2008-2009 SEASON HAS BEGUN
Officially. We have a great team this season. The infamous twins, Mac and Ben Adnunson have returned. We have also added Phil Moad, Jorge Ayala and Jake Kinney to our superstar instructor team! Get out and see these guys kite. We are lucky to have the best of the best, on and off the water. Everyone has been working hard to get the palapa finished, and, if I do say so myself, it is the best yet! It is huge, with more than enough space for people to hang out in the shade watching the show all day. Ian and I just returned from the U.S. with a ton of 2009 North Rebels just waiting to be flown. North just cant get it wrong, these kites are amazing!
After working for almost a year to meet their standards, we have become and IKO Center! We are one of only two schools in Mexico to get this honor and we are so happy to have that recognition and merit.
Some more exciting news: we have decided to work with VELA and run their Dare2Fly program! We are thrilled to share our passion of kiteboarding with more people and work towards making Los Barriles a top notch kiting destination! We will also be offering Cabrinha Crossbows and Switchblades, so whatever your kite preference, we will be sure to have something you love!
Awesome wind and warm water is what November brings. Ian and I have even managed to get a few sessions in. We look forward to seeing everyone down here and having a killer season ahead.
August 6, 2008
What a summer! We have been on the water every week, kiting the southeast winds in La Ribera. The mornings are flat, perfect for a paddle board session, and around 11am we start to see the south, wind generated swell roll in.
Saturday, the 2 nd of August, the wind stepped it up a notch to nuclear. Ian and I were having friends over that evening and I was at home baking and cleaning while Ian took off to go golf (I have turned into such a wife!). At 2:00pm I hear the palms start to rustle and I turn to look outside. Across the bay, in La Ribera, the ocean is frothing! It looks like the biggest day of the north wind season. 45 minutes later the wind has filled all the way into North Beach in Los Barriles. I jump into the 4-Runner, which Ian and I have named the "Mad Max" car b/c Ian has completely removed the front end and has yet to put it back on, and race to North Beach. The wind was directly onshore at around 22knts and the waves were head high. I pumped up my 6 meter North Rebel and easily self-launched by attaching the chicken loop to the tow hitch on the car and pushing the bar away to de-power the kite. I headed out to the water and power my way through the shore break. Once I got out there I was riding parallel to the beach ending up down by the first arroyo on a port tack and north, past North Beach, on the starboard. The waves were epic, and I was riding them into the shore and then charged out through them once again for the next ride. It was an incredible session!
July 10 th, 2008
We woke up this morning to another beautiful day here in Los Barriles, Baja Sur. The clouds were heavy on the horizon giving me 10 more minutes of sleep than usual. I strapped on my ipod and running shoes and Austin and I were off for another run down the beach. Even at 6:45am the ocean was showing signs of good things to come with a 2- foot ESE swell and chop. By 7:30am the sun has shown itself and the air was warm and humid with a light breeze already picking up from the east.
At 12:30pm we packed up our cooler with tasty beverages and headed south around the bay to La Ribera. With onshore SE winds Los Barriles, La Ribera is positioned perfectly for side shore winds. We arrived at the beach and kicked our 4-Runner into 4 wheel drive and charged down the beach (staying well away from the high tide line and as close to the lagoon as possible to ensure we weren't coming close to any sea turtle nests, of course!). Ian and Ryan pumped up their big kites while I waited for the wind to pick up.
Twenty minutes later the boys were in ready to de-rig and downsize, I was ready to go with my 6 meter North Rebel. The wind was perfect, the swell was perfectly timed, and the water was in the mid 80's. There is just something about being the only person on the water with only your kite and board for company, to make you fall head over heels again in love with kiteboarding.
Ryan and Ian were back on the water before I knew it and we were all trying new tricks in that un-intimidating spot. Ian was wowing us with his monkey loops (un-hooked s-bend, down-loop transition), and Ryan was landing his first back-roll kiteloops! I was trying front-roll, down-loop transitions goofy, and landing on my back every time. It wasn't until 5pm that we finally called it quits for the day. All of us exhausted and ready to work on new tricks and enjoy the ride tomorrow as ikitesurf.com is forecasting for even more wind than today. And that is the great thing about Los Barriles and the Bay of Palms, there is always tomorrow, even in the off-season.