Welcome to one of many hidden gems of New Zealand, Penzance Bay, in the Marlborough Sounds. Wind is our love, but we are blessed with endless destinations & activities we can enjoy on the calm days! 7 Girls joined in the weekend of SUPing, relaxing & socializing.

2 of the Chicks were first timers to our group - Cherie & Yohanna. Cherie moved to Nelson a couple months ago & Johanna joined us from a neighboring city, Blenheim. This is one of the things I treasure most about this sport & our club, the people we meet along the way. KB4Girls is the ultimate link connecting us around the world.

Our first evening paddle was picture perfect (albeit I forgot to charge my camera so I have no proof!) & I am pretty sure I found my SUPing paradise. Glassy water & breathtaking scenery made gliding along completely effortless. The following morning we were greeted with an overcast sky & ever so slightly choppy water, but nothing unmanageable & we were still rewarded with some sheltered flat areas. Apart from some Stingrays, I swear we had the entire Sounds to navigate alone!

I will update our calendar soon, but you can save the date for our next event - Yin Hot Yoga class @ Hot Yoga Nelson! It is the most gentle of the yoga classes so if you are a newbie to yoga, no worries. The heat & yoga works wonders to keep our body in shape for our kiting season! Sunday June 3rd @ 4:30pm. See you then!

Us Nelson Chicks are a pretty resourceful bunch. We have SUPs from SUPSTAR & a bach (Kiwi word for Holiday home - I am defining this solely b/c I did not know what it meant when I moved here.) in the breathtaking Marlborough Sounds available to us courtesy of our very own, Bec Overton.

The plan is to depart Sat. afternoon (~3pm), May 12th, get in some SUP time on the glassy flat water before the sun sets, have a BBQ & chill out with an overnight stay @ the bach. We just got a lucky weekend with wind, but overall we have bid it farewell, so we should enjoy some bonding time together in a place that is blissfully void of internet & phone reception, plus we will be keeping up our fitness on the water to be beach babe ready for our tropical holiday.

If you plan on attending, please let me know in advance. If you have your own board, I am happy to transport yours on my trailer. It is approximately a 1.5hr drive from Nelson & would make the most sense to carpool in my American beast as it seats 7 & I have to tow the trailer anyway. We can chip in for petrol/groceries/drink & a small contribution to Bec for her costs.

This was valuable & I am looking forward to tweaking it by using a real board minus fins or improving the straps on our foam board b/c I did not have time to properly secure them. It will be good to do again at the beginning of our season when we can then get on the water soon thereafter & see how it translates to progression while we are kiting.

If anyone is looking to do this, here is what I did for equipment. This can start to add up, so if you have a group & can chip in, I would do that.

(1) I bought a used trampoline & had it restitched. Total cost NZ $105. (2) Used kitesurfing bar - using an actual kitesurfing bar vs. just attaching a bar to lines above you is better b/c you can put on your harness & have the hooked in feeling. (3) Strong bungy rope. Cost - NZ$25, but I really got double what we needed & we looped it a few times to make sure it was really stable (you can see that part in the pic). You actually don't want too much in terms of length of the bungy rope b/c you will jump/spin & then land on your bum with too much slack. (4) Rope - to connect from the bungy to whatever you are securing it to - in our case a tree. (5) A board. I started by getting a foam board (NZ$35), but you can get away with a real board as long as it does not have any rough edges & of course take off the fins. (6) A helpful friend who is willing to play Tarzan & climb the tree to secure the rope & knock down any interfering branches. :)

What can you do with this? A lot really. If you are a beginner, you can just practice switching to toeside, & then move on to jumping & throwing in a board grab, back roll rotations, front rolls, & so on to handle passes, etc. It is good idea to make yourself do everything both ways as we all usually have a dominant side & you are just getting that muscle memory of going the other way. You will not have that feeling of weightlessness as you do when you jump from the water, but it is a close second when it comes to practicing on land.

Happy Bouncing.

Side note…We now have 5 in my group for the Cook Islands trip!! Any other takers??

If you have not been to the Cook Islands for Kitesurfing, it may be the mecca you have been searching for!

Join me please! I will be in Aitutaki from July 29th- Aug 27th. Any visitors during that period would be very welcome & we could possibly even share accommodation. I will have 4 friends there for part of my travels.

I went on a kiting trip to Aitutaki 2 years ago & it was the first true turning point in my kiting life. I wondered why I had never done a kite trip ages before to get myself over that initial learning curve. I went for just short of 2 weeks & in that time finally learned to properly ride up wind, correct my stance, jump & ride toeside - none to perfection, but much improvement from what I had been doing. This tropical paradise has trade winds & when they blow you can be kiting all day on flat, clear, shallow water with white sandy beaches! I think consistent time on the water is key to progress. Waves are always good fun, but flat water definitely helps for beginners or nailing your next trick. You can kite out farther & get a wave fix if that is what you are after.

Pointers: The only negative is coral. Booties would be a good idea. There is a daily boat transfer option that is ~$50 (Cook Islands/NZ currency) return to Honeymoon Island (picture above). This is a perfect lagoon & you have plenty of space to practice your moves. There is a shelter with storage space that is locked at the end of the day, so you can keep your kiting gear there. There is a rescue boat on hand - I am not 100% sure it is always there if you do not go through an organized group, but the probability is there will be a group going at that time. If I had about 10 interested, I could possibly arrange some group deals. Other expenses - accommodation goes from high end to the very affordable. I would average about $50/night. The island is small & easy to navigate with just a scooter or walking. The locals are very friendly & hard working individuals. You will not have much of anything to spend your money on beyond food & drink. I find that the cost of food is reasonable, unlike many Islands I have visited. The wind seems to cycle over a 2 week period. I don't know of any exact science when it comes to the wind, but I would give yourself at least two weeks to ensure some great kiting time & then you can mentally check out & relax with a pina colada on the non-windy days or entertain yourself with a SUP ride, snorkeling, or a few other activities they offer.

If you are interested & have any questions or would like to try to buddy up while we are there, feel free to contact me via the FB Page: Nelson Kitesurfing Chicks. All my contact details are listed on that page.

We are at the tail end of our regular season & I think we should make the best of our progression with a cross-training activity on land. There has been a recent surge of wind so we still should have some solid days to practice! I have heard that trampolining is a great off the water cross-training activity for pulling out tricky rotations & what not that we (I) are having difficulty nailing on the water. Join us SAT. APRIL 14TH.

I have purchased a "rustic", more like slightly rusty trampoline, & it is presently getting stitched up at the trampoline doctor. The plan is to set up bar & lines from some sturdy place above the trampoline, trying to make it as similar as possible to being on the water & practice our moves. I have a foam board that we can borrow as well that will work with this.

A $5 one-off contribution would be greatly appreciated as I think this could come in handy more than once for our group. We could do it again at the beginning of next season.

Our kite chick hoodies have arrived just in time for the winter wonderland! If you have not been out at the beach, swing by my house to pick yours up. I have 2 extras if anyone missed out on the pre-order. One Med black & one XS black. $60/each.

Not windy. Windy. Not Windy. Windy. Oh vey! This is how our afternoon began & we were torn to hold out for the beloved wind or go forward with our back-up plan of a SUP downwinder.

Lea Boode volunteered herself as the guinea pig to test out the conditions with her monster 16m kite before we bothered flexing our muscles & pumping up our own beasts. The wind had its moments, but Lea was struggling to make any magic happen with the incoming tide. Accepting that we were cursed with the Luck of the Irish, we packed up & opted for our SUP downwinder along the Monaco Peninsula - a short drive from our beach. This really turned into an UP-winder to the Honest Lawyer Pub & a downwinder back to our car. Emerging like creatures from the sea with mud seeping from our toes, we hopped the fence of the bar & quickly tried to blend in with those heavily clad in green. We felt our beer was well deserved after the strenuous paddle against the wind & decided to award the KB4Girls prizes to those that attended.

Drum roll...the one of a kind KB4Girls blue rashie goes to...our newest member of the group that has made every event since she came to Nelson...Susanne Bennell!! To our chick who most recently landed her first jumps....a Kristin Boese DVD...Lea Boode!! I am sure that will be of great help for her to master her next move! Big props to our former full time Nelsonian - Sarah Skinner - for continuing to make events even though it now requires a 9 hour drive time - awarded with face stick sunscreen from Elemental Herbs. Last but not least, Bec Overton scored some Vanilla SPF chapstick for her dedication to make every event since we first started the club - allowing her a miss when she was out of the country. :o)

The night did not end there, oh no, it was St. Patty's Day & we had a going away party for our chick, Sarah Tibbs. A Guinness & a jig made the parting one to remember. Sarah will be greatly missed, but we are wishing her the very best kiting her way through Australia & look forward to hearing of her adventures.

(L to R: Susanne Bennell, Aileen Shepherd, Sarah Skinner, Lea Boode, Sarah Tibbs, Bec Overton.)

I think any Nelson Kite Chick would definitely take the Wind right now over the pot of Gold. Tomorrow is our next Chicks Event & we are doing it St. Patty's Style!

We are hoping a little Leprechaun will bring us a windy Sat. afternoon so that we can do a fun, self-mposed kite clinic & be rewarded with prizes from our KB4Girls package! If the wind fails us, we have a back-up plan of a SUP downwinder & again will throw in some challenges for a prize giveaway.

To finish off our evening, we have a going away party for one of our kite chicks, Sarah Tibbs, who will be joining the KB4Girls crew in Aussie & traveling the Australian waters with her boyfriend, Andy. A tearful Guinness farewell it will be! Sarah has hands down won an award for the fastest I have seen a Nelson Kitesurfing Chick progress.

See you at the beach - 3pm!

Nelson Kitesurfing Chick's Mascot, Yoda, doing some mental imaging for tomorrow's event.

I really didn't want to share my story, mostly b/c I am still so pissed off that I actually went for a run today for the first time in about 2 years to clear my head. The mental relief from the run lasted for roughly 2 minutes before the throbbing in my untrained quads set in. However, the local newspaper took the courtesy of making my story front page news - one of the joys of living in a small town - so there is no point in keeping my version locked in a box of depression.

I got in trouble about 4 days ago on the water, which ultimately resulted in me ditching my brand new Ozone C4 kite & swimming to our little island offshore, as I thought no one was coming to my aid & I was continuously getting pounded by waves & drifting off to sea. I never go out & kite alone, but when I turned back to look for help, I realized I was alone on the water & I started to wonder if anyone had seen me get into trouble. I have been swimming since I was 6 months old, but I was struggling to catch my breath as the waves kept sucking me under. I finally made a choice to sacrifice my gear when I was relatively close to Haulashore Island & swim. I didn't think I could swim with the kite if I had done a deep water pack down & considering I was struggling to keep my head above water, I am not sure that I would have gotten that far. Everyone told me afterward that they were watching from afar & to never let go of my gear. I am sad about not having a kite, but not sad about my decision. I did what I thought I had to do assuming the worst case scenario, which was that no one saw me & no one was coming to rescue me. A rescue boat arrived about 5 minutes after I dragged my body over the rocks and on to the Island. When I got to land people were complaining about how long it took the rescue boat to come out to me & then someone very close to me in the kiting community informed me that he told them to hold off on going out. Hmmm...is all I am going to say on that & thank you for the rescue.

I have been in a bit of a bad mood - to put it lightly. I have been paralyzed with a fear of going out again as that was probably the most frightening experience I have endured. In general I wanted nothing to do with kitesurfing, but I had scheduled a girls event that was to take place just 2 days after this episode so I had to suck it up & follow through with it. I designated myself as the videographer to capture the girls moves on camera. This was beneficial for the girls, but honestly, I wouldn't have been as keen to pass on a kiting session any other day, so it was an easy out for myself to avoid going kiting. Regardless, I do think it was really helpful. Seeing myself on camera was one of many turning points in my kiting career. I realized how terrible my stance was when I saw myself in action for the first time. Similarly, we could pick out little things for the girls, such as pulling down on the bar when you are going to land a jump or backroll so that you don't stall out.

My kitemare was a reminder of the power of the sea & to have respect for the tides, current & wind. I still swore off kiting this afternoon, but when I came home I was greeted by a KB4Girls package at my door. It reminded me of why I started this group - that I want to help other women & I love the sport. Sometimes I need to take a moment and help myself. I have tried all the normal routes I believe any sane (crazy?) woman attempts to get over something - drinking, exercising, locking myself in my house alone watching movies, reading & writing - forcing my boyfriend to give me a back tickle & of course complete avoidance of my actual problem. None of those have worked thus far, so I think that means I have to test out my final option - get back on the water.

Haulashore Island.

A wee bit late on the update!

This has been an unpredictable season for us with some disappointing wind, or complete lack there of. Thus, we first rallied the girls together on a non-windy day for a social BBQ at the beach.

We then went on a wind hunt to the West Coast of NZ - Patarua - & mastered some mega waves!!! The pictures do not do justice as to how big these waves were. 6 girls braved the adventure & we took to the water after being extremely intimidated by the seasoned wave riders in this area.

Here was pointer #1:"DO NOT DROP YOUR KITE!!!!!"

"IF YOU DROP YOUR KITE, PUNCH OUT!!!! DO NOT EVEN TRY TO RELAUNCH IT. IT IS YOUR KITE FIRST, THEN YOU, THEN THE BOARD. FORGET ABOUT THE BOARD."

The waves are so powerful that if they come crashing down on your kite it will not end pretty. One kiter from last year knows this all to well, as his kite was split in half by a wave. I discovered after rescuing a board, that the current there is very strong as well. I went downwind with the board & tried to get up and deposit it on the beach & was just being sucked toward the rocky wall.

With all this being said, it was AMAZING!!!! One of the most fun kiting excursions I have had. After you get over having the fear of death drilled into your brain, you realize that when you get passed some of the double your head waves, it really isn't that bad. :) You are then rewarded with some flat spells & have a lot of fun jumping the big boys!

I will be in touch soon with a Feb. update.

Cheers,

Aileen

Nelson Ladies,

Get ready to pump, fly, ride & jump!!! We are connecting with women around the world that share our common love - no, not young hot men, kitesurfing!

We are lacking wind at the moment, but on the plus side, the civil defence has cleared our beach of any potential sewage hazard since the flooding.

We had a fabulous December event with the Cindy Mosey Kite Clinic. January is nearly upon us & I would like to set a date for our next social & hopefully get in some kite time together. Some of the newbies from last year seem to have managed to go into hiding in a city that is the size of my pinky, but I have a feeling that we can brush off the dust & get everyone back out there in a New Year with renewed ambition to tear it up on the water.

(Cindy in action at the clinic.)

Let's plan on Sat. Jan. 7th. What are we doing? It is a secret! That is code for I don't know yet, but I am sure I can come up with something by then & your ideas are much appreciated.

~ Aileen

(Girls BBQ)