is a video of some spearfishing in La Ventana.

On a side note, today I turned 34.  So, it was cool to get all my spearfishing stuff in...new toys to celebrate being as old as dirt :)  I already have a mask and snorkel as well as dive fins so I am ready to hit the water!

My coworker brought me in 2 cases of blue lo-carb Monster energy drink for my birthday. (Mark is a pimp and got me into kiteboarding) And if you know me you know I live on that stuff.  Which reminds me, when we get to Mexico we are stopping at Walmart and getting 5 cases or more to take with us. 

When am I going to get sponsered I wonder?

kiteboarding better than sitting...well duh!

So, I am sure that we can all agree that kiteboarding is better for us than sitting.

Recently I have learned a lot about the "dangers" of sitting. For the last 13+ months I had been having pain. It seemed to move around on me, one day being in my tailbone, another day in my groin, and the day after that somewhere else. I went in several times to the doc looking for an answer for what was ailing me. All I knew is that something was wrong.

Well, this fall I started feeling pain in my foot. Pain that throbbed but also has an almost "numb" sensation to it. Right then I knew it was nerve related.

So I went in for an MRI and sure enough they found a herniated disk between my L4 and L5. The sciatic nerve is made up of 5 main nerves, one of the being the S1 nerve that comes out between L4 and L5.  The S1 is getting pressure on it from the bulging disk.

After finding this out I tried to recall or figure out "when" or "where" I hurt my back. Thank goodness my back had been hurting prior to learning to kiteboard, so I did not blame my new addiction for the back issue.
My doctor told me one thing after talking to me about my daily routine, "Sitting all day at your job is killing you." Pretty much, he told me my back will never fully heal until I am not sitting all day long at work.

While at work I am on a computer constantly and many times on the phone almost all day as well....so, the option of not sitting is really out of the question. However I have been getting up more, concentrating on posture, and working out at home.

I also started some Physical Therapy, mostly core exercises, for a couple weeks until I learned the excerises enough to do them myself at home. I also go to borrow an inversion table from a coworker of Becky's.  I recommend trying one.  It relieved a lot of pain almost immediately after using it, although the relief is short term.  We will probably get ourselves one very soon as we have to give it back to her coworker. ;(
Anyways, the back pain is still there although much better than before, but some days my groin, leg, and tailbone still hurt...but it is better and that is what counts right now.

Regardless, this will probably not be solved overnight.  But it is just one more reason why Becky and I making the move and redefining our career is such an important thing for us to accomplish. I want to be healthy, in shape, and would love to not have "back problems" for the rest of my life.

Anyways, today msnbc released an article. Doctors are now saying the same thing to everyone as my doc said to me... "Sitting is killing you!" And they literally mean "killing you" when they say it. Here is the article, take a read.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34956099/ns/health-fitness/

If you sit all day...reconsider it! I am not saying you should drop everything, take up kiteboarding and move to an island... but for Becky and I, that is the idea.

nothing hotter.....

....than my gorgeous wife in a wetsuit with her kite.  Just trust me fella's, getting in to kiteboarding with your wife / girlfriend has many perks like traveling to tropical destinations to chase the wind and warm water, getting into better shape together without feeling like a hamster on a treadmill, having your girl be just as excited as you to get out on the water when the wind starts blowing, chatting it up over a margarita after a wicked warm water session, etc (the list goes on and on)...but most of all, the #1 best perk for getting your wife or girlfirend into the sport has to be getting to help her get in and out of her wetsuit...not to mention watch her walk around dripping wet in tight neoprin.  Yep...well worth picking up the sport of kiteboarding if you ask me!

La Ventana - winter kiteboarding trip

13 days and counting! That's right, Becky and I are headed to La Ventana in Baja Mexico.

http://www.bestoflaventana.com/

La Ventana is a little fishing village on the Baja peninsula about 30 miles SE of La Paz, and about 80 miles NE of Cabo. It is located on the Sea of Cortez, which is also known as the "world's aquarium".

http://www.bestoflaventana.com/images/bajamap.JPG

La Ventana has been known since the 80's as a winter Mecca for windsurfers, and over the last 8 or 9 years the kiteboarding community has adopted and virtually taken it over during the winter months. There are still windsurfers, but a large majority of the travelers are now nu skool dangleboarders instead of old skool poleboarders;)

Here is a description of winter weather in La Ventana from a website for Palapas Ventana, a local resort (http://www.palapasventana.com/default.aspx) that offers fishing tours, spearfishing tours, kiteboard instruction, as well as a bunch of cool info on other things to do while vacationing there:

Between November and April, you won’t find more consistent winds than in Ventana Bay. The wind direction is side/on shore, and the curve of the La Ventana Bay creates a lee shore which offers a catch-all for downwind drifters. Our strongest wind is the “El Norte” which can blow for several days straight, and create some incredibly fun waves on the reef in front of Palapas Ventana.

Launch your kite right off our beach into the best wind zone on the bay. You’ll launch on a port tack and fly directly to the un-crowded spacious outside waters and encounter ramps to satisfy your air addiction. There is always help available for launching and landing. Power up and enjoy incredible kiting on our turquoise water with Isla Cerralvo in the background.

Expect wind speeds of 17 – 25 mph with El Norte days in excess of 30 mph. There are relatively few days a month that are not kiteable. Bring kites ranging from 7.0 to 15 m2.

 At the top of the blog is a picture of the Bay with the Isla Cerralvo in the background during the sunrise.

And this is what the bay looks like during the afternoon between 11am and 5pm, and for the most part this is what it looks like daily.

I get almost giddy just writing this post. Man O man, I can not wait! This winter in Seattle has been especially hard for me. I have lived in WA all my life and you would think that I would be used to the cold and dark, day after day, all winter long...but I tell you I am getting old and tired of the cold. It seriously makes me depressed. I get up in the dark, go to work in the dark, then get off work and guess what...yep, you guessed it, it is dark outside!  So it's either get a light box to combat the dark and depression...or head to somewhere warm and kiteboard my butt off.  Not that hard of decision!

I guess that is one major reason Becky and I are trying to make our dreams come true. Combining a sport we absolutely love, with moving to somewhere that can only be described as paradise. Warm weather, warm water, kiteboarding daily....yep, sounds like paradise.

And learning this sport gives us the excuse to take a vacation to places like La Ventana to practice our skillz and work towards our goal. Not to mention, we get to hang with a bunch of cool people. For one, almost all kiteboarders can be summed up in one word "Awesome"! Seriously, we have found the kiting community to be super friendly and helpful, and just genuinely some of the nicest people around. Add to this the fact that we are heading to La Ventana as part of the 7th annual PSKITE La Ventana trip.

PSKITE (http://pskite.org/index.php) is the local kiteboarding organization and message board for kiters that call Puget Sound home. About 40 pskiters are all heading down together, and for the most part staying at the same place, Casa Verde. http://www.bajmahal.com/

Casa Verde is right on the ocean in "green". The owner is David Webb, who has been a pleasure to work with when booking and planning our stay. The place comes highly recommended, although there are several similar places to stay.

We will be staying in two different units. A pretty basic unit for a few days, then finishing up our trip with 4 nights in Elena (http://www.bajmahal.com/casaelena.htm) Here are two pics. See the link if you want to check out all the pics of our room. It has 2 stories with a open kitchen on the second floor and a roof top veranda / deck to hang, drink with friends, and watch the sunset.

So, yep... Becky and I will be stuck in Mexico and you should feel sorry for us;)

In all seriousness, I am stoked and can hardly wait. My days will consist of kiting in the afternoons from roughly 11am - 5pm, and spearfishing daily in the morning and evenings. Here is a picture of the 24in speargun I just got myself off of ebay.

I ordered an extra shaft and two thicker bands so that I can get a bit more range out of this mid-sized speargun. There are several of us pskiters that plan to spearfish. A few guys are going to be using Hawaiian slings, and then there is me with the 24in, and Wally another Seattlite is bringing in a blue water cannon (slang for a full sized speargun). I am sure we will have some sort of testosterone contest over the size of fish harvested. Let's hope I can get myself a nice big grouper. Lots of sea urchins, lobster, muscles, and all kinds of reef fish are on the menu!

Stay tuned. As we finish plans this week and the next for the trip I will update this blog. Then once we are there...plan on frequent updates. If you can't join us, at least you can check out the pictures and updates from our adventures.

The 5 year plan...

So, in order for this "blog" to have some direction, I guess it only fits that early on I tell you of our goals and dreams...aka. where we want to be in 10 years.
Then this blog at least starts out with some sort of concrete finish line or direction. From there it no longer becomes all about holding the trophey up at the finish line...but more about the journey we take and where we are relative to the goal.

The Goal:
(note- I am holding nothing back on this. I am trying to be realistic, and yet at the same time I am not holding back anything that hard work and dedication can manifest. These are my heart's desires)

1) Get IKO certified to teach the sport of kiteboarding
2) Travel with my wife to a few of the Mecca's of kiteboarding and get some hours in as a instructors
3) If all goes smoothly, move to an island and start a kiteboarding business
4) Offer beginner lessons and excursions to tourists in a all-inclusive bed and breakfast style.
5) Build the business to the point of hiring employees (multi-lingual instructors)
6) Open a bar and restaurant affiliated with the kiteboading business
7) Repeat in another paradise location

This is the journey I am embarking on with my lovely wife. I am 34 years old in 3 days..whew...holy sh*t.... time is flying. Time for action.

Where am I at in then process?

Well, it is January 2010... this last June my wife and I went to Cabarete in the Dominican Republic. We took about 4-5 days of lessons. Then, every chance I got this summer afterwards I hit the water with the kite. August and Sept didn't give us as many days kiting as I would have liked. But at the end of summer I am staying upwind and doing slide transitions.

Then fall and winter came...so did wicked fast punchy gusty winds that kicked my ass. You can only take so many freezing (or just under) waves in the face before the energy is sapped and it's time to head back to the shore.

So regardless, right now I am stoked! Becky and I are heading in 13 days to La Ventana in Mexico. A winter kiteboarding Mecca on the Sea of Cortez in Baja. We will be there from Feb 1st to the 10th.
Ten straight days of kiteboarding.
Ten straight days of seeing if we can be ready by this July to become kiteboarding instructors.
That's the plan at least, to return to Cabarete this July and get IKO certified as kiteboarding instructors.
Until then I plan to blog each trip to paradise to build the needed skills, and to blog each step we take to get closer to our dreams.

In 13 days we embark on the first leg of our journey. The journey of the wind rockers...

start of an ADVENTURE

Hello,
I am an up and coming kiteboarder..... and this blog is to be the venue for sharing my journey from a teabagging, music producing, tech support engineer, hailing from Seattle to a kiteboarding intructor and business owning, island dweller enjoying the rest of his life with his kiteboarding wife (and future child) where I plan to make beautiful music expressing the love of life while enjoying the wind and waves for the rest of my days.

I know, it sounds cheesy and a bit too perfect....but really that is how I see my life ending up...surreal.....but isn't that just how the sport of kiteboarding is? Surreal, too perfect to be true.... Yes, I think that about nails it.

So, with that mind set to announce the start of this show.......my wife and I plan to manifest our goal and dream of becomming kiteboard instructors, moving to an island, and starting a business that caters to tourists looking to get into the most amazing sport ever, as well as those that want to visit paradise and get the chance to kiteboard all the hidden jems that for the most part only the locals get to enjoy.

Stay tuned.... updates should be frequent...and hopefully inspiring to others.

Follow your dreams and manefest the future you want.

PS:  Want to learn to kiteboard?  Get yourself started with a BEST 3m trainer kite and start practicing.  You will need at least 5 hours on a trainer to get your kite control skills down to the point of being able to take your first lesson with a full sized 4 line kite.