James, Holly, Kim and I decided to go to Portland for a weekend. The wind forecast looked good and we had a local kiter, Lucie, as a good point of contact to show us the local scene.

We stayed at a nice little caravan park and promptly set about trying to burn down our caravan with an out of control BBQ (in the rain of course). The next day was quite windless, but Sunday was just awesome. We met up with Lucie who introduced us to the locals, then set about teaching them about how good London kiters really are. Sadly, the locals were much better of course but it was all good.

Kim and Holly meanwhile took a drive to Hugh Fernley Whittingstall's (of River Cottage fame) Canteen in Axminister to sample some yummy organic food and produce. They came back with some Nettle beer which was, um, interesting.

Portland Harbour, meanwhile, is one of the best kite sports I've ever been to for flat water. The wind is dead offshore, blowing over a narrow strip of land, leading to the flattest water I've ever known. Perfect for learning new tricks.

Ed, Kim, Hannah and myself booked ourselves on the boat at Princes club again, it was Hannah's first attempt at wakeboarding although she's a ski instructor which we assumed would help in some form or another.
True to form, she was a natural and had no issues with getting up on the board with a little instruction. Ed, as always, is just progressing really well every time we go out which I have to admit to being a little bit jealous of!

Good times

We took two of Kims friends on the wakeboard boat at Princes, they both did really well by getting up and riding along. (As well as braving the chilly conditions)

Not a lot else to say really, so here's the video  :o)

The boys in South Wales held a downwinder event at Newgale on the West Welsh coast, but anyone was welcome to come over for a weekend of fun and drinking  :o)
I was a bit apprehensive about camping in November, Kim said there was no way she would come with me, but it actually turned out to be quite nice. Mind you, I did use two sleeping bags  :oP

James was kind enough to give me a lift in his van, which is a fully tricked out kitesurfing van with fridge, cooker, bed and all the trimmings inside. I'm not jealous at all!

Once there we met plenty of the local crew who turned out to be a really nice bunch. The local spot was awesome with some nice sized waves and flat sections on the downwinder. Very nice.
The two local kite schools also helped out with their zapcats running as support boats.

All in all, a damn good weekend

Newgale



Matt and his Ford Bronco



Kitted out for the 'mild' conditions



Out at sea



Zapcat plows through the waves.

I found this video from  a few weekends ago, I thought it was a good demo of how bad am I.

Note that it's important to adjust your helmet and shorts before attempting any tricks  :oP

Finally had a half decent photo taken of me!

Thanks to Adam  :o)

If anyone's wondering why I love Hayling Island so much, I think this picture may explain. That's the first sandbank which the wind blows over leaving about a square kilometer of totally flat water. Then there's another two sand banks further out with similar flat water. Unnnnnnbelievable!

Just another day at the cable park!

Ian, Tom and I decided to take on the three peaks challenge over the bank holiday weekend. We thought doing the 24 hour challenge would be pushing it with just three of us, so we took our time and climbed one mountain per day!

We climbed Ben Nevis first, taking the back route up the arete and had some fantastic views when the clouds parted.



Base Camp in the Lake District, day 1



Ian on the side of Ben Nevis



On the side of the arete



The views were fantastic!  :oP




The clouds did part occasionally



The top of Ben Nevis


Scafel Pike



This is near the top of Scafell Pike, we started near the lake.



The top of Scafell




Snowdon was the most pleasant climb



And the top of the final mountain! Hurrah!

    We decided to go on a bit of a roadtrip to South Wales and explore the beauty that is the Gower Peninsula.
Not much wind but good times, with some beer and a relaxed camping weekend!



Another crowded beach!



Catching a wave



Dave goes out

A festival. With beer?
Can't say no to that.

Kim and I went to the CAMRA beer festival at Earl's Court along with Adam, Gary, Lloyd and Holly.
Naturally we tasted some samples and got into the spirit of things  ;O)



Kim and Holly


Lloyd tastes some simple fare



Holly and Adam