We spent an epic weekend kiteboarding in the eastern Columbia Gorge Corridor at one of our all-time favorite spots, Rufus. Friday the 4th brought super gusty 7m conditions for the boys to enjoy. Even though it had a brutal northwesterly kick to it, the bravest guys were determined to make it look easy. Wally “The Gator” threw down some HUGE kiteloops for the peanut gallery to enjoy and even showed off his new Eclipse Full Throttle kites.

Teague almost nailed a handlepass on the first try too.


Photographer Jim Stringfellow was nice enough to get into the water to shoot the action and was unfortunately taken out by a novice kiter who didn’t get enough “pop” on his jump.



Here’s some more action of Jason, Lee, Kim, Teague, and Alex from Friday.


Jason rides blind on the 08 Crazyfly Bulldozer.

Lee from Portland throws down a huge Railey.

Kim Michaels boosts big and represents the ladies well.

Saturday started out light but was still kite-able and provided the steadiest 9m session I’ve ever had. Combine that with flat water, hot weather, and very few other kites on the water, and it was an unforgettable day. Wally was even nice enough to reprieve me from my spot behind the camera so I now I have some shots of myself riding! Later in the day the wind picked up to 7m again so the bigger guys that couldn’t make it out in the lighter winds were happy.
Me, loving my new Brunotti Princess Pro-X kiteboard (the women’s version of the Brunotti Pro-X)




All smiles after an epic day on the water!

Sunday turned out to be the best day of the weekend though. I woke up at 7am to kites on the water. Even though my legs, abs, and neck were super sore from pushing myself hard on Saturday, I couldn’t pass up the conditions. We fueled up on coffee and pop-tarts and hit the water around 9am. Jason headed out on the 7m Slingshot Rev and was so powered that I rigged up a 5m Turbo Diesel 3 and was juiced. It was the smoothest wind I’d ever kited in for being as strong as it was. Everyone had an absolute blast on the water. Even Wiley came out of the woodwork for the afternoon to join us! Wally did most of the photography again until the wind was strong enough to entice him out.


Me practicing my back rolls.

Jason with his favorite new Slingshot Lunacy kiteboard.

Kurt was having WAY too much fun in front of the camera!

Teague was also hamming it up for the camera!

Oops Wally! Looks like your kite leash broke!


Teague shows us how a railey is really done!

Wiley was all smiles to get a weekend off from the shop.

Hope you enjoyed the pics! We had a great time but its good to be back in the shop too. As always, we try to work hard and play harder!

We are VERY excited to announce the opening of our new shop in Lake Forest Park, in north Seattle, on Bothell Way! Due to the billion dollar renovation starting on the Everett waterfront, we decided to relocate our Jetty Island Kite &amp Skim storefront to a non-construction zone. Our shop up by Jetty Island is no longer open so come visit us at our new spot! We have more space, more product, better parking and more brands than before. We hope that our new location will be more accessible for our Seattle customers, as well as being more convenient during the 9 months out of the year when we aren’t kiting at Jetty Island. 

We are directly across the street from the Lake Forest Park Mall on Bothell Way and the Burke Gilman Trail is just 5 steps from our front door. We are in the brick building to the south of the Asia Press building. Our official address is 17230 Bothell Way NE, Seattle WA 98155.

Also, we’ve been carrying a brand called Landyachtz for a little over a year now. They make the highest quality longboard “speed boards” for downhilling which is a fast growing sport in the northwest. We are now full stocked with decks, trucks, wheels, bearings, slide gloves, helmets and all the other necessities.

We have a retail space reserved on the Everett waterfront when the project is completed but that won’t be for another 2 years. So pop in and say hello!

This weekend, we made our first trek of the season down to Hood River to kick off summer. They’ve been having as bad of weather as we have up in Seattle and so the locals were just as excited about the sunshine as we were! After a record-breaking 7 hour drive to the Hood, we couldn’t have been more stoked to wake up and see the sun and whitecaps on the river. On Saturday, the Columbia Gorge Kiteboarding Association held their summer Demo Day at the Sandbar. All of 12 different brands brought their gear, swag, and pros along to give the average kiteboarder the royal treatment. The CGKA was even smart enough to rent an inflatable bouncy castle for the kids to have some fun.

Axl was busy helping with the Slingshot demos.

As the sun started to go down on Saturday, the Slider Project boys brought out the Inept Films slider for the pros to show their stuff. Davey Blair and Jason Slezak from the Liquid Force team threw down as everyone expected. Andre Phillip from Cabrinha also wowed the crowd. But Dylan Thompson and Ruben Lenten from team Slingshot were the ones who really blew everyone away. We always see Ruben doing huge kiteloops but none of us knew how good he was at wake style tricks. He just looked so comfortable throwing handlepasses on a 5ft high, 20 ft long rail. Dylan Thompson never missed a beat either, and you could tell he was right at home on the slider.

That night, 2nd wind threw a huge party at the River City Saloon where tons of prizes were given away to those who bought raffle tickets to support the non-profit Slider Project. Jason Slezak even won the famed Liquid Force Subaru Slider car, but I have a feeling he won’t be taking that back to the east coast with him. They also previewed the new Bilderback film, Lines, at the Saloon. We were all so tired from being in the sun and 7m winds all day that we didn’t last long that night. We were glad we got some good sleep in because Sunday morning brought more 5-7m conditions with it. I tried to get out but couldn’t hold the 5m down. Jason and Wally sessioned all day long while the wind howled down the Gorge corridor.

Late Sunday afternoon, the Smith Slider limo finally made its long-awaited appearance. This thing was a monster! It looked like they took an early 90’s limo and put it on a 4×4 chassy.

Royal Kiteboarding was nice enough to step up to the plate and sponsor the kicker that ramped up to the limo’s slider. And our friend Pepi with 2nd Wind in Hood River also helped sponsor the event to get the limo over to the West Coast. This was an event that was not to be missed. It was such an awesome sight. I still can’t get over that we didn’t see more carnage considering how massive this thing was, and the fact that that they could only park it in the shallowest section of water.

All in all, we had an amazing weekend. Since I couldn’t even hold down a 5m kite, I didn’t get much water time myself. Normally, I would have been really bummed to have driven all the way down there just to sit on the beach, but not this time. There was so much fun stuff going on from demos to BBQs to the sliders and dogs running around everywhere that I couldn’t have had a better time!

You may or may not have noticed the other pages that are a part of this blog. You’ll see the toggles at the top of this page like Killer Deals, New Gear Reviews, and Products We Love. I’ve been completely slack on keeping these pages updated, but not today! If you check out the Products We Love page, you’ll see a slew of new additions. This is my favorite page because it gives us chance to talk about the things we really enjoy in the kiteboarding industry and the products we actually use ourselves!

On this new update, I tried to focus on items that were not only useful but affordable. Not everyone can afford the luxury of a new kite every year, but a $35 rash guard might be in the budget. I’ve featured the Sensei Trainer Kite at $119, the Mystic Force Quick Dry Shirt at $35 and the Criminal Composite Kiteboard which starts at a measly $380! Aside from being genuinely excited about these products, I think of them as being up-and-coming kiteboarding products that we’ll be seeing more and more of in the future. So, please check out this page and see the best of what the industry is offering these days!

And FYI, the Killer Deals page is also up-to-date with the latest and greatest kites and boards on closeout. We have both new and used gear from Slingshot, Crazyfly, and Brunotti on sale. You can get into a brand new kite and board for well under $1000 by taking advantage of these Killer Deals.

As always, thanks for checking out my blog! I hope it’s a fun read on these rainy June days.

Brad Gordon!  It is now official that Brad is part of the Gokiting family and has also been endorsed by Slingshot Kiteboarding.  Brad has taught for the Seattle Kiteboarding Center (our school) for the last two years and has been a huge help in our shop as well.  His beach presence, etiquette and attitude are a huge asset to our team when you combine it with his natural talent in the sport.  

Brad cruising the terrain at Skyline.

Brad helped pioneer the sport of snowkiting in the northwest and introduced many new faces to this winter offshoot of kiteboarding. Always approachable and friendly, Brad will help you fine-tune your skills on the water and the snow. His road to stardom really began this winter after snagging the coveted first place finish in both the Montana Snowkite Rodeo and the US Snowkite Masters in Skyline! Brad beat out pro-riders from around the country like Dmitry Marimendes, Alex Peterson, and Jason Slezak.


Brad Gordon on the left bringing home the gold.

We hope that with Brad’s help, we can continue to grow the sport of snowkiting through exploring new locations, holding instructional clinics, and putting on a competition of our own in the northwest. Not to be overshadowed by his snowkiting accomplishments, Brad is also a phenomenal kiteboarder on the water and in the surf. He’s constantly pushing himself and is always blowing our minds with his unhooked style.

Brad going big in Montana.

We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Brad as an official part of our family at gokiting.com. Hopefully with our support as a sponsor, Brad will be able to continue to improve as a kiteboarder, represent the NW in competitions, and take the sport to new heights! He will be riding a quiver of Slingshot Revs, the 136 Slingshot Misfit, and the Slingshot SST Surfboard.

Here are a few things our fellow kiters had to say about Brad…

“We have a great team this year and finally we have Brad G in the house.
I have always had a blast riding with brad and with his high energy and stylish tricks and steel balls, he always keeps me pumped out there on the water! Snowkiting just took off last year and now with B-rad leading the pack… I am sure he will be taking it to new levels!”

-Glen Mulvey (fellow gokiting.com and Slingshot team rider)

“Congratulations to the brad man! Its good to see his super athletic skills are being recognized. Let’s see, MSR 2008 champ, Skyline 2008 champ, WOW! This guy knows how to represent. While Brad dominates in the snowkite realm, he is just as much a force to be reckoned with on the water. Good job Brad! you make us proud.”

-Jim Stringfellow

“Brad, you know I have already congratulated you on the beach but wanted to say it loud and proud for you bro publicly. GREAT JOB! I’d say Liquid Force just missed out on the their best all time rider. Sorry Sleezy! I would’nt trade a single one of them PRO, Amature or any rider on the LF tour over the B-Monster. Brad always keeps it REAL and stays humble. He helps the less talented skiers like myself and is always fun to watch whether it be on the snow or water.”

-Wally Young

“Bout time you quit your day job, eh? Congrats B-rad. Still working on one of your earlier loop transitions I saw at Westport a few years back. Gonna be a force with you, G10 and J-Clack out there on the Revs.”

-Dave

I think you get the picture. : )

Prices have just dropped substantially on the Slingshot Turbo Diesel 2, also known as the Slingshot T2 kite.  Now, you can get into a brand new T2 for just $650, complete with bar and lines!  They are last year’s model of Slingshot’s traditional bow kite.  Also, they happen to be my kite of choice.  In a few words the T2 is: beginner friendly, handles gusts extremely well, has amazing depower, the pulley bar gives it a “power-steering” feel, huge range with great low and high-end, boosts super high and is very forgiving.    

Being a bow-kite, it has a reputation for being a beginner kite but it also happens to be excellent for wave riding since you can just park the kite and let it sit in the window while you slash the surf.   The smaller sizes in the Turbo 2 are where the kite really excels.  When you’re in strong, gusty winds, you want to feel comfortable pulling off the same moves you would on a 12m and the T2 gives you that.  It takes the gusts like a champ.  Being a lightweight myself, it’s super important that I’m not getting jerked around on the water.   

We have the 5m and 7m Slingshot Turbo 2 for $650 complete.  If that’s still too much for your budget, we are also offering the full range of used Turbo 2’s from 5m to 14m, in the area of $550-$600 complete.  If you’re looking for your new Gorge or Coast kite to round out your quiver, this is it!  We have demos available that you are free to take for a week or two to make sure that you really like the T2 before committing.  Afterall, our number one concern is that you’re satisfied with your purchase and we’ll take anything back if you’re not. 

However, if you’re looking for the ultimate quality in kites, there’s always the brand-new Slingshot Turbo 3 that we have in stock as well.   The Kiteboarder Magazine just relased their youtube video/review on the T3 yesterday.  Check it out below.  If you click on “more info” you can see their full review.

YouTube Direkt  

Jason and I were lucky enough to make an impromptu kiteboarding trip to the Bay Area from Wednesday until Sunday.  For the last 6 years we have spent every Memorial Day weekend in the Gorge with the crew, but the forecast wasn’t looking promising enough to stick around locally this time.  Our friends Jeff Dack and Nate Brooling invited us to join them for a fun weekend at Sherman Island and we couldn’t pass it up once we saw the forecast.

We hopped on the 7:30am flight so we could spend all of Wednesday at the Delta.  After take-off, the pilot announced that we had an abnormal 150mph tailwind propelling us to the Oakland airport in a record hour and twenty minutes, a sign of good winds to come!  We loaded Jason’s sister’s loaner Toyota 4Runner to the brim and made the trek out to Sherman Island.  Turns out a storm-front was passing through central california bringing with it plenty o wind.  This meant that the winds were coming out of a northerly direction contrary to the usual westerly thermals, making for gusty, shifty conditions. 

  

Look what the wind blew in!! 

 

The 5m Slingshot REV was the kite of choice for me that day while Jason and Jeff took turns powered up on the 7m REV.  

 Jason got a good chance to test out the new Crazyfly Rocky Chatwell Limited Edition Kiteboard.   Review to come soon.  Let’s just say he never went back to riding his other board.

 

Taking advantage of the plentiful, consistent winds in the Delta.  My favorite form of green energy! 

Word to the wise though: after spending a few hours trying new moves and getting dunked in the river water, I ended up with horrible stomach pains and even tossed my cookies that night.  It could have been caused by something else but we couldn’t come up with any other reasonable explanation (wasn’t food poisoning).  However, it didn’t stop us from kiting there the rest of the trip and it can’t be much worse than the Gorge anyways.

 At 6am the next morning, we got our kiting wake-up call from our favourite Brit, Guy, claiming that the Bay Area was the place to be for the day.  He couldn’t have been more right!  I snagged a brief 7m REV session before getting blown off the water at Alameda.  Jason also got a quick chance to try out the 2008 Slingshot Fuel 13m for the first time as well.  Unfortunately, it switched to offshore but on a good day, Alameda is an awesome spot!  It’s a shallow, long beach with a safe launch making it very beginner friendly.  Depending on the tide, the water can be pretty flat too. 

 The Kiteboarding and Windsurfing community do a great job with their signs posted around the area.

Once the wind clocked offshore at Alameda, we crossed the San Mateo bridge to try the other side of the bay at 3rd Ave.  There were plenty of kiters and windsurfers already soppin’ up the gravy when we arrived.  With Nate’s handheld wind meter, we gauged the wind at a sustained high of 44mph!  Jason rode powered on the 7m Slingshot REV and Nate braved the conditions with a 7m Cabrinha Crossbow2.    

 

Jason was jumping sooo high he had time to look down at us and pump his fist a few times, amazed at how high he was jumping in those 45mph gusts!

Nate skies over Jason.  Props to him for getting the guts to go out in the first place, and major props for going out with a helmet and impact vest to keep him safe! 

It was a pretty amazing day, one the locals won’t forget anytime soon.  Reports of the high winds were all over the news that night and they didn’t help firefighters as they fought big forest fires in Santa Cruz.  Jason says he’ll never forget his session there either.  He compared kiting 3rd Ave to kiting in chocolate milk thanks to the churned up, silty brown water.

Friday morning, we headed back out to Sherman Island in hopes of the hot weather pushing in a thermal.  We waited around until about 3 o clock when we got teased with a light 14m session. Upon hearing the reports from the last few days, Mike Hartzog and Kirsten Shultz showed up from Seattle to join us for the rest of the weekend.  Unfortunately, the wind never picked up beyond about 14knots and many people wound up downwind in the reeds.

 

Jason, Mike and Kirsten scoping out the conditions.

 

Guy wows the crowd with his amazing one foot dangle

 

Nate & Guy crossing the river.

Usually the weather is in the 90’s this time of year in the Delta but the weird low-pressure front that moved in made things quite chilly.  We spent that night in downtown San Francisco and got to experience the city for an evening.  Too bad we were so wiped out from the past few days that we crashed before 10pm.  Saturday was a transition day and was actually the first time it had rained in the Bay Area in 4 months!  We took the opportunity to check out Crissy Field, the Golden Gate Bridge, Ocean Beach and visit our Mystic importer in Sausalito. 

 

 If the wind ever did pick up, this guy was ready!!!

 

Jason, Jeff and Nate. 

 

 Jeff, Jason and I doing the tourist thing at the bridge. 

So, we never made it out on Saturday, but 3 out of 4 days on the water isn’t so bad.  We just got word from Mike and Kirsten that they scored a nice 10m session at 3rd Ave yesterday. I was glad to hear they didn’t get skunked after we left. Turns out the Gorge and Jetty Island delivered some good conditions back home too so hopefully everyone got the goods this weekend!  Can’t wait to hear about everyone’s adventures and I hope you enjoyed reading about ours.

So in my last post I was complaining about how spring hadn’t arrived yet, and now I’m happy to announce that we actually skipped spring and went straight to summer this weekend!   With record-breaking temperatures in the 90’s, Jetty Island in Everett, WA delivered the goods on Friday and Saturday.  Friday brought with it hair-dryer steady 14m winds from 2 to 5:30.  It was a classic northerly thermal push out on the island and the word on the street is that other kiters were able to get on the water at local spots like Golden Gardens and Carkeek Park in Seattle.  We showed up around 3 o clock and by then there were about a dozen kites on the water.  I was fully powered on a 9m Slingshot T2 while the bigger guys opted for larger kites like the 13m Slingshot Rev that Ryan Murray rode and the 14m 08 Liquid Force Havoc that Brad Gordon threw down on. 

Katina launches Kim Michaels for a sunset ride.

On Saturday, even warmer temps rocked the convergence zone and a freak southerly wind blasted the Jetty providing solid 12m conditions, albeit a little gusty.  Regrettedly, once Jason and I saw the southerly readings on the anemometer, we decided to cancel our Jetty trip for the day.  I’ve tried to ride Jetty on a south wind before and always wound up frustrated with the inconsistent winds and horrible chop.  However, it sounds like everyone had a great time and were just happy to play in the water on such a hot day.  I heard Ryan Murray was even out riding in just boardshorts (a stark contrast from the bootie-licious ice cold water on Friday). Finally, as the sun dropped late Saturday night, the northerlies trickled in allowing for a memorable sunset session for the lucky few who stuck around.  Next time I definitely won’t let a south wind prevent me from joining in on all the fun! 

Jason and Brad Jensen post-sesh (note the booties on Brad’s feet)

 
Melissa snags a coveted sunset cruise

Both Friday and Saturday boasted huge numbers of kiteboarders at the Jetty.  While on my port tack, I counted almost 45 kites on the water Friday evening!  I heard that there were around 30-35 kites out on Saturday as well.  Luckily, everyone was safe and very respectful of each others space and sailing etiquette which is a good sign as the numbers will only continue to grow throughout the summer.

  

Trep lookin’ classy

Since the “Sound Downwinder” was canceled due to an unreliable forecast, the PSKite Board Members brought the party to the Jetty Island dock on Saturday night.  They rewarded all the famished, dehydrated, and sunburnt kiters with free beer and hotdogs.  Again, I don’t know what I was thinking skipping out on the festivities on Saturday, I’m definitely kicking myself!  It sounded like everyone had a great time and here are some pics to prove it. 

Pierre takes advantage of the free dogs

Magen “Liquid” Force looking lovely in her PSKite hoodie

Thanks to Jim “Stringy” Stringfellow for providing all these amazing photos, as usual.  I have to remember to bring my camera with me more often.  Luckily, Jim’s always there to save the day with his professional pics!  I hope everyone had a great weekend.

   
Jim and his beautiful daughter Abby.

Up in the northwest, we’re waiting in limbo between a stellar winter season that has come and gone, and a spring season that just won’t seem to turn on yet.  It’s left me with the opportunity to reflect upon the best moments this winter had to offer both on the water, and the snow.  While I didn’t make it to the US Open Snowkite Masters in Skyline, Utah myself, I do have access to a killer video that will transport you right there.  Our good friend and video editor/photographer extraordinaire, Jim Stringfellow, put the video below together for everyone to enjoy. 

As long as I’m getting nostalgic,  here is one of my absolute favorite photos from this winter.  This was taken by Jim Stringfellow of Mike Hill on his 2007 Slingshot Ranger 9m snowkite and it just speaks to me for some reason.  It reminds me of the great snowkiting sessions Jason and I have had and it’s a beautiful photo.

On the 08 Liquid Force Havoc, you’ll see our good friend and former instructor, Brad Gordon, ripping it up to take first place in the the video.  He smoked all the pros that came from around the country to strut their stuff.  Brad is something of a local legend now and has pros like Dmitry Marimiendes shaking in his boots.    Or at least he’s gained the respect of the top riders in the industry and he has the video to prove it!

  
YouTube Direkt  

Please feel free to comment on this post and share your favorite memories from this past season.  Photos and videos are more than welcome! 

We just received shipment of the new 08 Slingshot SST Surfboard and it is sweeeeeeet! SST stands for Slingshot Squash Tail because of it’s squared off tail. We grabbed as many as we could from the Slingshot warehouse so that we could be stocked up for the summer and the upcoming coast season.  Sounds like our buddies have already scored some killer sessions out at Manzanita, OR and Damon Point, WA. Admittedly, we haven’t had a chance to try them for ourselves but our local team rider, Glen “Glen10″ Mulvey gave us an awesome review I thought I would share since he’s more critical when it comes to boards. Here’s what Glen10 had to say:

“Have you ever rode a board that you loved so much that you miss it more than your spouse? John Doyle and the folks at Slingshot have developed a board that makes me sad to put it back in the bag at the end of the day!!! I find myself riding into the sunset and on the water earlier than normal.”

“I have been waiting for this board since last summer and am stoked to be able to ride the thing down here in the swell of the Sea of Cortez. I love how much better it forces me to ride! Self expression sessions all day long!”

“Right off the gate I noticed how fast and quick to plane this board was and always on a plane it is. A great board for racing as well as wave riding. If you ever get a chance to ride one you will see what I am talking about…fast down the line. Quick Transitions and a snappy response time for a board over 6′ makes this thing floaty and fun, perfect for heavy or light wind dayz on the oregon coast or big winds at the gorge. For a board with volume the SST 6′2″ is not bouncy at all. It just seems to be the perfect size for all conditions.”

“The SST has a super light feel and bomber epoxy shell. It has just the right amount of concave to rip up wind and keep it stable. Even the smallest of shorebreak is a kick in the pants. Like I said, this thing just rides over everything! I have always loved to jibe and try to jibe quickly and gracefully but for a big guy it’s hard sometimes. This board because it’s so stable is the easiest board to jibe i have ever been on. It just goes where you point it and does it well!”

“So, try it for yourself if you can get your hands on one. I think this is the magical board that everyone has been waiting for…The proof is in the pudding! I should be back in mid April and hopefully will see everyone at the Jetty and DB!!! Thanks for listening.”

G

I hope the review was helpful. We are dying to make a coast trip and try out all our new wave boards. We are also stocked up on the 08 Slingshot SRT (Slingshot Round Tail) Surfboard which is the blue board in the photos below, as well as the 08 Liquid Force Rawson Quad Fin 5′10″ surfboard. As always, these boards are all available for demo. Just shoot us an e-mail or give us a call and they’re yours for the weekend!