My Kitesurfing World :)

Yay for First Raileys!!!

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:53:00 +0000

Finally!!!

I know it's not perfect but after 4 months of non kiteing and minding my poor ankle I'm delighted to go that far! ;-)

Yay for raileys! Yay for my new kites and super bars! Yay for Brazil baby! ;-)

Session in Sutton on Sunday 11th Oct 09

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:20:00 +0000

IMG_7830, originally uploaded by FiacreG.

IMG_7831 copy

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:19:00 +0000

IMG_7831 copy, originally uploaded by FiacreG.

IMG_7812

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:19:00 +0000

IMG_7812, originally uploaded by FiacreG.

Romantic Kite Trip - Brazil 2009

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 11:13:00 +0000

Photos from Guajiru

It was great to be back in sunny and windy Brazil.

Specially after 4 months of not being able to kitesurf and only watching and photographing everyone else having fun!

Ankle is still sore and swollen but I'm hoping it will improve over next few months and I won't need any operation.

We started in Guajiru, where choppy waters brought tears to my eyes and big lagoon was closed due to filming of some show... We really enjoyed our luxury stay in Rede Beach Spa Resort! Then moved to pretty Lagoinha, that proved to be a quite tricky kite spot. Next longer stay was in Paracuru, back to the Kite Village :-) Another disappointment - Taiba lagoon was gone... Final destination was Cumbuco and we were really happy there! Brazil is amazing and we are only hoping to be back next year!

Lagoinha

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Paracuru

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 10:45:00 +0000

Cumbuco

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 10:30:00 +0000

2010 Rebels are Mine!

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:54:00 +0000

Just got a brand new 6m North Rebel 2010!!!
The kite arrived this morning to put a big smile on my face :-)
And my new 9m has been with me for about 2 weeks now...
We are off to Brazil this Friday and can't wait to finally use my new kites!!!
So excited!

Ankle is still one big trouble, but the surgeon and physio done as much as they could to get me in the best possible form - I'm allowed to kitesurf but have to take it easy and monitor pain level and any changes in my poor ankle.

To be honest I'm hoping for the best, waving away any negative thoughts and just looking forward to finally get on the water after 3 and half months!

Graham in E&D Marine you are a super STAR making sure I have all needed kites for my holiday. Thank you so much!

North Rebel 2010

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:58:00 +0000

New North Rebels 2010 are already in!!!
I have heard great things about 2010 model and orders are already flying in.

To get your hands on these new babies leave your order with

Graham @ E&D Marine - 0868188908

- The best North dealer in Ireland!!!

More info: http://www.northkites.com/public/content/e135/e150/e6489/informationen/index_ger.html

Specialist Consultation

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:47:00 +0000

Sports Surgery Clinic is a very impressive but unfortunately private hospital.
Got my appointment and surprisingly the consulting surgeon was a really nice guy talking me through all my ankle trouble. I haven't got good news, but it could be worse... I was able to do an MRI same day and next morning got a phone call from the doctor explaining results of the scan...
..."It's a MASSIVE impact injury"... "HUGE bone bruising"... "VERY LARGE amount of fluid"... "JOINT injections"... "DAMAGED ligaments and tendons"... "6 MOTHS recovery process at best"... "NO IMPACT activities"...

So as you see it's all good. Yeah...
Well he promised he will do everything possible so I can somehow kite at least a little in Brazil, even if constructing a special supporting braces ;-)

This Thursday I'm off to the hospital for the little medical procedure - joint injections... one inside my ankle, one on the tendon... So far I know only that the injections are done under some scan so everything could be seen and that it could be rather painful and I can't drive afterwards...
I'm hoping for some Valium and local anaesthetic!
I suppose I will get more post care information after the treatment. There better not be too much resting!...

Interesting Cute Things

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:31:00 +0000

Baby wetsuit, originally uploaded by Kasia Kite Babe.

Still off the water ;-(
Lots of time for shopping then :-)
Well.... it's mainly window shopping, as the injury turned out to be a rather expensive one.
Just check out this tiny wetsuit!!!
Yep, it's for real!

Absolutely Nothing

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:52:00 +0000

Still off the water, sore and swollen... so nothing interesting to blog about ;-(

Well, not entirely true... there is some exciting news - booked flights to Brazil!

Hope to be back in action in about 3 weeks and in my top form for kitesurfing holidays! :-)
Keeping fit at the moment - gym and swimming almost every day, working hard to get my ankle as strong as possible.

Freaky Accident

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 13:32:00 +0000

Unfortunately I'm a victim of yet another kitesurfing injury... I hardly can't believe I managed to bust my ankle so badly!

Went to Streedagh on Saturday afternoon and arrived just in time for a late session on the lagoon.

Almost 2 hours of fun later the water started getting too shallow - the tide was on the way out... After having a great session and busting myself trying all sorts of tricks I decided to take it easy and with 2-3 more tacks just ride upwind to get back to the shore.

I wish I could say I went for some mad megaloop trick but it was just a small jump transition I was going to do... well it didn't work that way ;-( My micro loop got unintentionally hooked in and with already lots of power on my 9m I got super powered up and lifted quite high. I wasn't floating, I was being pulled by a truck with no breaks and no steering... At some stage I remember being higher than my kite and knowing this is going to end badly -fortunately I managed to kick off my board but landed very hard on my right foot and immediately felt unreal pain. I have no idea how it didn't get broken!!!

Thanks to all friends and kind strangers I was quickly rescued.

Amanda was first running through the water in her dry clothes, somebody else went after my kite and board, then guys run with a surfboard and got me to the shore. There was hot tea, lots of blankets, hugs and compassion. Nailer called an ambulance and within 40 min paramedics were on the beach looking after my ankle and making me all better with the laughing gas. Suddenly the pain was bearable and world was full of love and I was even able to giggle (!) a bit - great stuff!!!

I'm off to physio soon and hoping the recovery will be speedy even if painful.

New Board

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Mon, 25 May 2009 10:41:00 +0000

I just got myself a new board!!!

She is a lovely addition my my kitesurfing family, just look at this beautiful top performer:

She also came with new pro foot pads and they are super comfy! Pro pads are standard fitting in all new NHP boards (666)

I already had 2 sessions on my new board and I think it's the best board ever! Really loving it!

Get yours from Graham in E&D Marine (0868188908)

Girls Weekend in Banna 22-24 May

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Sun, 24 May 2009 22:26:00 +0000

We were blessed with the weather - sunny, warm and windy enough to get wet three day in the row! Great session on Friday and amazing conditions on Sunday, very light on Saturday.
Mel went out with me to try unhooked kiteloops... wow!!! It was fun in 10 knots on Sat - should had tried with the board on! ;-) More scary on 9m on today... couldn't reach back to grab the bar with the front hand...
Will definitely give it another go on 12m in very light winds...

Rush

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Mon, 18 May 2009 09:08:00 +0000

Saturday was a family day, but Sunday was our play day! ;-)
Since the wind was forecasted to drop right off around 1pm I dragged Gavin out of the bed early-ish and hit the road to Rush to meet up with Aoife. It was lashing rain all the way in but the moment we drove onto the beach the sun came out and decided to shine for us for good few hours. What a surprise! Wind was steady and strong - super powered up on my 9m but loving it!
Unfortunately by the time Amanda and Derek arrived around 4pm the wind was almost gone and rain was once again in heavy action... The second session was painful!
Went out to see Sinead and Sean and their beautiful house and met there Mairead with Vinnie and their cutest baby girl Ava! It was great to end the weekend going out for a bite to eat with friends!
Roll on next weekend - girls going wet and wild in Kerry!

Windy afternoons on Dolly

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Thu, 14 May 2009 08:42:00 +0000

3 evening sessions on Dolly 3 days in the row!!! ;-)
Mon and Tue was 6m weather and very punchy, busy beach with lots of kitesurfers enjoying sunshine and high winds. Not the weather to try anything again...
Yesterday I ventured on my own and met up with Amanda and Derek on the beach.
It was foggy and rainy but really steady and lighter wind - perfect weather for my powerful 9m!
Only 6 kites on the water!!!
Spend few minutes having fun and then an hour an half killing myself trying to do a raley.
Out of over 30 landed 3 and I'm not sure if they looked anything like a raley at all...
Definitely no problems with unhooking, holding edge and power and hooking back in, but there must be something terribly wrong with my pop! Every time I crash is because I can't get high enough to be able to land and I'm ending up flat on my face/belly... It's either a kite a little bit too low or a bad pop!
Need to figure it out!

Achill - IKSA gathering...

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 08:33:00 +0000

... didn't really happen.

First it supposed to be a comp, then due to some insurance trouble it was turned into gathering and all together nobody really bothered to do anything.

Derek, Gavin and I plus Scrappy hit the road on Fri evening, it was long 4 hours on pretty bad roads but we made it on time for a quick drink in a local pub, followed by many more in the camper. Julie and Nailer joined us after 1 am! ;-)
On Sat morning wind was blowing like mad and from North so we drove to Doogart. Very pretty beach! 32 knots plus isn't my favourite weather but I pumped my 6m Rebel and went out for a blast, wind suddenly started to drop off and there was no more worries of being overpowered.
By the evening wind was gone all together to completely change direction and come back very strong on Sunday morning. This time we went on the lake and I'm kind of proud I survived ;-)
Started almost crashing into the camper - launching on the wet grass can be tricky!!!
I would say guys had a good laugh watching me struggling to hang on to my kite for 2 hours... When I got too tired and too cold, thy decided to got out and the wind dropped right off - big kites weather! I got to admit I was a bit jealous watching them going on the slider...

It was fun weekend but rather cold and now I'm paying the price for freezing on the beach doing Gavin's line and kite - chest infection and dose of antibiotics! ;-(

No Booties No More!!! :-)

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:44:00 +0000

Flying High 4, originally uploaded by Sin Light.

The weather last weekend was gorgeous - warm and sunny, of course the most important element was missing - wind!
But we got very lucky yesterday afternoon, a sea breeze (?) kicked in around 3pm. It was all very light winds but I had a blast on my lovely 12m North Rebel for 4 hours!
I'm wrecked and sun burnt today!

Thanks for the photos "Sin Light"!

Easter on Dolly - Photos from Slawek

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:49:00 +0000

Above toeside to my right, below toeside my my left - finally riding toeside both directions! ;-) Why I never tried before? No idea!!!

Kiteloops....

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 22:08:00 +0000

What a great day! Again wind and sunshine on Dolly! Perfect 9m weather ;-)
As expected raleys didn't came to me as a natural progression from unhooking.... hmmmm.... there was a lot of crashing and loosing the board and probably freaking out everyone else around.

After a while I just settled for a nice session doing the stuff I know I can do and just enjoying it.

Towards the end when only Oscar and I were left on the water I decided to go for it and try my very first kiteloop....
Now I know these things:
- It hurts like hell when you chicken out half way trough
- the impact vest is a must have
- adrenaline rush is enormous

Well, I just say first time I tried I was well above my kite and got so scared I stop pulling, kite hit the water and I dropped like a stone hitting very hard... Would never do it again!
I made only 3 attempts and I didn't land any, but it was fun trying.

Unhooked

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 21:48:00 +0000

Finally sorted out that unhooking business!
Now it's time to start popping the raleys...
Why do I feel it won't be as easy as it sounds and definitely very entertaining to any bystanders ;-)

Dolly was great this evening - tide out, 12m weather, sunny and only 5 people out on the water!!! UNREAL
Got a heel to toeside downloop transition very first time I tried, made me smile for the rest of the day.

Hope we will get some wind tomorrow and on Monday.

Going to bed now, so tired!

Pop!

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 10:38:00 +0000

Great conditions on Dollymount yesterday - tide out, shallow water, big flat sections, kickers in the back and steady 20 knots - perfect 9m weather!
Dedicated my session to POP, I'm so bad at it I decided to get it sorted before attempting a raley... I think I got better! ;-) Felt like flying hooked in raleys and landing almost every time.
Unfortunately my board decided not to cooperate and I lost my right toeside fin resulting in a spectacular faceplant during downloop toeside turn....
I love my board but I think this fin is becoming permanent and impossible to solve problem... :-(((
Got a loan on Nika's Fone Trax - Dziekuje Ci Dominika!!!!
It's a very nice board, light, fast and easy to ride but I still prefer my Nobile 666. Nobile rocks!

Winter Sessions

iksagirls@gmail.com (Kasia Kite Babe) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:03:00 +0000

After long time of no kiting at all I finally got out and what more I had kite sessions 3 weekends in a row!

Conditions were pretty good in Sligo at IKSA AGM during Paddy's weekend, so we decided to come back weekend after. Gavin drove us to Enniscrone on Friday night, unfortunately due to lack of wind we didn't kitesurf in that lovely and new to us spot and left for Rosses Point on Saturday afternoon... Sunday was much better day and we both got out.

Last weekend we stayed around Dublin and enjoyed seeing our friends. It was very cold but with strong North winds on Saturday so with little hangovers after Marty's party we headed for Sutton... Back to small kites - 6m session.
I did well staying out for almost 2 hours until I completely lost feeling in my hands and they looked luminous red... It was FREEZING! No idea how Aleks survived without booties and anything on her head... pure hard core crazy!!!

It's good to be back on the water, but I'm horribly rusty and unfit. It's almost back to basics... ;-)

Fiacre took great shots from the day, I'm not in, but Dominka Kupciw aka Nika is making us kite girls looking good
http://www.flickr.com/photos/xude/sets/72157615948829191/