1. Step 1: Unpack the lines

   Take the handles and lines out of the bag and leave the kite in place. Place the kite and bag on top of the lines.

2. Step 2: Unravel the lines

   Unwind the lines downwind from the kite bag. These should be colour coded, red and blue for left and right on the kite. The red lines should be attached to the red handle and vice versa with the blue.

3. Step 3: Detangle the lines

   Lay your handles flat on the ground making sure you have your blue and red centre lines in the middle and the grey break lines on the outside. Pick all the lines up and run them through your fingers to keep them seperate. Walk like this towards the kite and it will help identify any knots or tangles which need to be sorted. When you get to the end separate the lines and lay them clearly on the floor with grey break lines on the outside.

4. Step 4: Unpack the kite

   Unwrap your kite and lay flat, ready to attach the lines. You can use a weight bag (or a bag filled with sand or rocks) to stop the kite from blowing away.

5. Step 5: Attach the lines

   The blue and red lines attach to the kite in the middle (this may well be colour coded) and the break lines attach to the outside. You attach the lines using a larks head knot, which stops them coming undone. Make sure the break lines are always secured underneath the main lines. There will be several positions to choose from on your break line. Attaching the line closer to the kite will make the breaks more snappy and effective.

6. Step 6: Attach the kite killers

   Please see VideoJug’s “How to attach kite killers” for more advice on how to do this.

7. Step 7: Launch

   You are now ready to fly. Always test the break lines when you first start flying to check all your set up is secure.

   

Quite often EBO climbing students ask us which is the correct way to belay.  Belaying is an extremely important aspect of climbing and is most often one of the first aspects of the techechical elements of rock climbing and wall climbing that beginners will learn.

Following is some information all budding climbers will find useful.

Harness Belay Loop

Rope Loop

Belaying from the Harness Belay Loop

Belaying from the harness ‘Belay Loop’

Harnesses come with a ‘belay loop’. In most current models this belay loop connects the waist belt to the leg loops and is an extremely strong part of the harness. Some people call these loops ‘abseil loops’. Both terms are correct. (There are other designs of harnesses that have a slightly different ‘belay loop’ – but for the purpose of this article all belay loops do the same job). To keep things simple – we’ll refer to the rope loop as ‘Rope Loop’ and the belay loop as ‘Harness belay loop’.

This ‘Harness Belay Loop’ is designed to be more than strong enough to belay from and to abseil on. In the harness pictured; a DMM Maverick , the strength of the Belay Loop is 25kn (that is strong – a no. 9 wire is rated to 12kn).

In certain circumstances it is usual to belay from this ‘harness belay loop’. These circumstances are usually when there is no need for the belayer to be attached to anchors. A common instance of this is at the climbing wall or when sport climbing. It would be extremely inconvenient for a belayer to have to tie in to the bottom end of the rope before every route at an indoor climbing wall.

It can be called a ‘Belay Loop’ or an ‘Abseil Loop’!

Belaying from the Rope Loop

Tied in – through the waist loop and the leg loops.

Belaying from the ‘Rope Loop’

When a climber ties in to a rope, this is usually done by threading the rope through both the waist belt and the leg loops of the harness (as shown in this photo). The rope follows the same path through the harness as the ‘harness belay loop’ – in effect, creating a new ‘belay loop’ from the rope.

This ‘rope loop’ is extremely strong and is perfectly adequate for belaying from. In fact, it is a very good idea to use this ‘rope loop’ in certain circumstances.

Load going on to Rope Loop – then nicely on to anchor

Load going on to Harness Belay Loop – causing a side load

If you are attached to an anchor point with your rope, be it on a ledge or at the top of a crag, then it can be a good idea to belay from your rope loop. In doing so you are more able to transfer the weight of a fallen climber more directly on to your belay and avoid the squashing sensation caused through having your harness pulled.

The obvious exception to this rule is if you have attached yourself to your anchor point using your harness belay loop – usually with a sling and karabiner.

In some instances having the entire weight of a fallen climber pressing on your ‘particulars’ can be extremely uncomfortable:

The side load shown in the photo on the right causes the harness to twist and can cause discomfort for the belayer. But is it more likely to make the harness fail? I didn’t know the answer to this so I asked the experts:

Simon Marsh from DMM explains:

“Side loading the belay loop will not cause a significant increase in loading or affect the ability of the loop to hold that load. The main issue with side loading is that a sudden, twisting of the harness may cause the belayer to lose control of the rope. Otherwise discomfort is the most common side effect of twisting caused by the side load; the load may not be in line with the belay and the harness will try to twist into line and thus press into the belayers waist.”

To Summarise:

Rope loop or belay loop? – Both are correct in different circumstances, but it won’t really matter if you prefer one over the other.

• If you are tied to the anchors – rope loop is usually best.
• If you are not tied to the anchors – belay loop is usually fine.
• If in doubt – why not just clip through both?

Important Tips:

Tie your rope loop the same size as your harness belay loop. Don’t have it too long or really short. This makes belaying from it easier, and keeps everything neat when you are climbing.

Make sure your knot is well tied, tight and has a stopper knot. Adding a stopper knot adds another link to the safety chain.

Don’t rely on basic rules such as ‘when I’m on the floor I do X’ or ‘when I’m on a ledge I do Y’. Keep asking questions and experimenting in a safe place until you understand not just what to do, but WHY you should do it.

If you’re worried about poor belay anchors, the usual best thing to do is find some better ones, not worry about braced stances and body belays! It can be difficult to find bomb-proof belays on some winter routes, but the majority of rock climbs in the UK have good belays, if you work hard to find them.

Courtesy of Jack Geldard UKClimbing.com.

For the health conscious it is the ideal way of keeping fit, unwinding and having fun as a family!

We have also found that at the end of the week our adventure family groups have loads of energy, have unwound and have precious memories that they can hare as a family or with friends.

Family adventure holidays in Cornwall as well as Devon, Wales and Scotland will only get busier which is good for evreyone including the UK economy!

EBO have been running British Canoe Union (BCU) kayaking training courses in Cornwall for many years.  More recently our kayaking training courses have also been held on the faster flowing waters of Devon.   EBO now also run BCU kayaking training in Wales and Scotland.

BCU courses are ideal if you want to paddle recreationally or earn a living as a professional instructor as they are recognised throughout the UK.

You will normally start by undertaking your kayaking star awards and progress through through to the coaching qualifications.

www.eboadventure.co.uk

Single Pitch Award Training.

This week we have been running our popular single pitch award (SPA) across Cornwall. This climbing course is a precursor to the SPA Assessment qualification. The single pitch award training course allows you to work as an assistant climbing instructor and assist spa assessed and more qualified instructors

What does the Single Pitch Award Training qualification consist of?

The EBO SPA training course lasts for a minimum of 20 hours and is spread over 3 days as a minimum.  We can schedule more training days if you don’t have the relevant limbing experience.  It  includes personal climbing, group supervision and the use of climbing walls. If you have an exceptionally high level of experience you may be granted exemption from the training course and proceed directly to assessment. To do this you must first register and tick the exemption application request box on the registration form.  Then you should submit the exemption application form together with a copy of your completed logbook

At the end of your training course you will agree a personal action plan with EBO Adventure. This usually covers a period of at least six months during which time you will record your climbing and supervising experience in your logbook. Hopefully you will progress onto the SPA Assessed Course.

What next?

Once you have gained the necessary experience agreed with us during your SPA Training Course you will be ready for the SPA Assessment.

SPA Assessment Course and Exam

Your assessor will ask to see your logbook when you book on the course to check you have completed the SPA training course (or successfully gained exemption from training), satisfied the consolidation requirements and have a current First Aid certificate. The assessment lasts for a minimum of 20 hours and includes personal climbing, group supervision and the use of climbing walls. After passing the assessment you should keep your logbook up to date and your First Aid certificate valid.

Once you have your SPA Assessment ticket you will be able to take clients on single pitch routes.

For the purposes of this scheme a single pitch route is one which:

• is climbed without intermediate stances 
• is described as single pitch in the guidebook 
• is non-tidal 
• is non-serious and has little objective danger 
• presents no difficulties on approach or retreat, such as route finding, 
scrambling or navigating.

www.eboadventure.com

]]> http://www.eboadventure.co.uk/outdoor-adventure-blog/2010/05/single-pitch-award-training/feed/ 0 http://www.eboadventure.co.uk/outdoor-adventure-blog/2010/04/nars-lifeguard-training-courses-cornwall/ http://www.eboadventure.co.uk/outdoor-adventure-blog/2010/04/nars-lifeguard-training-courses-cornwall/#comments Thu, 22 Apr 2010 12:53:29 +0000 Webmaster http://www.eboadventure.co.uk/outdoor-adventure-blog/?p=228 This week we have run our popular SLSA NARS (National Aquatic Rescue Standard)  Lifeguard Training Course in Cornwall.  The course lasts 6 days, with the lifeguard exam to be held in St Agnes, Cornwall on the Saturday.  The training is a pre requisite for outdoor instructors as well as of course lifeguards.    Many students go on to undertake their British Surfing Association Surf Instructor training afterwards so that they can take up the ever popular surf coach career.

NARS Beach lifeguard is also a pre-rquisite to becoming a Coasteering Instructor.

NARS Beach Lifeguard Training Course Topics

• Lifeguard signals test
• Run test
• Pool test
• Tube rescue
• Board rescue
• Demonstrate deep water EAV
• Two man drag
• CPR adult, child and baby
• First aid questions
• Spinal Injury management
• Worksheet questions

To become a coasteering instructor you will need your NARS Beach Lifeguard certificate.

Work on your endurance

The first thing you need to take care of is your general level of endurance. You need to be fit enough to go hard for 10 – 15 minutes minimum as often this is the minimum paddling requirement for getting through the breakers and out the back.

You should be swimming or surfing at least twice a week, every week of the year. Do not leave it till a month before your holidays, it is impossible to develop water fitness in such a small span of time. If you love surfing, you will love the water. Make it a part of your life. Then, in the month leading up to your holiday, increase you workload by 1 or 2 sessions a week and make your sessions much more intensive. This will give you a little fitness boost pre-arrival.

Flexibility and Core Strength

The second key to surfing fitness is flexibility, balance and core strength. Once again, this is not something you want to leave till the last minute, rather something you want to develop over time as part of your commitment to surfing, health and fitness. Yoga is so good for surfing fitness.  Yoga helps you improve your flexibility, balance and core strength. Our  advice, get yourself a surf specific yoga DVD and do it 2 or 3 times a week.

Specific Functional Surfing Training Programme

The final thing you can do is a surf specific, functional training program. If you have taken care on the first and second items above, surf specific training is the ideal pre holiday fitness preparation. It should be short, (Ie a fitness programme which runs from 4 – 12 weeks) it should gradually increase in intensity over those weeks and it should be designed specifically for the muscles you use in the water. The point with such a training program is to give your surf specific fitness a massive boost prior to arriving on your holiday. You’ve got your base level of fitness sorted out already by ensuring point 1 and 2 above are part of your lifestyle. This training program recognises though, that there will be a short period of time where you will need a higher level of fitness (Ie. For those long sessions while on holiday) and prepares you specifically with those higher needs in mind.

Don’t forget diet is also extremely important as well as the usual lifestyle factors such as sleep and keeping hydrated.

Torquay is becoming more popular each year and has several exciting coasteering routes locally. For more info on coasteering in Devon visit www.fremingtonadventure.com.

For info on becoming a coasteering instructor visit www.coasteering.org

For more info on coasteering in Devon www.fremingtonadventure.com

EBO have many years of experience teaching individuals the skills required  of surfing.  Our surfing lessons in Newquay are available to stag and hen groups as well as families.  Learn about the equipment, catching a wave and finally standing up on whitewater and then (hopefully)your first greenwater wave.  For more experienced surfers including competition surfers we can hook you up with a professional such as Jonny Friar who will put you through your paces and critique your surfing technique.

Come and join at the Newquay Adventure Centre www.newquayadventurecentre.com