For a spot that has a reputation for being a wind tease, Alameda has delivered every time Boardsports School hosts a demo with BAKS. By the time we had unloaded the car full of SUPS (there’s a total of 5 on there for anyone counting) the wind was already picking up enough for The Source.  Bruce got a brief ride on it before it was time to come in for the Bandit V. It was the typical gentle wind of Alameda.

Demo Day Tip: Get Your Coffee To Go

We were all set up and ready to go for demos, but it seemed everyone was still somewhere sipping their coffee.  I got almost a whole hour of kiting Alameda to myself before people started rolling in for the demo.  Get there early and you could have a great SUP session followed by a solid kiting session before the crowds.  I waited as long as I could to let a customer take the freshly opened 140 Trax out for it’s maiden voyage.  I just couldn’t resist!

Boards of the Day: Trax 140 and Fish Surf

Conditions were steady Alameda winds from 11:00 to about 3:30. It was a great day to try out all the different boards and kites for the conditions typical of Alameda – mid teen winds, little current, some chop.  In kites, intermediate kiters loved the BanditV while newer kiters preferred the Volt2.  In boards the Trax 140 lived up to it’s reputation for being a great twintip board for tracking upwind in lighter wind conditions.  In surf boards the Fish was the favorite for the conditions because of the surfboards it had the strongest upwind capabilities.  People were lining up to try that board.

Special thanks to Boardsports School for hosting the event!

  Mark Your Calendar: Upcoming Demos

If you missed this opportunity to check out the F-One line of twintips, surf and SUP boards and the Bandit V and Volt2 kites mark your calendars for upcoming demo events hosted by Boardsports School

Saturday May 19 10am:  Santa Cruz Harbor (SUP only) hosted by Kayak Connection

Saturday June 3: Third Ave Upper Launch (Kiteboarding only) hosted by Boardsports School

Sunday June 4: Coyote Point (Kiteboarding, SUP and BBQ!) hosted by Boardsports School

For more information: info@bayareakitesurf.com  415-573-2619

Decisions. Decisions. Which board to try first?

Santa Cruz is one of the best place for SUP, fitting perfectly with the local culture.  With the variety of conditions from the calm harbor to breaking waves at Steamers Lane and the mellow waves at Cowell’s Beach there is something for every skill level. And F-One SUP boards have a range of boards to match those conditions. Everything from stable boards great for beginners to powerful race boards to high performance wave boards.

And it is the home break of BAKS  SUP team riders Hunter Grifith and Olivier Gincetre.

BAKS is teaming up with Kayak Connection Saturday May 19th 10 am in the Santa Cruz Harbor to give you an opportunity to try the whole F-One SUP line.  Plan to make a day of it.  The Santa Cruz harbor has great restaurants, wildlife and a nearby beach.

2012 Pismo Kite Expo had great wind and waves

For several years where mother nature seemed to have a sick sense of humor, sending wind to Pismo the days before the expo, leaving it dead calm through the expo weekend and sending wind again as soon as it ended.  This year the Pismo Expo “no wind” curse was broken. The F-One team traveled down Thursday night to beat the land rush at the campground.  We needn’t have worried, as that turned out to be the night thunderstorms hit the California coast.

As the thunder, and wind roared and the rain soaked our tents we huddled in the van watching the lightning split the sky.  It was an excellent test for the Underwave neoprene jacket.  When I put that on I felt as weather proof as the frogs happily chirping in the rising creek beds. In the morning the storm settled into  more familiar California clouds and rains.

Over a hot breakfast we scanned the sky looking for any sign that the weather would break.  Texts and calls were coming in from kiters from the Bay Area to San Diego asking for updates as they decided whether or not to make the drive. Then at noon blue sky.  Within an hour the wind began to brew.  Texts, tweets, status updates spread the word.  The Pismo Expo is on!  Since so many kiters had waited to make the drive Friday afternoon was mostly brand reps and local kiters.  It was a fun afternoon catching up and trying out each other’s gear and blowing out the feeling of huddling in the rain. Saturday the wind came up early and blew all day.  There were great waves.  Great conditions for F-One Team ride Alec Dektor to show of his signature strapless aerials.

F-One Rider Alec Dektor catchess air on the 6'0 Signature quad at the 2012 Pismo Kite Expo

It was a busy day with customers trying out F-One gear.  It was a great day for riders wanting to test all sizes of the Bandit 5.  In the morning and late afternoon they could ride 12 & 14 meters, mid day 7 meters and early afternoon 9 and 10 meter kites.  Staff didn’t even have time to put the kites down between riders.  As soon as one rider unhooked, there was anther waiting take his place.  The F-One booth actually looked rather bare for most of the day as all the inventory was out on the water. All that was left on the beach was the line of Manera travel bags.  This was the first time I really got to use the bags and it was a real test of their claim of kiteboarding bags designed by kiters for kiters.  We had to pack and unpack all the gear each day.  This was one of the most efficient years ever thanks to the bags.  The Playa bags have a pocket perfect for fins. It made set up and break down at the beginning and end of the trip so much easier by keeping fins securely with their board.  Each day boards were zipped back into their Playa bags, well protected as they were stacked in the Airforce.  I was amazed at how much the Golf bag could really hold. If the Manera line could make the process of packing and unpacking the whole F-One line for a demo weekend this efficient and keep the gear so protected, just imagine what it could do for your next kite trip.  Customers were really curious about the line and we probably could have sold them all right there on the beach.

Friends and family of the riders were lining up to demo the Underwave neoprene jacket and hats.  The word on the beach was that it is a better design than most neoprene jackets because it is longer instead of stopping at the waist like a sweatshirt.  Kiters loved how warm it kept them between sessions. Significant others who spend days on windy beaches loved the jacket and the neoprene skull cap.

Sunday the wind repeated the pattern of opportunity to test bigger kites in the morning and the smaller kites throughout the day.  The waves were mellower and once again the whole F-One inventory was out on the water.  The Kiteboarder tester’s favorite twintip was the SK8 and general demo riders seemed to agree.  Feedback was that it was great at handling the choppy conditions.  Other favorites of the day were the Trax for it’s versatility and ability to make tracks up wind.  And finally the Acid (Robinson Hilario and Alex Soto’s preferred board) was popular with riders working on their freestyle moves. Since the waves were so good the surfboards were out all day.

Available for demo were the Signature 5’10 and 6’0 , Fish 5’4 and 5’6, Surf 6’2.  In the conditions of the weekend the Fish 5’4 and the Signature 5’10 and 6’0 were the popular boards. When mother nature cooperates the Pismo Expo is such a great event for kiters and tourists alike.  Since it was such a gorgeous weekend and the multitude of kites on the water put on such a good show from the road many tourists stopped to find out what this was.  I spent as much of the day educating people on kiteboarding in general as I did educating kiters on F-One gear.

And the big news of the weekend was the debut of the Underwave 3.2 wetsuit unofficially dubbed.  The “Orange Crush”  You got enough game to pull off this suit?

Special Thanks to Paul Lang Photography

The North American distributor of F-One Kiteboarding & SUP, Manera and Underwave (Bay Area Kitesurf Inc.) is thrilled to announce that we have expanded our partnership with Boardsports School & Shop, our leading dealer in the Bay Area.

The school will now be using the latest F-One gear with F-One trained instructors.  In addition, Boardsports School & Shop will have a complete set of 2012 demo gear for their customers to try out at any time.

You are invited to two full demo days. The F-One crew will be on deck and the entire 2012 collection available to try. Join us at the Alameda location on April 21st and Coyote Point location on June 2nd. BBQ and beverages will be served.

For more information please contact us at:  school@bayareakitesurf.com or 415-763-7460.

Please share the attached flyer with all your friends! We wish you a great windy season!

Day 1

Day one of the demo at Morro Bay greeted the F-One Americas SUP crew with sunny warm skies on Saturday morning. The location for the first day of the demo and flat water event was held at Coleman Beach inside the harbor at Morro Bay just a couple hundred yards from Morro Rock.

We had a number of people try out the board lineup with the Manawa 10′ and 12’6″ Race boards being the favorites. Several kids that were new to standup had a great time paddling the Anakao 9’1″ and 7’11″ Madeiro. The winds were initially light and offshore and then quickly turned and built around 11:30am making the paddling a bit more challenging.

Olivier provided one on one assistance to paddlers and talked them through several paddling tips. Riders also were able to take a look at the Manera paddle covers, paddle bags, board bags and backpacks which were well received. This morning (2/26/12)  morning we take to the surf will start bright and early at 24th st in Cayucos!

Day 2

Day two of the F-One demo was held Sunday Feb 26th at 24th st. in Cayucos. The conditions at this surfing beach break were challenging with continual close interval waves roughly head high pushing into the beach. In addition the offshore winds kept people focused on paddling into a head wind as they scratched to catch waves.

We had beginner to expert dropping into mostly closed out surf while testing out the boards. Folks were able to take out the Anakao 9’1″, Manawa 10′ and Madeiro 7’11″ during the morning session until the wind switched and dramatically increased with an onshore flow around 11AM.  Even with the less than desirable conditions people had a good feel for the boards and what they were capable of and there was a lot of positive feedback. We had a great two days of demo’s and look forward to the next demo days on the Central Coast coming up mid April at the Pismo Kite Expo!

Chris Nester, F-One team rider, at Skyline

The Chase was on….
After an amazing time in Jackson, Wyoming the North American Snowkite Tour was on the move seeking wind and snow. We were faced with some tough decisions as the winter weather in North America has been a little under par this season. Conditions and snowpack were looking marginal for the week and amazing snow total reports for Idaho were haunting us in our decision to move south. In a last minute decision the tour moved on to Idaho.
Hours into our trip we were into some great conditions.

Kiters raced out into the rolling hills of Idaho in 11m wind and smooth fresh snow. Many high speed runs were made reaching top speeds of over 60 mph. As the session progressed riders moved into some fun cornice areas for some freestyle.
The Chase continued throughout the week but Mother Nature failed to deliver. Wherever there was snow there wasn’t wind, and wherever there was wind there wasn’t snow. The athletes of the Tour made due with many practical jokes, goofy antics, and building kickers off houses. Whether there is wind or not the show goes on…
Awaking Friday morning we all got the break we were looking for. Bluebird Skyline blowing 15 out of the SouthEast. The 2012 Snowkite Masters was underway. Kiters from all over the country had flocked to the most famed snowkite location in North America to partake in the action. For the next 3 days kiters played throughout the amazing Skyline playground, jumping off cornices, gliding off hills, and getting some great powder turns. It was a festival and a celebration of our sport. Much thanks to Brian and Heather of Windzup snowkiting, putting on a great event and entertaining all kiters throughout the evening at the Triangle Bar.

With a great week of kiting, filming, and socializing, the North American Snowkite Tour was on the move to Summit County Colorado.

You can check the full HD video HERE.

Check out the first stop of the NAST Tour in Jackson Hole

F-One SUP Demo Week End in Morro Bay, February 25-26

Bay Area Kitesurf, the North American F-One distributor, in conjunction with Central Coast SUP will be presenting the 2012 F-One Stand Up Paddle collection on February 25th and 26th from 9am-3pm, in Morro Bay, on the Central Coast.

Demo boards from Manawa, Anakao, Race and Madeiro series

Come checkout the latest SUP’s, paddles and the recently release MANERA travel gear from F-One. With twelve different models to choose from F-One is one of the few companies to offer a full range of high performance boards starting with the 7’7″ surf models up through the 14′ carbon/bamboo race.

Saturday will offer flat water board demos in the bay. We will have the Manawa, Anakao, race and Madeiro series boards to try. The Manawa line is great a great all around board that does well in the waves or on the flats. The carbon fiber/bamboo 12’6 race boards will also be available for demo this day. These race boards are quickly becoming a favorite with a number of paddlers.

Sunday we move to the surf at 24th st. in Cayucos from 9am-3pm. The surf specific 7’11″ Madeiro and 9’1″ and 8’4” Anakao will be available to test as well as the Manawa lineup above for surf demo.

So come on out and test drive the boards that have been two years in the making. For more information and board specifics

please visit F-One SUP 

For more information, please contact Brian Friedmann at brian ( at ) bayareakitesurf.com

When: Sat Feb 25 9am – 3pm &  Sun Feb 26, 2012 9am – 3pm

Where: Saturday flat water demo takes place at the Morro Bay waterfront across the street from Coleman Park next to the Rock. Sunday surf demo takes place at 24th st beach in Cayucos
Look for the F-One flags on both days.   Click here for map

Join us at Cayucos to demo SUPs on waves

The Kiteboarder Magazine’s La Ventana Classic has become so much more than an a competition and expo. It has become a cooperative effort among the many brands, pro riders and kiters from around the world to support the local community. Last year $18,500 USD was raised and used to directly support the local community and schools. Events include not only competitions, kiting clinics and gear demo but also gringos and Mexicans working together to clean the neighborhood and repair and build community structures.

The sense of community and camaraderie and just plain fun of this event makes it one of the Bay Area Kitesurf crew’s favorite of the year. We will be bringing all the 2012 F-One goodies. We will have all the B5 kites,twintips, surf boards, and SUP board. The entire catalog will be available for demo.

Check the pictures from last year and join us for a week of fun in La Ventana from January 15th to 22nd, 2012.