Canterbury Windsports Association

It's Snowtime! Following the early snow of May 28, John, Tim, Ganis, & Sam went on an early snowkiting mission to Wanaka/Snowfarm on June 6-7-8.

The odds were against us, with reports that the snow had melted, and with a forecast for gale winds and heavy snow!

All the wanabees pulled out, but that was not an option for one loan van load of hardy souls.

Challenging but awesome. And then I went to Samoa. Bring on the snow... I wana kite!

Easter 2008 New Zealand Kiteboarding Nationals: 20 to 24 March @ Ruakaka, Northland

A small contingent of Canterbury kiters made their way to Ruakaka in Northland for the 2008 New Zealand Kiteboarding Nationals over Easter. John & Suzy Thyne led the way with Anthony Hopkins and Alex Bowater in tow, and supported by Dunedin kiter Craig Knights. We met up with fellow Cantabrians Elrith & Brianna Boyd at registration on Thursday night, and Mike Chapman who was flown in to judge, along with all the usual suspects from Nelson to Northland (some 80+ in all).

Team Canterbury:

John, Alex and Anthony.

Alex, Anthony and Brianna - extreme light wind setup.

Friday to Sunday were a blurr of early starts at the beach - Mair Road at Marsden Point, with breakfast from 8-9am, followed by skippers meetings. We were blessed with beautiful sunny weather, but unfortunately the wind was not cooperating, so we had to make do with socialising and other beach activities (sunbathing, swimming, paddle boarding, foil kite flying, car-tow surfing), with tunes and commentary by MC Luca. Friday night saw some kite action on the big screen plus a cable tow demo by local Mike Holland in his own personal cable park/slider; Saturday night was the party in the big marquee at the marina; but by Sunday afternoon we were all getting a little bit nervous. There was wind enough for foil kites and buggies, and the first prize of the competition was claimed by the first junior to kite 100m (on a big kite and a surfboard). Around 5pm a down wind race was announced, and over the next half hour some 30 odd kites lined up for a mass start. This in itself was pretty spectacular, and when the hooter finally sounded some carnage was inevitable. Anthony and Alex and Craig were midfield, but unfortunately Anthony and Craig got tangled with each other, while Alex ran out of wind half way. First prize went to Brock Cleary, with Gavin Broadbent 2nd, David Robertson 3rd, and Linda Limburg 4th and 1st woman. Check it out on youtube .

Monday dawned with a freshening cross-on northeast wind, and a decision was made to start the comp as soon as riders could stay upwind. The elimination rounds got under way at 10:30, with the wind coming in waves, and increasing throughout the day, peaking at around 15 knots for the final, and then dying away completely half an hour later! Phew. The format was a series of 7 minute heats with 4-6 riders, starting with the Open (~68 riders), and followed by Women, Juniors, and Legends (~12 riders in each catergory). The variable strength cross-on winds meant a lot of running back up the beach to stay in the competition zone, while choppy conditions saw many doing tricks close in to the beach (with some ending up on it). The Canterbury riders were eliminated early from the Open; John narrowly missed entry to the Legends final (so says Suzy); Brianna competed bravely in the Open and Womens as well as the Juniors, while Anthony and Alex progressed to the Junior semi-finals, with Anthony placing a creditable fourth in the final.

Anthony flying the Canterbury colours...

...impressing the judges with a railey to blind...

...then back to the beach.

Anthony with support crew Alex and Brianna...

...getting him back in the zone.

Prize giving at the Bream Bay Club saw trophies and spot prizes awarded, before everyone headed home for a well earned sleep. The next day the northeast wind was back and stronger than ever, so we headed for a session at the Ruakaka River mouth. All too soon it was time to pack and drive back to Auckland for our flight home. Mission completed.

March 1-2: Lake Clearwater Ladies Butterfly Effect Camp
(A big thanks to Jessica Ray for taking and supplying all the photos)

For several years a group of ladies have gone to Lake Clearwater on an all Ladies windsurf trip, usually around February/March. This year we were approached by Tatiana Howard, a Naish Pro rider from Maui to have a down winder in Christchurch, an event she has put on in Maui and other places around the world. It was explained to her that our coast wasn't suitable and that it would be great if she could come along with us to Lake Clearwater and perhaps give us some tips on different tricks or just help us out with perfecting the gybe.This is how the butterfly camp started.

The forecast was for gale force Nor Westerlies. With a lot of excitement in the air, Lake Clearwater was about to be invaded by a group of very keen windsurf ladies. We all started arriving Saturday morning, with some of us arriving the night before to make the most of the weekend.

Unfortunately the gale force winds had come through the night before and the Lake was very calm so Tim from the Neil Pryde Design Center and Tatiana decided to give us a step by step rigging example with both fat and skinny masts. After watching them we began with our own sails, Tim and Tatiana went around to make sure everyone was confident in their rigging skills and if they had an questions about it.

Saturday night was spent gathered in one of the batches, cooking up a yummy BBQ /Feast, and playing some hilarious games! Thanks to Terry Alkemade and Erith Boyd for the use of the batches.

Saturday night was spent sipping on wine and playing some very funny games. Dakine New Zealand gave the ladies a bunch of cool gifts from bags to t- shirts to rashies and more!

The second day of the Butterfly Camp and Clinic, we were all awaken by the wind. We had our breakfast and raced down do the Lake to find that it was not as windy as we hoped. Most of us got out on big sails and boards.

After lunch Tatiana suggested that she give us a heli-tack clinic. Tatiana went through the steps of a heli-tack, then we all headed out. In the end there were 5 women pulling off heli-tacks for the first time! It was a great accomplishment and got everyone super stoked.

Andrea the Queen of Heli-tacks, taking a much needed break after pulling of three heli-tacks, one after another. Go Girl!!!!

Thank you so much to all the ladies who came, this year and to Tatiana and Tim for the lessons and gifts. A lot of fun was had !!!!

If you would like to catch up with what Tati is up to, you can find out through her website www.tatianahoward.com

This years challenge was... being in the right place at the right time: Saturday was very mellow and sunny with a light NE picking up along with the incoming tide, but not enough for getting on the water, and leaving little room for landboarding or buggying. Most retreated to the estuary for some water based action, before retiring to Cookies place for a BBQ sponsored by Underground, and other entertainment.

Sunday was hot and sunny until a strong and gusty SW kicked in and prompted even the keenest to down kites and head for shelter.

Some retreated to the estuary domain and did a bit of a clean up in anticipation of the incoming tide, but the SW wind dropped right away. A few persistent souls moved on to the windsurf area and scored some buggying, and a 20knot SE session before heading to the Sandbar for prize giving. Supper was sponsored by the Canterbury Windsports Association, and Craig Hopkins name was the first drawn out of the hat, for which he claimed the top prize of a 5m Peter Lynn Pepper.

Another epic session, called by the Yoda wave master himself, based on years of knowledge in forecasting wind and wave action: both were huge! Saturday's forecast of "Northeast 25 knots gusting 35 knots, rising to 30 knots gusting 40 knots in the morning" didn't dissapoint, although Sunday was a bit of a let down, leaving a few unsatiated campers to sleep in and cruise home mid morning. Photos.

Feb 16: Jude Green, "'Seriously good' windsurfer dies" - headline from The Southland Times Mon 18 Feb 2008.

It is with great sadness that we share the knowledge that Jude Green, a well known Queenstown windsurfer, died on Saturday evening (Feb 16) while out doing what she loved - windsurfing on Lake Wakitipu. Her family are very positive about hearing of Jude's windsurfing passion and friends, and welcome copies of any photo's you might have of her. Please send to Pam and Stuart Mac Lean, 36 Brisbane Street, Queenstown.

February 6 to 10, 2008 Windsurf Slalom Nationals, Dunedin. The Nationals were held at the city end of Dunedin harbour from February 6 to 10. The renowned Dunedin easterly blew from Wednesday through to Friday and enough races were held over the 3 days to achieve a satisfactory result.

Day 1: The racing started on Wednesday afternoon with a 15 to 20 knot wind. Four rounds were completed on the day, comprising 16 races, with the women starting each round. An enthralling and exciting Nationals was well under way with some extremely competitive racing. The mens competition included 24 sailors (6 from Christchurch), and the womens comp included 8 sailors (6 from Christchurch), and after Day 1 the results were very close.

Day 2: The wind picked up on Thursday with a solid 20 knots and gusting to 30 knots. More lively competition was the order of the day with a range of sail sizes in use in the warm sunny conditions. At this stage the front runners were establishing a small points advantage over the remainder of the fleets but the competitiveness was still strong throughout. Day 2 ended after several keenly fought rounds with some very tired but extremely satisfied competitors (food, relaxation and sleep was the evening's agenda). The howling easterly blew through Thursday night with a slight reprieve at sunrise but then quickly building to 25-30 knots with gusts to 40 knots.

Day 3: A full day's racing was held on Day 3 (Friday) in the warm and sunny 27 degrees conditions. The womens competition was still being keenly contested with Annie Crombie, Sue Bradley and Di Blakely fighting for the top 3 places. The mens competition was equally competitive with Gareth Woods (reigning champ), James Dinnis, Terry Beentjes, Paul Vliestra, Terry Alkemade, Gavin Jackson and Sean Patterson all fighting for top positions. Sean revelled in the windy conditions and gradually worked his way up from near the bottom of the fleet.

Approximately 30 rounds were raced in total with Gareth Woods and Annie Crombie winning there respective comps. Ben Willemse (Dan's son) was the youngest competitor at 15 years and he did not look out of place racing with his more experienced seniors. Great effort Ben!

Saturday dawned to a light southerly but due to the intensive racing over the previous 3 days the lack of wind was not a problem. The award ceremony was held at the South Bar (one of Dunedin's newest venues) on the Saturday evening with an enthusiastic attendance from all competitors, organisers and supporters. Congratulations and thanks to the organisers and competitors, without you we have no competition. Special recognition must go to all the women competitors: Annie Crombie, Di Blakely, Lydia Heard, Nicola Taylor, Adrienne Chin, Rachel Low (all CWA members), Sue Bradley (Queenstown) and Lynne Donaldson (Wanaka). Your commitment, competitiveness and resolve was most impressive in the difficult conditions - you girls rock!

The mens comp included CWA members Terry Beentjes, Terry Alkemade, Sean Patterson, Dan Willemse, Mike Sinclair, Ben Willemse and Russell Mathieson which was also keenly contested.

Congratulations to Annie, the new National Womens Champ. Annie's consistent gybing was the telling factor. Also congratulations to Terry Beentjes who finished 3rd in the mens comp.

All in all the Dunedin Windsurf Association and Paul Vliestra once again organised an extremely successful and exciting event and we look forward to the same next year.

The CWA thanks and praises all the competitiors, organisers, and especially CWA members. Let's support the Nationals next February, it's a fantastic event and maybe we can encourage more competitors to add to the excitement.

Jan 19-20: Canterbury Kiteboard Champs AND Windsurf Racing Round 3. The weekend was EPIC - it doesn't get any better than this!

Results for Windsurf Round 3. 19/20 January 2008
Place	Name	Total Points	With Discard	Class
1	Dave Gould	24	17	Race
2	Terry Beentjees	33	23	Race
3	Terry Alkemade	37	27	Race
4	Chris Dimock	38	28	Race
5	Mike Aston	84	68	FreeRace
6	Ned Tamatea	88	69	Race
7	Glen Taylor	87	71	Race
8	Dan Willemse	90	74	Race
9	Peter Hirst	98	78	FreeRace
10	Russell Matheson	104	85	FreeRace
11	Ben Willemse	110	90	FreeRace
Ladies
1	Annie Crombie	16	12	Race
2	Di Blakley	21	16	Race
3	Nicola Taylor	48	37	Race
4	Lydia Heard	50	41	FreeRace
5	Vanessa ?	65	52	FreeRace
6	Rachel Low	66	54	FreeRace
7	Adrienne Chin	72	58	Race

Kite action report: Saturday was a bluebird day with just a hint of the NE wind to come. The wind built progressively and enabled riders (including some from Dunedin, Nelson, Wellington, Tauranga, Auckland, and Whangarie) to warm up with a flat water expression session on the incoming tide (although event director Cookie may have felt the cold kiting in his mankini). Then the serious business of elimination heats began to find the Canterbury Champions for Open (26 riders), Women (6 riders - some in fancy dress), Junior (5 riders < 18), and Legends (5 riders 40+). There was some close fought competition in challenging conditions (choppy water and gusty ~15+ knot northerly wind), but by the end of the day we had results (below) and could focus on having some fun. Only a few riders took advantage of the outgoing tide, while most some hit the beach or went home to refuel for the next day to come. A few hardy souls stayed on for the Underground BBQ and drinks, and a display of night buggying courtesy of Tim by the light of a silvery moon.

Sunday: The wind didn't let up overnight, and a few particularly hardy souls were up and kiting at first light (well, 8am). At 10 am we headed for a beach/wave session at South Brighton - awesome waves and wind, which became increasingly strong, north easterly, and directly onshore. Around 3pm it was back to the estuary, some by car and others by kite. The wind was so strong (averaging 20 knots and gusting to 30), that we abandoned the best trick and border cross in favour of a big air/hang time competition. Once again, heats were held, with some massive jumps and hang times of close to 7 seconds, with some equally spectacular wipeouts. By 5pm the wind was still nuking, but it was time to head for The Sandbar and prize giving.

Juniors: 1st Torrin Bright, 2nd *Anthony Hopkins, 3rd Alex Bowater, 4th Adrian Riepen.

Legends: 1st Ralph von Brause, 2nd *Adrian Roper 3rd John Thyne, 4th Jamie McCrostie.

Wave riding: 1st Jason Tweedie, 2nd Nico Martin, 3rd Will Fitzgerald, 4th Aaron Smith, 5th Tim Stockman, 6th Steve Palmer.

Hang time:
Open: 1st Dave Kay 6.48 sec, 2nd Nico 6.03, 3rd Will 6.00.
Women: 1st Delphine Ducaruge 4.59 sec; 2nd Amanda 3.02, 3rd = Ruth & Sandy 3.00.
Junior: ?;
Legends: 1st Ralph von Brause 5.2 sec, 2nd Adrian 5.40, 3rd Jamie 5.01.

Biggest crash: Shared by local legends Jamie McCrostie (unhooked moves) and John Thyne (big air kite loops).

A big thanks to Cookie for organising and directing the best Canterbury Champs yet, MC Luca of Sub20 for setting the tone, and our sponsors: Dakine, Decay, Cabrinha, Groundswell, Kitesports, Ocean Rodeo, SeventhWave, Peter Lynn, Slingshot, Stance, Sub20, and Underground for making it financially possible.

Jan 13: Turning up the heat: Friday NE at the beach, Saturday NW at the domain, Sunday NE at the estuary...

Dec - Jan: Christmas Holidays: Some epic sessions were reportedly had around the country, as well as some epic kiting and possibly windsurfing sessions too, although I haven't heard about the latter. Anthony Hopkins made the front page of The Press on 2 Jan 2008 (click the picture picture below for the full story).

There were also downwinders from Waikuku into the Estuary; norwesters on the Canterbury lakes Coleridge and Pearson; and new locations explored on the West Coast (Lake Brunner and the Taramakau Lagoon).

The weed growth in the Estuary has also been epic, making both the local and national news. This isn't a new problem, as indicated by the following article Sea Lettuce In The Estuary in Our Environment: Issue 26 Autumn 2001. It looks like it's here to stay, being caused by a number of factors other than nutrients from rivers and the discharge of treated wastewater, the latter soon to be piped directly out to sea via the ocean outfall.

Wind direction for the three days was from the East, with kiteboarding everyday: Fri light up to 15 knots, Sat gusty 20, Sunday hitting 25 by late pm. Great weather, great crew... - text by Tim, pics by Stein.

Beautiful weather and a light sea breeze saw a good turnout for round 1 of both the CWA windsurf race series on Saturday, and the kite Yoda competition on Sunday. Unfortunately the breeze on Saturday was too light for the windsurfers to get up and going, but it's early days, and the level of interest means there'll be some serious action when the wind does deliver. Light winds prevailed on Sunday for the Yoda Comp too, but there was enough for ~18 riders to run through 14 heats/semis/final and try to nail their nominated Yoda move (something new to them). Attempts at new moves are always going to produce some spectacular wipeouts, so it was just as well the winds were light. Yoda winners (entitled to be called Master Yoda) for this month are: Martin, Sandy, and Anthony.

The CWA Open Day formally marks the beginning of a new season, and we were so keen we made a false start on Saturday in the face of cold gusty southerlies, and returned on Sunday in ideal conditions - sunny with rising northeasterlies. A lone windsurfer made a brief appearance on the water before low tide, kites were flown (and ripped), much advice was given, all interspersed by talk and barbecued sausages and lying around in the sun. Very pleasant.

Tim Stockman and John & Suzy Thyne joined the Nelson kite crew on their annual pilgrimage to Cape Foulwind on the wild West Coast. The weather looked grim, but we were rewarded with sunshine as we arrived, thanks to a southwest change and 20 to 30 knot winds! The next three days were a blur of kiting: cross onshore at Carters Beach and onshore at Nine Mile - huge waves out the back, huge flat sections on the inside, and pressure waves in the lagoon outlet. We finished the trip off in true coast to coast fashion, kiting at Nine Mile in the morning, and arriving home just as the wind kicked in for a downwinder from North Beach into the estuary. Epic! Time to return to work for a well earned rest.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water... duh-duh, duh-duh...

This ~1.5m thresher shark was found dead in the estuary on Thursday October 4, near the Ferrymead bridge. No one knows how or why it came to such a sticky, muddy end. Hunger, disease, and global warming are all possibilities. Wikipedia says their greatest threat to humans is a slap from their upper tail lobe. I don't know what to be more afraid of - a slap, or the cause of death in the estuary. Be careful out there!

Spring Clean at the Windsurf Area 8 Sept '07:

About a dozen people cleaned up the Estuary Windsurf Area and Scott Park as part of Keep Christchurch Beautiful week, and finished off what was a bluebird day with a drink & a sausage sizzle. Thanks to Craig Hopkins for donating his BBQ, pergola and chairs, & Suzy for cooking, & Gregor & Andrea & girls, Martin, Fred & Mandi, Gina & Warren, David, Dale & family, & a couple of others for giving up part of their day. We picked up lots of glass and fast food wrappers, but maybe not as much as last year.

Conditions at the Snowfarm near Wanaka were perfect, although light winds prevailed, and most had to make do with making fresh tracks and jumping a kicker, or simply catching up with kiting buddies. A highlight was meeting the team from Ozone Kites: Chasta, Pascale, & Dom, and seeing them in action.

In fact Team Ozone scored the best conditions on Wednesday the 15th, with a 7 hour session in 15 knot northeasterlies under bluebird skies. Thursday 16th delivered a ~12 knot northerly and high overcast, while Saturday and Sunday hardly delivered any wind at all, although a ~10 knot southerly did kick in for a couple of hours before dusk Saturday.

Snowfarm provides easy access to some great snowkiting terrain. If it's windy enough then just check in to their office and declare your intentions, and for a modest fee of $20 you'll be advised on the kiting area and any restrictions. Launch area is to the north of the main buildings (you might have to walk across the small gully in front of the car park to higher ground), and once kiting stay west of the fence/road delimiting the vehicle proving grounds. There's so much potential - we'll be back.

Photos and text from Terry Alkemade in the 2nd round of racing on Maui. It was very windy gusting to 40 knots at times...

We raced ability groups in the morning then age groups in the afternoon. In the morning I used my 55cm Carbon art with a 28cm fin and finished 5-2-3-2 to get 2nd overall. Afternoon the wind picked up as did the swell. It was over half mast on the outside including where the outside jybe marks were.

James Dinnes gave me a 52 cm proto salom board for the afternoon. I resorted to using a new 26 cm speed fin to make the board controlable. By this time a lot of he sailers were pulling out as it was so windy and rough. I did 3 heats finishing 2-3-2 to give me 2nd behind Phil Mc Gain in the mens 40-50. Da Kine sponsered the event and we finished the day with beer and pizza.

CWA News 2007-08