Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Typhoon-powered Synergy

I did sneaked out of work at 10:15am and headed for the lake :D
Day 2 of the typhoon in the Pacific south of here, throwing up big wind but today the rain had cleared and the wind had eased off. A little. Got to the lake about 10:45am and checked the wind. Nukin' somewhat and probably way too much for the 16m Crossbow although I notice erm That Guy is out on his 15m Bandit.

I decide on a Synergy and as the wind was forecast to die off, chose the 19m ... you should have seen Auntie's eyes when I told her it was a 19!
Unpack, inflate, attach lines, try to launch and - Bowtie City, population me. WTF have I left the deflate zipper open or something? I manage to untangle bowties a couple of times, but it just won't open the wingtips when it gets into the air and now it's losing pressure and has done multiple twists. Leash the bar to a sand bag and untangle, check the lines. Meanwhile That Guy has landed his 15 cos he's over-powered ...

Trim in 1/2 way then try again - no worries to be launching! Ah, so that was the problem. Kite feels muy powered on the beach, should be a good session. Air temp on the roadside signs is 15 degrees C and of course the wind chill is healthy but the water still feels warm! Away we go, working the kite to get out from the shore - wind is directly onshore. Head out to the K-zone and start playing ...

Synergy is nicely powered; as I think it bloody should be, it's 19m of sail up in a large amount of wind! I guess but obviously I'm spoiled by the Cabrinha - bar pressure is ... substantial :D maybe I should stop trying to fly it like a Crossbow, muscling the bar in and hauling it around. I try to get into foil mode, turning the kite without sheeting in. Better. The arc was a good choice cos it's gusty as a mofo out here!

I'm not really feeling having to work the kite almost the whole time to make power and thoughts run through my head of selling all 3 Synergys :( Also, much harder to go upwind and keep the kite powered ... requires a lot of finesse on the bar and to not be choking it and keep the speed in it. Work it like you hate it goes through my head ...

Despite my struggles, I'm having fun - although I can't seem to jump as easy as I can on the 'bow. A few jumps are great but most are let-downs. One feels like about 5m or what I seem to remember as 5m from the view off the QEII diving board to the water ... but then the water at QEII was not rolling with whitecaps! One jump I guess I sent the kite properly and I went up like a fucking rocket WHEE! pity I didn't land it :D

Synergy on the Navigator bar flies nicely, and although it stills jelly-fishes when I "ride waves" or toddle off downwind, it's not as severe as with the Zero7 bar and there seems to be no chance of inverts.
The grip is grippy when wet although gets squeaky (WTF?) and I still prefer the Zero7 bar grip.
Depower on the cam-cleat is nice, that's a good change. I use it a little till I get used to the gusts and just ride them out, leaving the kite trimmed in just a smidge.
Spinning rotorhead thing is good too for the OCD in me to keep the safety line untwisted and clear.
Probably not related to the Navigator, but the kite went down at the edge of the window after I muffed another jump ... I'd just let go the bar totally. After get dragged a bit, my head popped above the water in time to watch the Synergy hit the water LE into the wind, tips clap together then literally bounce right back up into the air :D neat!

So, I got 2 and a half hours on the water in what GPV-weather.info tells me was 10-12m/s aka 20 to 24 knots but it had to be gusting over 30. Talking to Miyachi, he thought it was 15m/s gusting to 20 (30 gusting to 40 knots :o ) and he was looking at the live weather station feed from the windsurf club down the road. Most of the time, the Synergy 19 was powered fine but often required more board speed than I was comfy with in the conditions to really park'n'ride and I'm too lazy to work the kite that much ...

... mind you, with all that bar pressure and having to work the kite, it probably wasn't a bad thing cos it kept me warm. Once I got off the water and convinced Auntie to land the kite for me, I realized that my arms were cold as the rashguard was holding water in it's sleeves. Got back to the club house and had a quick shower and put my clothes back on and noticed how unbelievably cold my nuts were ... yikes.

What I learned today ...
• Trim in about 1/2 way when you try to launch the Synergy on the Navigator bar.
• Keep the Synergy moving and don't choke it by sheeting in hard when you want to go across wind.
• Don't sheet in when you want to turn the kite; just pull on that side and let the kite zoom through the turn.
• Be real aggressive with the Synergy when changing direction, flying lower across the window than you normally would with the 'bow or Silberpfeil.
• I guess like a C-kite you really have to work the board direction up- and downwind to keep speed up, you can't just sheet in and accelerate away ...
• Wear bloody sunblock you numpty! Ow.

Monday, October 25, 2010

The Royal Skunkage

Checked out the live cam at Locus and thought it might be worth a drive-by. Drove-by, thought it might be worth getting out of the car and having a closer look. Had a closer look and thought it might be worth unpacking the kite. Unpacked the kite and AH-HAHAHAHA says the God of Wind, here have this big skunk to go with your zebra pants.

:-/

Packed up and went home.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Epic, gusting to Stupid

Well from my point of view anyway ...!

Wind forecast was 5m/s on one site, 10m/s on the other - we got the latter, at the very least!

I'd wrangled a day off work and had headed down to the lake about 1:30pm. Got set up (gah! pumping) and ready to go just as the wind arrived around 2pm and two tacks saw me right upwind into the K-zone - out past the 100m markers from the beach. Aah, nicely powered so far! Oh but wait - here comes some more wind ...!

Initially, I seriously contemplated going home and getting my 15m Synergy as I ended up with the Crossbow trimmed right in and was fighting hard to keep an edge and go upwind but after the first jump, all thoughts of less power were yoinked from my mind!

What a rush! Straight up into the air higher than I'd ever been before and as I dangled there, I could feel the kite surging up even further but I sheeted out a little and gently lowered myself back to the water ... and so the tone was set for the next 3 hours or so! Massive jumps and long hangtimes with power enough for riding toe-side, carving the 'waves' on the lake and sliding turns miles downwind! Even landed a jump blind, by mistake and rode along for a bit thinking "WTF do I do now?" until I fell over, saving myself the hassle of trying to figure out how to turn around :D

Kept riding till just before dark, about 5:30pm now :( last one off the water and packed up on my own. The wind was still blowing good and I was jumping every chance I could but I was getting tired and was ending up on my ass more often ... still, what an epic days riding!

What I learned today ...
• My initial success at aerial transitions must have been Beginners Luck.
• Straps get loose too easy and my feet are fond of slipping out, leaving the board dangling from one foot :(
• Without my fooling around on the shore with the kites "jumping", I wouldn't have been quite so prepared to completely relax and enjoy the honking big air time I got today!
• It's much easier to land a jump you muff the launch up of, when you have time to move the kite or swing yourself around.
• Which is good, cos either the angle the waves were coming in on my 'goofy' side were messing up my take-offs or I'm not as ambidextrous as I thought I was! Totally fouled up jumping that way and it got worse as the day went on ...
• Watch the chicken loop! Somehow, mine had unhooked and I don't know for how long but I'd been riding around attached to the kite by nothing but the donkey dick :o
• Board speed + power in the kite + good carve to load the kite = mega-WHEE! so don't be a pussy and ride hard!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Sunday Slog

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

Friday, October 15, 2010

Friday Frash

Hmm, doesn't work as well as a title like "Thursday Thrash" does ...

Skipped out on work early and hit the lake, arriving about 3:30pm. Had to pump up the Crossbow cos the Silberpfeil is out of action. The wind up for sure, and I would have thought twice about launching ol' Relentless ... but probably would have anyway :D wind was forecast to drop off as sunset approached.

Back on the Crossbow was a bit of a shock! Felt like zero bar pressure after the Silberpfeil and turned a bunch faster - kite was all over the sky will I got my LEI touch back. Despite all the whitecaps though, there wasn't much excitement on shore with the 'bow ... hmm. Oh well into the water.

Got up and riding ok although it was a hard bloody slog trying to go upwind. Got a couple of line lengths off shore and just started riding beam tacks, playing around.

My jumping was off - different feel to the Speed, different technique too. I think a lot of my 'jumps' involved me just standing up and jumping off the water by myself, without the kite :D started to get the hang of using the kite after a while and had some nice floaty poppy jumps. Yes, very different to the Flysurfer! Gotta actually send the kite rather than just pulling in the bar! One great thing about the 'bow though ... I intentionally overflew it several times, swinging underneath it like a pendulum and of course it didn't collapse and didn't fall out of the sky too much either. Nice.

Tried some aerial transitions but couldn't get anything - best I got was not sinking as the kite changed directions. MUST have been beginners luck, that other day! Did manage to lob myself downwind at one point, ralley-esque with the board flying off my feet towards my head :o Also landed on my back hard too which was unpleasant but not painful - but I can see how people break ribs!

The wind died off and I had to slog to get back to shore, narrowly avoided having to walk! Oh how I do miss the Speed - I would have had another 30 minutes riding if I'd had the Silberpfeil in the air! Still, beats the ass off sitting in front of TV ;)

What I learned today ...
• I love my Flysurfer.
• I hate pumping.
• Need a helmet.
• Open your eyes when body-dragging - dragging headfirst into the board hurts.
• The 'bow is very fussy about body position or stance relative to making power.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

A session too far

Skivved off work and went to the lake. Got there about 3:30pm and unpacked the Silberpfeil and got on the water; just me and Auntie were there.

Tough slog to get upwind in the light breeze but I got a few line lengths off the beach in the direct onshore wind, then started playing. Wind picked up and I forced myself to try toeside both directions and toe- to heelside carving turns. Tried to jump higher and higher with the kite, which lead to a mixed bag of results :D A couple of times I collapsed the kite, once I dropped it and got it a little tangled but relaunched it fine. Several times I screwed up and slammed the kite LE down :(

Kept riding after the sun slipped behind the hills in the west and kept trying to jump ever higher ... guess I pushed it too far cos I ended up with my head underwater, ass in the air and must have slammed the kite LE down again real hard. Relaunched the kite and noticed it flew a bit odd and looked a bit odd so I recovered my board and rode back to the beach.

Landed the kite and found an A bridle line had ripped the knot off a LCL so I replaced that but when I relaunched, noticed that a rib on one side looked funny. Landed the kite again and checked it out - yikes, ripped it through the middle, LE to TE! Time to pack up ... just as well I did cos that was when I discovered that the Spare Parts line had be shredded - only the core was keeping a 40cm section together :o

Piss. So I got to send it away for repairs ... and will be forced to pump up my Xbow if I want to ride any more :(

What I learned today ...
• The Silberpfeil is not indestructable :D
• I need to figure out how to avoid nosediving the kite at full power ...
• Don't land jumps with your knees straight ...!
• Really tighten down the lower straps on my harness so it sits snug under my butt cheeks, then the leg straps tight then upper straps tight-ish ... eases the wedgie effect.
• Don't trust the stick in the ground to backstall land the kite - especially if it gets wrapped up into the safety release! Borntofli's method is much better ... walk down the FLS line.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Surprise sunset solo soul session

Headed down the lake after work, forecast was 5 m/s on one, 8 m/s on another ... no white caps on the water but the flag is fluttering. Miyachi says "You can ride now! You're the number one low wind rider now!" so egged on, I head to the beach with the Silberpfeil ... it's got to be about 4:45pm by now and the sun is sinking but don't you love how easy it is to unpack a Flysurfer? Roll it out, sand the trailing edge for a hot launch, check the bridles and launch!

Am surprised that there is passably good wind, enough to jump & float around so I take to the water. It's as flat as it's ever been but there's enough wind to ride a beam reach so I cruise around, enjoying the lake I have all to myself. Slowly the wind picks up enough from me to ride upwind a little and some guy with the Locus 2011 Crossbow 14m comes out to join me. I make silly buggers with jumps, having some fun, working the kite and practicing my light wind techniques ... all too easy with the big Speed & Flydoor.

Crossbow guy doesn't get away from the shore and has to walk a couple of times. Someone else pumps a North Rebel 16m up on the beach, but doesn't even bother getting wet and packs it back up after a few minutes. I'm still riding, having fun ;) seems although the wind isn't whipping up the water, there's enough to ride! A very nice surprise!

Miyachi comes out, takes the 'bow and rides for a half hour just before sunset and I chase him upwind - I'm faster and going more upwind! We pack it in as the light is starting to fade from the sky and we pack up in the gathering darkness. Probably got just over an hour on the water, but it was a great ride and I had the lake mostly to myself!

What I learned today ...
• The surprising low end of the Speed 2.5 still amazes me. I thought I'd be floundering around a bit, despite Miyachi's confidence!
• Even in light wind you can still yoink yourself and go floating downwind so far under the kite you can collapse it. Not a huge worry, as it can be relaunched piece of pie. Was a bit of a body drag to the board though and was tough to spot it in the gloom ... thought I was going to lose it :o
• When getting a wedgie, pull down the harness with the handle-pass strap thing ...

Monday, October 11, 2010

That's more like it!

Finished moving house today and headed to the lake at about 2pm ... one weather site was forecasting 8m/s from 12 and another 6 from 3. Turned out the latter was correct.

Waited around will about 2:45pm and the wind was starting to pick up. I launched ol' Relentless and waited on the beach while Grandad and the guy in the helmet tested the waters. Eventually decided to give it a shot and hit the lake myself about 10 minutes later.

Underpowered at first, but as I tacked out away from shore and the LEI users :D the wind picked up and then we had a good long run of I'd guess 2 hours ... just a tad underpowered for most of the time but very comfortable conditions, especially compared to yesterday. Good time cruising around, boosting "big" jumps and playing silly buggers. Not really enough wind to ride toeside (why do I need so much wind for that?!?) and I had to keep an eye on the kite.

I did my first 720! Left the board behind though which was a problem ... went floating downwind spinning around with my bum tea-bagging. That was when I bowtied the kite and spent a few minutes getting it back in the air again - much less than the guy with the F-One trying to relaunch :D had a long body drag upwind to get the board though ... have to say though, that without my experience with foils on land, I can imagine how tough it'd be for someone with only LEI experience to cope ...

Wind slowly died off around 5pm by my guestimates, and as the LEIs started dropping like flies I headed to the shore. left it a bit long and had to walk up the beach ... I'd nearly forgotten how to do that :D Reverse landed the Silberpfeil, and waited for a bit. Wind picked up a bit so I had another few runs out and back, mowing the lawn; getting annoyed at Lil Grom who has NO FUCKING CLUE about the water rules let alone basic politeness like RAISING YOUR KITE WHEN YOU'RE PASSING UPWIND and STOP WALKING OVER MY LINES you little maggot.

Packed up just on sunset. Satisfying day!

What I learned today ...
• A good springy carve sets up the best jumps!
• It is possible, like the archetypal cartoon, to jump straight up so fast that you just leave the board behind, floating on the water.
• 270 degrees of rotation does not a back roll make :( over-cooked an edge-load and as I took off, realized I was going to spin to tried to turn it into a 360 ... didn't work :D
• If you gotta bail, either ditch the board completely or lift your feet and land on your ass ... trying to get your feet under you when there's no hope of riding it out is bad for the ankles.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

WTF?!?

Forecast was for 6-7m/s (to hell with knots, I'm keeping it metric) one way weather page, 8-9m/s on another ... seems like we actually got 5.

... went down the beach about 1pm, pumped up my Crossbow and looked expectantly at the horizon. Big pile of S.F.A. Packed up the 'bow and unpacked the white monster - Silberpfeil has been unleashed!

Wind finally picked up enough for me and the aircraft carrier to get moving around 3pm then finally picked up good. Had some fun, was enough wind to try silly buggers (paragliding anyone) then suddenly all hell broke loose.

Mad wind, I'm wishing I had the 16 and trim the FS for full depower and tentatively give it some ... great lofty jumps, Batman! Suddenly, the winds dying off and suddenly I'm sailing through the air :o got yoinked off the water like a ragdoll ... tried to keep my feet under me but I'm coming in at a cocked up angle so I ditch the board and make big splash!

Recover board, then get moving again - wind is all over the place (apparently it changed direction) so I head for the shore thinking it'll die right off ... it does, I make it all the way in when the wind drops to nothing and the kite stalls, making a nice tangled mess in the weeds behind the sandy beach - but thankfully, NOT in the water or the shoreline where there's like, bamboo spears ready to rip holes in my shit.

Untangle kite, wind up lines and wait for the wind again. Picks up a bit later but was just teasing me and I dropped the kite in a mess again.

Finally, just before sunset the wind picks up ju-uuust enough that I can mow some lawns and was the sand off my lines ... pack up go home.

What I learned today ...
• Don't forget to put on sunblock. Dick.
• Really gusty wind is a handful with the Speed. Be prepared and stay cool.
• The FS chicken loop/safety system is absolute rubbish ... I gotta get another Ozone Megatron on there ASAP!
• You can never be too far away from learners.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Shore Whores - I can see you ... just ...

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.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Silberpfeil 2, Helix 0

Arrived at work early so I could still put in a full day but still skip out early. Got to the lake about 4:30pm and was a bit worried about the wind ... I only had the Silberpfeil in the car and I was thinking there was a bit too much wind for it. Forecast suggested 16 knots so it was in range but ...

... launched anyway :D bit strong but I'm not scared, I got hooj keewee. Great lofty paragliding on the beach by way of warming up :o hit the water, nicely powered.

Hit the water, motored upwind out to the K-zone.

Tried an aerial transition on my second turn and went swinging off under the kite, overflying and collapsing it ... doh! Great big tangled mess on the water ... started with a wingtip looped through the bridle, progressed to an invert, another tip looped through the bridle and another invert with a bowtie thrown in for good measure! Thanks to my experience with my foils on handles, I actually got it all untangled and relaunched, mostly by working the rear line(s). Seemed to fly fine so I kept riding :D

Got some toeside riding in which seems to need a lot of power on the FS, else it luffs. Wind was dropping off so went for more conventional riding. Started playing with sending the kite while jumping and trying to redirect, but it's a lot to coordinate for me at the moment. Dumped the kite in the drink again swinging under a jump ... and got it tangled up yet again! Got it untangled and launched before the guy who dropped his Helix could ... in fact, he had to drift into shore and get someone to help him :o now I think of it, I've never seen that guy relaunch that kite without help!

Kept riding till dark, and the wind was a bit up and down. Got really gusty just before sunset and had the unique experience of jumping, hovering then coming down to just touch the water before being picked up again! Whee! Also did some of my biggest jumps to date, landing and riding away from some of them too ... am getting enough hangtime to swing my legs around under me :o

Packed up as the sun slipped under the horizon and while paragliding on the beach, managed to bowtie the kite again ... dropped it to FLS, wrapped the safety around my board's grab-handle and laid the kite out, sanding the tip. Worked my way over the bridle and lines - no tangles (except for the twigs) ... groovy!

What I learned today ...
• Don't let the Silberpfeil overfly the window! So now silly tricks when you don't know what you're doing.
• It's easier to untangle/de-bowtie/uninvert the Silberpfeil with all it's bridling than it is to unmess an arc :o
• It's starting to get cold. Wind chill is noticeable - if I think about it! I'm usually having to much fun to notice :D

Friday, October 1, 2010

Junkies, aren't we all!

My weaseling is better than yours! Not only did I get two hours off work, I got paid for it too :D legit and all!

Left work at 2pm and headed to the lake, got the kite in the air about about 2:45pm. The only other person there was Grandad, setting up his biggest kite. Side launched ol' Relentless and it filled almost instantly ... dunno what went on there. Waited around for a bit but the wind seemed shit so I grabbed the board and hit the water.

Now, I was thinking that the "Walk of Shame" should really be called the "Walk of Can Go Upwind But There's Just Not Enough Wind And It's Not My Fault" but then I realized that the Shame is in being so desperate for a ride that you go out in what you KNOW you can't ride upwind in. Kind of like taking home the fat bird from the pub at the end of the night.

200m walk.
100m walk.
50m walk.
Not walking any more!

Ride around having good fun for an hour or so, then the wind drops off again. I'm still getting back to the launch spot but it's getting to be hard work. Get out of the water for a few minutes for a drink then the wind comes up. Ride until just after sunset! Another 3 hours under my belt. The regular addicts turned up gradually about 5pm.
Yet again, I'm the last person walking, the first person going upwind and you can just see it going through their minds - "Hey look fattie out riding upwind and playing, we can too ... holy shit why won't my kite stay in the air? Why can't I get up on a plane? Why am I walking? What's wrong here?" :D

Pulled a couple of the biggest jumps I've ever done today ... got more aggressive with the kite than normal and it was hang time baby yeah! Landed one, crashed the other on landing. Made some half-hearted attempts at aerial transitions. Loving popping over waves and noodling around, carving up the backs and fronts.

Got that Flysurfer feeling again today - shooting across someone struggling to get up on the board's wake at 45° into the wind :D What good fun!

What I learned today ...
• Light wind is bloody hard work : holding a good stance and trying to make the most of the power is killer on the legs!
• It may be related to sore legs, but my stance goes to hell when there's not enough wind to just stand on the back of the board and shoot upwind!
• The Silberpfeil actually works around the sky pretty good and fast; just go easy on the sheeting.
• Bindings don't stay bloody tight for more than about an hour >:( stupid things!