If you haven’t already spotted one of these sexy watches on one of your fellow kiters or in the shops; here’s introducing the Limited Edition Fluro Rubber Player. This watch combines action sports with a classic form and even has a bling diamond at six o’ clock. It comes in four colours, which will be launched one colour at a time in a custom molded, high-polish and gloss finish polyurethane.
It’s a fun watch - a reminder of not to take things too seriously!
Ross and Spike from Wavescape (SA’s leading online surfing resource) have very kindly allowed us to syndicate their Ocean Watch Weather Forecast. Check out the feed on the GUST weather page. Still on the Garden Route and no joy with wind - geeprs Plett’s climate has a mind of it’s own!
Took a week out to check out the kiting scene up the Garden Route. Popped in to PiliPili in Sedgefield on my way through, and chatted with Neels, the owner. They have a great set up and are very friendly and keen to welcome you to their spot this summer. Check out their promotional video. Have you kited in the Garden Route lately? Send us your pictures. South Wester tomorrow (WED) - who’s keen for a downwinder to Keurbooms River Mouth?
This morning caught up with Reinhardt Fourie, brand manager of Dakine, to hear about his experience at Dungeons last Tuesday. He landed up treading water for over 40 mins, contending with severe rip currents, thoughts of possible shark attacks and managed to stay calm amidst all of this.
Listen to Reindardt’s story here as well as highlights from the new product line for kiteboarders.
Reinhardt Surfing Sunset 2009 - image Nic Botma
Dakine Power Clip Lock Buckle System
Dakine Warlock Kite Footstrap System
Dakine Sonic Harness
Visit dakine.com for the latest product line for guys and girls.
Lyle Bottcher's fluid style mesmerizes photographers into taking his picture
Dean Bottcher and a group of passionate wave-riders, have launched a social network called Bay to Bay. The aim is to gather momentum and get like minded kiters together for adventurous missions, out of the normal event circuit. We hope to publish some of their best pictures in up and coming GUST issues.
Thought this song (Vanished, Crystal Castles) would tweak you today, and get you amped for the weekend and all the possibilities is offers. Check out the GUST calendar for all the details. Nice swells in the western cape this weekend. See you out there.
Also, keep an eye on GUST next week for an exclusive interview with Reinhardt Fourie, brand manager of Dakine. He will tell us about his out of body experience while “lost” at Dungeons this week.
With a rain-free weekend forecasted in the Cape, we can look forward to getting out on the water and enjoying the swells. Naish Africa is collaborating with the Lifestyle Surf Shop in Muizenberg for a morning of Stand Up Paddle Boarding. If you are keen to try this out, and have not yet had a chance, get down there on Sunday at 10:00am for a FREE demo. Contact Titch on 021 788-8218 for more information or otherwise drop Rob a linerob@windfreak.com.
A winter sunset on the west coast, shelley point
If you are in JHB, the annual Boat Show is kicking off tomorrow morning. Surfers from Ballito will be there to answer all your kiting queries and they are offerring a special - subscribe to GUST for R185, and get a FREE GUST t-shirt and sticker. Also, Degald from Inland Kitesurfing will be there, so pop in and check out what he’s got to offer.
Young blood, Oswald Smith, is 13 years old and ripping it up. Living in Stellenbosch, he’s mad about kiting and equally fearless. Captain of the rugby team, cricket team and even the lead role in the school play, this all rounder is destined for great things.
Read some of the articles he has written about his travels to Egypt and we look forward to hearing about his kiting adventure in Zanzibar later this month. Check out his latest gallery of pictures from his East Coast road trip with his dedicated dad and chauffeaur, Stefan.
Do you have a video of yourself in action? Share it with us!
It’s that time of year again, when entries are being made to the Luderitz speed Challenge. With less than 90 days to go, organisers Seb Cattelan and the French crew urge you to register before the end of August. Visit this link to register and follow the instructions.
What’s new this year? The event with form part of the PKRA speed circuit and will be the first to use GPS units as the primary timing devices. Improvements to the speed strip are being made at present, so keep your eyes on the website to check out some of the speeds they are clocking.
All images courtesy Kolesky/Sandisk
Did you read the article published on Namibia a while back? Check it out here and let us know what you think. You brave enough to take on the strip?
At GUST, we are working away at finding you the most user friendly weather reporting format and feed to ensure you spend more time on the water, enjoying the finest conditions. We came accross the recent launch of the, WIND ALERT, the new wind tracking application by Weather Flow, that works on the iphone.
Features include:
- Over 35,000 weather stations
- Global Coverage
- Precision search that finds the beaches AND the closest weather data where you go!
- Custom Favorites enabling you to build and save your own wind profile.
- Slick and portable functionality designed specifically for the iphone’s navigation.
- GPS lookup uses the iphone’s internal locating function which literally finds the closest wind stations to your current location.
- Flip the phone sideways for a more detailed wind graph.
- Wind Alerts pushed to your phone (coming soon!).
- You can download and use the Wind Alert application for FREE!
Has anyone tried this application? What do the GUST readers rate? Download the iphone application here.
After reading an inspirational article on Ann Gadd, ambitious artist, boardsailor and author, I tracked this busy lady down for a cup of coffee at Big Bay beachfront. After five minutes of chatting with her, we realised how many things we had in common. Once a high powered media executive, she now enjoys the simple pleasures her art and daily walks along Big Bay with her labrador. The more people I meet working on GUST the more evident the correlation between your approach to life and your appetite for adventure and interests in water and extreme sports! Did you know that Pete Cabrinha is a talented artist? Check out his personal website here
Ann Gadd and her fellow boardsailors in the 80's
Ann is an un-assuming person, who is very modest about her recent rise in popularity and the commerical success she has made of her “sheep paintings”. She humbly dropped in, that she represented SA as a boardsailor in the 80’s and wrote article for the international windsurfing magazines.
Kiteboarding for Ewe
We’ll be sure to spend more time with Ann, trawling through her photo archive (including many victories of the annual Downwind Dash) and look forward to featuring her in an up-coming issue. In the meantime, visit her website for more information and a catalogue of the books which she has published. If you are looking to commission an artist for something to liven up your office or home, speak to Ann about something inspired by your passion - the wind!
