Pranburi, Hua Hins latest and greatest Kite Spot
woke up to another windy day here.
gusting 24 kts averaging around 19 as i write this, here is a shot from our new garden “The Evason Hua Hin & Six Senses Spa” we have opened a brand new resort school here, building should be finished this week.
also one of Pae our Thai instructor out the front of Evason Resort
woke up to a dull morning but alas the wind was here, felt it in my bones last night!
quick shot before we hit the water.
NE winds from 18 gusting 21 at 7am
check it live www.kitesurfthailand.com/wind
The forecast is looking pretty sweet from 17th onwards, into the 20’s is forecasted and the tides should be playing ball for front of school teaching.
keep your eye on the weather station www.kitesurfthailand.com/pranburi and also http://www.windguru.com/int/index.php?sc=173190
pictures of this years conditions coming soon!
Well we are back to Pranburi for the upcoming season ahead, this time bigger and better with another location opening at the Evason Six Senses resort. March 25th 2010 will see the first EVER international Kiteboarding competition held in Pranburi also, its run by the KTA and part of a 5 stop tour, Pranburi will host the final and the crowning of the first ever Asian Champion www.kiteboardtour.asia
wind right now is sporadic but it will get better as the days go on, based on last year we should see it steady up Mid October, then we are off!
Hope to see you guys here soon!
so due to the really unforseen circumstance of the Hua Hin / Pranburi windy season being the worst since Thailand started to see kitesurfing on its beaches, we have closed up shop in Pranburi now for a little while.
Seems global warming has really changed the wind patterns here in Thailand, for example last Nov/Dec was the windiest we have seen in Pranburi yet this period has been the worst.
Good news is that Phuket is now blowing pretty well (another not normal circumstance for this time of the year) so we have now opened up fully again Kite Zone Nai Yang Beach, Phuket
see you back in Pranburi soon!
10 -14 kts today - A little frustrating for the riders but lesson for Becky went well. Wind started at 1pm and give its best blow just before sundown. John, Evason Spa Manager found a new parking spot for the kite, at least it wont get any sand on it!
N0t the best place for your new bandit john.......
New Ozone 09 gear arrived here is Davo’s report:
First Impressions are that the kite is much simpler this year with no 5th line, no span line and the flag out hook point is on the chicken loop, all this shows that the guys at ozone’s research and development are really pushing things in the right direction. I flew a 15m sport + and 14m Light XC, on 12-14kts Both kites have a much more solid feel through the bar when in flight but not as heavy as a bow kite.
So far only tried them on only lightish winds but I was well impressed, like 08 the 15m sport is an epic kite and flew much the same as last year, main difference was the jumps, more hang time than last years edge for sure!
As for the Light XC, BLOWN AWAY! This kite has come on a long way with a lot more grunt than last year, it’s faster and does not flex when you take it across the power zone. As the name suggests this years kite is an incredible light wind machine. See the picture of Hill tanking up wind without a single white cap on the water.
A solid 15kts and I’m breaking out the 13m Edge RX, can’t wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
some pics
New Light XC
Hill on super light winds!
Just goes to show that once again weather forecasts and the best-laid plans of mice and men are all not to be taken too seriously. The promised frontal wind of 14kts by early afternoon had clearly decided to take a wee Sunday morning lie-in followed by a long slow breakfast, which left the assembled riders at Kite Zone none too impressed.
Still at least the thermal wind tried to make up for it and as Mode headed off to the beach to take James through the second session of his IKO course a plan was hatched to head upwind to the ‘big rock’ for a mass down-winder.
So with Yo’s twin cab loaded to the brim with riders and kit all was set, the journey began and soon we were all at the ‘big rock’. Amusing scenes then followed of kit heavy riders dancing and bouncing across the way too hot sand in desperation to reach the cooler wet stuff. With that negotiated and everyone set to go the wind of course decided to drop back a notch or two. Never the less Lucie piled out there as it was her last day before heading back to the chilly waters of the UK, which prompted the rest of the crew to get on the case.
Okay I admit it Epic Downwind Dash might not ring completely true to most of the lads who left the ‘ big rock’ as they worked like mad things to make progress in the dropping wind. On the other hand the girls, Lucie and Leila completely blasted it and tore off towards Kite Zone, even adding some cheeky upwind runs to add salt to the boys wounds. Still they ploughed on with much male pride at stake, dropping, re-launching and cursing their way to the distant Kite Zone shore. Still on the bright side for me being a non-kiter for the day, not only did I get to score the shots of the ‘action’ but I now also hold the Thai record for the most kites launched out of the water in a 1km stretch. Fair play to the guys though for some it was still early days in terms of kiting and both John and Sven put in top efforts before even they had to admit defeat and head for shore at the half way mark to join the rest of the guys in the ‘walk of gloom’ back to the centre.
By this time of course the girls were hitting high fives and toasting themselves on a job well done – girl power hey, next it will be the vote.
John heading out for what he hopes will be better wind
no worries..Leila blasts past the boys
on the road to the "Big Rock"
Pae chooses kite repair over the downwinder, mmmm local knowledge pays off me thinks
part of the er.........downwind team?
storming Lucie makes the most of her last Pranburi session
the walk of gloom
even light wind trio member fred was working hard
The weekend is here and so is the wind, which built nicely throughout the afternoon finally breaking the monopoly of the ‘light wind trio’ as the assembled crowd hit the water, with Kite Zone’s own Dave and Pae leading the charge. Dave first appearing on monster school board that he forced out of the water showing that you can pull moves even on a training board, with Pae front looping like it had gone out of fashion.
Also being the weekend there were new faces out on the water with Bangkok crew down to get their fix, along with further new students kicking off on their first sessions – welcome to the darkside………
So a cracking day for one and all, with an even better looking forecast for Sunday, so get yourself and your board down here to Pranburi !!
another day at the office for mode
Dave hoofs the big old crazy-fly board skyward!
fully powered and heading for the lagoon
lucie in the thick of it as always boosting!
Mean looking F1 bandit shot
Morton in his first session, he waslast off the water riding his directional board
Pae hitting a front loop
Pae styling another move
Roy cruising in
starting young
sweet air gybe!
Ae heading out for his afternoon session
It was a day that showed great promise for a cracking thermal, clear and hot from early in the morning, it just had to go, didn’t it??
Well yer sort of, it tickled in the early afternoon allowing the light wind trio to get out for an early blast while the rest of us ‘kite bitched’ for them and contemplated the fickleness of wind and weather.
Then just as a series of decisions were made to pump a full range of kites in anticipation of the thermal filling in to a healthy 18 plus knots at some point, the light wind crew headed back to the beach as it dropped too much even for them. Still the wind did not leave altogether and Dave, Mode and Pae went to action teaching the latest batch of beginner students to arrive at Kite Zone.
Then just as all hope was lost and beer O’ clock was being considered it all began again. Suddenly Fred and Lucie started screaming back upwind and popping a few jumps, so time to go and suddenly everyone was on the water. It was a small frontal passing through, but what the heck it provided a much-needed early evening blast for one and all, with beer O’ clock becoming a sunset toast in the end.
Waiting for the wind
Light wind trio - Mode
Light wind trio - Lucie
Light wind trio - Fred
Dave teaching the first part of IKO level 2
Newly qualified IKO instructor Mode teaching the first stages of kiting
Late afternoon session and Sven is up and running
Greig takes full advatage of the lagoon
Much in the way of cloud cover this morning that did not clear until 11am, so little chance for a good thermal to form. Still it did make a small effort in the early afternoon and beginners and lighter riders were able to take advantage of what was on offer.
A short, sharp blast but at least it counts for some lucky riders session register – time to eat less pies I guess, but then again there is always tomorrow.
mode sneaking a jump in!
Lucie taking advantage of her light weight in light winds
Frederick getting a jump in, can you believe he only finished the beginner course last week!!!
Kite Zone Pranburi....... General ramblings from our Kitesurfing School in Pranburi, Hua Hin, tips n tricks about being here in Thailand and Kitesurfing in General, we will try to update as much as possible so subscribe to our RSS feeds for alerts.
