Everyone was telling me on Friday about how great Saturday was going to be, but I had to work and couldn't find a sub ... Sunday was supposed to be ok though so went out for lunch with the wife and she came down to the lake with me.
We sat around waiting for the wind which was due at 3pm. Hiro-chan did his homework, the wife poured over the shopping catalog (we need curtains), people sat around talking or watching DVDs in someone's car. I was productive and tested some ideas for a depower line with core ... looks like I've got a working prototype! Wind finally started to pick up around 3:30pm so there was a mass migration from the carpark to the beach.
The wind was picking up so I pumped like a schoolboy on his first hot date and rigged quickly, only to join everyone else in standing looking at the horizon like the Moai statues of Easter Island ...! Finally, someone hit the water. They were slogging so we all waited. And waited ...
... finally the wind picked up enough that I wanted to give it a shot. Fail. Back on shore, more waiting with the kite parked at the edge of the window. Finally, people were looking powered. Damn, if I'd had the Speed 2.5 I'd have been riding already!
Finally get on the water! Nicely powered on the Crossbow so I throw some jumps to show off to the wife :D Later, she tells me that the best ones were over my head in height and the rest were above waist height ... she was impressed with my progress since the last time she saw me ride - my ego is suitably massaged ;) despite my laughable attempts!
Fight my way upwind away from the pack and proceed to play. Enjoy some toeside riding and carving turns, still can't nail the aerial transition ... pushing way out past the beach to make the most of the wind but it's dropping again and I don't want to get out here with a downed kite, drifting into the trees like Mr Helix did on Friday.
Slog back onto the shore in the falling wind and check the time - sun is just brushing the top of the hills, must have had about 90 minutes on the water. Hmm, may be time to call it a day. Wife has headed back to the car cos the wind is cold. I land the kite and start to pack up ... naturally, as soon as I empty the LE bladder the wind picks up :/
I'm walking to pick up my board before heading back to the car when So comes in and drops his kite - it looks like he's in a paddy, but as I get closer I see he's opened a cut above his eye and is bleeding. Turns out he smacked himself in the head with his board! He goes back to his car and calls around for a hospital (long story, it's how things are done here ...!) and I pack his kite up for him - I owed him one for packing up the Phantom when I busted my wrist!
So not a bad day, but I would've had another hour on the Silberpfeil ...
What I learned today ...
• Getting my boost-thing down with the 'bow ... nowhere near as much hangtime as ol' Relentless but it's pretty good. Use kite speed to lift, not sheeting in hard ...
• Much easier to ride toeside as the 'bow is more inclined to keep pulling downwind. I think a lot of that is to do with the Speed - when I switch the board around, the increased drag shoots the Speed forward in the window and I lose power, trying to ride downwind with a kite that is trying to go as far upwind as it can ...!
• I really must start jumping on flat water - or stop boosting up the face of waves - cos I'm sure it's reinforcing bad habits :D
• My "lifting the leg" muscles have finally developed - I can swing my legs up without feeling like an old man :D
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