Hangtime Five7

Ouch ma head!

2011-12-12T19:41:00.002Z

Kites For Sale

2011-11-08T19:02:00.001Z

I've got a quiver of 2011 F-One Bandit 4's that require a new home to make way for new gear. The kites are only 6 months old I have a 7m, 9m and a 12m for sale and all come with 2011 Airlite bars one of which has only been used once.

Prices are:

12m F-One Bandit 4 including bar and lines £620
9m F-One Bandit 4 including bar and lines £580
7m F-One Bandit 4 including bar and lines £540

12m has been used most, with the 9m and 7m seeing little action Tiny nick on the canopy of the canopy of the 12 is the only damage.

Also have a barely used 2011 F-One Acid 132 Twin Tip for sale. Hardly used a bargain at £280 (RRP £500)

Prices for P&P can be negotiated and will depend on method of transport etc

get in touch via my email on this page

New F-One Bandit 5

2011-09-13T20:56:00.000+01:00

Here F-One UK's Dom Yule gives a comprehensive overview of the new Bandit 5. Some nice refinements and improvements for 2012. Check it out..

A small summer strapless session at Philorth

2011-07-19T07:54:00.001+01:00

Pop......

Where's my wallet?

Float the boat

Air rotor

Hanging on

Winterfest

2011-02-20T21:29:00.000Z

It has been a while since my last posting, with a new child and house taking precedence over blogging antics! Despite all these other commitments I have been making a conscious effort to get out on the water whenever possible, and with my new abode being only a 2 minute walk from the beach I really have no excuse. I've now had the chance to fully test my new quiver of Bandit 4's and as a surf kite they are pretty close to ideal. Especially impressed by their ability to drift along on slack lines!

Surf wise things have been somewhat pedestrian on the East coast since Christmas, that was of course until last Monday when a boomer of SE'ly unexpectedly slammed the coast. First port of call was of course 'old faithful' Westpoint, which is generally the go-to spot on a big South East. Whilst it was solid enough, at head-and-a-half it was a touch on the slopey side so I opted to paddle out on my favourite short board of the moment, my trusty 5'11" Luke Young Cyborg.

George Noble

George Watt

Pumping

Turned out to be a bit fat for my liking, so George Watt and I spotted some nice looking lefts at a fickle spot a few hundred metres up the bay and decided to paddle over for a look. Lesson 1 - It is always bigger than it looks. I kinda knew this, but my 6'6" was in the truck and I figured it would take a good 20 minutes to get a wave in, do the rock dance and paddle back out again, so I figured I'd just stick with the 5'11". I think the pictures serve as evidence that I was a little undergunned!

Gathering of the Clans 2010

2010-10-05T20:50:00.001+01:00

Had a great weekend for the 2010 Gathering of the Clans surf comp at Fraserburgh. The surf pumped and the sun shone, and most importantly the Broch took the team title home once again!

Results:

Open - Lester Cruickshank
Seniors - Me
Juniors - Louie Chadwick
Longboards - Iain Masson
Ladies - Dee Ripoll

For a full report please check out http://scottishwaveriders.blogspot.com/2010/10/done-and-dusted.html

More Fun at the Power Station

2010-09-28T20:59:00.000+01:00

Just before I set off for Ireland we had another fun swell at Insanities. A tad inconsistent and a tide that was too high, but darned fun none the less, and fun to squeak a few head dips. Such a ridiculously good spot to surf and never ever crowded! Good to share with Russell and Watson.

Summer Ain't Such A Bummer

2010-09-10T22:56:00.001+01:00

Summer for most east coast surfers is but an awkward bridge between spring and autumn - a forced and unwelcome hiatus punctuated only by mediocre windswells and trips to Indo. Or so it goes. Only this year proved to be an outlier, a blip, an anomaly, a deviation, call it what you will, but whatever you choose to call it it was good. Sloppy windswells were replaced by sweet groomed groundswells, and reefs that had lain dormant the entire winter stirred to life in fleeting moments of greatness. How great if felt to feel the rocks beneath bare feet, our visceral connection to the sea made all the more real without 6mm of rubber. So, thank you summer, let's hope autumn delivers!

Location:Main St,Fraserburgh,United Kingdom

Fun at the Power Station

2010-06-20T22:04:00.005+01:00

Sometimes, just sometimes summer throws up a few surprises. Here's a few shots from one of our local slabs located just behind the power station at Peterhead. This spot needs a big northerly swell and ideally a westerly wind to get going and with all the variables aligning last Sunday Watson and I decided to head along for a look.

When we arrived the tide was slightly too high, but with a good few hollow sets rolling through we figured it would be worth a blast as it was only likely to improve as the tide ran back. The first mission with this spot is getting into the water - large slimy boulders are the order of the day with the swell pulsing into the paddle-out spot you are always lucky to get out unscathed. Sure as can be, as the tide ran back it got hollower and hollower until you couldn't even look at the set waves on the peak.

It basically works like this - the higher the tide, the easier it is to take off on the peak and get barrelled, but you have little or no wall to work with afterwords. As the tide drops it becomes more ~~difficult~~ impossible to take off on the peak but you are then rewarded with a longer, steeper wall to work with down the line. So, all in all a great day and a real surprise for the end of june - who needs warm weather!

Reasons to Love Springtime

2010-04-28T22:12:00.000+01:00

Spring is a great time of year. Not because little lambs are in the fields and the flowers are in bloom, but because the nights are long, the water is heating up, and there is nice groundswell to be had. Tonight was rather nice!

Flatwater Fun

2010-04-11T21:40:00.000+01:00

Spring was in the air this weekend and despite the lack of waves some flatwater fun was had at St Combs.

Broadsea Point

2010-03-22T09:13:00.003Z

A few fun ones here before dark yesterday. Video frame grabs and fading light so excuse the poor quality photos.

Strapless Kitesurfing at Philorth - March 2010

2010-03-19T08:43:00.001Z

Picked up a Go-Pro HD recently and have tried it out kitesurfing the past few weeks. Still playing with angles and settings but here's some of the footage. All taken at Philorth over the course of three days.

Best viewed directly over on Vimeo

Strapless Kitesurfing Philorth - March 2010 from George Noble on Vimeo.

New - Takoon Soul and Burning 6'2"

2010-03-09T22:03:00.003Z

Takoon Kiteboarding have just announced the release of their new kite dubbed the 'Soul' available in 5,7,9 & 11m sizes. Looks like a nice hybrid shape that will be a good allround kite and, most importantly should be decent in the surf. Also coming soon is a new 6'2" thruster version of the original Burning. For more info visit the Takoon Website or for UK availability contact Surface to Air Sports

The Dirty South

2010-03-08T07:51:00.001Z

The Dirty South - Teaser from BENWILSONVISION on Vimeo.

Scottish Surfing Champs 2010

2010-03-07T22:39:00.001Z

Muddy, smelly, tired, and painful we just got back to Fraserburgh from the 2010 Scottish Surfing Federation Champs held at Thurso and I thought I may as well do a brain dump before it disappears.

This is the first Scottish Champs I've been to since the birth of my son Israel, and at 16 months I figured now would be a pretty good time for his first surf trip. So, come Friday afternoon (after some last minute ding repairs) we loaded the truck with boards, wetsuits, prams, nappies, toys etc, hooked up with Russell and Elaine Cruickshank and hit the road for the four-hour trek North. With the chart looking a bit 50-50 expectations were mixed, and with a NW wind and relatively small swell expected for Saturday conditions looked uncertain.

Saturday morning dawned rainy, windy and small, with hacked up, head high peaks hitting Thurso East. Despite the poor conditions rideable waves were coming through and the call was made to get the Open division underway. Being in the third heat I had a bit of time to kill and thought I'd watch the first two heats and suss out where best to sit and whether to wait for sets or keep busy. That plan was soon got ditched as 'Dada' needed to be on hand for some puddle stomping instead, which was ultimately more fun! My first heat was challenging to say the least with very few waves on offer, a strong rip, and the westerly wind hacking up the face. Everyone in the heat struggled in the poor conditions. Fortunately I managed to sneak a couple of ok waves and won the heat, so onwards to round two.

As Saturday progressed, the wind got steadily stronger as they ran the Juniors, Seniors, Ladies and Longboards. Hats go off to all the ladies and juniors for giving it a good go in the challenging conditions, particularly as many of them had never surfed Thurso East before. Fortunately, Jill did enough to win the ladies and re-take the Scottish title after a two year hiatus from competition. Having got through a good number of heats the call was made to wait until Sunday to finish the remainder of the comp, and with a dropping wind it looked like good surf would be on offer. However, when I came out from my last heat it was clear something was wrong with my shoulder, and the familiar pain of an old rotator cuff injury came shooting unpleasantly back. At that point I was dubious whether I would be able to surf on Sunday so trudged off to the pharmacy for some ibuprofen and deep heat.

Pulling back the curtains on Sunday morning the sun glinted across a glassy Thurso East, and although it was hard to tell the size it seemed like the swell hadn't dropped any. After a full Scottish brekkie we hit the road, and as soon as we pulled into the TE car park a glassy overhead set roped down the reef - game on. My shoulder was still in a great deal of pain, but with good waves on offer it was down the hatch with the painkillers and off to surf. Despite the glassy conditions it was still tricky to get good waves, particularly on the backside, with the frontsiders having a distinct advantage. Still, once again I managed to pick off enough decent waves (and even a small backhand tube) to take the win and progress to the semi finals. Unfortunately, by the time my semi final came round my shoulder was feeling really fatigued and painful, with paddling becoming a real effort, which really hit home in my heat as I struggled to get into waves, finding only a handful, all of which closed out. Alas my campaign had ended, which was probably just as well from my shoulder.

The finals hit the water with in-form surfers Scratch and Chris Noble hitting the water with the remaining two goofy footers Georgie Watt and Boydie. With an increasing wind and lack of sets the final was a bit of an anticlimax compared to the preceding heats, with only a handful of good sets coming through. In the end it was Scratch who took a deserved win, having surfed impeccably the entire weekend. Chris took second spot and also took home the prize for best wave of the comp for a sick 10 point double tube in his round two heat. Third place went to contest director Mark Boyd and fourth to Georgie Watt.

A big thanks to all the competitors, judges, beach marshalls and anyone else who helped out. Props to Staunch Clothing for the prizes, Tempest Surf Cafe for use for the AGM. Boydie for his first time as contest director. A big thanks also to Martina Cross for standing in the rain and taking photos of us all. Also, thanks to Pentland Lodge House for the great accommodation and food.

For a full set of results and official write-up please keep your eye on the Scottish Surfing Federation Blog.

2010 Scottish Championships are On

2010-03-04T11:26:00.002Z

Just an update to let everyone know that the Scottish Surfing Championships have been called on for this weekend (6th & 7th March) in Thurso. Looks like there should be a bit of swell, light winds and even the possibility of some sunshine! Check-in will be at 8am on saturday at Thurso East car park.

The Scottish Surfing Federation will also be holding their AGM on Saturday night at 7PM in the Tempest Surf Cafe.

Sub-Zero

2010-02-26T23:32:00.002Z

Last weekend saw some great waves but drastically low temps, with Georgie Watt recording a whopping - 10C at Sandend. In all honesty it wasn't that cold in the water, with very little wind and blazing sunshine. Still got some weird looks from folks down the beach.

It was snowy at Philorth when we tried to go kitesurfing. Shame the wind dropped as soon as we hit the beach.

Pete and myself contemplating getting changed to go for a kite session.

Jill after a chilly but super clean, super fun surf.

Broadsea Point

2010-02-17T22:23:00.003Z

My local spot. I can see it from my house. But she's a fickle mistress. Here's a short paddle out clip on a clean day.

Broadsea Point from George Noble on Vimeo.

2010 Scottish Surfing Championships

2010-02-09T08:21:00.008Z

The dates for the 2010 Scottish Surfing Champs have just been announced. The event will be held on the 6th & 7th of March in Thurso, with an alternative date of the 3rd & 4th April. Those on Facebook will already have received an invite from Georgie Watt. If you are interested in attending keep an eye on http://scottishwaveriders.blogspot.com for updates and more details.

Out of Action

2010-01-24T14:49:00.012Z

It's been a while since my last blog entry so I figured it best to make an attempt to write something seeing that it's raining outside. Since my last blog entry I've been on hols in California with the family over Christmas and New Year, which is always great as it breaks up the winter a little and shakes off that hibernating feeling that envelops you over the festive season. Stayed in Laguna Beach, which is about an hour south of LA. Scored some pretty decent waves the first two weeks, surfing either in Laguna or mostly a few miles south at Salt Creek. Creek can be pretty darned fun, but unless you catch it early doors it can tend to get pretty crowded, which is why I got up and surfed each morning. Scored one morning really nice, with head high tubey a-frames and only 6 folk in the water. Even when I left at 9AM there was still only about 20 people on it which is pretty rare. Not that I complained of course.

This was of course all good fun until my appendix decided to pack in at the end of the second week and, after a quick run to ER, a shot of morphine and a CAT scan, I was sat in a hospital bed sans appendix. Still, got to look on the bright side, I had a sweet hospital room complete with swaying palm tree and ocean view, my op was a laporoscopic appendectomy (i.e. keyhole), and I had a few days of sunshine left to recover before I had to go home to Scotland.

Unfortunately, there has been consistent surf since I got back which would be great if I didn't have to wait another week until I can start to exercise, and the weather wasn't so rank!

Some Skate Stuff from the Archive..

2009-11-25T21:52:00.000Z

Skating Into the Archives from George Noble on Vimeo.

Reeling Rights

2009-11-16T08:37:00.001Z

St Combs Reef from George Noble on Vimeo.

St Kitts

2009-11-11T12:00:00.006Z

I just got back from a quick break with the family in the Caribbean on the Island of St Kitts and thought some of you would like to know a bit more about this Ex-British island.

Since we were only going for a week and flying the world's (well surfer's) least favourite airline BA, the sporting options were limited. Despite hunting around online I could find next to no info regarding kitesurfing or surfing options on the island, and knowing that the NE trade winds would make any surf onshore I opted to pack a 13m kite (the new Takoon Furia Ltd) and a twin tip. The trip got off to a great start with BA turning a blind eye to my 'Golf Clubs' and with the FlyBe flight to London only charging £22 for my excess baggage, the added costs were a fraction of what they could have been. All good so far. An overnight stay in Gatwick airport and we were off the next morning. BA fly direct to St Kitts once a week (with a short stop in Antigua) and the flight was pretty good. Even our hyperactive one year old seemed to enjoy it and actually managed to get some nap.

As we came in to land I could see some swell breaking on Atlantic side reefs and, onshore or not immediately questioned my decision not to take a shortboard! With the sun setting we checked into our hotel, grabbed some food and sacked out.

Next morning we walked across to the the Atlantic side near the Marriott Hotel where the main reefs seemed to be, and sure enough head high waves were peeling off various sections of reef. Now, to be honest it wasn't spectacular being slightly onshore, but it was 33 degrees, no one was out and a few bowly sections were begging for a spanking. But no board meant no waves for George and I had to content myself with a bodysurf in the shorebreak. So, with the wind too light for a kite session I went for a snorkel/freedive on the Caribbean side of the island which was pretty awesome, with an abundance of tropical fish, stingrays and even a turtle. The next two days were pretty similar with a bit of swell, a bit of wind (mental note - palm trees sway lots in 10 mph wind!)and lot of sun. The little fella loved the sea and the pool so it was cool to hang with him and just take it easy.

The next evening the wind had picked up and I decided that I'd try a kite session on one of the Atlantic side beaches that I'd spotted earlier in the day as we drove about. So I jumped in the hire car and drove the 2 miles to the beach. Being quite a narrow bay a head high shorebreak was closing out the beach, and despite signs suggesting bad rips and imminent doom I thought it would be worth a go, particularly as the wind was straight onshore. Anyway, pumped up the kite and unfortunately the wind wasn't quite as strong as I thought and it made it tricky to get past the shorebreak. Regardless I stuck with it for an hour and had a relatively fun session. A few locals I talked to on the beach said they had never seen anyone kitesurf on St Kitts before! Just as I was about to leave to drive back I somehow managed to lock myself out of the hire car and had to run the 2 miles back to the hotel (up and over a very big hill) in only wet boardies and flip flops :(

The next day we drove further up the island and with a bit of swell still running I spotted a few bits of reef that had potential for decent surf, and one in particular that had a head high right breaking into a heavy shorebreak that looked fun. I'm sure when all the variables come together there are good waves here. Anyhow, we stopped and had an epic West Indes buffet lunch at Rawlins Plantation, also visiting the historic Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park which was pretty neat (and interestingly was on a site that used to be called Mince Pye!!).

Adjacent to St Kitts, and only a 20 min ferry journey away lies the island of Nevis (pronounced Nee-vis). Being our second last day with the hire car we thought it would be a shame to come all this way and not check it out, so off we went. Boarding the small car ferry was quite funny as they really pack the vehicles in tightly. My brother-in-law Scott did a great job of getting the car on without incident. The same could not be said for the party of English tourists who jumped the queue in their hire car only to rip their exhaust off trying to reverse up the ramp!! I didn't laugh - honest.

Nevis is far quieter than St Kitts and has a fair number of plush resorts that would be great for Honeymooners or those looking for a relaxing break. Anyways, the wind was blowing and I had my kite gear with me, so we stopped at a small, beautiful beach and I kited whilst the rest of the troop snorkeled. Although the wind was only about 14mph I had a fun session on the 13m Furia ltd, which turns like a far smaller kite and managed to keep me going through the lulls.

After my session lunch (consisting of flying fish and chips!) was had at the beautiful Nisbet Plantation Resort, before exploring the rest of this small island.

The final few days were spent relaxing and doing fun family activities before the time came to finally head to the airport and make for home. Overall St Kitts is a great place to go for a relaxing family holiday, and although it is not somewhere you would go specifically to surf or kite it is almost certainly worth taking your stuff with you. Next time I reckon I'll take a 6'0" and a 13m kite.

A Little Secret

2009-10-26T21:24:00.001Z

A few good waves round the corner from George Noble on Vimeo.

Choccy Tubes

2009-10-26T21:20:00.000Z

Grinding from George Noble on Vimeo.

Georgie Watt's Footage From Last Week

2009-10-12T19:39:00.001+01:00

Camera in the car from George Watt on Vimeo.

South Wind Spots

2009-09-19T20:04:00.001+01:00

Secret Lagoon
South of Duck

Kiting at Philorth - 12/9/09

2009-09-12T19:53:00.003+01:00

Some pics from Philorth today. Hardly any swell and gusty wind. Testing but fun. 9m Furia 2 worked great.

BKSA Wavemasters

2009-09-11T10:31:00.002+01:00

And for the kitesurfers...

Gathering of the Clans

2009-09-11T10:27:00.001+01:00

Be sure to sign up...

More From the Archive....

2009-09-07T19:03:00.001+01:00

Pennan 2002 from George Noble on Vimeo.

Some Old(er) footage of the Broch. More coming soon.

2009-09-02T15:56:00.000+01:00

Broch Surfing 2002-2003 - Part 1 from George Noble on Vimeo.

Leg-Cam

2009-08-17T08:27:00.001+01:00

Tried the waterproof cam on my leg at Philorth. Position wasn't quite right but caught a few waves with it.

Strapless Kiting Philorth Beach - Leg-Cam Test from George Noble on Vimeo.

Coming Together

2009-08-09T22:13:00.004+01:00

Just watched the new Ben Wilson flick 'Coming Together' which has to be one of the better kitesurf vids I've seen. The strapped stuff is ok, but the strapless riding is pretty sick. Ryland's section is good. You can tell by his style he is a decent surfer.

Coming Together Preview from BenWilsonSurf on Vimeo.

300 metres from my house......

2009-07-16T23:20:00.005+01:00

Rock Running

2009-07-10T15:01:00.005+01:00

The Slaughterhouse

2009-07-10T08:30:00.003+01:00

Scored some ok (but windy) surf at the Slaughterhouse with Russell last night. A river of current made it hard to get to the peak, and a few were double overhead + and dredging so hard that a big board would have been the only option. Good fun though, and a surprise for the middle of July. The pics don't do it justice. Bottom pic is double overhead.

Watson running rocks

2009-07-05T00:24:00.001+01:00

Thursday 2nd July 2009

2009-07-02T22:21:00.002+01:00

It was 27 degrees C today with a 20mph wind, butter flat water and only three guys out!! Didn't even need a full wetsuit today - pure bliss :)

Sandford 2004 - An oldie but a goodie.

2009-06-29T20:03:00.002+01:00

No wind and no surf makes me think of kayaking adventures...

2009-06-22T23:24:00.001+01:00

Leaving Glen Brittle en route to Rum

St Combs Surf Session

2009-06-19T22:15:00.004+01:00

George

Maggie

George

Mark

A few nice pics from earlier in the week at St Combs featuring Mark, Maggie and George. A few nice wee peaks were coming through. Big shout to Mark and Maggie for spending time on the beach taking the photos. More pics can be found at Synergy Kitesports. Tried the kitecam but the angle wasn't right :(

The sickest rodeo flip.......

2009-06-17T15:32:00.000+01:00

More Surfing >>

New toy........

2009-06-15T21:15:00.005+01:00

Despite all my hot air about unstrapping and unhooking on a surfboard I still went and bought a new tea tray (133 x 40) and I'm quite stoked!! She has a bit more flex than the old 127 Airush Protoy so should be softer on the kiteloop landings. Maybe get a shotty the morn...

Luskentyre May 08

2009-06-14T22:09:00.002+01:00

Kitesurfing Heaven

Some Skating Action From A Few Years Ago

2009-06-13T23:12:00.002+01:00

Some skating action from a few years ago filmed at the Broch skatepark, Kemnay skatepark, the beach and Westfield School starring George, Sprickle and Eenies.

Railey at Coralhill Cut

2009-06-13T22:17:00.001+01:00

This pic is from a session last year at the Cut at Coralhill and my first attemps at raileys. Twas a really scorching day hence the lack of wetsuit. Thanks to Jill for the pic.

Shorebreak at St Combs

2009-06-13T00:02:00.003+01:00

Cruising in the shorebreak at the St Combs lagoon a few weeks back. Pics courtesy of Mark @ Synergy Kitesports