SPKA Race Event 01 : 2011/2012

Well, we're off on our travels again.  This time it's to the North East (top right) corner of Scotland and Fraserburgh.  Don't know who Fraser was, but he must be very rich to own a whole burgh.

It's the first race of the new season and my companion is competing this year.  He was going to last year but chickened out at the last minute.  He says he's grown bigger Kahoona's this time but I don't know what fruit has got to do with it !!

Anyhow, he had a site visit in Aberdeen today, so we packed the van last night and hit the road early this morning.  The race isn't until Saturday, so we're a little early.  Hope to enjoy a quite beach tomorrow before the rest of the bunch arrive on Friday evening.

Over for another year

Well, that's the European Kite Championship over and done with.  After a final day of racing, which was unfortunately cut short by someone taking a ride in a big yellow helicopter ... the hu-mans had a party that went on till the early hours of the morning before all heading home.

Someone did manage to catch my hu-man making dunny faces whilst standing about waiting for a race ...

Not sure why he seemed to have multiple radios around his neck though.

I did over hear some say it was the last time he let my hu-man walk his wife home !! Not sure what they were on about, but I must have a word ...

Everyone appeared to enjoy themselves, despite the poor conditions and they're already talking about the start of the new season with a weekend in somewhere called Fraserburgh.  It's like football, just as you think it's all over for another year, it's all go again for the new season.

All the photographs can be seen here.

Flickr Photo gallery 

Finally some decent racing ...

Race Day 3

Well today dawned another wet day, this time with fairly light winds.  After last nights celebrations for someone called 'Ped's birthday (that's a stupid name), there were some bleary eyes at the breakfast table.

Following more rain over night the beach was again soaking wet, and the pits a lake again.  This time the race marshall considered the risk of aquaplaning on standing water to be too great, so racing was abandoned for the morning and lunch called early.

After lunch, a little sun and steady breeze helped dry the course and although the pits remained wet, it was agreed dry enough to start a race.

2 races were held over a long course, with long broad reaches in both an upwind leg and downwind leg and some tights short legs at the windward end.  The Scottish team appeared to have mixed performance and struggled for kite choices.  However, Maggie from Synergy Kitesports put in a stellar performance in race 1 and 2, using various sizes of Yaks (borrowed from my Hu-man !!) and achieved a VERY credit worth 6th and 5th place in the races.  This put her in overall 5th position for the day.

Well done Maggie ... 

Hoping for some fair weather tomorrow for some good racing on the final day.

Race Day 02

Well, after lots of waiting about, the second day of,racing finally got underway.  With the beach much drier than yesterday racing finally got under way following a pilot's briefing at 10:30am this morning and a 15 minute prep.  A 45 minute race saw some good racing through out the field.   I think some Sportsman called Dangerous Bob took top honours amongst our team, but everyone enjoyed the race, despite various kite issues.

One of the team even managed to destroy a marker, no guessing who!! and took out the flag, cone, marker board, as well as the Marshall (Ruairidh), a Jury member and photographer in the proces.  Well executed Mr Buggy...

With excellent timing the heavens opened as the first race finished, resulting in wet beach and early lunch.

The afternoon saw a second race in strong winds.  Following a false start and restart, a hour long race saw a good performance from the team, without racers settling in.  Again Dangerous Bob took top honours in the team, coming 44th overall.  Everyone appeared to enjoy themselves.

Hoping for more racing tomorrow.

First day of racing !!

We'll it seems like this European championship thing involves an awful lot of standing about waiting and not much racing....

We met up with some of the others on the drive down on Sunday.  The convoy was goof but a bit frustrating for my driver, as someone ahead didn't seem to have cruise control and then took us through the 'nicer' parts of Liverpool ... I was a little worried about wheels overtime we stopped at traffic lights!!

Afterthehu-man went out for a few beers on Sunday night with his fellows, we watched everyone have their buggy being weighed yesterday.  This seemed to include hoisting each person on some kind of contraption contraption bill from bits of tubing and rope.  I think the idea was to see who could fall the furthest/hardest but my companion says they were testing the Quick-release system, what ever that is. This all seemed to take forever and there wand't even any sites flown.

My companion has been ropes into being a Marshall, oh well at least he gets fed and water.  Less I'll have to cook!!

Racing should start tomorrow.

European Chamionships

Right, the van has been packed, the human has stripped down his buggy and loaded INSIDE my lovely van.  I hope he cleans up after himself.

We're off to the European Kite Buggy Championships (2011) in the morning.

http://www.parakartassociation.co.uk/euros.html 

Should be an amazing sight to see 70+ kiters on one beach.  I hope they can manage to avoid tangling too many lines, though a few crossed lines might make for a good Candid Camera moment ;-)

Will try and remind the hu-man to upload some phones from the event and keep you up to date with the latest news and results.