Went out to a spot I've been looking at for a while and wondering how long it'd take the groundskeeper to get shirty if I rolled up in there with a kite and board.
The answer is - a long time. Spent some time trying to fly my little Ozone Cult 3.5 and didn't even SEE a groundskeeper. The problem is, it's gusty as all hell and the topography of the surrounding area makes it so. Couldn't keep the Cult in the air. At one stage, the trees around the edges of the field were almost bent double and there was no wind on me at all ...
It's a pity, cos it's like 2 football fields long!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Chicken Gravy
It's not as good as gravy made from beef products but it's better than bloody custard.
Had a nice session tonight after work, till dark. Probably 10 to 15 knots when it was good. Working the Rebble like I was rowing a boat! So probably around 15 knots is a real good zone for the Reb, 10 knots is comfortable for working it. The park is still a bit rough for the wind though; even the northerly blowing across the lake must get ruffled by the stop-banks and the little housing estate 1km away :(
After a lot of doodling back and forth, caught a couple of gusts real good and got cracking for a few runs ... had my first true, controlled and intended power-slides tonight! 4 wheel drifting downwind as the kite powered up to the zenith ...! Whee!
Had a nice session tonight after work, till dark. Probably 10 to 15 knots when it was good. Working the Rebble like I was rowing a boat! So probably around 15 knots is a real good zone for the Reb, 10 knots is comfortable for working it. The park is still a bit rough for the wind though; even the northerly blowing across the lake must get ruffled by the stop-banks and the little housing estate 1km away :(
After a lot of doodling back and forth, caught a couple of gusts real good and got cracking for a few runs ... had my first true, controlled and intended power-slides tonight! 4 wheel drifting downwind as the kite powered up to the zenith ...! Whee!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Riders on the storm
... riders in front of the storm, maybe.
30 minute blast as the southerly rolled in and then put an end to my fun with rain. An exciting half hour though with strong and gusty winds, some fast runs and interesting slides to a stop as the gusts yanked me up, down and sideways. Packing up was fun too, I think I have a new method - sneak up behind the parked kite then jump on it and stuff it all into the bag before it knows what I'm doing and decided to fight back :D
30 minute blast as the southerly rolled in and then put an end to my fun with rain. An exciting half hour though with strong and gusty winds, some fast runs and interesting slides to a stop as the gusts yanked me up, down and sideways. Packing up was fun too, I think I have a new method - sneak up behind the parked kite then jump on it and stuff it all into the bag before it knows what I'm doing and decided to fight back :D
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Zeeko
New kite company's promo video for their 14m light wind kite, I guess. The foilboard at 2:29 is the interesting bit. Looks like fun :)
Notus 14LW E.R.A from zeeko on Vimeo.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
What is it when it's almost gravy?
Custard? I'm not a huge fan of custard, after all ...
Went to the park in a southerly. Supposed to be 10 knots but was not very much. Could get riding but couldn't get up the speed to really get cracking but it was better than nothing.
Weather looks crap till Wednesday next week. Fingers crossed.
Went to the park in a southerly. Supposed to be 10 knots but was not very much. Could get riding but couldn't get up the speed to really get cracking but it was better than nothing.
Weather looks crap till Wednesday next week. Fingers crossed.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
It was Winston Churchill ...
... who said that low-wind kiteboarding is the best way to ruin a nice walk. Or maybe he was talking about golf.
Skunked again ...! Poor little Rebble not up to the task ... that's ok cos I have a cheapo 12m Pansh Ace on the way :D
Skunked again ...! Poor little Rebble not up to the task ... that's ok cos I have a cheapo 12m Pansh Ace on the way :D
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Asking for trouble
Gusty, gusty and more gusty. Did I say it was gusty? Cos it was gusty. I mean REAL gusty not that lame kind of gusty but gusty. Need I say more?
Ok I do. My teachers at school called it "verbal diarrhea" and so will you. Stand back!
Took the Rebble out to the park to put the new PL handles Dino from Dakites on but I got all excited by the amount of wind there actually was and decided to ride instead of fiddle with lines. No kite-killers cos they're still on the Ozone, just the back-strap. I did have my new gloves on though :D bought them at a tools store for $12 - they've got nice soft leather palms. Blah blah anyway.
Also put the GoPro on the helmet; trying to find a good angle - last day's filming was a great view of my hands and the lines but no kite, like that old gag of the invisible dog dog-collar with a wire in it. I know what I mean. Or of my feet which was interesting maybe, if feet are your thing. Turned the camera on and forgot about it.
Phew, it was gusty but I think I mentioned that already. Lots of searching for the wind then fighting it when I found it. Seemed like I could only pick it up at either end of the field or only going left to right. Come to the conclusion that the back-strap is not the best kit in gusty winds - got yoinked a few times, got hauled downwind like I'm running down the side of a hill all giant steps and all. Then I was coming in to a stop and tried to slide but was off-balance and just let the kite go - so yes, the back-strap does come off over a helmet no problems. Got back on the horse, untangled the mess of bridle and kept going till dark with less entertaining cock-ups. Though my record of never falling off the landboard is still intact and Carl will say I'm not going hard enough and now I've jinxed myself bragging about it I'll probably take the skin off my elbows and bugger my shoulder next time I'm out. Oh well.
Was surprised to find that I got nearly the whole session on film, including the screw-ups. Once I've pruned out 49 minutes of boring crap, I'll post the remaining 2. Great bit of kit the GoPro, I've yet to charge the batteries since receiving it and done 2 days of filming, about 8Gb of movies.
Well, it was better than going home and sitting in front of the telly anyway.
Ok I do. My teachers at school called it "verbal diarrhea" and so will you. Stand back!
Took the Rebble out to the park to put the new PL handles Dino from Dakites on but I got all excited by the amount of wind there actually was and decided to ride instead of fiddle with lines. No kite-killers cos they're still on the Ozone, just the back-strap. I did have my new gloves on though :D bought them at a tools store for $12 - they've got nice soft leather palms. Blah blah anyway.
Also put the GoPro on the helmet; trying to find a good angle - last day's filming was a great view of my hands and the lines but no kite, like that old gag of the invisible dog dog-collar with a wire in it. I know what I mean. Or of my feet which was interesting maybe, if feet are your thing. Turned the camera on and forgot about it.
Phew, it was gusty but I think I mentioned that already. Lots of searching for the wind then fighting it when I found it. Seemed like I could only pick it up at either end of the field or only going left to right. Come to the conclusion that the back-strap is not the best kit in gusty winds - got yoinked a few times, got hauled downwind like I'm running down the side of a hill all giant steps and all. Then I was coming in to a stop and tried to slide but was off-balance and just let the kite go - so yes, the back-strap does come off over a helmet no problems. Got back on the horse, untangled the mess of bridle and kept going till dark with less entertaining cock-ups. Though my record of never falling off the landboard is still intact and Carl will say I'm not going hard enough and now I've jinxed myself bragging about it I'll probably take the skin off my elbows and bugger my shoulder next time I'm out. Oh well.
Was surprised to find that I got nearly the whole session on film, including the screw-ups. Once I've pruned out 49 minutes of boring crap, I'll post the remaining 2. Great bit of kit the GoPro, I've yet to charge the batteries since receiving it and done 2 days of filming, about 8Gb of movies.
Well, it was better than going home and sitting in front of the telly anyway.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Speed Units Converter
Speed Units Converter
This came in handy for making charts for my clipboard ;)
This came in handy for making charts for my clipboard ;)
Saturday, March 6, 2010
5 knots my eye : Round 2 - The Movie!
After I landed the Rebble, I pulled out the new Ozone Cult 3.5 that I especially got for high & gusty winds ... worked real nice and had a great time although it needed a touch more wind to park and ride.
... anyone know why my videos don't fill the YouTube screen?
... anyone know why my videos don't fill the YouTube screen?
Friday, March 5, 2010
Sometimes it pays to wait
There was a whiff of wind tonight, so I thought I'd go to the park and just have a play.
Arrived and there was more than a whiff - might be worth trying to board this after all! Unpacked the Rebble - which was a bit messy cos of the big wind I packed it away in last time ... I had just sorta stuffed the kite into the bag so in a sulk it had somehow contrived to wrap the right hand power and brake lines around and around themselves, so that was fun to sort out.
Anyway, got it in the air and gave it a go and was sort of wobbling back and forth for a while, which was fine - my arms and back were stiff from last time I was out. Yes I'm old and doddery. The back-strap seemed to be getting in the way of me flapping my arms around like a pre-pubescent seagull learning to fly (it's all about style you know) so I took it off and HELLO! who turned on the wind? Suddenly I got power to carve and edge and slide and stuff!
Once I was sure I wasn't imagining the strength of the wind, I put the back-strap back on and really got into it ... got maybe 30 minutes of hard-core (for me) runs back and forth, well-powered and even over-powered at times, gusty and twitchy though it was. So gusty, at one point the wind collapsed the kite and wrapped the left brake bridle around the right power bridle knot and made a great mess. The wet dirt added to the fun too; the rain last night had added soggy patches that sorta sloshed by under wheel.
Sorted out the bridle tangle and kept going till dark, then did some impressive (to me only) pendulum jumps and some - I don't know the name but you park the kite at zenith then apply the brakes and let it drop then power it up and jump as it shoot back up to the zenith - erm jumps.
Whee, was a good evening! Worth the wait, made a nice change from the wind just dying off as the sun sets.
Arrived and there was more than a whiff - might be worth trying to board this after all! Unpacked the Rebble - which was a bit messy cos of the big wind I packed it away in last time ... I had just sorta stuffed the kite into the bag so in a sulk it had somehow contrived to wrap the right hand power and brake lines around and around themselves, so that was fun to sort out.
Anyway, got it in the air and gave it a go and was sort of wobbling back and forth for a while, which was fine - my arms and back were stiff from last time I was out. Yes I'm old and doddery. The back-strap seemed to be getting in the way of me flapping my arms around like a pre-pubescent seagull learning to fly (it's all about style you know) so I took it off and HELLO! who turned on the wind? Suddenly I got power to carve and edge and slide and stuff!
Once I was sure I wasn't imagining the strength of the wind, I put the back-strap back on and really got into it ... got maybe 30 minutes of hard-core (for me) runs back and forth, well-powered and even over-powered at times, gusty and twitchy though it was. So gusty, at one point the wind collapsed the kite and wrapped the left brake bridle around the right power bridle knot and made a great mess. The wet dirt added to the fun too; the rain last night had added soggy patches that sorta sloshed by under wheel.
Sorted out the bridle tangle and kept going till dark, then did some impressive (to me only) pendulum jumps and some - I don't know the name but you park the kite at zenith then apply the brakes and let it drop then power it up and jump as it shoot back up to the zenith - erm jumps.
Whee, was a good evening! Worth the wait, made a nice change from the wind just dying off as the sun sets.
"Hey, fatty!"
"Got a big enough kite?"
Well, now I can answer that question ... like all good anoraks, I have a calculator, an anemometer and a chart and I'm not afraid to use them!
Peter Lynn Arc Wind Range Calculator
Mad props to mx5alan for making my life geekier!
Well, now I can answer that question ... like all good anoraks, I have a calculator, an anemometer and a chart and I'm not afraid to use them!
Peter Lynn Arc Wind Range Calculator
Mad props to mx5alan for making my life geekier!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
5 knots my eye - The Movie!
Went out last night after work - forecast was 5 knots. I think they confused the 5 knot Wednesday with the forecast 15 knots on Thursday ...! Took my GoPro HD for a test run & this is a result. Pruned lots of boring shit of me fiddling with lines in Windows Live Movie Maker.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Skunked
My 5m/s turned into nothing, due to a soggy surface and the wind dying off right as I set up - I swear :( So I put the Rebble away and went home. I need that Twister, Ed!
Had a nice tu-tu on Sunday though; took the Cult out for a test flight (thanks Rip!) and when it started rocking I figured it was worth unpacking the 19m Synergy. I was right - filled up nicer this time due to better wind and although it was borderline bottom end conditions, I got it up and flying.
Forgot the camera of course :( but had a few nice little jumps and some big ol' scuds - the beach looks like the farmers have been plowing it for planting :D And again, just as I've finished rolling the kite up, the wind picks up again ...!
Note to self - don't put car keys in the bottom of the bag and forget about them!
Had a nice tu-tu on Sunday though; took the Cult out for a test flight (thanks Rip!) and when it started rocking I figured it was worth unpacking the 19m Synergy. I was right - filled up nicer this time due to better wind and although it was borderline bottom end conditions, I got it up and flying.
Forgot the camera of course :( but had a few nice little jumps and some big ol' scuds - the beach looks like the farmers have been plowing it for planting :D And again, just as I've finished rolling the kite up, the wind picks up again ...!
Note to self - don't put car keys in the bottom of the bag and forget about them!
Monday, March 1, 2010
This is ...
... kitesurfing. AKA kiteboarding etc.
Big kite that floats, a bar, a harness and a wakeboard erm board. Or a surfboard for that matter. Oh of course, and wind and water. Fresh water is always better when you getting launched face first into it ...
Big kite that floats, a bar, a harness and a wakeboard erm board. Or a surfboard for that matter. Oh of course, and wind and water. Fresh water is always better when you getting launched face first into it ...
Say hello to ...
... the Kitewing.
Think of a symmetric windsurfing sail. Now you need something to roll on, and an assload of wind ... 5m/s or more, depending on the surface and vehicle. Less wind and skates on concrete will work but more wind is more fun. Yes.
Not as easy as it looks.
See?
A few minutes, later I did a Superman and took the skin of my elbows and mangled my shoulder again. The camera was off at the time though ...
Think of a symmetric windsurfing sail. Now you need something to roll on, and an assload of wind ... 5m/s or more, depending on the surface and vehicle. Less wind and skates on concrete will work but more wind is more fun. Yes.
Not as easy as it looks.
See?
A few minutes, later I did a Superman and took the skin of my elbows and mangled my shoulder again. The camera was off at the time though ...
Introducing ...
... kiteblading.
For this recipe you will need, a power kite, inline skates and an imbecile. Here's a 5.0m Peter Lynn Rebble and a pair of well-abused Mission Proto Vi skates I prepared earlier.
For this recipe you will need, a power kite, inline skates and an imbecile. Here's a 5.0m Peter Lynn Rebble and a pair of well-abused Mission Proto Vi skates I prepared earlier.
Welcome to the Bungle
This is going to be my kite-powered sports diary. Eventually, there'll be pictures and videos and stuff. But I'm what you might call an "Enthusiastic Beginner" so it'll probably be lots of boring rubbish that's really only interesting to me ...
I'm into this kite-thing in a multi-discipline way; stunt flying, kiteblading, snowkiting (one day!), landboarding and kitesurfing. I'd have a buggy and a dirtsurfer if the shipping wasn't so retarded expensive. I've got a Kitewing too which isn't a kite but is a wind toy and it's muy fun ... more later.
I'm into this kite-thing in a multi-discipline way; stunt flying, kiteblading, snowkiting (one day!), landboarding and kitesurfing. I'd have a buggy and a dirtsurfer if the shipping wasn't so retarded expensive. I've got a Kitewing too which isn't a kite but is a wind toy and it's muy fun ... more later.
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