All lessons are as per IKO recommendations. They range from Discovery Kiteboarder Programme (Level 1A - 1 E), Intermediate Kiteboarder Programme (Level 2F - 2I) and Independent Kiteboarder Programme (Level 3J to 3N). Instructors are IKO certified and adhere to all safety and teaching standards set out by the International Kiteboarding Organization (IKO).
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Kitesurfing Lessons - 2011 Rates
Faith Kiteboarding, 2011 Price List (International)
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| Faith Kiteboarding has two kites, The Essence and The Spirit. Also do Kite Bars, Harnesses and Bags! Discounts on kites for lessons in Sri Lanka. Also big discounts on above pricing if purchase in Sunny Sri Lanka! Contact: Dilsiri (+94-773686235) dilsiri@faith-kiteboarding.com (Quality Kitesurfing/ Kiteboarding Gear in Sri Lanka) |
Monday, April 25, 2011
Faith Kiteboarding rips in Hua Hin, Thailand!
Its not quite paradise in Hua Hin. Kiters have to wear Jelly Pants, pretty gay for for the guys from the equator! But the thermal winds were nice, beach long and wide. Unfortunately wind in Koh Tao was much less and Diving at Sail Rock was done as an alternative sport!
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| Faith Essence and Spirit lay side by side |
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| Posers |
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| A bit crowded I must say |
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| Watch out for the jellies! |
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| Sail Rock where Trevali and Barracuda roam! |
Auf Wiedersehen Moggie! AKA Mo
Mo has been in part and parcel of the Kiteboarding Community for about a year. From the very first time we met eating crabs to the last few weeks of his stay in Sri Lanka, Mo was very interested about the sport.
He came to Sri Lanka a non surfer and kiter but leaves a surfer (almost there Mo) and kitesurfer (almost there again Mo!) We wish him good wind and the very best in his future endeavours - Kitesurfing and otherwise...
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| Mo along with Kesh and Dil! Enjoy your Faith Kite! |
Friday, April 8, 2011
A Whale of a Time!
What a great time we had with Rajesh who spearheads Raja and the Whales in Mirissa, Sri Lanka. He is very knowledgabel about the subject matter and certainly is very caring about the animals unlike most other tour operators. Our day started at 7.00 AM with a cup of tea on the boat thereafter travelling for 1.5 hours to the main breeding ground of the whales. On the way Rajesh took time to explain to us the details pertaining to the whales and their location. Its was very interesting.
His boat is very large and pretty cool to travel on. I wont recommend anyone going on a smaller boat. Rajesh continued to stress the importance of maintaining a safe distance from the whales in order to refrain from disturbing their behaviour. To our dismay other tour operators just tried to scrambble nearer to the whales and scared them away. If you are on one of those 'irresponsible' boats please advice them to maintain a safe distance from the magnificient animal. After about 6 whale sightings and 1000 dolphins we had breakfast on the boat. The boat reached the Mirissa Harbour around 1 PM. Next time you think about Whale Watching, just contact Rajesh (+94 - 77 695 3452) . You wont regret it. Visit http://www.rajaandthewhales.com/
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Sad Day for Sri Lanka Surfing
For the first time in the history of Surfing in our country, a huge donation of surfboards was made to us by a number of organization in UK. When doing the documentation there was an error. We mentioned the Name of the Surf Club as the receiver thinking that this was the most legitimate thing instead of a individual name. We weren’t VAT registered or had a TIN number and the problems started with us being required to register the club for VAT and obtain a TIN number.
Most if not all the club members were from the other side of the island and some who lived in Colombo volunteered to assist to get the documentation. We soon realized that this process would take at least a week which means the consignment would be charged for demurrage. With this in mind we decided to explain our situation to a number of persons in the relevant authorities to no avail. They said we had to stick to the process and get the club registered for VAT etc.
We were not trying to elude paying the relevant taxes but sought a way rectify the error made above. If we can just transfer the receiver to an individual as against to a club then we can get the consignment sooner.
In utter desperation we went to the office of the highest authorities to see if his office can intervene to assist in our cause. All we need a note/ directive stating that this is genuine cause which were highlighted as follows;
1. The surfboards would be handed over free of charge to the surf clubs on the east, south and west coast clubs. We would teach the beneficiaries how to conduct surf instructing and earn a living out of the sport. Perhaps get them out of the bad influences and help them make something concrete from their lives and talents.
2. The surfboards will be used to encourage the sport in the island amongst male and females. Many of them are from the poorer families. Like other sports like Cricket, surfing offers a very promising option as a professional sport. We have the most critical resource – Waves! We just need the boards and some professional guidance.
3. This initiative would give impetus to create surfing revolution to raise the standard of surfing in the island and helping us draw closer to our dream of seeing our countrymen compete at the international surfing circuit.
The repercussions of us not being able to get the surfboards out on time would lead to;
1. The club members unable to bear the demurrage cost
2. The boards thus being ‘stuck’ and eventually ‘lost’ at the port
3. The surfers not getting their surfboards – no practice, no additional source of income perhaps a new livelihood
4. The donors being disappointed and not assisting Sri Lanka due to ‘strict rules’ and ‘short term focus’
5. The locals surfers not being able to pursue a dream of competing internationally and bringing fame to our country
Having shared this viewpoint and after much pleading one would expect at least a glimmer of hope but the words were, ‘This is out of our focus, you need to go through the process’. Having pleaded again and mentioning that Sri Lanka would lose out on the opportunity to position itself as a surfing destination and be a competitive force in the surfing world the answer was ‘there’s nothing I can do’.
This was certainly the most saddest day of my life. To see a dream being shattered. Rules are rules I am sure. But true leadership is to look beyond the rules and understand the motive and genuine intention of a plea and make things happen. We are not robots to have to stick to a specific routine or code, we are humans. We were not asking for a duty free car or a land or anything like that. In fact we were are willing to pay the taxes applicable. We just asked for them to give a directive about our intention, change the receiver from a club to a person so we don’t have to go through the process of registering for VAT and obtaining TIN numbers thus helping us to get the items out faster.
I just got back from Cinnamon Grand Hotel (no I didn’t party or eat at a fancy restaurant, I just needed to pick up something). But while there I see a brand new Mercedes Benz with no number plates. There were tons of other fancy cars near to it and lot of armed forces and I say to myself, ‘man, I just ask them to help us by perhaps giving a directive by a letter thus making the process faster so that the poor guys don’t have to bust a month’s salary to pay the Rs. 15,000 in additional cost'. Note month’s salary and Rs. 15,000.
It’s pretty painful to think that the poor guys always get screwed and the big guys always get through. Yes, its life. Perhaps now its time to make the change.
I don’t know what will happened. I don’t know the outcome of this post. I hope someone would see that our intention is genuine and perhaps help us. Yes we will get registered next time but just help us to get the boards released faster, that’s all we ask.
Tomorrow the boys will miss work, take a bus from the other side of the country and travel to Colombo. Duration of the journey estimated at 12 hours (yes, in the bus its 12 (unlike in a car or helicopter) and with this heat, it is going to be a long tough journey). We will probably have to find accommodation etc as well. A lot of money again spent. Why? Because we are passionate about the sport and in-spite of all the hardship we will and continue to face, we will strive to see at least a bit of our dream being realized. Sri Lanka - The Birth of a Surfing Nation.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
MIguel and Joe ripping in Sri Lanka!
Internet is wonderful for networking. These guys were here in Sri Lanka last season.
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