After much meddling with Vegas, Avidemux etc this is the best I could do ... nothing exciting in the riding but the joy of actually riding!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Old school - Arcoholics!
arcoholics from bigfoot on Vimeo.
Recognize a few of my hometown beaches in there too ...
Safety Poster
More details here ... http://www.kiteteam.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=121&Itemid=75
Another one ... http://www.kitesurfingschool.org/rules.htm
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Feast Day 3
Oh yeah boy! Best day ever for me :) so far, anyway!
Got to the lake about 3:30pm, asked Miyachi about the weather and he said it wouldn't be as good as yesterday. Humped gear over the road and sat under the tree talking to Soh, who reckoned the wind would pick up. Had the foresight to take my anemometer with me ... when the wind hit 10 knots, he decided to get riding.
I slowly set up the Speed and made sure all my lines and bridles were good ... I packed up badly last time and things were a bit messy. Only took my Door to the lake cos I was so impressed with it the other day. Have new straps on the Square One though, would like to try them but - meh!
First two runs were almost powered downwinders ... almost got it up and going. Slog, walk.
The third run - it all just took off! I worked my way out upwind as hard as I could and spent the next few hours playing right out there in the lake :) spent time trying to control my speed, played with the edge pressure and posture, balance with the kite blah blah.
Also spent some time trying to do load-and-pops with varying degrees of success. Spurred on by borntofli, I worked hard on my sliding turns but then got distracted by trying to ride toe-side and do toe- to heel-side carving turns ... less success but muy fun. Played silly buggers trying to jump, played silly buggers trying to ride waves and slalom ... got dunked a lot too but it was all fun.
Had a few interesting experiences - edged hard right into the face of a wave as I was turning the kite up and got 3/4 of a back roll/loop thing done then face-planted ... sent the kite up too fast when a gust hit and I went zooming downwind, a few inches off the water. Much cackling like a mental patient!
Stopped for a drink when I was starting to feel a bit over-powered and had to trim the kite for depower and checked my wind meter - between 15 and 20 knots ... my epic zone, apparently! Probably spent about 3 hours on the water having fun, then decided to pack it in as the sun set behind the hills and the wind started to fail - I was too tired to slog!
... today was the day I should have had the GoPro on the kite! Doh!
Got to the lake about 3:30pm, asked Miyachi about the weather and he said it wouldn't be as good as yesterday. Humped gear over the road and sat under the tree talking to Soh, who reckoned the wind would pick up. Had the foresight to take my anemometer with me ... when the wind hit 10 knots, he decided to get riding.
I slowly set up the Speed and made sure all my lines and bridles were good ... I packed up badly last time and things were a bit messy. Only took my Door to the lake cos I was so impressed with it the other day. Have new straps on the Square One though, would like to try them but - meh!
First two runs were almost powered downwinders ... almost got it up and going. Slog, walk.
The third run - it all just took off! I worked my way out upwind as hard as I could and spent the next few hours playing right out there in the lake :) spent time trying to control my speed, played with the edge pressure and posture, balance with the kite blah blah.
Also spent some time trying to do load-and-pops with varying degrees of success. Spurred on by borntofli, I worked hard on my sliding turns but then got distracted by trying to ride toe-side and do toe- to heel-side carving turns ... less success but muy fun. Played silly buggers trying to jump, played silly buggers trying to ride waves and slalom ... got dunked a lot too but it was all fun.
Had a few interesting experiences - edged hard right into the face of a wave as I was turning the kite up and got 3/4 of a back roll/loop thing done then face-planted ... sent the kite up too fast when a gust hit and I went zooming downwind, a few inches off the water. Much cackling like a mental patient!
Stopped for a drink when I was starting to feel a bit over-powered and had to trim the kite for depower and checked my wind meter - between 15 and 20 knots ... my epic zone, apparently! Probably spent about 3 hours on the water having fun, then decided to pack it in as the sun set behind the hills and the wind started to fail - I was too tired to slog!
... today was the day I should have had the GoPro on the kite! Doh!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Famine or a feast
2nd day in a row with wind that I can ride in! Thought I'd try out the Synergy 19 and switch between the Square One and the Door ...
Well. Messed up the first take off - got interrupted during setup by having to growl at people for stomping all over my lines and forgot to close the deflate zipper. Doh.
Now the GoPro line mount has unmounted one line and is all tangled up. That should be an interesting movie. Doh
The Master of Disaster was at it again - I got a real close look at a Zephyr when it nearly dropped right on my head, as a particular guy on a Cult cut through someone and rode his lines straight through someone elses. He's done that to me too. He and a few other people like to come right into shore and do tricks in the shallows - probably cos they can't relaunch their kites worth a damn! Doh.
Finally in the water and get some fun rides but can't make much ground upwind - wonder if it's my settings ... all at 50%. Am swapping the boards every run and for sure, once I'm up and planing the Door is faster and holds a line better ... have I already outgrown the Square One? :(
Only felt like 30 minutes riding when everybody got the fuck off the water when a thunderstorm rolled through ... except Grandpa who figured he'd be ok - took some harsh words by a bunch of others to get him off the water.
So I'm landing my kite and it's having a fit - bowtied on me so I'm letting it drop to the ground before I dump the safety but Mr Helpful runs up and - you guessed it, grabbed the downwind leading edge. I'm screaming at him to FUCKING LET GO as it starts to power up and he finally gets out the way so I can pop to safety. Thanks for trying to help but it's OBVIOUSLY not a tubie and I DIDN'T ask for help!
Watch the storm fade out, feel a few spots of rain then get back in the water. I've taken off the GoPro ... stick to the Door and get a few fun runs, a little downwind but ok. Then the wind drops off and I'm looping the kite to keep moving. Time to give up as the sun sets. I spend a few minutes body dragging in the water ... ah bliss! A few silly 'jumps' downwind then pack up.
Apparently we're going to have the same tomorrow too! Famine or a feast ... the wind is bulimic!
Well. Messed up the first take off - got interrupted during setup by having to growl at people for stomping all over my lines and forgot to close the deflate zipper. Doh.
Now the GoPro line mount has unmounted one line and is all tangled up. That should be an interesting movie. Doh
The Master of Disaster was at it again - I got a real close look at a Zephyr when it nearly dropped right on my head, as a particular guy on a Cult cut through someone and rode his lines straight through someone elses. He's done that to me too. He and a few other people like to come right into shore and do tricks in the shallows - probably cos they can't relaunch their kites worth a damn! Doh.
Finally in the water and get some fun rides but can't make much ground upwind - wonder if it's my settings ... all at 50%. Am swapping the boards every run and for sure, once I'm up and planing the Door is faster and holds a line better ... have I already outgrown the Square One? :(
Only felt like 30 minutes riding when everybody got the fuck off the water when a thunderstorm rolled through ... except Grandpa who figured he'd be ok - took some harsh words by a bunch of others to get him off the water.
So I'm landing my kite and it's having a fit - bowtied on me so I'm letting it drop to the ground before I dump the safety but Mr Helpful runs up and - you guessed it, grabbed the downwind leading edge. I'm screaming at him to FUCKING LET GO as it starts to power up and he finally gets out the way so I can pop to safety. Thanks for trying to help but it's OBVIOUSLY not a tubie and I DIDN'T ask for help!
Watch the storm fade out, feel a few spots of rain then get back in the water. I've taken off the GoPro ... stick to the Door and get a few fun runs, a little downwind but ok. Then the wind drops off and I'm looping the kite to keep moving. Time to give up as the sun sets. I spend a few minutes body dragging in the water ... ah bliss! A few silly 'jumps' downwind then pack up.
Apparently we're going to have the same tomorrow too! Famine or a feast ... the wind is bulimic!
About time!
Went down to the lake again last night. Spent an hour from 4 pm sinking and walking. Then the wind picked up and it was all on! At long last ...! Had a good blast for an hour then had to pack up and head home to get ready for work :( Murphy is a sod.
Oh forgot to add - why are the windsurfers invading our beach? They have their own clubhouse barely 100m down the road? And when they do retarded shit like ride through kiters lines and get tangled up ...!
Oh forgot to add - why are the windsurfers invading our beach? They have their own clubhouse barely 100m down the road? And when they do retarded shit like ride through kiters lines and get tangled up ...!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Fffffff .... uuuuuu .....
Went down the lake yesterday. There was going to be some wind but I assumed not much ...
Took my 16m Scorpion down cos I've never flown it! It kind of got over-shadowed by the Synergys and I've spent more time with them than the Scorpions or Phantoms.
Only me and a stranded windsurfer on the beach, and a pair of guys whom I don't recognize with a 2m trainer. Someone has raked up all the reeds that have been cut on the other side of the lake and washed up here, then set little fires to smolder and burn off the trash :/ keep this in mind, comes up later ...
I set up away from them and the newbies. Not enough wind to prefill initially, but it picked up, filled up and launched just fine - less hassle than a Synergy IMO :D
And well, damn, it flew just fine! Straps all 50% and extensions on the pig tails - much less stall prone than the Syn 19 I was using Tuesday and much less jellyfishing in turns. In fact, much tighter over all! Either it's the straps or it's just the way the Scorpion flies. Zoom zoom etc had a bit of a play.
Wind picked up, white caps on the lake so I thought I might try riding after all. Pack up the Scorpion, grab my Speed and get into the air and on the water.
Downwind struggling again. Once or twice I got things just right and got moving nicely but nothing of note ... except the occasion I felt the float'n'glide - must have had the kite in the right spot and the wind was just so or something, but I could feel the board just gliding on the water and my weight was being held by the kite ... magic!
Now for the Ffffff ... uuuuu ....
Jackass, who has all the flash gear and sunnies and was showing off to his even more beginner mate with the trainer, talking all about the wind window and power zone finally get in the water with Miyachi's F-One Bandit and a board. Dude has very poor kite skills IMO so when I'm going downwind I just avoid him like the plague.
Walking back upwind, the wind is cross-onshore and my kite is low over the beach. Just as I get to where Jackass is, he decided to head back to shore and starts flying the kite around. I'm downwind of him still so I stop and park a wing tip on the beach. All he has to do is bring his kite up to 12 so I can walk downwind past him but no, he sends it through the power zone! Now his lines are above mine and - the genius lets the bar go! So his kite turns back into the power zone and he gets dragged out of the water, over the beach, into my lines and through one of the fires! As soon as he let go I started yelling "SAFETY! SAFETY RELEASE!" at him but he didn't, of course.
So he's being dragged over and through my lines and they're tangled around his so I pop MY safety and my Speed drops ... but now his bar is wrapped around mine and the Speed is not flagging properly! Miyachi arrives and gets it under control, I recover my bar and keep the Speed on the ground while things get untangled.
Jackass is wasting time apologizing for what he doesn't know so I ignore him and concentrate on getting my kite out of the weeds and nasty crap it's sitting in.
Meanwhile, uber-newbie-buddy-of-Jackass has been flying his trainer just to our left. Well, he drops that on top of my port control lines and the kite wraps around both brake and power!!! I'm trying to keep the kite stable on the ground but it's off-angle to the wind and wants to shift around ... and get this - uber-newbie is slowly walking down his lines, with one in each hand, keeping them nice and tidy! I growl at him to get that fucking thing off my lines and he finally clicked and unwrapped the kite.
FFS ... sure it all worked out in the end but it came close to me totally dumping my kite into the trees next to the road and then I would have been pissed. And it all could have been avoided!
Took my 16m Scorpion down cos I've never flown it! It kind of got over-shadowed by the Synergys and I've spent more time with them than the Scorpions or Phantoms.
Only me and a stranded windsurfer on the beach, and a pair of guys whom I don't recognize with a 2m trainer. Someone has raked up all the reeds that have been cut on the other side of the lake and washed up here, then set little fires to smolder and burn off the trash :/ keep this in mind, comes up later ...
I set up away from them and the newbies. Not enough wind to prefill initially, but it picked up, filled up and launched just fine - less hassle than a Synergy IMO :D
And well, damn, it flew just fine! Straps all 50% and extensions on the pig tails - much less stall prone than the Syn 19 I was using Tuesday and much less jellyfishing in turns. In fact, much tighter over all! Either it's the straps or it's just the way the Scorpion flies. Zoom zoom etc had a bit of a play.
Wind picked up, white caps on the lake so I thought I might try riding after all. Pack up the Scorpion, grab my Speed and get into the air and on the water.
Downwind struggling again. Once or twice I got things just right and got moving nicely but nothing of note ... except the occasion I felt the float'n'glide - must have had the kite in the right spot and the wind was just so or something, but I could feel the board just gliding on the water and my weight was being held by the kite ... magic!
Now for the Ffffff ... uuuuu ....
Jackass, who has all the flash gear and sunnies and was showing off to his even more beginner mate with the trainer, talking all about the wind window and power zone finally get in the water with Miyachi's F-One Bandit and a board. Dude has very poor kite skills IMO so when I'm going downwind I just avoid him like the plague.
Walking back upwind, the wind is cross-onshore and my kite is low over the beach. Just as I get to where Jackass is, he decided to head back to shore and starts flying the kite around. I'm downwind of him still so I stop and park a wing tip on the beach. All he has to do is bring his kite up to 12 so I can walk downwind past him but no, he sends it through the power zone! Now his lines are above mine and - the genius lets the bar go! So his kite turns back into the power zone and he gets dragged out of the water, over the beach, into my lines and through one of the fires! As soon as he let go I started yelling "SAFETY! SAFETY RELEASE!" at him but he didn't, of course.
So he's being dragged over and through my lines and they're tangled around his so I pop MY safety and my Speed drops ... but now his bar is wrapped around mine and the Speed is not flagging properly! Miyachi arrives and gets it under control, I recover my bar and keep the Speed on the ground while things get untangled.
Jackass is wasting time apologizing for what he doesn't know so I ignore him and concentrate on getting my kite out of the weeds and nasty crap it's sitting in.
Meanwhile, uber-newbie-buddy-of-Jackass has been flying his trainer just to our left. Well, he drops that on top of my port control lines and the kite wraps around both brake and power!!! I'm trying to keep the kite stable on the ground but it's off-angle to the wind and wants to shift around ... and get this - uber-newbie is slowly walking down his lines, with one in each hand, keeping them nice and tidy! I growl at him to get that fucking thing off my lines and he finally clicked and unwrapped the kite.
FFS ... sure it all worked out in the end but it came close to me totally dumping my kite into the trees next to the road and then I would have been pissed. And it all could have been avoided!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
More DIY - splicing
I like makin' stuff ... I made the DIY crossover depower bar thingy and had great fun learning to splice stuff. I used to use a needle with a very dull tip and a large eye but it was often tough to pull through, being unable to grip the needle and all. Nick had an expensive splicing tool he bought overseas but unwilling to wait (or search for) one, I decided to make one. This is what I ended up with ...
It's basically a long needle with a large eye that I heated up with a blow-torch-in-a-can from the DIY store, a pair of pliers and my vice. Bent the needle around the ring, cut off the point - voila! Took about 10 minutes and works great!
Splicing is too easy!
A simple splice can be locked down by stitching it with a sewing machine, looking all very professional, as you can see at the FS Splicing Manual
... or with slightly less machinery as suggested by these guys.
Then there's the Zacher knot; needs no stitching with pesky waterproof thread but is a bit ugly. Found on the Storm Riders page - now via edt :)
My suggestion for the perfect locking splice without sewing it is the Brummell which I discovered at New England Ropes website.
Tips I learnt along the way ...
Flatten the end you're going to thread through the tool a little then cut at a sharp angle - aim to cut off about 10mm. Be very careful not to allow it to unravel too much past that 10mm.
When finishing the splice, cut the bitter end off just like above, then pull it into the spliced line - if you cut it square, it doesn't taper off smoothly.
Pull slowly and work the tool gently with your fingers.
Be careful not to allow the tool to pop out - you may lose the end of your splice up in there. Annoyance turned up to 11.
Stitching, done by hand, is very tough to make look tight, clean and professional. Especially when the thread is a different colour to the spliced line.
New England Ropes has this version of the Lock Stitch, which is a simple Brummell but does NOT lock the line very well and looks ugly.
Don't use a half-hitch on the Zacher, as suggested on that page - it ends up bulkier than an overhand knot.
The trick with the Brummell is that you have to invert one of the loops, actually poke it back through the other way. IIRC it's knot B on the webpage diagrams; use the tool again to encourage it back through. You have to go through the line that goes through the other ... sounds very Mobius strip but look at figure 11 up there and this pic ...
The Brummell is by far the best method IMHO cos there's no sewing with sharp needles and it locks the splice onto itself very thoroughly. And it's almost invisible ...
The tool is lying where the Brummell lock is ... you almost can't see it, just looks like a prefect smooth splice!
Size of the loop is the distance between A and B ...
What can I splice now? Ah ... here, kitty kitty - such a nice tail you got ...
It's basically a long needle with a large eye that I heated up with a blow-torch-in-a-can from the DIY store, a pair of pliers and my vice. Bent the needle around the ring, cut off the point - voila! Took about 10 minutes and works great!
Splicing is too easy!
A simple splice can be locked down by stitching it with a sewing machine, looking all very professional, as you can see at the FS Splicing Manual
... or with slightly less machinery as suggested by these guys.
Then there's the Zacher knot; needs no stitching with pesky waterproof thread but is a bit ugly. Found on the Storm Riders page - now via edt :)
My suggestion for the perfect locking splice without sewing it is the Brummell which I discovered at New England Ropes website.
Tips I learnt along the way ...
Flatten the end you're going to thread through the tool a little then cut at a sharp angle - aim to cut off about 10mm. Be very careful not to allow it to unravel too much past that 10mm.
When finishing the splice, cut the bitter end off just like above, then pull it into the spliced line - if you cut it square, it doesn't taper off smoothly.
Pull slowly and work the tool gently with your fingers.
Be careful not to allow the tool to pop out - you may lose the end of your splice up in there. Annoyance turned up to 11.
Stitching, done by hand, is very tough to make look tight, clean and professional. Especially when the thread is a different colour to the spliced line.
New England Ropes has this version of the Lock Stitch, which is a simple Brummell but does NOT lock the line very well and looks ugly.
Don't use a half-hitch on the Zacher, as suggested on that page - it ends up bulkier than an overhand knot.
The trick with the Brummell is that you have to invert one of the loops, actually poke it back through the other way. IIRC it's knot B on the webpage diagrams; use the tool again to encourage it back through. You have to go through the line that goes through the other ... sounds very Mobius strip but look at figure 11 up there and this pic ...
The Brummell is by far the best method IMHO cos there's no sewing with sharp needles and it locks the splice onto itself very thoroughly. And it's almost invisible ...
The tool is lying where the Brummell lock is ... you almost can't see it, just looks like a prefect smooth splice!
Size of the loop is the distance between A and B ...
What can I splice now? Ah ... here, kitty kitty - such a nice tail you got ...
Aaah, let-down, melt-down, crack-down - you're busted!
Let-down : 2. To fail to meet the expectations of;
Wind was supposed to be pumping in Hamamatsu so I thought I'd take advantage of the wife still being at work to sneak down to the beach and enjoy a day by myself, listening to what I wanted in the car and not having to make nice chat.
Cross-onshore at Maisaka, limited surf for a change - maybe 1 to 2m breakers and a 3 to 6 foot swell near shore. Whitecaps out there but anemometer only reading 9 knots. Still it's supposed to get to 20 by 2pm - here's hoping. Out comes the Synergy 19 - it pre-fills ok but not as fast as I'd like, meaning the wind is weak :( Take a test run but I'm going nowhere fast ... walk back to the kite's bag and have a cool drink and wait.
Melt-down : 3. An emotional breakdown;
Wind picked up noticeably enough that another kitesurfer has appeared, with a 12m Cult and a directional ... I'm beginning to understand why everyone here has at least one directional! Head into the water again and as I'm on my way out, the damned red hat safety pops and I lose the kite onto the shore at the water's edge - WTH I turned it upside down to avoid this problem!!! Much fighting with twisted lines (How?!?) and struggling with relaunch then try again.
Still limited joy, the Synergy just doesn't have the grunt for this little wind. Working it like a mad thing but really, I'm just drifting downwind. Walk back upwind, have a drink (2L of water at the shore is my best idea yet!) and get back in the water. Drift downwind on a half-sunk board.
Coming back into shore the board gets washed into me by a wave and trips the safety again! FFS!!! Everything is a mess and I spend what feels like an hour running around trying to untangle lines then trying to launch, only to have the kite bow-tie, invert and retwisting all the lines. Sort that, re-launch and oh FFFFS there's a bloody plastic bag wrapped around the pulley! Land, untangle all the lines, relaunch ... insert temper tantrum.
And I still have to walk back up the beach!
Have another drink, breath in, breath out ... goosfraba ...
Try again. Oh come on that little prick with the Cult is riding upwind and I'm STILL not! So in a fit of pique I loop the Synergy right back through the middle of the power zone and ZOO-oom! off and away ... for a few more seconds than normal, anyway!
Loop ZOO-oom! Loop ZOO-oom! Loop ZOO-splat! Tee hee!
This is getting me downwind like a rocket but it's like doing wheelies in a carpark - totally pointless but totally amusing! Looping up and backwards into the power zone is easy enough although it needs 2 hands on the bar ... looping forwards and down is difficult and less rewarding and results in the odd crash into the water.
So I get to try my first water re-launch of an arc. First one was a bit of a struggle - couldn't get the kite to taco, it just wanted to stay on the leading edge. Floated nicely though even in the 3 - 6 foot swell. Finally get it over and sort out the right line to pull and get it into roughly the right position and - here's the trick - the wind pops open the leading edge a little, so rather than lying flat on itself the center of the kite has opened up. Yank on the center lines and up she goes! The second time I dunk the kite, I'd try to loop it too low and the tip had dragged itself into the water. It landed in the taco though and with just a little bit of tugging on the bottom rear line, it opened up and I yanked on the center lines and up she goes! Not bad.
Walk back up the beach and decide on one last run. Loop ZOO-oom etc and I've gone a whole lot further than I meant to ... crap there's the hotel again, that means I'm about 3 kilometers down the beach! It's going to be a lo-ooong walk. And it was.
Crack-down : 1. severely repressive actions;
Walk walk walk ... pack up and head back to the car to wash my gear, wash me and change into dry clothes. Ah, cool sweet fresh water! I just stand under the hose for a while ...
...
... finally stop playing with the hose and load the car, head home. Buy about 20 ice-blocks cos I'm dying of thirst! 3 hours on the highway home but for once no traffic jam. Get home and start to take stock of today's punishment.
Grazed nipple (?!?) where the depower line rubbed against it when the kite would auto-zenith when I'm trying to walk down the beach ... not always a good thing that auto-zenith, I've decided.
Right leg, inner thigh rubbed raw by walking up the beach with the kite to the right. I can live with that.
Taken off a few layers of skin where the leg straps go. Usually happens, no big deal.
Rashed inner left elbow from carrying the board. Hopefully I'll get over that if I ever get riding upwind!
3 x 2 inch patch of sunburn on the back of my right knee, where it folds.
WTH?
Dunno what sunblock I'm using - whatever was sold at 7-11 in the SPF 50 range - is bloody good stuff though. Kind of thin liquid that doesn't spread very well and leaves a white stain but boy howdy does it stop sunburn! I go mad with the stuff and do several coats on face, neck and ears cos they hurt the worst when burnt. I usually make sure I've spread it all over but I guess that like mosquito repellent, the square millimeter you miss is the bit the gets nailed :/
I better make sure I make certain to really lather myself up in future. Perhaps I should buy stocks in the company cos I go through the stuff like I go through erm money ...!
You're busted!
Was hoping to get home before the wife and pretend I'd gone to a local beach ... no such luck. Damned Prius drivers!
In summary ...
I really dig the Synergy, I love not having to pump and I love how fast it turns, how easy it is to loop and make power that way but I'm hating the lack of torque, I'm nonplussed with the relaunch but I detest the Zero7 bar!!! Thinking of selling both mine and getting a Navigator ...
Need a directional.
Must cover self from head to toe in sunblock.
A 2L bottle of water on the beach is awesome. A 2L bottle of frozen water would be heaven.
Walking sucks. Now I know why there are no fat people pro-kiteboarders and why gear is always sized so small - when you're learning, you spend so much time walking that you either lose weight and fit their weenie harnesses or you have a massive heart attack and die.
Wind was supposed to be pumping in Hamamatsu so I thought I'd take advantage of the wife still being at work to sneak down to the beach and enjoy a day by myself, listening to what I wanted in the car and not having to make nice chat.
Cross-onshore at Maisaka, limited surf for a change - maybe 1 to 2m breakers and a 3 to 6 foot swell near shore. Whitecaps out there but anemometer only reading 9 knots. Still it's supposed to get to 20 by 2pm - here's hoping. Out comes the Synergy 19 - it pre-fills ok but not as fast as I'd like, meaning the wind is weak :( Take a test run but I'm going nowhere fast ... walk back to the kite's bag and have a cool drink and wait.
Melt-down : 3. An emotional breakdown;
Wind picked up noticeably enough that another kitesurfer has appeared, with a 12m Cult and a directional ... I'm beginning to understand why everyone here has at least one directional! Head into the water again and as I'm on my way out, the damned red hat safety pops and I lose the kite onto the shore at the water's edge - WTH I turned it upside down to avoid this problem!!! Much fighting with twisted lines (How?!?) and struggling with relaunch then try again.
Still limited joy, the Synergy just doesn't have the grunt for this little wind. Working it like a mad thing but really, I'm just drifting downwind. Walk back upwind, have a drink (2L of water at the shore is my best idea yet!) and get back in the water. Drift downwind on a half-sunk board.
Coming back into shore the board gets washed into me by a wave and trips the safety again! FFS!!! Everything is a mess and I spend what feels like an hour running around trying to untangle lines then trying to launch, only to have the kite bow-tie, invert and retwisting all the lines. Sort that, re-launch and oh FFFFS there's a bloody plastic bag wrapped around the pulley! Land, untangle all the lines, relaunch ... insert temper tantrum.
And I still have to walk back up the beach!
Have another drink, breath in, breath out ... goosfraba ...
Try again. Oh come on that little prick with the Cult is riding upwind and I'm STILL not! So in a fit of pique I loop the Synergy right back through the middle of the power zone and ZOO-oom! off and away ... for a few more seconds than normal, anyway!
Loop ZOO-oom! Loop ZOO-oom! Loop ZOO-splat! Tee hee!
This is getting me downwind like a rocket but it's like doing wheelies in a carpark - totally pointless but totally amusing! Looping up and backwards into the power zone is easy enough although it needs 2 hands on the bar ... looping forwards and down is difficult and less rewarding and results in the odd crash into the water.
So I get to try my first water re-launch of an arc. First one was a bit of a struggle - couldn't get the kite to taco, it just wanted to stay on the leading edge. Floated nicely though even in the 3 - 6 foot swell. Finally get it over and sort out the right line to pull and get it into roughly the right position and - here's the trick - the wind pops open the leading edge a little, so rather than lying flat on itself the center of the kite has opened up. Yank on the center lines and up she goes! The second time I dunk the kite, I'd try to loop it too low and the tip had dragged itself into the water. It landed in the taco though and with just a little bit of tugging on the bottom rear line, it opened up and I yanked on the center lines and up she goes! Not bad.
Walk back up the beach and decide on one last run. Loop ZOO-oom etc and I've gone a whole lot further than I meant to ... crap there's the hotel again, that means I'm about 3 kilometers down the beach! It's going to be a lo-ooong walk. And it was.
Crack-down : 1. severely repressive actions;
Walk walk walk ... pack up and head back to the car to wash my gear, wash me and change into dry clothes. Ah, cool sweet fresh water! I just stand under the hose for a while ...
...
... finally stop playing with the hose and load the car, head home. Buy about 20 ice-blocks cos I'm dying of thirst! 3 hours on the highway home but for once no traffic jam. Get home and start to take stock of today's punishment.
Grazed nipple (?!?) where the depower line rubbed against it when the kite would auto-zenith when I'm trying to walk down the beach ... not always a good thing that auto-zenith, I've decided.
Right leg, inner thigh rubbed raw by walking up the beach with the kite to the right. I can live with that.
Taken off a few layers of skin where the leg straps go. Usually happens, no big deal.
Rashed inner left elbow from carrying the board. Hopefully I'll get over that if I ever get riding upwind!
3 x 2 inch patch of sunburn on the back of my right knee, where it folds.
WTH?
Dunno what sunblock I'm using - whatever was sold at 7-11 in the SPF 50 range - is bloody good stuff though. Kind of thin liquid that doesn't spread very well and leaves a white stain but boy howdy does it stop sunburn! I go mad with the stuff and do several coats on face, neck and ears cos they hurt the worst when burnt. I usually make sure I've spread it all over but I guess that like mosquito repellent, the square millimeter you miss is the bit the gets nailed :/
I better make sure I make certain to really lather myself up in future. Perhaps I should buy stocks in the company cos I go through the stuff like I go through erm money ...!
You're busted!
Was hoping to get home before the wife and pretend I'd gone to a local beach ... no such luck. Damned Prius drivers!
In summary ...
I really dig the Synergy, I love not having to pump and I love how fast it turns, how easy it is to loop and make power that way but I'm hating the lack of torque, I'm nonplussed with the relaunch but I detest the Zero7 bar!!! Thinking of selling both mine and getting a Navigator ...
Need a directional.
Must cover self from head to toe in sunblock.
A 2L bottle of water on the beach is awesome. A 2L bottle of frozen water would be heaven.
Walking sucks. Now I know why there are no fat people pro-kiteboarders and why gear is always sized so small - when you're learning, you spend so much time walking that you either lose weight and fit their weenie harnesses or you have a massive heart attack and die.
DIY crossover bar - first test
First day of the hols and I'm already bored, little to no wind and it's southerly so it's no use to me anyway ... may as well go annoy the groundskeepers at the Notogawa park.
Hot as hell, road sign said 37°C but at least it's not as humid as it was last week.
Arrive at the park with my Rebble and Ace and tramp down to the river bed to enjoy the nice flat cool grassed area ... /rant bloody old people are taking over the WHOLE public park with their stupid gate ball ground golf croquette game - there's bloody metal spiky flags all over the river bed now! Sigh ... I think one day they might come and find them all at the bottom of the river ...
So back to the soccer pitch (hard packed dirt) to set up with the Rebble first. Quick flight with the handles - phew only enough wind to keep it in the air! Switch to the bar ... whoa that works sweet! The Rebble is my first kite and the power lines are about a foot longer than the brake lines - the bard works perfect without any trim so I guess for my newer kites I'll have to meddle ... play with the Rebble for a bit, end up walking backwards across the field but am enjoying the speed and ease of 'depowering' the kite and how well it turns! Reach the end of the pitch, test the safety - boing! - no problems so pack up the Rebble.
Out comes the Ace. I removed the pulleys from the pulley handles for the bar ... the pulley handles worked ok but without a back-strap, it was (and still is!) impossible to apply brakes on this monster! The wind has shifted to northerly - quick flight with the handles ... damn what a beast! Switch to the bar and pop it up ... nice! Needs a bit of trim on the brake lines - I guess the power line connector is too short like Jovver said - sorted that out and now she flies good! Power is much easier to handle with the bar and through the harness (duh!) and it turns a little quicker.
Reverse relaunch is a little trickier than with handles and you lose a little finesse, but I think on the whole it's a great bit o' kit! Now I'm going to try to make something like the PKD bar :D
Hot as hell, road sign said 37°C but at least it's not as humid as it was last week.
Arrive at the park with my Rebble and Ace and tramp down to the river bed to enjoy the nice flat cool grassed area ... /rant bloody old people are taking over the WHOLE public park with their stupid gate ball ground golf croquette game - there's bloody metal spiky flags all over the river bed now! Sigh ... I think one day they might come and find them all at the bottom of the river ...
So back to the soccer pitch (hard packed dirt) to set up with the Rebble first. Quick flight with the handles - phew only enough wind to keep it in the air! Switch to the bar ... whoa that works sweet! The Rebble is my first kite and the power lines are about a foot longer than the brake lines - the bard works perfect without any trim so I guess for my newer kites I'll have to meddle ... play with the Rebble for a bit, end up walking backwards across the field but am enjoying the speed and ease of 'depowering' the kite and how well it turns! Reach the end of the pitch, test the safety - boing! - no problems so pack up the Rebble.
Out comes the Ace. I removed the pulleys from the pulley handles for the bar ... the pulley handles worked ok but without a back-strap, it was (and still is!) impossible to apply brakes on this monster! The wind has shifted to northerly - quick flight with the handles ... damn what a beast! Switch to the bar and pop it up ... nice! Needs a bit of trim on the brake lines - I guess the power line connector is too short like Jovver said - sorted that out and now she flies good! Power is much easier to handle with the bar and through the harness (duh!) and it turns a little quicker.
Reverse relaunch is a little trickier than with handles and you lose a little finesse, but I think on the whole it's a great bit o' kit! Now I'm going to try to make something like the PKD bar :D
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
One hot minute - The Movie!
After hours of editing, this is what it all came down to. Sometimes, I wonder why I bother ...! Editing video that is - kiteboarding is like pizza ... even when it's bad, you can just pick the anchovies out and it's still pretty good!
I split it up into 4 parts because I have like ADD or something and tend to skip through movies on YouTube that are over like 2 minutes so I figured others are the same and perhaps I can suck people in to watching the whole thing ... mwa-ha-HA!
I split it up into 4 parts because I have like ADD or something and tend to skip through movies on YouTube that are over like 2 minutes so I figured others are the same and perhaps I can suck people in to watching the whole thing ... mwa-ha-HA!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Waves, wind but a wash-out
No work today so we drove down and across to Hamamatsu - like usual!
I had my first time out on the ocean with waves involved - 6 foot breakers to get through! The waves braking on the shore were waist high, but the next two rows were well over my head ...! In the past, I've been lucky enough to kite on salt water with lagoons and stuff next to the shore ...
Wind was almost enough. I measured it at around 8 knots and it picked up a bit from time to time but ... a lot of working the Speed and a lot of water-starts that seemed promising then a lot of nothing happening then a lot of walking - and I mean A LOT according to the car's GPS I walked the 2km downwind about 3 or 4 times ...!
Got a few powered runs in but the wind was laughing at me! Dragging me around in the water but not enough somehow to keep riding - I expect it's a lack of talent on my part!
Some upwind riding but a lot of waves washing over the tip of my board and sinking it then me or a wave washing into the back of my knee and knocking me down ... everyone else was on surfboards or directionals and I can see why ...
Tried a couple jumps up and over a wave face but I couldn't land them and lost the board badly - it went shooting away on the tide so I gave up that idea and tried to concentrate on going upwind.
Should have brought my Square One with me ... I missed it's floatiness - the Door sinks a lot and whoever said "Oh the ocean is so much easier you float so much better" was a liar - I love my lake! And the water tastes like shit here ... I needed several beers to wash away the taste.
But man is the Door a smooth ride! Something about it feels wrong on my feet though ... too comfortable I guess!!!
Met two Canucks, Sean (Shawn?) and Patrick riding an old C-kite and doing ok too. Nice to see some gringos around. Also nice to see mad old guy standing knee deep in the surf in straw boater drinking beer :D
Still ... it's play in the surf, walk up and down the beach a bit, a little flying or stay home and listen to the neighbors brats scream at each other while I wrestle with video editing software ... I'd rather be here, eh!
Video taken by Olivia ... sort of LOL
I had my first time out on the ocean with waves involved - 6 foot breakers to get through! The waves braking on the shore were waist high, but the next two rows were well over my head ...! In the past, I've been lucky enough to kite on salt water with lagoons and stuff next to the shore ...
Wind was almost enough. I measured it at around 8 knots and it picked up a bit from time to time but ... a lot of working the Speed and a lot of water-starts that seemed promising then a lot of nothing happening then a lot of walking - and I mean A LOT according to the car's GPS I walked the 2km downwind about 3 or 4 times ...!
Got a few powered runs in but the wind was laughing at me! Dragging me around in the water but not enough somehow to keep riding - I expect it's a lack of talent on my part!
Some upwind riding but a lot of waves washing over the tip of my board and sinking it then me or a wave washing into the back of my knee and knocking me down ... everyone else was on surfboards or directionals and I can see why ...
Tried a couple jumps up and over a wave face but I couldn't land them and lost the board badly - it went shooting away on the tide so I gave up that idea and tried to concentrate on going upwind.
Should have brought my Square One with me ... I missed it's floatiness - the Door sinks a lot and whoever said "Oh the ocean is so much easier you float so much better" was a liar - I love my lake! And the water tastes like shit here ... I needed several beers to wash away the taste.
But man is the Door a smooth ride! Something about it feels wrong on my feet though ... too comfortable I guess!!!
Met two Canucks, Sean (Shawn?) and Patrick riding an old C-kite and doing ok too. Nice to see some gringos around. Also nice to see mad old guy standing knee deep in the surf in straw boater drinking beer :D
Still ... it's play in the surf, walk up and down the beach a bit, a little flying or stay home and listen to the neighbors brats scream at each other while I wrestle with video editing software ... I'd rather be here, eh!
Video taken by Olivia ... sort of LOL
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Weather info
Best site for weather forecasting to date - although it's all in Japanese ... select your region in the drop-down menu and select "something-something-wind-something" below that ... very accurate.
http://weather-gpv.info/
http://weather-gpv.info/
Monday, July 5, 2010
Hammered spam
Feeling a bit beat up after yesterday's session ... but weather-gpv.info predicted ridable wind so I dragged my decrepit carcass down the beach to join the rotting fish carcasses and anal douches littered on the shore, around 4:30pm.
Decided that I'd just have a play with the 19m Synergy cos everyone was being all pessimistic so I set up and did some scudding and jumps on the beach; tested out the looping speed too.
Wind picked up and people were riding so I grabbed my board and hit the water.
Bah, more submarining and water-starting all the way down the beach to walk back. Slowly though the wind seems to be picking up and suddenly I'm riding down-winders the length of the beach. Got a few runs far enough out from shore to do slide turns - fail rate maintained at 20% :D Had one real sweet one though, sort of carved it round on the back foot, powered by the kite ... felt like riding powder on a snowboard!
As the sun set, the wind picked right up and it was just me and Sou on the water. Cos some semi-upwind runs in going out, but the current and waves pushed me into shore on the way pack in ... all were WoS. Wonder if a faster board would be better for the Synergy ...
Packed up in the dark! Was home by 8pm ...
So, light-wind comparo, Synergy 19m vs Speed 1.5 17m ...
The Speed probably gets me going earlier but it's a dog to work in the sine until you can park it.
The Synergy is fast - turns on a dime and holds more power on the upstroke but can't be parked in this wind like the Speed can - gotta work the Synergy like a slave, although it's not a chore at all.
You can loop the Synergy for a good burst of speed but lose ground downwind. That's fun though :D
Next to impossible to stall the Synergy when you're moving - MonkeyAir was right!
Well, it was better than sitting in front of TV but I'm battered and stiff now ...
Forgot to add settings for the Synergy.
Center strap fully tight, tips fully loose, bridle max power/bar pressure which was too much.
Decided that I'd just have a play with the 19m Synergy cos everyone was being all pessimistic so I set up and did some scudding and jumps on the beach; tested out the looping speed too.
Wind picked up and people were riding so I grabbed my board and hit the water.
Bah, more submarining and water-starting all the way down the beach to walk back. Slowly though the wind seems to be picking up and suddenly I'm riding down-winders the length of the beach. Got a few runs far enough out from shore to do slide turns - fail rate maintained at 20% :D Had one real sweet one though, sort of carved it round on the back foot, powered by the kite ... felt like riding powder on a snowboard!
As the sun set, the wind picked right up and it was just me and Sou on the water. Cos some semi-upwind runs in going out, but the current and waves pushed me into shore on the way pack in ... all were WoS. Wonder if a faster board would be better for the Synergy ...
Packed up in the dark! Was home by 8pm ...
So, light-wind comparo, Synergy 19m vs Speed 1.5 17m ...
The Speed probably gets me going earlier but it's a dog to work in the sine until you can park it.
The Synergy is fast - turns on a dime and holds more power on the upstroke but can't be parked in this wind like the Speed can - gotta work the Synergy like a slave, although it's not a chore at all.
You can loop the Synergy for a good burst of speed but lose ground downwind. That's fun though :D
Next to impossible to stall the Synergy when you're moving - MonkeyAir was right!
Well, it was better than sitting in front of TV but I'm battered and stiff now ...
Forgot to add settings for the Synergy.
Center strap fully tight, tips fully loose, bridle max power/bar pressure which was too much.
One hot minute
Sunday, possibly some ridable wind predicted at this page - http://weather-gpv.info/ - which is the most accurate weather forecast so far ... and no good for you gringos who no speak-ee the Japanese-ee. The only kanji I know on the whole page are the ones in the drop-down menu for this region and the one for wind, which is enough ...
Played on the beach waiting for the wind to pick up around 3pm. Pulled out the GoPro and mounted it on the Kite Hero line mount ... not 100% impressed how the FDS line fits there - hope we don't have to bail! Otherwise it fits good - should be perfect on the 4-line kites eg. Synergy.
Lots of work for little riding. Submarined the board all the way down the beach, or water-started then fell back in. Walked for miles. Feet and ankles got cut up, probably infected by all the dead fish floating around.
Finally!
Got about 30 minutes worth of powered-up, upwind riding in! It sort of all came at once and I was off like a rocket!
Thanks to a video I saw on James' Blog that gave a riders view of timing a sliding turn, I had a crack at that - success! Pretty surprised, the first one was too easy. Fail rate of about 2 in 10 but when I get it right, it was all good!
Had my Spleene Door 154x42 at the beach cos I wanted to compare it as a light-wind board versus my Square One, so while the wind was up I dropped the Airush and grabbed the Spleene.
2005 Airush Square One versus 2007 Spleene Door 154 ...
The Square One floats better when there isn't enough oomph to plane quickly - the Door dives like a sub if I'm not thinking about keeping the nose up.
Need to shoot the leg out a bit more on starts - the Square One has let me get lazy, I guess.
Molded foot-pads on the Door are hard to get into and the straps cut into my foot a bit. They're way new though and probably still stiff. Very comfy for the heels, though.
They seem to get up planing about the same, the Square One a little earlier maybe but once the Door is off, it's f-a-s-t!
Door is the best for going upwind - much easier to do but seems to be more technical to control the speed and harder to edge. Did I say it was fast? Cos it's fast. Real fast.
Less splash in the face from between my legs on the Door.
The Door's ride overall is smoother but I'm betting that's cos of the foot pads - the Square One has nothing! Also feels more like it's on rails when edging. And it's fast.
Then the wind dropped off and I'm back to water-starting my way down the beach and walking again :(
Got home and checked out the GoPro and it seems I ran out of memory card before the wind arrived, so it'll make for a small upload with a LOT of editing! Soon ...
Was interesting that 8Gb SD card was filled before running out of battery - might be worth getting a 16Gb.
So, to sum up ...
Got some footage of me riding and tested the Kite Hero mount. Got to test the Door against the Square One. Taught myself sliding turns ... erm oh was that it?
Played on the beach waiting for the wind to pick up around 3pm. Pulled out the GoPro and mounted it on the Kite Hero line mount ... not 100% impressed how the FDS line fits there - hope we don't have to bail! Otherwise it fits good - should be perfect on the 4-line kites eg. Synergy.
Lots of work for little riding. Submarined the board all the way down the beach, or water-started then fell back in. Walked for miles. Feet and ankles got cut up, probably infected by all the dead fish floating around.
Finally!
Got about 30 minutes worth of powered-up, upwind riding in! It sort of all came at once and I was off like a rocket!
Thanks to a video I saw on James' Blog that gave a riders view of timing a sliding turn, I had a crack at that - success! Pretty surprised, the first one was too easy. Fail rate of about 2 in 10 but when I get it right, it was all good!
Had my Spleene Door 154x42 at the beach cos I wanted to compare it as a light-wind board versus my Square One, so while the wind was up I dropped the Airush and grabbed the Spleene.
2005 Airush Square One versus 2007 Spleene Door 154 ...
The Square One floats better when there isn't enough oomph to plane quickly - the Door dives like a sub if I'm not thinking about keeping the nose up.
Need to shoot the leg out a bit more on starts - the Square One has let me get lazy, I guess.
Molded foot-pads on the Door are hard to get into and the straps cut into my foot a bit. They're way new though and probably still stiff. Very comfy for the heels, though.
They seem to get up planing about the same, the Square One a little earlier maybe but once the Door is off, it's f-a-s-t!
Door is the best for going upwind - much easier to do but seems to be more technical to control the speed and harder to edge. Did I say it was fast? Cos it's fast. Real fast.
Less splash in the face from between my legs on the Door.
The Door's ride overall is smoother but I'm betting that's cos of the foot pads - the Square One has nothing! Also feels more like it's on rails when edging. And it's fast.
Then the wind dropped off and I'm back to water-starting my way down the beach and walking again :(
Got home and checked out the GoPro and it seems I ran out of memory card before the wind arrived, so it'll make for a small upload with a LOT of editing! Soon ...
Was interesting that 8Gb SD card was filled before running out of battery - might be worth getting a 16Gb.
So, to sum up ...
Got some footage of me riding and tested the Kite Hero mount. Got to test the Door against the Square One. Taught myself sliding turns ... erm oh was that it?
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