dimitri

Some of you may well remember that Iksurfmag stepped forward at the last minute to save last years "Wavemasters" in Cornwall......and what an awesome event they ran too.

Since it was such a last minute event last year we have all been looking forward to see what they could do with this years event with a little more time to plan things.

Both the teams at IKSURFmag and Kiteworld Mag have been more hectic than ever, what with running their hugely successful magazines and with all the new 2016 kit coming out and needing reviews etc but also this year they took over the British Freestyle Champs but then this will also helped to hone their organising skills even more.

Unfortunately there is one element they cannot control - the Weather, and she really didn't want to play ball this year!

Marc@Blast collecting the goodies

2014 IKSURFMAG WAVE CLASSIC....

https://vimeo.com/110427541

The past two months the wind on the west coast has been fickle to say the least. We had a great summer of teaching here at the Blast school but once September arrived so did the lack of good winds, especially on the weekends which is when we needed them the most.

It became that bad Sarah and I decided to do a last minute trip to Morocco (there was no wind here to run lessons so why not) to get some much needed wind/surf, 6 out of 8 days it cranked!

Sarah & Marc in Morocco

https://vimeo.com/139802027

Since returning we have only one weekend we could run lessons and these were in Easterly winds on the Gower, not our usual westerlies at either Porthcawl or Aberavon.

So, as the week of the Wavemasters approached everyone was getting excited, surely October in Cornwall would produce the goods?

Two weeks prior to the comp I saw the long term farming forecast and...it didn't look good! A huge high pressure was due to take over much of the Atlantic and in so doing so would pretty much rule out any deep lows swinging our way.

Sure enough this is exactly what happened.

The decision was made by Rou and Jim that the comp was not going to run...a tough call to make but the correct decision for sure. The winds were due to be very light mostly ENE with a very slight chance of wind for the Wednesday and small swell also.

It's such a long way for many people to travel with some coming from the far reaches of the UK such as George Noble up in North Scotland.

Sometimes this sport sucks balls!

But then again this is also the very reason that makes those special days just that...special!

A special day in Tiree for the 2014 Wavemasters

I'm not sure if there will be a new date added once a good forecast is seen however I really hope it's not any time at the beginning of November as I'll be away in Brazil with Dimitri from Epic Kites doing a photo/video shoot and opening a new dealer/school.

Whatever the outcome, it is the hands of mother nature to have the last word on whether it goes ahead or not.

So by now most people will have at least heard of the Epic Kiteboarding brand, or at the very least the legend that is Dimitri. The company is quite unique in that it's a small rider driven company headed by big boosting/hard charging Dimitri Maramenides and his wife Helen who are based in Hatteras USA.

Dimitri

After a long career as a pro-rider for several other brands inc. Airush they decided to start their own company with the goal of producing the best kites but also being able to offer the very best customer service available.

The aim is not to be the biggest kite brand in the world and dominate the market, the aim is simple...Make kites with the very best performance that are also extremely easy to use..no gimmicks, simply kites that excel whether you want to boost to the moon or rip in the surf...or just help you to progress quickly when you are just starting out in kitesurfing.

Over the past few years I have had the pleasure of spending a fair bit of time with this "crazy man" whilst on our annual group trips to Hatteras but also on a few trips to work on proto type kites and promo trips to Greece & France. This guy works harder than anyone I have ever known...long long days of emails/video/photo editing/generally everything that goes with running a successful business and then he is always motivated to kite mostly testing the latest proto kites to further improve the already hard to beat range of kites on offer.

Back in May I had the chance to try the new Screamer & Renegade 5G kites firstly in France with Dimitri and Jeroen (graphic designer) and then in Hatteras ..all sizes of both. I was worried beforehand how these new 5G kites would turn out as we loved the 4G kites so much.

Fortunately we did not need to worry, Epic have taken an already amazing kite range and injected even more performance..especially notable in the new Renegades, they now have a bit of the DNA from the Screamers. Just enough extra zest to make it truly awesome for both bigger boosting/better looping but still great in the waves. It still retains their ease of use though for beginner/intermediates...super important to us as we use them in our busy school but we also sell a lot to people just starting out in this amazing sport we all love so much.

The new 5G kites have been given a fresh new "family" look by the extremely talented Jeroen. The Epic kites are now all easier to identify with the new "E" proudly emblazoned on each model.

The new 5G Screamer in Poison design

The new 5G Renegade

As I'm writing this we are waiting on the first drop of kites to arrive, hopefully in time for our annual Portugal trip in a weeks time. It's amazing how a new kite makes you super keen again to get in for a session.

Here's a video we did whilst in Hatteras of the 5G Renegade

Epic Renegade 5G - Tested from Blast Kiteboarding on Vimeo.

and the 5G Screamer

Epic Screamer 5G - Intro from Blast Kiteboarding on Vimeo.