Maj

Mate.....no.... Ignoring whether or not board leashes are safe or not.... The dog leash won't be waterproof, won't be strong enough to take the sudden loads that the board will exert on it, and won't have the same slow return and things that a £40 board leash will have. A cheap leash could well lock up when it gets rusty/salty, meaning theres no give in it at all, as soon as you come off the board it will yank it back at you.... Stay well clear of £1 dog leashes.... IF you decide that you definitely want to ride with a leash, it's worth paying to get a decent one, otherwise it will do you more harm than good....

Mate, I think I've missed something here....where in NW London are you learning to snowboard?? Is this a dry slope thing?

Agree with that, Progression is definitely the best around.....The other land based DVD that's been released recently is Ground to Air, which is more expensive and mainly centred around Buggying. Both are good though...

Paul, If you want a kitesurfing DVD then go for Ten4, seriously good VFM, 80mins for £17.95, all the top riders. Allowing for the fact that a lot of the material is repeated, and about 5 minutes of the film is made up of really old footage from NZ shot on very dated equipment (nothing like broadcast quality in places), there is only about 20mins of footage on Ground to Air. Still bought it though, the footage that is on there is superb, I know I couldnt do better, but tbh I'm not sure it's worth £1 a minute...

Tis Pembrey, South Wales.... See this thread....(click)...

This is the problem with the system atm, the Hydrogen is stored in a highly compressed liquid state, which causes all sorts of problems in terms of storage and actually filling it up, because it has to be kept damn cold and damn airtight. All the hydrogen cars that exist atm are filled up in laboratorys, the only company I know of that has made a system that could be used on a forecourt is BMW, but it is a fully automated beast of a robotic arm thing, so also stupidly expensive! The other problem of course is the flammability issue, the storage of the hydrogen is by far the biggest hurdle. Actually, I think I read most of this some time ago on a link to a website from someones signature on here! An engineering student at Bath me thinks.....

This is the first I've heard of anything like this, and I know plenty of people with all sorts of different MBS boards. I've ridden them all myself at one stage or another as well, and never had a problem with my size 11 feet either? Which MBS board were you using at the time? The only board that I could possibly see it happening with is the Locust?

At this years MW it was a catergoric 'No' to Kitewings I believe, irrespective of other insurance policies, as Julie said, the MOD deal with the BBC (too many acronyms), and the BBC don't cover them. Don't know if this will change for next year though..... Might be worth someone trying to push the sportscover direct insurance as a way of letting people use Kitewings?? But...the whole insurance thing for kiting is just too much of a complicated issue....so I dare say this won't happen..

Yeah I had lessons at Zero Gravity back in 2001, Chris doesn't teach there anymore, he works privately and through Shore Watersports. I think he came fifth last year overall in the BKSA top flight, but don't quote me on that

The dude trying to do it was Chris Bull, theres an article about the around the island attempt in the latest edition of KiteSurf magazine. Incidentally, yesterday, Chris and 3 other kitesurfers crossed the channel twice to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital.... More info here -> http://www.breadandbuttercreative.com/gosh/

'Channel Trucks', are an alternative to standard skate trucks. They have 2 sets of springs (and sometimes elastomers, or 'egg shocks') that generally make for a smoother, firmer ride than standard skate trucks. Skate truck: http://bab.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/p888274reg.jpg Channel truckhttp://www.atbshop.co.uk/atbshop/images/scrub/alu_channel_truck_iso.jpg: KiteATB's Pro's and con's: http://www.kiteatb.co.uk/_prosncons/trucks.html Can you tell who's sooo bored at work that they've nothing better to do but browse the web looking for pictures of trucks ??

Theres absolutely nowt wrong with the Scrub boards, they all recieved a facelift for the 04 season. Heard nothing but good reports, they're a good, cost-effective range, don't let the lower prices put you off.

Sadly not, the pulley is simply there to allow the brake lines to move freely when the kite is turning. This system means that there is some brake line tension when you turn the kite, and allows the kite to turn a little quicker. The central line passing through the middle of the bar is just a safety system, so that if you drop the bar the kite depowers completely, like with kite killers....

Would that be this one? http://www.georgebush.com/News/MultiMedia/Player.aspx?ID=1039&T=2&PT=hiwmp "Any way the wind blows"......W**kers EDIT: Just found this >> (click) , lol....legend....

In the days when I used to do a lot of catamaran sailing I would always go to Whitstable when the Wind was Northerly, I know Whitstable has become popular with kitesurfers when the winds right, but are the beaches any good for land traction stuff?

London's a pretty big place mate, any other clues ? Camber is a pretty safe bet if you're South/East kinda way...

Nope, taking a year out first. Then I'm starting in October '05 doing "Computers, Electronics and Communications". Am I gonna regret going to Bath, or are there still plenty of good places to kite nearby? What about kitesurfing? I'm really going to miss having the car to move all my stuff around !

Haha, i went along the same lines choosing all Coastal unis when I filled in my UCAS form. Unfortuantely, the one I ended up going for in the end (Bath), is the least coastal of the lot!

Yeah, my scrub bag holds my board, 3 blades, 2 bars, 3 sets of handles, shoes, stakes, and 2 harnesses!! Hasn't broken yet but it's bl**dy heavy!!

Nope, don't work for me either...

Hah...we did this at Wallop...we used some rope and a flexi handle tied off like a wakeboarding handle. Then, like wakeboarding the buggy being towed 'carved' from side to side behind the pilot buggy. We tied the rope around the rear axle so that the buggy being towed was useful acting as a anchor, when it was steered upwind of the pilot buggy it helped hold the upwind wheels down! Twas good fun...but you need a lot of space and a large kite (13m Guerilla in our case!)

With the more expensive boards, you are paying for far more than just build quality. For example, a Comp 16 Pro has massive potential for adjustment and fine tuning that you don't get on cheaper boards, its not just marketing spiel, the Matrix truck really does give you loads of room for manouvre. Example, for kiting, you can have a really firm heelside and a loose toeside, then adjust it for downhilling to be more even without taking the board apart. Also, MBS and Maxtrack spend time researching ways of making their components lighter for freestyle, a trispoke hub with standard 8" tyres weighs the same as three Rockstar hubs with T1 tyres, you wouldn't think hubs and tyres could make that much difference but they do. I just used one board there as an example, but the point I'm making is that in the £300+ price band you are paying for far more than just build quality, there is innovation and constant development behind it . That's not to say that other boards are in any way inferior, I still ride my Jeep Commando 16 thats years old (replaced the deck once cos I was offered one cheap), I've also recently acquired an Airdeck MkII, basically its horses for courses, different boards for different riding styles....

Ah ok, when I learnt (2 years ago) it was just me and one other bloke, and we were taught by Chris Bull, not Phil, I was impressed with how thorough Chris's teaching was, that was what prompted me to comment on your first post. I agree with the comments about the conditions at Hayling, on several occasions I have stayed with family in Chichester for a whole week at a time and there hasnt been a single day when conditions were suitable. I'm sure thats extreme though, as Hayling is a very popular spot.

Has anyone got any experience of the huuge Gaastra Phoenix's? They claim 6 knots i think for the 25m one.

I'm not disagreeing, but can you give an example?