Check out the advert at www.sskiteboarding.co.nz/

I'll be heading down Friday arvo and staying at the campground. Gavin is (I believe) organising a marquee for general piss drinking etc. Once he figures out how to turn on a computer he'll chuck some info on this forum.

Ha! just noticed you got the year wrong in the advert Get online and defend yourself dude.

Nice one..

Should be a good weekend..
Its my 29 Birthday on the 13th Nov..

Brad who is sorting out the accommodation at the camp ground...
or should we all sort out our own accommodation?

Sort your own accomm. Should be just a case of turning up and paying your dollars if you are looking at the campground.

With your good looks and charming charisma,
I thought you would swindle us a good deal !!

Will sort it out..

Sweet Brad, Can you sort us all out some accom? That would be great Dude! Coffee and muffins for breakie and some OJ would go down well. A launch and a land of our kites would be appreciated and please take care not to over inflate the kites when you pump them up. Gosh darn-it BBQ dinners waiting when we come off the water would be fabbo as well! See you on the Rags!

Anyone using the word 'fabbo' has got to be dodgy.

Brad dont forget my birhtday cake... Choc chip !!

Oops... yeah Thanks for pointing that out Brad. Getting abit ahead of myself. Must be all the talk about 2005 kites etc.

Yes the 2004 Raglan freeride is on next weekend. A bunch of us are camping at the camp ground. There are also some cabins and bunk rooms at the same place. Go to www.raglanholidaypark.co.nz for details. My understanding is that there are heaps of camp sites and no need to book if your going the good old kiwi tenting route. If you want a cabin best you ring them or talk to the accomadation Guru Madness, he may even be able to organise a baby sitter as well.

There will be a BBQ and beers Saterday night at the camp then its just a short walk across the foot bridge into town and various drinking establishments.

The event itself is all about riding, meeting new riders, getting together as a kiteboarding community and having fun. Don't expect some massive well organised extravaganza and leave any attitude at home.

Raglan is one of the best kite boarding spots in the North island and relatively central to a bunch of people. The river mouth on an outgoing tide is exceptional for flat water while the bar provides some excellent wave riding. The current which runs out against the wind(hopefully anything from a westerly quarter)is very strong running at 6 to 8 knots. It means you can jump and jump without ever having to try and go up wind and if the wind is light you can still be fully powered-up, jumping and cranking upwind in 8 to 10 knots.
It can also be quite intimidating with every regular here having a story to tell. There is, however, safety in numbers and I will have my Thunder Cat on hand for back up and I think there will be a couple of other craft about.
A huge amount of ridable area and no beach down wind means lots of space and no dramas.
Anyway enough ranting, this is a get together for everyone, beginners to expert.
Its about riding and living and remembering our friend Doug Wisor who sadly never got to ride here.
C U There

Huge tides next weekend as well so there will be a lot of watrer moving in and out. 3m between hi and lo tide.
Hi tide at 12 ish

I spoke to the camp ground last night and the prices are as follows.

10 per tent.
15 per person in the dorm.
30 for room with double bed and bunks. I think we may have taken the last one.

All the bungalows have been taken.

You can call them on

Raglan Kopua Holiday Park
Marine Parade,
Raglan
Daytime telephone:
7-825 8283
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

There are still plenty of camping space. If you want a dorm room, I would book soon.

Word from Raglan yesterday was that the seabreeze is doing the business - 18 to 20 knots and rideable on the outgoing tide. Hopefully it bodes well for next weekend.

Plenty of the crew are working on new moves to get that winning edge for the freeride. A bit of low-level competition in the offing seems to be providing everyone with the motivation to try new stuff. Cool.

It was ridable with the tide coming in, I guess the tidal range was only around 1M so that helped, but mostly it was the grunty seabreeze with a southerly airstream to start in the morning it got real strong - maxing on 13M