If you are looking to improve your kitesurfing, Pasty Adventures Kitesurf School have some great clinics coming up in Cornwall.
Run by BKSA Coach and British Champion, Lee Harvey each clinic is aimed at improving your level using real time demos via a speaker system and 2 way headsets.
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28th August - KITEFOIL Clinic at Marazion
This clinic is for people that can ride on the foil and want to nail turns and transitions, as well as start ripping upwind and downwind at speed.
Ketos Foils and North Kites will be available to test.

 17th September – Intro to Wave, Gwithian or Marazion
If you are just starting to ride a surfboard, this is the clinic for you.
North kites and boards available to test.
 
1st October – Wave Clinic, Gwithian
This clinic is for people who are comfortable riding the surfboard in the waves and want to improve their turns and overall wave ability.
 
For more info including back up dates, please see the website-
http://www.pastyadventures.co.uk/kitesurf-clinics.html

While out in Dakhla recently running the Pasty Adventures coaching camps, I also managed to score a few sessions myself. Conditions were the best I've had yet with wind and waves everyday for two weeks. I also managed to fit in a bit of foil testing for the new Fastafoil freeride wing and had my best freestyle session for many years even landing a few handle passes!
For details of the coaching trip click here- 
http://www.pastyadventures.co.uk/news-blog/dakhla-kitesurf-coaching-holidays-the-best-yet 
Here's a video of a few waves :)

I recently spent 2 weeks in Qatar training their National Kite Team to start riding race boards and the kiterace skills needed for them to compete in the 2014 IKA Asian Championships which is being held in Qatar this November and ultimately the Olympics in 2020.

This was my first time in the Middle East and it was a great experience. Qatar has some great kite spots for both freestyle and racing with consistent wind and lovely warm water with a great friendly bunch of people.
The coaching went really well and they have a great group of kiters who are really keen on racing as well as a few of them who are keen to progress into freestyle. Working with Nico and Pinar from Kite Academy who were coaching the freestylers, we had a busy schedule to determine who would concentrate on which discipline, giving each there own goals to work on over the coming months before the next training camp in Turkey in August.
During the camp we ran several Twin Tip races to get everyone into racing with their first taste of competitively riding around a course and being on a start line. During the few no wind days we covered all aspect of theory including rules and fitness training. 
By the end , all of the guys were happily riding freerace boards and had the knowledge and know how of what is needed to progress onto full race boards over the coming months, ready for full on race training in Turkey.

If any organisations or Countries are looking for a race coach or kitesurf coaching of any kind please contact me through my school Pasty Adventures

Stay tuned to my Facebook page for all of my latest news including upcoming Kitesurf Clinics in Cornwall.
Cheers
Lee 

After over 3 months away I have just had two amazing days at home. The surf was a solid and heavy 10ft on Tuesday 25th March and unfortunately really busy. It was hard to get a good one but a had a few riding my 6'3 JP S1 and wearing the awesome O'Neill Pyrotech 5.5/4 hooded, I wasn't even cold!. I had a lovely Pasty from the Horse & Jockey for lunch followed by meeting my new nephew Harry Harvey. A great first day back in Kernow after being away so long and reminded me how lucky I am to live here :)

Wednesday morning and it was going off, 6ft and only a few people out. I scored some bombs, riding my JP SX 6'0 and had an amazing surf, we were even joined by a pod of dolphins towards high tide.
On the way home I had my favorate pasty and in my opinion the best food in the World- Philps Flaky Steak.

Pics by Joe Cockle unless stated
For loads more pics from both days go to http://jnpevents.co.uk/photocart/ 

I'm now off to Qatar to coach their future Olympic kitesurfers. Working along with KiteAcademy.FR  who are coaching the Qatarie freestylers, I am in charge of racing and am there for two weeks to get them on the right path towards Olympic glory before more coaching in the summer. 

If you are looking to Learn to Kitesurf in Cornwall, my school Pasty Adventures will be open from the 12th of April.

I had an amazing month out in Dakhla, Morocco where I ran a 10 day Wave Coaching camp in conjunction with Kite Morocco (see write up here) followed by competing on the PKRA World Tour where they held the only scheduled KiteWave contest for 2014.
As such 49 men entered the waves which is a massive record and more than the Freestyle which had 47 men. This meant they had to run Qualifiers with only the Top 12 IKA ranked men pre-qualifying into the main event. This was a pretty tight system with the likes of Mitu, Airton, myself and many other top wave riders having to qualify.
The first day of waves was Wednesday when we all went to Oum laboiur and started competition around 1.30pm after it took a while to get everyone there and the stuff set up to go. The good thing was as the tide came up it started to pump with nice head high sets reeling down the perfect right hand point.

With only one race crew and just 3 judges, they ran 4 heats of 9 people on the water for 10 mins, with the best 3 from each heat advancing to the main draw. Pretty tight and impossible to get any good waves and even for the 3 judges sat in a bus to see those waves, but I was pleased to make it through.
In round 1, I had No. 1 seed Pedro and Airton, so pretty tough and again only 10 mins to catch 2 good waves which is tricky on a super settie point break.
I felt I rode really well and seeing both Airton and Pedro fall on some good waves thought I had the win? But no I placed 3rd with only 0.33 seperating all of us and on looking at the scores there was a massive split between judges with 1 giving me a 6.9 and the other a 5 with the 3rd a 6.0. That's the problem with having only 3 judges and the reason you need 5 so you can drop the high and low to get the average, which means if one judge misses something you do not lose out.
So that meant into round 2 where I faced a local Moroccan guy. This happened the next day in smaller waves but still nicely rippable. Again I felt I rode well and coming to the beach was told by loads of people I had the win easily including the guys girlfriend, Kirsty Jones. Yet again I lost and looking at my scores they had what I thought was my best wave by far as only my 3rd best. Seems they weren't scoring the inside section as they couldn't see without turning round in the bus!
So that was it for me. The next rounds went down with some great riding but also some more dubious judging. The PKRA really needs to sort their act out if they are serious about running the World Wave Champs and have a seperate crew with dedicated surf judges so that they can run at the same time as the freestyle rather than just an add on!!!!
Well done to Keahi and Moona who were both ripping and deserved the wins.

For the next three days all us wave riders were stuck at the lagoon where the freestyle was running, as Dakhla Attitude would not take us to the point. Didn't bother us that much as it was small apart from sat & sun when it was pumping again! Still the wind was howling, so we all did some strapless freestyle and then watched the freestyle finals. Aaron made 3rd in the singles but unfortunately crashed a few too many tricks in the doubles when it was blowing 30+ knts. Well done to Marc & Gisela who took the wins riding with the most power and landing the most tricks in the super chop!

So that's it for World Wave comps for 2014 unless the PKRA sort it out? Shame as with that many entries it shows their is the demand for a Wave Tour, I would really like to improve on my 17th place!

Thanks to all the friendly people that helped me out during my time in Dakhla :)

We are really excited to be going back to Dakhla, one of our favorite places in the World to Kitesurf.
For 2014 we have sorted out a really great deal with our friends at Kite Morocco staying at the new Dakhla Spirit Surf House.

• 7 Nights - £545 (1st - 8th March) per person (includes 5 days coaching)
• 11 Nights - £675 (1st - 12th March)per person (includes 7 days coaching)
  

Price includes shared accommodation at Dakhla Spirit, 3 meals a day, all transfers in Dakhla, coaching from Lee Harvey & more.
Strictly limited to 6 people per coaching session. (i.e 6 for wave, 6 for freeride).
Private room and beginner packages available, details on request.

Flights are currently around £300-£330, for the 1st - 12th we recommend using Royal Air Maroc, Gatwick - Dakhla 
and for the 1st - 8th we recommend using the RAM Heathrow - Dakhla flight which we have found cheapest with Edreams.
Due to the need for an overnight stop in Casablanca on the return leg we recommend staying at the nearby Relax Airport Hotel (formally Atlas Hotel) which has a free shuttle outside the airport and costs around £60 for the night including breakfast.

Places are strictly limited to a max of 6 for Wave coaching and 6 for Freeride. Please don't hesitate to contact with any questions or queries. We have been to Dakhla many times so can help out with most things!
Email lee@pastyadvnetures.co.uk to book, this is a one off special deal and probably your last chance to visit Dakhla for under £1000!

More info on the website http://www.pastyadventures.co.uk/dakhla.html

I look forward to you joining me on a Pasty Adventure in 2014
Cheers
Lee 'Pasty' Harvey

Having an amazing time out here in Cape Town so far. Only had 2 days without kiting in two weeks and scored some super fun surf. Really excited to be on board for the new Progression kitesurf wave coaching video series, due for release later this year. Check out this first test clip from a pumping session at Witsands the other day-

Currently I'm competing in the South African Kitesurf Tour event at Big Bay. Yesterday we had waves and I made it to the semis where I faced my friend and 3 time SA Champ, Luke McGillewie which I unfortunately lost as the waves disappeared and Luke is super good on his frontside in the close out waves of Big Bay. Ours was the last heat of the day due to no more waves and today is small so looks like freestyle which im not entering. Tomorrow is planned for Big Air and Slalom which im hoping to do well followed by the Wave final and double elim on monday which is forecast to be pumping, so I still have a chance of taking top spot :) 

Stay up to date with all the news and you can check out all the pics from the trip out here on my Facebook page www.facebook.com/PastyAdventures

Join BKSA coach and 2013 British Kitesurfing Champion, Lee ‘Pasty’ Harvey in the kitesurf paradise of Dakhla this March. Pasty Adventures have teamed up with Kite Morocco to offer an amazing 11 night package staying at the new Dakhla Spirit surf house. The package includes- 11 nights shared room, 3 meals a day, transfers, 7 days coaching and more from only £675pp.

For this year we are not including flights as there are so many options to get to Dakhla. At the moment you can fly with Royal Air Maroc for only £313 meaning you get 11 nights in Dakhla for under £1000. Limited space so be quick!

For more info see the website www.pastyadventures.co.uk/dakhla

Last weekend 2nd - 3rd Nov, I traveled up to Porthcawl in Wales to run a kitesurf wave clinic organised by Blast Kiteboarding and local legend Marc Rowley.



Despite being blown off the water saturday afternoon, we had some great conditions (especially on my dawnie at the point!) and everyone learnt lots.
For a full write up & pics check out Marc's blog - 
http://blastkiteboarding.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/lee-pasty-wave-clinic.html

Pretty pleased with the feedback (see below) and Marc is already talking about another one in Wales in the spring. If you would like a Wave Clinic at you spot please get in touch.
My next planned clinic is in Cape Town mid Jan 2014. Details TBC

Or join me on a Pasty Adventures coaching holiday to Dakhla, Morocco in March. Freeride on the lagoon week 1, waves on the point week 2. Come for 1 week, 2 weeks or mix it up and have 1 week of coaching plus however many days you want on holiday in this kitesurf oasis. 
Details on the website http://www.pastyadventures.co.uk/dakhla.html

Thanks to Marc & Sarah for organising the Wales Clinic. See you again soon ;)
Lee

Feedback
A fantastic weekend.
I've been kitesurfing for 8 years.
And waveriding for I reckon 6 years.
The point is Lee has been doing it for twice as long and has been pushing the boundaries of waveriding in the UK since the start.
To listen to Lee during the hurricane was pure gold dust. I learnt more in that 3 hours than in 3 years of getting yanked around at Llangennith.
Got some bad old habits that require some attention, but I know what to work on now.
Good to here that Lee will return and I'll look forward to that.
Book early to avoid disappointment. Think it might be oversubscribed.
Thanks to Lee, Marc and Sarah.  
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Awesome weekend with a great bunch. I've only been using a surf board for a few weeks and have learned so much. Theory was explained in simple terms and demonstrated by Lee so well, he made everything look so simple, if only it was. I realise now that using a surf board strapless or with, is something that will take time and perseverance so if you see me in the water rather than on it you know what I'm up to. I would definitely do another clinic with Lee and recommend it to anyone looking to improve their riding.. Also thanks to Blast for setting it up and for the beach commentary whilst Lee was doing his thing in the waves..
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Lee was great, he took us from the position of an absolute beginner at wave riding (me) through to the technical aspects of board shape and even fin selection - a side of wave riding I didn't even know existed!
So sorry I couldn't attend both days, but just from yesterday I found lots of knowledge and inspiration to work on.
Thanks To Blast for organising a great event.

Pleased to announce I am running two exciting kitesurf coaching weeks in Dakhla in March 2014. Week 1 is a Freeride camp with kitesurfing mainly on the lagoon. Week 2 is wave focused and we will mostly be riding at the perfect right hand point break of Oum Laboir. 
Find all the details on the website http://www.pastyadventures.co.uk/dakhla.html
Price from £500 if booked by 1st October. Limited space so be quick.

check out our trip in 2012