CCC: The diaries of Cohan and Steezy Pete

12th November

Dear Diary,

My first Cape Town session was not a confidence-inspiring experience. It started with the walk down, over the dunes of Dolphin Beach, as I felt the wind build from almost nothing to a cold, dense wall of power. An ocean of brand-new kites filled the sky, with riders being sporadically launched among them, mid loop, before dropping away like so many shot pheasants. It didn’t get much better as I reached the beach, and was greeted with an involuntary sand facial, while I squinted at walls of water bearing down on your position with the malice of a particularly malignant case of tennis elbow. As I took all this in, pumping up the geriatric C-kite, doubts began to build. These were solidified into very real concerns as the rickety old girl was launched, and after 20 minutes of kiting that a student on their third lesson would have been embarrassed of, a sense of thinly-veiled despair at the impossibility of the task set in. It’s going to be a long, long road to megaloop.

Steezy Pete

14th November

Dear Diary,

So today I met Steezy Pete and got strong-armed into teaching him to megaloop for the next month. With the threat of a nasty haircut on the line. I feel I can pull both of these things off.

Big C xxx

15th November

Dear Diary,

Sh*t. Might have bitten off more than I can chew. Turns out, Steezy Pete = not so steezy. Have now realized that this is why they call him that. Feeling a bit panicked. We need Orbits and flat water. Right now. Actually yesterday. All of this, and I’ve got my KOTA debut next week also. Sh*t.

Big C xxx

21st November

Dear Diary,

Today I took off a day from my road to megaloop, to watch the greatest wind-powered show on earth. I was lucky enough to watch the rise of the new generation of Big Air talent from the riders’ tent, camera in hand, flanked by Nick Jacobsen on one side, and Liam Whaley on the other. As special as it was watching the first KOTA double loops being landed while surrounded by the biggest names in the sport, watching my ever-patient teacher make it all the way to the semifinals from the golden ticket round was something else. I hope he still has time to help me save our hair!

Steezy Pete

27th November

Dear Diary,

Today we headed to Witsand. Out went the crusty C-kites, replaced by the peerless North Orbit. Out went the waist-deep board-starts and toddler-sized jumps, replaced by shaky sent jumps and the beginnings of a down-loop. Already pretty happy with the progress I’d made, Cohan suggested I try and pull a loop. I was thoroughly unconvinced, but I was on a roll, so I gave it a go. And landed my first loop! I’m on such a high, can’t wait to take this back to Dolphin Beach and do it bigger.

Steezy Pete

27th November

Dear Diary,

Today, we won. Pete jumped on the 8m Orbit. I shouted things at him until he stopped kiting like a moron. And somehow, he smashed his first loops. And I kept my temper, most of the time! Things looking up. Can’t wait to see the back of this project and Colin’s head.

Big C xxx

6th December

Dear Diary,

With the barrier of the first loop crossed in the flat-water hero spot of Breede River, all was looking promising for the return to Dolphin Beach. I was feeling confident that those tiny loops would translate perfectly into 10m howlers in the lifty wind of Blauberg, our hair would be safe, and Colin would be on a plane to Denmark to have a salon appointment with Nick Jacobsen. What actually happened was fear. Lots of it. As we all know, it’s one thing doing a trick in deserted flat water, but doing it in five to six foot swell with kiters everywhere is a very different box of squirrels.

Every time I took off, I found myself making excuses. Either the jump felt too high, another rider looked like they were in the way, I felt like I was being pulled into a rotation, or a myriad other things stopped me from pulling the loop. The longer this went on, the more frustrated I became, and the more significant and scary that loop began to feel. When after much cajoling from Cohan I finally tried to pull some loops, they were all over the place. That feeling of momentum I had felt in Breede river had completely vanished.

I don’t think I’m going to land it.

Steezy Pete

6th December

Dear Diary,

We are f*cked.

Big C xxx

15th December

Dear Diary,

Colin’s offered us a second chance, but this time my dad’s hair is on the line too. He’s a lay Minister, and I’m a bit worried that a face drawn in sharpie on the back of a half-shaved head may not be what grieving family members are looking for at village funerals. I’d better pull my finger out over Christmas and get my flabby core in shape, because this time failure isn’t an option.

Steezy Pete

5th January

Dear Diary,

My feeling from my last diary entry remains. But now my Dad is somehow also involved. At least he’s not a symbol of steadfastness in the local community. Poor Pete. Anyway, we’ve now got two months to get this done. So surely it’ll be fine. But yeah. Steezy Pete didn’t kite at all over Christmas. And looks like he might have just sat around eating chocolate. Hmm.

Big C xxx