The morning after is terrible, breakfast unthinkable. A wind-seeking Italian from yesterday reports good wind. We drive another 120 kilometres to Sotavento and are among the first on the water at midday. The next six hours are a dream. In an initial 15 knots of sideshore, we take quite large kites and fight our way through the battlefield of popping kite students.
Everything is perfect. Dominik’s first ocean kiting. High jumps, laminar wind, 200 metre wide beach, space until you drop. Almost perfect. At some point Dominik feels sick because of the last night shift. Or because of the McBreakfast. In any case, he gives the tip that it’s better not to throw up upwind of your own kite. Downwind would be much more appropriate. (more…)
Offshore And Engine Damage
We are surprised by a heavy downpour at the bus stop. One of three rainy days in November on Fuerteventura is now a thing of the past. The bus to Flag Beach is cheap, but you still have to walk a kilometre with 30kg of equipment. Sport before sport is bearable, sport after sport is absolute rubbish.
There are things that are simply never good together: blow-drying in the bathtub. Blind cow on the motorway. Unprotected sex in South Africa. The wind only blows from the east 10% of the time here, so fully offshore. Today is 10%. Wouldn’t be too bad on its own. But together with an engine failure on the only rescue boat far and wide, it’s hell in heaven. (more…)
Rhodes For The Second Time
Sotos needs my services as a web designer for his kitesurfing school in Greece. We set off from the most miserable German summer ever to Rhodes. Strong winds greet us at the airport. After a short transfer, we arrive at the Hotel Delfini in Fanes.
We already liked the hotel three months ago when we were passing through, but it’s only when you stay here for a week that you realise what really fits: A green garden full of works of art. Flowers bloom swaying in the wind. Butterflies and birds fly around the bushes. Turquoise geckos compete with the sea. The food is excellent, the drinks at the beach bar cool. (more…)
Kitesurfing On Rügen
Let’s go to Rügen! The wind had been dead for weeks and the entire summer was non-existent anyway. On our first night on a farm, we experience a small harvest apocalypse. Huge combine harvesters flatten all the fields within a radius of one kilometre until four in the morning. It was probably the first rain-free night on Rügen this “summer”.
The next morning it’s raining cats and dogs again. The chalk cliffs disappear into the grey. Then the wind finally arrives. It is too strong and onshore at Wieker Boden. We cross over to Ummanz and head out to Suhrendorf beach. (more…)
Kitesurfing Course Rhodes
Are you looking for a good and affordable kitesurfing course on Rhodes at a really good spot? I’ve been kitesurfing for ten years and have looked at almost 20 spots and kitesurfing schools on Rhodes in the last two weeks. The best is definitely the kitesurfing school in front of the Delfini Hotel in Fanes, north coast of Rhodes.
In Fanes, the wind blows well side-onshore onto the sandy beach, which is up to 40 metres wide and around 300 metres long. I met the kitesurfing instructor Sotos two years ago in Fiji. He teaches patiently, safely and persistently in small groups of a maximum of two students. Kites and boards are completely new from F1. A 10-hour kitesurfing course costs 250 euros including equipment. Best price on Rhodes. (more…)
El Yaque Kite Killers
The last four days in EL Yaque were not under a good star. Not for anyone. I’ve never seen so many kite killers in such a short space of time. Take this: Four days of constant chop, day and night. The absolute minimum was 10 knots, mid 25s, peaks of up to 38 knots. Measured on the beach.
The day before yesterday I went out in the mid-30 knots with the 10-liner. After 500 metres my 5-liner collapses (ask me how that works…), pops up again and pulls me first through the air and then under water. By the time I’m back on top, it has already hit the water. I only realise that a connecting seam from the strut to the front tube has burst a day later when I try to mend a tube. (more…)
Kitesurfing Coche At 30 Knots
My soundtrack for today: Riders on the storm. Highway to hell. I will survive. We lift you up where we belong. Bad Religion. Nine Inch Nails. Perfect day. Early in the morning, after a hard night’s sleep, we cross over to the neighbouring island of Coche. In the morning there’s already a lot of flying sand on Isla Margarita.
Coche. White sand, palm trees, a few hotels. 30 kiters on a 100-metre-wide flat-water piste similar to a tournament course close to the beach. The wind is chopping with 10-minute values of 22-30 knots measured on the beach. Kites: everything between 5 and 9 m². Mine has 10, my knees are shaking. I’ve never been out in such nasty winds. (more…)
I Believe I Can Fly
The days on El Yaque fly by. A bit of work in the morning, then out kiting from midday. I increase the dose of kiting to three hours a day, sometimes significantly more. In the evening, a beer at sunset on the kite beach. Good tuna steak, good people and good cocktails.
The sailmaker needs a whole week to repair my kite. There were 20 others before me. But it’s no big deal. The wind chopped at 20 to 30 knots all week. In other words: the 10 Blade Vertigo is just perfect. Thanks for the loan, Jörg! (more…)
Kite Sadness
After two days in the room due to sunburn and work, the wind picks up again. I go out on the water in the afternoon. I’m the only kiter on the beach in front of El Yaque Motion. I launch the kite in a gusty 18 knots and head out. After half an hour, I’ve made it half a kilometre through an armada of surfers to the kite beach.
I let myself drop through the armada again. In front of my beach, the wind is getting stronger and very rough. Then it happens. During a high jump, a gust catches me. Instead of steering the kite forwards again, I pull it backwards. It stalls and falls out of the sky without any pressure. (more…)
Happy Kite On El Yaque
On the very first day, I step on a sea urchin on my second kite attempt. Two minutes later, to save myself a stupid-looking limp, I decide to step on a second sea urchin with my other foot. Now everything is symmetrical again.
It’s incredible how famous some small places are. The kite beach at El Yaque is just 50 metres long and world-famous. There are only 30 kiters there today. The kitebeach is completely in the lee of a small hill, which creates stupid eddies. Practically every kite collapses at least once at the start. Even mine. (more…)
Snowkiting in and around Regensburg
I’ve been kiting since 1999 and since then there has never been snow and wind at the same time in Regensburg. This week is different. We’ve had snow for a long time and the wind has given us three good days of snowboarding and kiting this week. On Tuesday I’m going snowkiting for the first time in my life.
The wind at the Regensburg windmill is quite weak and the holes in between always make for forced sessions in the snow. But it’s enough for a few first tracks. With 10 knots of wind and 15 cm of snow, I’ve never had so much fun. I buy my first helmet in the evening. Snow is harder than water. (more…)
Kitesurfing in Tenerife
The trip was worth the journey. Even though I only had three good days within a week in December, it should be enough. On the penultimate day, the wind arrives at Tejita Beach with a gust of 20-28 knots. 20 kiters dash through two metre high waves.
The first wave at the start was intentional. I discovered a stain on my body and wanted to get a good wash. My jumps get higher, the landings get dirtier and dirtier. The best crash landing led over 10 metres of air directly from behind into a two-metre wave that was just breaking. It was almost no longer funny. (more…)
Rainy kite in El Medano
After three days in the doldrums, the wind finally arrives on Tenerife. In the morning, I see five rainbows in quick succession from the balcony and know that something is going to happen today. I pack my stuff and beam up to El Medano – once again I can’t find the exit.
On the beach, 300 tourists are building rafts as part of an occupational therapy programme. When it starts to rain, a quarter of them crowd into the three containers at the Playa Sur surf centre. Then the wind slowly picks up. I frown. Almost full offshore. No rescue.
Kitesurfing on Boa Vista
The wind comes back on the penultimate day. I don’t need any more offshore wind. At lunchtime I get a trip to the RIU Karamboa Hotel in the south of the bay of Sal Rei. The wind here is only about 30 degrees side-offshore. I set up and have a look around.
Another one of those Smurf houses. All-inclusive terrourists, snot-covered banderl wearers and a caipi with beach volleyball. Sun bangers, topless, fuck everything and especially the country and its culture. Off to the bar. A water please, here’s the money. But drinks are only available everywhere with a banderl, nothing else. (more…)
Kitesurfing on the Cape Verde Islands
I was quite disappointed with my first time kitesurfing in Cape Verde. Cape Verde is located in the middle of the Atlantic – not quite in the middle of the Sahara, but still a good distance away. You’d think the wind would be laminar. But it’s not at all. It is extremely gusty, now in November constantly changing between 12 and 28 knots every second from 10 am to 5 pm. Regardless of the coast.
A diving instructor on Estoril beach has a Zodiac for the recue. This is urgently needed: a maximum of 5 kiters per 10 kilometres, wind 75 degrees offshore. There is a small offshore island in the direction of the wind. Otherwise, the next stop is Brazil. (more…)
Autumn kite on Lake Brombach
Autumn is here. The outdoor seating areas are closing. You don’t bump into anyone drinking coffee anymore. I don’t like autumn, especially not after a rather uneventful and cold summer anyway. Nothing moves, I’m bored. The only great thing about autumn is the wind.
Today it’s arriving in full force at Brombachsee. The locals are right: yes, on good weekends the lake is pretty full. But firstly, it’s still bearable compared to most other good spots. Secondly, I don’t mind at all if it gets even more crowded, the way some top dogs defend their clearing. (more…)
Topless in Ramadan
Sharm el Sheikh is located in the Bermuda Triangle between Las Vegas, the promised land and a ghost town. It’s up to you to decide which corner is closest. 2000 years ago, Moses led his people through the Sinai in search of the Promised Land. Today, two crowds of people chase up Moses’ mountain every morning. There is nothing to find except their own claustrophobia in the middle of the desert.
We wanted to go there ourselves, alone. But Mubarak sells his country as a fairy tale from the Arabian Nights. Today, robbers are called Islamists and wait just behind the last checkpoint for unbelieving individual tourists. As a result, there are hardly any hire cars, I won’t light the thorn bush in front of St Catherine’s Monastery and nobody throws the first stone. (more…)
Kitesurfing school Sharm el Sheikh
It’s not until the third day that I finally get round to kiting in Sharm el Sheikh. There is practically never any wind in Naama Bay, and when there is, there are still kites and Smurfs close together, followed by several boats. To go kitesurfing in Sharm el Sheikh, you drive 20 kilometres north to Nabq. This costs around €1.30 with the blue minibus and takes 20 to 30 minutes.
If you search the internet for kitesurfing Sharm el Sheikh, Google only spits out one page: Colona Watersports, just taken over by kite junkies. They are located on the beach in front of the Regency Plaza in Nabq. I arrive on day one and realise: calm. For the first time in a week. Back to Naama. (more…)
Smurfs on holiday
Sinai. 41 degrees. Perfect hold. Three-weather taffeta. That’s exactly what the saying would have been if a sneaky hairdresser hadn’t quietly and secretly given the lady from the 80s advert an overdose of Gard sometime in the 90s. Heat and strong winds greet us on the steps out of the aeroplane in Sharm el Sheikh. I’m beaming in the middle of the night.
Unfortunately, when we arrive at our hotel in Nama Bay, this joy has already faded. Just 10 kilometres to the south, it’s absolutely calm. We want to take a quick dip in the sea, but the hotel beaches are closed off and the public guards have a massive objection to night swimming. Three o’clock. Off to bed. (more…)
Kitesurfing on Corsica’s east coast
Everyone says kitesurfing on Corsica’s east coast is not possible. There’s never any wind and when there is, it’s too little and when there is enough, it’s completely offshore. None of that is true. I was here for 10 days in July. I was out for several hours on four days. I had a 12 and a 19 kite with me. I only used the latter. But it works.
My kitesurfing spot is about 15 kilometres north of Aleria. A wide sandy beach, no trees, but no bays either. No rocks and plenty of space. The wind forecasts from Windfinder.com are practically never right. There are no fixed times, the wind can come at any time of day and from any direction. (more…)
Corsicana
I realised that I didn’t actually spend a single day – or at least half a day – just lying on the beach on my big trip. There was always a cave to explore, a mountain to climb or a lagoon to explore. As long as there wasn’t enough wind for kiting, of course. It’s different here and it’s good.
Sometimes there is wind, but the forecasts are practically never right. In any case, there is also more wind than expected on the east side of Corsica, mostly side-onshore. I was out briefly on four out of seven days with the 19 Assault. Some fun on the water in the setting sun. Then a game of volleyball and the evening begins with a barbecue, wine and a beach fire. (more…)
Neusiedl Kite Wars
We are travelling to Lake Neusiedl. To even ask the school whether Sabine can do an advanced kite course, you would actually have to pay a 4 euro beach user fee. There is no course. On to the north-north beach. Great: this year it only costs €5.50. Bugger: the revolving door now even has a guard.
The beach is packed with super-fit trouser-over-neoprene wearers. We set up. When the only good bloke on the beach launches Sabine’s kite, I don’t pay attention. He turned it towards the power zone. Sabine is torn 20 metres through the grass. If her harness hadn’t ripped when we jumped on her, she would have shredded the fence two metres away. (more…)
Riders on the storm
I’m going out for a wild night with a few people from the course. There aren’t many bars. We stay in the same marvellous Marmalade Bar until three o’clock. In Barcelona, you can easily meet 10 people from 20 different countries every hour. It’s a colourful mix, there are stories from all over the world.
The next morning, the world is shaking. Sure, it was a heavy night, I think. But it’s not. The house is really shaking. The predicted storm has hit Barcelona with gusts of well over 100 kilometres per hour. Morning news: four people dead, three swept into the sea, hundreds of emergencies, chaos. I take to the streets. The storm is playing roller dominoes. The longest line I saw consisted of seven overturned scooters. (more…)
Barcelona unkiteable
Windfinder was right. The wind is coming today. As soon as the course is over, I grab my board and kite and jump on the next underground train to the beach. The Barcelonians all look at me a bit stupidly. What’s going on? It’s 17 degrees, that’s warm, you can take off your polar coats!
On the beach, I don’t doubt it for a second. The wind is fully offshore, swirling all over Barcelona and changes from 0 to 50 km/h in 5-second intervals. You can see it dancing on the surface of the water, left, right, forwards, backwards. Then sand blasting into your face again and a vertical gust from above. Kiting is the most beautiful thing in the world. Especially when you can be happy about it afterwards. I stay on land. (more…)
A conciliatory ending
At the end of my last three weeks in Cabarete, the wind finally returns. Tentatively at first, a little breeze, but after six days of calm and rain, it’s a sign of things to come. From three o’clock onwards, a nice 20 knots are blowing on the kite beach. The wind is extremely gusty, the waves are mean, high and coming from different directions. But that doesn’t matter. The main thing is wind.
I keep going out to the reef and playing catch with the breakers. I escape all but one of them. It bites me on the bum and rolls over me. Nothing happens. When I surface, a fat turtle is suddenly right next to me and stares at me. Not the only one that day. By the evening, I must have seen a dozen large sea turtles. The oldest sea dweller meets the youngest. (more…)
The Author
Frank Woelky, born in 1973. Kitesurfer since 1998. Since 2006, I have been combining kitesurfing and web design on trips lasting several months off the beaten track.