Hit the lake again and again, the forecast was for more wind than I thought I'd be comfortable with (20 knots) well it wasn't again and again the died off to unrideable just on sunset.
Before that happened though, I had a great time riding wa-aaay the fuck upwind of all the Shore Whores who couldn't get away from the beach. Wind was directly onshore and the current was coming in cross-on so there was no excuse for them all to be hanging around within 20m of the beach :D again (again with the again!) my biggest problem was going too far upwind and having to ride like a spaz to get downwind again!
Had a relaxed time out playing, messing around with the gusts for big (for me!) air and speed, nice fat carving turns and working on timing of the kite, pops and redirections ... got about 90 minutes riding in! Again had to shake my head at the Helix rider who couldn't relaunch and had to drift to shore ... mind you the wind was so light that even lil' Grom the 8 year old couldn't keep riding but WTF I just kept on riding anyway :D
What I learned today ...
• You gotta keep the kite moving on the jumps. That is to say, if you just dangle under it you'll collapse it ... if it's moving to a side, it stays stable and you'll have no trouble. Easier said than done sometimes :D
• It's easier to make a softer landing on the bigger jumps - did some of the biggest, longest, floatiest jumps to date an aside from a couple, I landed and rode away perfectly from them all!
• Sheet out as you're loading your edge then sheet in hard to pop straight up :D not sheeting out seems to make longer jumps.
• Redirection is crucial for a good landing - also seems to help orientate body and board correctly.
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