Here is a photo from a few days ago at Pipeline.

Their first issue just came out and here is an article I was featured in.

If you’d like to read the article, here is a copy of the pdf.

First I want to say that kitesurfing transformed my life for the better since I started in mid 2008. I could not have imagined the amount of waves I could catch during this time and the amount of fun I am having. Also the most important and rewarding thing that has happened during this time are the close friend I have made and how much closer this sport brought me to my husband Chuck.

After having no wind for over 3 months last winter here on Oahu, we were back in the water around mid March.  I could not wait to glide again through the water with my kite and surfboard.  When the wind did finally return it was on pretty much every day for the rest of the year. We were also lucky because the waves were fairly consistent throughout the summer months and this winter has been unreal so far.  The conditions were so good that I took 10 days off of work in April to kite everyday and shoot some photos and video with Chuck. It was during those ten days that I got my first real session at Backyards! What an adrenaline rush that sessions was.  Here is a pic JB took of me that day.

In July I got invited to be part of the Triple SSS event in Cape Hatteras. We scored a few days of really fun waves and wind and I placed 1^st in the surf sessions. This was an amazing event to be part of and everyone there was super friendly and the local fans were all super stoked with the sport in both freestyle and surf.

On the way back to Hawaii we stopped in Santa Cruz, CA so we could kite Waddell Creek. We scored a few really good days, but the best session I had there was at Scott’s Creek!  The wind direction was perfect side shore and the waves were in the 4-6ft range. Long rights peeling down the line with just a few guys out! Santa Cruz was really cold and it was hard to kite for long hours like I do at home. The weather and the water temperature was around 50°F.

The following month I got a letter from the KSP World Tour Event saying that I got a wild card to compete in this years world tour. This was great news for me and I was very excited about the opportunity.  Because of my work schedule and not having a major sponsor to help me go to every event, I decided to go to Peru and Cabo Verde.

Chuck and I went to Peru two weeks before the contest started. This was my first time riding lefts and I needed to get some practice riding on my switch stance. We first stopped in Lobitos and scored some really nice waves for a whole week. At the airport  in Lima we met up with Sylivio Mancusi, his wife Bia and Sebastian Ribeiro. Sylvio is a TV host for a sports channel in Brazil and during our stay in Lobitos we filmed a whole show that will air in Brazil in a few weeks and it was a lot of fun!

The contest was held in Pacasmayo, which is home to one of the longest lefts in the world. What an amazing wave and place!!!! The resort we stayed at was really nice, it is called El Faro Resort and I recommend this place if you ever go kite or surf in Pacasmayo. The crew at the resort is super helpful and is always looking after us when we are kiting. This was an awesome place to have the second stop of the KSP World Tour event. During the competition I got some really nice waves and had two of the tightest heats of the contest against Kelly Wren and Milla Ferreira, loosing by just 0.25 to Kelly and 0.01 points against Milla. I was so happy with my riding in Peru and I think I did really well for not ever riding on my switch stance. I placed 5^th in the competition and won an award for best up-and-coming rider of the event.

In late November we were off to Cabo Verde for the last stop of the KSP tour. This was my dream place to go to since I started kiting. Unfortunately mother nature didn’t cooperate for us during our stay and we only really had one good day of wind and waves. Because the waves were not big enough to kite Ponta Preta, they had to call off the contest and instead we had an expression session at “Secret Spot”.  I got 1st place in the expression session and was so happy to finally get in the water and kite.

This was truly an amazing year for me and I just hope that I can be this lucky again in 2012. Thank you to all my friends, my family, my sponsors Hyperflex Wetsuits (http://hyperflexusa.com/) and Tambor Acai (http://tamboracai.com) for all the support and thank you Chuck Harlan for all the countless hours you spend taking photos and video of me at Mokuleia and all your coaching!

I wish everyone a great New Year filled with lots of wind and waves!

Aloha,
Adriana

2011 Contest Results Summary
Triple SSS Cape Hatteras – 1^st place Surf
KSP in Peru – 5^th place and best up-and-coming rider award
KSP in Cabo Verde – 1^st place in surf expression session

I actually just got home from Cabo Verde and it took 59 hours of total travel! I decided to go home early since the event is over and there’s no swell on the way and the forecast for Hawaii looks really good.

Since we arrived in Cabo Verde on November 21^st we had only one real day of wind and waves. Everyday we would drive around the island looking for some small waves to ride, but the wind was also not cooperating. I kited one day for less than an hour in chest high surf and very light wind. We attempted to kite a few other times, but the wind was so light that I could not stay upwind. Also, the launching and landing was very difficult at most places, with exposed shallow reef, sharp rocks everywhere and lots of sea urchins. Some of the riders would ride at Kite Beach on the east side of the island but this spot was pretty much straight onshore and I just was not motivated to kite onshore there.

The KSP event ran only one day at Ponta Preta and they were able to run three men’s heats and the wind was as offshore as it can get. I tried to ride a few waves that day but was not able to even get into a wave due to the crowd and the light wind. It was the strangest kiting experience I have ever had, I would be tacking parallel to the beach, almost going back in and then once I would turn around to catch a wave I would end up getting stuck behind the waves because the wind was light and blowing me back out to sea.

The only day the wind was blowing consistent and strong and there was some fun waves to ride was during the expression session of the KSP event at a spot called “Secret Spot”. This day was super fun with head high sets and the wind blowing around 30+mph. I was so happy to finally get on the water and ride some waves. I stayed out as long as I could during and after the expression session. It was not easy for me because the wind was so strong I needed a smaller kite, but I was on a 5m kite and a lot of other riders were also using small kites.

The expression session for the women was divided into 2 heats of 20 minutes each. Everyone was riding the smallest kite they had, 5 and 6m mostly. Even though I was super overpowered I managed to do well and win the expression session. I was very happy with the results especially competing against some of the big names like Kirsty Jones and the current world champion Ines Correia.

Because of the lack of conditions over the two weeks, I was only able to get a few photos and video clips at Secret Spot and not one shot from Ponta Preta. The island has incredible potential and maybe one day we will return during the proper season. All the locals were saying February and March are far more consistent and from the photos I saw it looks like we missed out on some amazing surf and wind.

On a brighter note, we are heading home to a solid forecast in Hawaii and hopefully we can work on getting some photos and video footage to put together a new video clip and post some photos.  I had a great time hanging out with all the riders and hope some of our new friends from Peru and Cabo Verde can come visit us in Hawaii and enjoy the fun conditions we have at home.

Women’s Surf Expression Session Results:

1^st Adriana Harlan (BRA)
2^nd Kirsty Jones (North – UK)
3^rd Kristin Boese (Best – GER)

Men’s Surf Expression Session Results:

1^st Bear Karry (USA)
2^nd Airton Cozzolino (North-ITA)
3^rd Sky Solbach (North – USA)

Our flight landed in Sal, Cape Verde at 12:30 am and after collecting our bags (so glad they made it) it was off to the town of Santa Maria at the southern end of the island. We already had an apartment arranged and it felt so nice to finally lie down in a bed and get a solid night of sleep.

The next day we woke up late and decided to take a taxi to Ponta Preta and also the local kite beach. We hired a taxi driver to take us and he drove us a total of maybe 4 miles in 20 min and it cost us $26.00!! Cape Verde is by far one of the most expensive islands we have ever traveled to and it did not take us long to decide we would need to rent a car. Felix, Chuck and I rented a small Suzuki Jimmy for 10 days for $540.00 and our first tank of gas cost $70 for 8 gallons. Everything is shipped into Sal, so food, gas and anything else we consume is super expensive and with the weak US dollar against the Euro it makes it even worse.

The island of Sal is only 30km long by 12 km wide and it is a lot like parts of Peru we were in last month. There is very little vegetation on the island and you can see from one side to the other at the southern end. Unfortunately the waves have been flat the entire time we have been here and the wind has been blowing for a few days but I have still not been motivated to kite yet because it is either straight onshore with choppy knee high surf or offshore and flat water. We have been driving around the island exploring the various points of interest, such as the Buracona (hole in the reef), the salt mines in the north and we drove up the west side looking for points to surf or kite with no luck.

So far only a few of the riders have arrived and it looks like we have some swell in the forecast for this Sunday and also again on December 2^nd, so with any luck we will start to experience the wind and waves we traveled so far for. I really hope and pray we have some time to practice before the event starts, otherwise it is going to be a tough first heat if that is the first session I get at Ponta Preta or the “secret spot” we may have to use as a back up location for the event. I will try and post some more updates in the coming days and hopefully some photos of us kiting!

http://kitesurf-magazine.co.uk/

My trip to Peru was amazing and I am so glad I was able to go there. Learning to go left for the first time was a fun experience. Until now, I have been kiting for 3 years and only in rights.

The last night of the event we had the awards ceremony. After they gave the trophies to all the male and female riders they announced they had a surprise for us. They wanted to award the best up-and-coming male and female rider of the event. When they called my name I was completely speechless. I was awarded with the most beautiful sea horse trophy made of a Peruvian stone. The best up-and-coming male rider was Sebastian Ribeiro from Brazil. Sebastian and I were in Lobitos together filming with Sylvio Mancusy for a brazilian TV show. We both placed 5th in the event and received the best up-and-coming rider award. We were so happy!

Thanks for following up everyone and thank you for all your support.

RESULTS — 2011 KSP Pacasmayo Peru Kite Surf Pro

MEN

1st place: Guilly Brandao (BRA)
2nd place: Airton Cozzolino (ITA)
3rd place: Filippe Ferreira (BRA)
4th place: Sky Solbach (USA)
5th place: Etienne Lhote (FRA), Mauricio Pedreira (BRA), Mitu Monteiro (CBV), Sebastian Ribeiro (BRA)
9th place: Jesse Richman (USA), Juan Pablo Diban (CHI), Lee Harvey (GBR), Patri McLaughlin (USA)
13th place: Bruno Bordovsky (BRA), Jacobo Said (PER), Jeremie Eloy (FRA), Juan Antonio Gordillo (PER)
17th place: Bastien Bollard (FRA), Bear Karry (USA), Libero Cozzolino (ITA), Mark Moore (CAN), Nuno Figueiredo (POR), Octavio Chaine (ARG), Paulo Rios (PER), Scott Peterson (USA)

WOMEN

1st place: Milla Knesse-Ferreira (BRA)
2nd place: Ines Correia (POR)
3rd place: Kirsty Jones (GBR)
4th place: Kelly Strachan (USA)
5th place: Adriana Harlan (USA), Kristin Boese (GER)
7th place: Marie Gautron (FRA), Melissa Gil (USA)
9th place: Celina Guardati (ARG), Erika Lindberg (SWE), Laurel Eastman (USA), Maayke Tadema (NED)

Day Two kicked off at 10:45 am with amazing wind and waves. When we all woke morning, the swell had really started to pulse and the waves were wrapping around the top of the point all the way to the resort. The event format allowed for all the riders to have two chances, so if you lost your first heat you still were able to compete and lose one more. Kelly Wren from Santa Cruz was in my next heat . The heat ran in the afternoon when the tide had already filled in so there was a lot of current rushing around the point. Our heat had a few good sets and both Kelly and I were able to get a few set waves during the 15 minute heat. In the end Kelly took the win by 0.25 points and it was a hard heat. I was happy for Kelly but of course I wanted to get the win and advance on to the semi final round. The wind and waves kept coming and I ended up in the last heat of the day, which started at 5:45 pm. I came up against Milla Knesse from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, my hometown and she is an amazing rider. Our heat had several large sets and when it started Milla got a wave at the top of the point and did a really nice turn but fell on her next turn. I then was able to get a solid wave all the way across the point and was feeling good about my chance. I then got one of the biggest waves of the heat but unfortunately the wave did not offer up a steep section to get in a few solid turns and it proved to be the difference in the heat. Milla had a few smaller inside waves and rode them well and I got one more chance on a mid-size wave, but again I came up short. This time I lost the heat by .01, the closet margin of the day and when we watched the video of the heat I realized it was just one small turn that would have made the difference. I was very proud of my efforts in my first event on the KSP tour considering I was riding on my switch stance, but to lose by 0.25 and 0.01 in both my heats today was hard to swallow. I learned a lot and hopefully can take what I learned to Cape Verde and improve on my result here in Peru.

Day three of the event was scheduled to start at the top of the point at 11:00 am. The wind and waves were still very fun and the final heats of the event would be completed in 4 hours. The men were really pushing the level of strapless kitesurfing to new heights and it was very impressive to watch. On the women’s side, Kelly Wren came up against Ines Correia from Portugal and Kelly decided to stick to riding strapless while Ines was the last remaining rider in the event (men and women) who was riding with straps. This was another very close heat and in the end Ines got the win, but to be honest I felt Kelly won the heat based on her surf style without straps. In the other women’s heat, Kirsty Jones took on Milla Knesse and this heat did not start off well. Both riders were hindered by the jet ski that was out following the girls and taking photos. Kirsty had what she later said was her best wave of the trip and at the end she fell off because of the wake caused by the ski. The judges decided to restart the heat and Kirsty end up losing to Milla. The final ended up being Milla against Ines and both girls surfing very well. Ines continued to ride with straps while Milla rode the final without. Milla had a few solid waves in the heat and then had a scary moment when she dropped her kite and was in the water with her surfboard leash thru the bar and lines. She was able to re-launch the kite and get back outside and get several great waves and take the win. On the men’s side, Guilly Brandao was up against Airton Cozzolino and it was amazing final to watch. Guilly rode three set waves and scored over 8 points on each wave to take the win. Overall the event was a fantastic experience and we made a lot of new friends and I can’t wait to get to Cape Verde for the last stop of the 2011 KSP Kitesurfing tour.

When we woke up the waves were peeling down the point and the wind was already starting to blow by 11:00 am. The first day on the water was fun and the swell was expected to get bigger in the coming days. The next day the waves and wind were a bit smaller so we all loaded up into a van and headed into the town of Trujillo to see some cultural sites. We went to the ancient ruins known as Huacas De Moche, which is an amazing archeological site ripe with history. Later that day we ate some good local food, shopped and walked around the town’s central plaza.

The next day the waves were pumping, solid 6 feet and we rode some of the longest waves of the trip with pretty good wind. The wave at Pacasmayo is unlike anything I have ever seen, you literally can ride waves for 2 kilometers! Everyone had some amazing rides and I am finally starting to get the hang of going left on my switch stance and feel I have a chance to do well in the contest. The next day Felix arrived from Hawaii and brought with him some good luck. The waves were still super fun and the wind was still strong enough for us to all get a solid 3 hour session.

The El Faro Resort is located right on the point in Pacasmayo and we all had our own rooms for several nights. Our friends Brian Friedman and Kelly Wren showed up from Santa Cruz the next day and they moved in with Chuck and I but they were unlucky on the flight down and did not get their boards. Kelly is in the event and she still does not have her boards, so she has been borrowing boards and praying hers arrive before the event starts.

Today the resort is finally starting to fill up with riders from around the world and last night there were 12 of us who took over the local pizza place and we all had a great time. It has been great meeting all these new people and even though the forecast looks really marginal for the first few days of the event it still should be a great learning experience and good contest training for the next event in Cape Verde. Thanks again for following and I will try and post another update in the next week.