Home from Brazil with a sugar snow sprinkle

Well last week I finally made it back home after a 7 week stint in Brazil. Brazil offers some of the most phenomenal kitesurfing during the UK's Autumn and this was one year that it wasn't going to let the side down. In 7 weeks I think I had just one full day without wind - now that is one hell of a record



(Popping some stunts at Taiba with James Boulding)

I went out to Brazil to escape from the cold temperatures of the UK. I wanted to head to somewhere that was guaranteed to be great kiting and to get me on the water on a regular basis where I could rebuild my level and then improve on it. Brazil is certainly the place to do it and I spent around 2 weeks in Uruau where the wind blows for a 12m, then Cumbuco and then Taiba where I was largely on my 8m and then to Paracuru where you can find more regular waves. I also rode my 8m Torch, but could have got away with my 6m on a couple of days too.



(Building up the handle passes in Uruau with Pro Kite Brasil)

These days I am finally getting in to the wave riding. My friends have been going on at me for years to pick up a surfboard, but my heart is in the freestyle and whenever I have given the surfboard a try I have always missed the twin tip and popping out a small trick at every little perfect ramp or ideal stretch of flat water. Either that or I have wanted to train on one particular move for the entire session, so the wave board has never got me too pysched.



(Building up the handle passes in Uruau with Vincent Bergeron)

My freestyle in Brazil was the best it has ever been and I was landing some powered handle passes with some fairly good consistency and I have been having fun messing about with kite loops and darkslides as well, but this year I took the wave board with me and a couple of Naish Parks and really enjoyed evening sessions when most people had cleared the water to mess about with tacs and gybes.




(Crusing out in Taiba, Photo James Boulding)


In cumbuco the tide gives rise to a chunky shore break and some of my funniest sessions were when I was trying to tuck myself in to one of these before being spat out up the beach. Im still gathering gravel and sand out of my bikini lining and it took a couple of showers before I could unpick it all from my hair.




(Too hard before washed up, photo James Boulding)

I even took on a couple of downwinders where I had some of my best wave rides to date and am glad to whole heartedly say that Im starting to 'feel' the wave riding too. I'm starting to feel the surfboard is an extension of my feet and not something plonked underneath me.



(A view from up above in Taiba)

Now back in the UK I have been welcomed by snow. The temperatures are pretty chilly, but Im still psyched to get on the water. I have a couple of toasty wetsuits from Prolimit and an awesome rigging jacket. Its my first winter while being sponsored by them, so Im looking forward to testing the suits out. Bring on the waves over the winter. The UK sends through some phenomenal low pressures bringing world class conditions to those willing to look for it. I'll keep you posted on life as a seal!