As from 31st march 2012 the school is now fully open for kitesurf lessons as well as all the other sports and adventures on offer. For 2012 we are fully kitted out with new kites and boards from North Kiteboarding and wetsuits from West.
We are also pleased to announce Blake Evans will be working with us this year as a Kitesurf instructor. Blake is a super passionate guy with a great attitude and will be an amazing assest to the coaching team.
Lee has also recently become the British Kite Surfing Associations Race and Wave coach and will be traveling around the country, running clinics and introducing kiters to these exciting areas of the sport.
Spaces are filling fast for the Easter holidays and its looking like its going to be sunny and windy all week from tues 3rd april.
So book in for your kitesurf lessons with West Cornwall's only BKSA recognised school.
Email lee@pastyadventures.co.uk or call 07814501920

Here is the video from our recent coaching holiday.
Enjoy!

Spaces are filling fast for our spring wave clinic Saturday 24th March at Gwithian, Cornwall.
Full details on the clinic page
Price is £60 per person and we will be kitesurfing in the waves at Gwithian or Marazion, Cornwall depending on concditions on the day. In the event of no wind on the saturday we will move to sunday if the forecast looks good. If the forecast is really bad on the wednesday before we will reschedule to another time.
You should have previous experience of waves but do not need to have ridden them with a kite, however you should have ridden a surfboard with a kite prior to the clinic as we will be focusing on perfecting you wave technique. You should be able to swim well, self land and launch your kite, ride upwind and must be a member of the BKSA.
Please contact lee for any further info

We had a great day Kitesurfing at Marazion Cornwall yesterday, Saturday 14th Jan  for the KKC Frostbite gathering. With 2012 kit available to test from North, Slingshot and Ocean Rodeo and a SE wind blowing at 20-25knts the 40 or so kitesurfers that came along put up with the cold 6 degree temps on the beach and had some great times in the water boosting some big airs and learning some new stuff by watching some of the pro riders who came along to help with the demo  kit. I even went on the Twin Tip and boosted some massive airs on the new 2012 Fuse 10m.
We then all went back to Lodeys for a chilli and mulled wine/cider while watching the days action on the big screen, thanks to Mel from Splashography.
Check out and buy the pics from the day at 
http://splashography.com/2012Gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=3808

The next club meet is in March at Watergate for the AGM  followed by a big party.

Tom Bawcock's Eve is a festival held on the 23rd of
December in Mousehole. The festival is held in celebration and memorial of the efforts of Mousehole resident Tom Bawcock to lift a famine from the village.
During this festival Star Gazey Pie (a mixed fish, egg and potato pie with
protruding fish heads) is eaten and depending on the year of celebration a
lantern procession takes place.The children's book The Mousehole Cat by
Antonia Barber was inspired by the traditions a of Tom Bawcock's Eve and has now made this feast famous. The feast also coincides with the world famous Mousehole harbour lights.

There are several theories to the origins of this festival, the first
recorded description was made by Morton Nance in 1927 in the magazine "Old Cornwall". Nance described the festival as it existed at the turn of the 19th century. Within this work Nance also speculated that the name Bawcock was
derived from Beau Coc (French) - , he believed the cock was a herald of new light in pagan times and the origins of the festival were pre-Christian. The most likely derivation of the name 'Bawcock' is from Middle English use
(influenced from French) where a Bawcock is a nickname for a fine or worthy fellow. Rumours persist however that in fact the feast was "invented" in the 1950's by the landlord of the Ship Inn, a rumour which can be dismissed if you
examine the Morton Nance's writings of the 1920's. Because of the volume of people now visiting Mousehole on this date small Tom Bawcock's celebrations have over spilled into the nearby communities of Newlyn and Penzance, however these
are rarely advertised. 
Click here for the recipe for Star Gazey Pie. 
 
There is an ongoing folk music tradition associated with Tom Bawcock's Eve.
Below is one version of Tom Bawcock's Song'the words written  by Morton Nance in 1927 to a local traditional tune called the 'wedding March'. It is believe that Nance first observed the festivities at the turn of the 19th Century.

 Lyrics of the song


"merry place you may believe, Tiz Mouzel 'pon Tom Bawcock's eve


To be there then who wouldn't wesh, to sup o' sibm soorts o' fish


When morgy brath had cleared the path, Comed lances for a fry


And then us had a bit o' scad an' Starry-gazie pie


As aich we'd clunk, E's health we drunk, in bumpers bremmen high,


And when up caame Tom Bawcock's name, We'd prais'd 'un to the sky"


Click here for an  audio file and full
lyrics of the song
 
 
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