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| Surf Store |
2 September 2008 |
Hi all,
Our old friend, Patrice (the crazy Frenchman) has opened a online store at http://www.surfstore.co.za/
There are photos and a online store, join him there and have a look at the merchandise. |
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| Kite Video |
21 December 2006 |
Hi all,
Gonna keep this short and sweet. Strandkite.co.za will not be featuring a video section as well.
First video can be viewed here. WARNING! 9 MegaByte Video file, cool kite footage and pumping baselines.
Click Here |
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| Sad day |
18 October 2006 |
I would like us all to mark today. It is a sad day as we were informed of a kite friends passing on the beach at Maccasar. Pierre lost his life while doing the one thing we all like doing best, kiting.
According to eye witness accounts, Pierre was in shallow water, body dragging and practicing to get on his board, when his kite started looping and dragging him through the water and eventually out on the beach. (Pathology reported that Pierre had a heart attack)
As I write this with a heavy heart, I'm thinking of Pierre's family and friend and the loss they must feel. I think I speak for all local kiteboarders when I say that our hearts and thoughts are with you in this difficult time. |
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| strandkite.co.za is back |
18 May 2006 |
We still need to make a few changes, witch will be done in the next day or two. Bear whith us as we transgress this transition period.
The problem has been found and identified! Some poor schmuck admin spent the last three days getting by with very little sleep just to bring you, our esteamed reader, this website.
OK its fixed! The forum is working. Please feel free to drop in and leave a note, sarc or comment.
There is still a problem with the good old kitepics. The display script is not working and it seems I lost some of Juan's photos of when he was snow kiting in St. Moritz
Juan if you have the pics please mail it me. kite@strandkite.co.za
P.S. mail any other kite pics as well. Please I want some updates. |
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| A new year is here |
10 January 2006 |
It is 2006, the kiteseason is in full bloom and we are kiting! Just a few updates and news:
The Downwind 2005 went exceptionally well with 55 kiters taking part in the downwind to Macassar! Well done to Carl for organising a great event. Next year promises to be even bigger, with a longer downwind and tv coverage. Awesome...
IMPORTANT: All kiters, new and old, please note that the Strand beach area is now zoned. Kiting is only allowed in the area between the flags in front of the kiteclub and the fence further down the beach to the North. No kiting is allowed on the other side of the flags at the club. Swimmers are not allowed in the kiting area, which is only for watersports. Please give us your support here and also tell those kiters on the wrong side about the zoning. Your co-operation will ensure that we can keep our kiting area in the next years! |
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| Kite lessons! |
21 December 2005 |
In need of kite lessons, tuition, or need to fine tune your skills?
Clyde Kalp is our IKO qualified instructor and all around nice guy. Friendly and profesional service guaranteed.
Contact Clyde at backloop.ck@gmail.com or send a sms with your name and number to: 082 441 3934 |
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17 October 2005 |
It's been a long time since the last entry... The season is here again, everyone are climbing out of their hibernation holes and getting ready for the summer season!
Winter time wasn't completely without kiting - we had some freezing cold but interesting sessions, even kiting in the rain when we were desperate enough.
But now the sun is shining, it's getting hotter by the day and the wind is blowing properly again. There are several beginners on the beach already - some know about safety procedures, some don't. Let's help them as much we can, and please tell a kiter if he/she's in the wrong. One accident on the beach or in the water can cause problems for all of us, with the possibility of restrictions. Please do your part for the good of the kiting community!
If you don't know the safety regulations or need to brush up on your knowledge, go to http://kitesurfingschool.org/safety.htm for safety and http://www.ikorg.com/priority_rules.php?menu_id=2 for right-of-way rules.
Enjoy the season and kite safe!
PS: Please please pretty please, remember to look behind you before you turn or jump! |
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14 January 2005 |
Okay, New Year's Resolutions...
This is on behalf of the club members...
1. We will all learn safety rules and STICK to them for our own good and the future of the sport.
2. We will consider fellow kiters and rather give way than hog the water like a cocky cowboy.
3. We will buy fellow members a beer after a good session to improve fellowship and ensure willing hands when needing a launch/landing.
4. We will assist new kiters, even and especially if they screw up badly and make a fool of themselves (we've all been there, remember?).
5. We will make more posts on our forum even though it doesn't make any sense, like this one from Goldmember http://www.strandkite.co.za/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=101
6. We will let each other know when the wind blows, and not keep all the good winds to ourselves.
7. We will not moan and groan when being reprimanded by a fellow kiter if we kite recklessly.
8. We will not make passes at each other's girlfriends while the boyfriend is on the water kiting his lungs out.
9. We will freely give advice to newcomers except for qualified instructors, who should get paid for talking their throats hoarse while patiently watching a newcomer repeatedly crash his/her kite in the water.
10. We will not let anyone launch/catch our kites who doesn't positively know what he/she's doing.
11. We will all help to keep the clubhouse clean, and store our gear in the toilets (not IN the toilet...)
12. We will not set bad examples to newcomers by jumping on the beach, kiting too close to swimmers and surfers, or not abiding to right-of-way rules.
13. We will better support club parties and especially the bar, tip the barman generously for his free services, and buy Juan's juicy marinated ribs for braais.
More might follow, but I think this should keep us busy for a while...
Happy kiting!
Johan |
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4 November 2004 |
Yay, the site is up again! We apologise for the unavailability of the site.
Windy days are here again... Today I drove past beach road, saw three kites out during lunch, and pitied myself for working. Then again, we have to pay for our toys in some way! I'm looking forward to those late afternoon & evening kite sessions we had last season - kite till you can't kite no more, then go out and do it again... Then a couple of ice-cold beers afterwards. Damn, I can make a career out of THAT!
One kite-surfer looking for work: job-description should include kiting whenever the wind blows, intense studying of wind-patterns on the internet, mailing everyone when it blows, testing new kites and boards, lying in a hammock on the beach when it's not blowing, social meetings with kiting coleagues (includes refreshments), hooking potential kitebabes.
Perks might include free kitegear, extensive medical and hospital plan, huge travel allowance, beachhouse for office use, good-looking PA, far-away business trips to exotic islands, entertainment allowance and any other perks you might feel are necessary.
With all these perks included, I would be willing to work for a starting salary of R1. What do I need money for anyway - i got it all!
SIGH... Okay, back to work again. Deadlines to meet, clients to please, bills to pay. I will make my dream come true one day... |
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29 September 2004 |
The last week or two we had some epic kite-sessions! The usual gang has recovered from their winter hibernations. Even Tienie showed his face for a half-hour session. Aaah, the joys of summer!
The beaches are getting fuller by the day, especially with school holiday now, so people PLEASE be careful what you do.
Newcomers - rather ask advice at the club about safety, launching, gear and so on, than mangling yourself, your kite or innocent people on the beach! We already had a newbie in hospital because he didn't abide to the safety precautions.
Kiting is not at ALL like stunt-kites. Always have respect for your kite and the tremendous power it can generate. A normal stunt-kite is roughly 1 or 2 square metres in size. Kitesurf kites are 5 to 20 TIMES larger. Imagine what a fully powered-up kite can do to you!
DO take lessons when you start kiting. It is not that expensive, will save you HOURS of frustration, and will help prevent you from wrecking you expensive kite!
Kiting can be compared to paragliding when it comes to safety - and you won't jump off a cliff with a paraglider without taking lessons first, would you?
If anyone needs the complete list of safety features for kiting, e-mail me and I will gladly send it to you. Rather be safe than mutilated!
I hope everyone have a kick-ass season with many days of kiting. If you have any questions or comments, please join our forum and let us know.
PS: Heinrich did his first successful handle-pass the other day! Way to go Batman!! Next up is a backloop-kiteloop with handlepass... You can do it, malkop! (===>o--< |
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2 September 2004 |
Yes people, the time is near... Spring is in the air, the rabbits are doing what comes naturally, kiters are dusting off their kites and checking their lines - I can smell that Southerly in the air! Check out the forum for André's optimistic weather report for Sunday and beyond...
Carl brought up a valid and controversial point in the forums: Should the kiting zone in Strand be limited to the clubhouse area? Share your views and help the club to decide on this serious matter.
If anyone have photos to share, please contact me and I'll do my best to get them up on the gallery sooner or later.
See you on the waterrrrrrrr! |
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9 August 2004 |
It's been a while since I've added any news here. I guess the winter is bad for the kiting spirit, making you lazy in all sorts of ways.
Me and Gerhardus are planning a major site overhaul soon. We hope to make the site more informative and interesting, adding articles, safety guidelines, a guide to good kitespots, useful tips and other lekker stuff. Let us know if you have anything to contribute. |
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23 May 2004 |
New photos added! These were taken at Prawn Flats, Hermanus three weeks ago. Thanks goes to Erhard's wife, Lydie! Erhard did his second board session which went very well, except for his teabag stunt over the sand. Equipment failure caused his kite not to release when he pulled his safety.
Gerhardus had his first boardsession in Strand today, and was stoked when he stood on his board for a few metres downwind. It's nice to see them getting it right.
Those of you new to kiteboarding - please make sure you know all the safety measures! And if you are using a boardleash - wear a helmet! When I was using boardleash, my board's edge wacked me hard behind the head after a wipeout. If I wasn't wearing a helmet, I might have been wearing a steel plate in my head now. And be sure you know how to rig your lines. If you're not sure, please ask someone to check it for you. It could save your life, and kite! |
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17 May 2004 |
| Some new photos added to the gallery. Thanks for the photos guys. |
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16 May 2004 |
| There's some new photos at the photo gallery, thanks to André. I tried to get as much of the different locals in as possible. If you want a photo to be added of you, mail it to me and I'll add it. |
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13 May 2004 |
We got our first images up on the gallery. I think all photos were taken by André, wack me with a kiteboard if I'm wrong. More photos still following - should be up by the weekend.
Please let me know if you think the fullsize images should be larger than they are now. I don't know how fast your average connections are, so I'm trying to keep the sizes decent to keep loading times low. |
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12 May 2004 |
Hi to all the new visitors. As you can see, there are no images in the gallery yet. However, it looks like our local pro-photographer and parttime-kiteboarder (always missing the good winds and breaking ribs when he does find it...), will be sponsoring some of his masterpieces for the gallery.
He's given up a lot of valuable kitetime to capture your sickest moves! Hope to have it up this weekend. His photos kick ass, be sure to have a look again in the next few days! |
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10 May 2004 |
| After long, intense thinking (5 minutes over coffee and a smoke), it was decided that the NEWS and EVENTS links will be removed, and will form part of the FORUM instead. So you can still read up on what's happening, only it will be as new topics under the FORUM. The forum is up and running, let's fill it up with posts! |
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9 May 2004 |
Welcome to Strand Kiteboarding! Pretty soon you will find all kinds of useful local stuff, to make kiting that little bit more fun in the Strand... As you can see from the (non-existing) links on the left, we will bring you the following awesome goodies:
-NEWS-
Local news on what happened over the weekend, who wiped out where, who's in traction in hospital, who finally did a double-handlepass without seeing his ass, what the wind was doing in case you had other (less important) things to do and missed out, and what is happening at the clubhouse.
-EVENTS-
Need a life? A weekend away? Exciting things to do kitewise? Keep an eye on this link, we will tell you how, when and where to improve your kiting and social life. Includes away-weekends, down-winds, braais at the club, whatever...
-PHOTO GALLERY-
Self-explanatory. Mostly photos of the locals, might include some video clips in the near future. If you have photos you want to add, mail us and we will make a plan.
-FORUM-
A forum where the local kiters can say their say, brag about whatever they did, ask advice, talk k*k, sell stuff for ridiculously low prices, and so on.
Most of this will be up and running within a week (amazing, huh?), but in the meantime your suggestions and comments will be appreciated.
GOOI MIELIES!
Johan
kite@strandkite.co.za | |
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