Kitesurfing - The Bluff goes off all weekend 26 & 27th February

Board off!

 The Bluff at Hayle River mouth must be one of the most iconic Kitesurfing spots in Cornwall if not the UK.  It is where many pioneering kiteboarders took their first steps in the ever changing and dynamic pools that were crafted by the tidal ebb and flows of this estuary at mid and low tide.  In the early days with rapidly developing equipment and styles of riding we saw a world champion Aaron Hadlow take his first tentative forays into the sport.  Many more have followed in his footsteps although maybe not quite pushing the envelope in the same way.....
 

The weekend of 26th and 27th February resulted in many an exhausted kitesurfer making their weary way up the path to the Bluff Inn car park.  A 20 - 30 knot North Westerly building breeze, with sunshine, provided them with the perfect conditions to kitesurf until they could hardly hold onto their bars or physically pick up their boards by the end of their session.

I had 3 hours before taking time to snap some photos of a few of the participants.  The North Evo 7m is really perfect with offering a super fast reacting kite for any change of direction yet provides a super stable reasuring power source at all times.  It is a great compliment to anyone riding a directional board - I certainly found it really comfortable allowing me to concentrate on the board which can be somewhat tricky in slightly unpredictable on shore swell. 

Steve T ...

Straps or No Straps(strapless) ?  - I tried both on this day  and would safely say that I think strapped riding seems to be the prefered option, especially if choppy conditions prevail. The North Whip 5'7 with no straps was a bit of a handful at higher tides with the severe chop but as the waves cleaned up it really showed how well it copes when you need to stay in close contact of any waves. 
   Anyone else have any feelings on this issue?  What do you prefer?



With the flat water pools forming at mid tide particularly over on the Lelant side it gave the twin tips some of the buttery smooth water to practice their freestyle tricks and just simple plain boosting. 

A month on from the start of the trial run of the full access to the harbour mouth rather than the limited 3 hour period prior to Feb - It was great to see everyone wearing their permits and proving that the KKC has done a great job in its all its hard work behind the scenes.   All the more reason to go along and support the KKC AGM on 20.3.11 at The Seiners in Perranporth.   More details on this link.

Busy

Mr Bentley I presume...

Have you read the code of conduct... and have you got your permit?

Pools on the other side..

I do have more photos if you are passing the shop drop by and check them out if you want any higher res one drop us a line at the shop...

Cheers

Peter