Well its all over bar the cleanup and recovery.
Everything got ridden from 2.5 to 17m. All in the first 4 days, then the wind turned to the NE, kiting was cancelled and everyone got to enjoy all the other parts of North West Cape.
It's been a big week and last night at the yacht club topped it all off.
Thanks go out to everyone who participated and all our sponsors.
These included Exmouth camper hire and Ningaloo Kite & Board, Australian Kiteboarding School, Westoz Kiteboarding, Exmouth Freight, Exmouth IGA Express, Exmouth 4x4, Maccas building and renovations and thanks go out to Mick from Kitemix in Carnarvon and his Kitecat,Fire twirling and impromptu Elvis impersonation with his twanger(musical instrument), All the other shops from around Australia who have also helped with sourcing some of the gear and Yardie Caravan Park .
The last 2 weeks the beaches have been covered in kites with locals having to learn what kiting in crowds is all about, but with over 30 kites out at sandy bay on the sunday everyone was having fun in the chaos. Tony from Cooktown mentioned if Cooktown ever gets that busy he will have to wear glasses on the water after thinking he was following a kiter when he was actually coming towards him with no room to go anywhere.
So about the kites.
Yes they do keep improving and changing with some new designs that could change what you think kites should feel and look like.
This year compared to last, none of the kites were left sitting on the beach for long but there a few that seemed to change from kiter to kiter before they even hit the beach.
The North Rebels seemed to be out flying all day
Slingshots Rally as ugly as it looks in the sky was very popular particularly on the lighter winds with its speed, smoothness and relaunch impressing all.
The Naish park was one of the smoothest and had plenty of grunt.
Ocean Rodeo's razor was the same and seemed to have the most popular bar setup.
Again the torch and vegas surprised many of the non C kiters with there smooth and predictable handling.
Ozones catalyst and C4 was pretty much comfortable with everyone and a few really loving the C4 but they were still a kite which you are better off going a size up on. The lighter riders in particular loved how far forward in the window they flew
The Wainmans on the other hand were a great fun fast machine that had enough grunt to get on a smaller kite however they did have more bar pressure(some of us love that) and personally I think they could update the bars.
Airush 2011 gear unfortunately didn't arrive on time although the vapor x was hard to get hold of while young Jordy from coral bay was there. He has just started doing handle passes and kite loops and loved the vapor.
One kite I played around with when only the zephyr was out was a 12m Airush one. It was quick and nimble with huge power and loft, never over over sheeted and surprisingly had no flutter in the light winds. It sat way back in the window and half the fun was the novelty of having this completely different looking kite.
The blade trigger was also there with many thinking it would make a great boosting kite with what felt like a power band kicking in when you fly it over your head.
We also had a couple of core GT's which to me seemed to be the most aggressive kite there and needs to be respected and will surely have a devoted following.
As far as boards go most found it easier to test kites on what they new as trying a different kite and board at the same time ends up confusing things.
Well that will do for today and I will leave it up to some of the others to add their personal findings and maybe a few photos.

Thanks Scott & Emma;
Got back to Perth Yesterday its raining this morning so a real contrast to the brilliant 37 degree weather i left in Exe on Friday.

Thanks for a great event it was so good to demo gear at the start of the season and to have heaps of gear on hand to compare. It was a shame mother nature cut it short as there were a few kites i didn't get to try but will chase up Darren for a ride on the Rebel which was getting rave reviews & Jason for a go on the Ocean Rodeo Rise plus another go on the Wainmans; would also like to try the Slingshot Rpm.

I am currently a Naish rider & demoed the following:
Naish Park 10m
Ozone C4 12m
Slingshot Rally 10m
Wainman 9m (2009) thanks Jason for letting me use your own kite
Ocean Rodeo Razor 12m

My 2 favourites were the Naish Park & the Wainman
I felt comfortable with the Park from the moment it was launched it felt familiar but was definitely an improvement on my 09 Cult 12m & my 2010 9m Helix. Good power smooth turns great upwind & heaps of fun. I pretty much hogged it for the first day of the Expo i rode it in winds from 18-25 knots approx. & i am 95+ kgs

I tested the Wainman 2009 9m Smoke on the last day of the Expo the wind was 20-26 knots approx. it took me about 10 minutes to get dialled in and then the fun started this is a seriously smooth turning fast kite that you can generate heaps of power on. I had a ball.

I am now faced with a serious delimna which kite to choose & i still have a few to demo.

Thanks to Jason from West OZ Kiteboarding, Darren from AKS, Ningaloo Kite & Camper & Aidan from Windgenuity (for getting the demo Park over in time)

Thanks to Exmouth for being an awesome spot

Huge thanks go too Scott & Emma for all their efforts and everyone again had a great time :)
It really makes a difference when you can try kites back to back in the same conditions .

I have no particular affiliation to a brand but currently ride Best Nemesis & Airush Lithium and demo'ed the following -

Wainman 7m
Wainman 9m
Airush Vapour 8m
Ocean Rodeo Razor 8m
Best Taboo 8m ( in geraldton on way home , thanks Tim )
Slingshot Rally 8m
Blade 9m

Wainman's - one word "grunt" , if you dont mind the extra bar pressure the 7m was probably a standout , bar needs updating a little
Vapour - didnt really standout in any respect , good safety system
Ocean Rodeo Razor - after the Wainman it would have to have been my favourite kite , great bar , nice even bar pressure , plenty of grunt but also able to handle plenty of wind - really nice :)
Slingshot Rally - turns well ,not as smooth as the razor , light bar pressure
Blade - didnt really standout
Best Taboo - at coronations in small waves , turns well , light bar ,didnt feel to have a lot of power considering the amount of wind ( I was riding a 6m lithium ), didnt back stall when mishandled like my nemisis .

So summing up -
Waves - Wainman
All round - Razor
Between rally and taboo - rally

Tried various boards , the north boards seemed to be the best ( I ride underground )

Thanks heaps also to Jason and Darren for making the effort to travel the distance and providing us with all the extra gear to demo .