Irene or her bastard off-spring delivered the goods. Or at least, that's what the forecast said was going to happen. Comes with a side-order of rain but I thought I'd chance it. Headed over to Tsu and got the rain in the mountains - was hoping that had come early and left fair weather at the beach ...
When I got to the beach, Ji-chan was coming in telling me his 12 was over-powered. I measured the wind - 12m/s at the peak, and it was supposed to pick up by 4pm. I rigged my 10m cos I'm a chicken.
Just as I got into the water, the wind dropped. No go with the 10 at all.
Stood around for a bit looking at the horizon ... decided to pump up the 16. Got onto the water for a 1/2 hour or so having fun, but the wind dropped right off again so I gave up ... started wishing I had the Silberpfeil ... wind picked up a little and I went back out, then after 15 minutes it picked right up again! I swapped the 16 for the 10 and - believe it or not - was nicely powered ... for the most part.
It was gusty as all hell though, and it oscillated between having to work the hell out of the kite (and stalling it a lot) or being over-powered ... in between was great though.
I swear, I did some of the biggest jumps I've ever done too! I only got dropped a couple of times, and thankfully I was near the water anyway. Love the Crossbows! But still got numerous spankings - I just can't cope with the smaller sizes :D although I made enough power out of working it to ride, which was interesting.
Did some back-rolls (causes of the spankings) and some were stylish ... the waves were big and crisp and we actually had quite a lot of flat water in between, due to the beach shape and tide level I guess. Lot less choppy than it has been. There was a nice big spot to the RHS of the concrete pier thing and I got some good jumps off the flat water there.
The wind was all over the place though. The kite started doing weird things and around 4:30pm decided to just nose-dive into the surf and refused to launch. I got dragged into shore and had to sort it all out and relaunch from there. Decided I'd had enough so walked back to the landing area ...
Y'know how I'm always going on about how stupid people are and you're probably thinking I'm just being an arsehole? Well get this ... While landing the now floppy kite (water sucked all the pressure out of it!!!) and the assistant struggling to get it over, Mr. Cool, his missus and their two dogs walk back to the carpark - directly into my lines. Assistant is still trying to get the kite under control (it's flopping around over his head) but they just walk straight into my lines then start lifting them over their heads like they've walked into a washing line 0_o thank god he got the kite down cos if it had powered up ... morons.
So despite the bizarre wind, the gustiness and the sucky nose-dive, it was pretty good riding. Some guy even said "Hey Bob nice big jumps!" although I don't know who Bob is ...?!
Moment of the Day was all those times I jumped in front of the white water, boosted up over the wave and rode away on the other side :D the breaking waves had a really funny texture on the backside of it, all rough and lumpy like riding over gravel.
Wind speed was reported at Tsu as 7.1 to 9.0 m/s between 2 and 5pm (up and down) with gusts of 14m/s. I'd say we averaged about more like the 20 knots when I was riding the 10, with frequent gusts above it. I occasionally felt over-powered on the 10 so I'm guessing we actually got 30 knots as the water's edge ...
What I learned today ...
• Small, fast kites + big wind = huge jumps ... easily!
• Despite feeling under-powered at times, I think I chose the right kite - in the end.
• It'll be a Mako King I need.
• Bend at the knees, not at the waist to load the edge. Or at least, don't bend so much at the waist that you drag your ass in the water and kill your jump :(
• Best kites - not so best, actually. Another one flying like it was broken. And that was a brand new model too :o
• Even small kites won't relaunch when they're underwater. And they get soggy too.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Tsu delivers!
So the weather looked crap on the forecasts but I was desperate, so in a snap decision at 12 I decided to go to Tsu & pray that the wind would pick up in the afternoon, like the guys at the lake were saying the other day. Wife decided to come too ...
Got to the beach at about 2pm ... checked the wind and we were getting 4 to 6 m/s with dips to 2 ... yikes.
A few people I know - Taki, Boofhead, Auntie & Uncle and Junkie-Sensei with his Turbine are here. Bunch of kites I don't know - a poos brown Zephyr and well well a Blade Fat Lady ... nobody is having much luck it seems, they're all walking.
Unpack the Silberpfeil and the Flydoor. Clean up a patch of beach to launch from :o and have at it. It's ok on the starboard tack, current works with me but I'm only holding my ground ... everyone else is walking though ;) wind gradually picks up till we're having a good time and going upwind nicely.
Wife has the camera so I lay down some back rolls (easy now) and attempt exactly 4 front rolls. I get around but land ass-first on 2 attempts, one is utterly perfect (camera missed it of course) and the other one - I boosted too high and although I muffed the rotation, I slowly windmilled around through the jump to land the right way ... it would have been ugly though :o Also came close to landing a few double rotations ... nearly!
So it turned into a pretty good day.
Dropped the kite a couple of times, once on shore but my luck held and I managed to avoid all the boards, rubbish and logs to relaunch without hassle. When it came time to land though, both Boofhead and Uncle conspired to block my landing site and I had to dump it in a spot I hadn't scoped out so when it went messy, I dumped to FDS. Tangled the lines up a bit so decided removing the lines and sorting it like an LEI was the easiest way - which it was - but later the wife said that 2 guys she was sitting near while I was doing this had a conversation that went somethinng like this ... "What's that thing? You ever seen a kite like that?" "No." "Looks like a total nightmare, all tangled up - I wouldn't have one." ... took me the same time to 'untangle' the bridle as it does to lay out LEI lines. And anyway boys - enjoy your walks? ;)
Moment of the Day was either landing that messy front roll, or starting a back roll at the bottom of a meter or so wave, spinning over the top and riding down the back side ... classy!
Wind speed was recorded as 7 to 13 knots from 1 to 5pm, with gusts to 16 at around 4:30 ... makes sense, that's when I was starting to feel a bit over-powered.
What I learned today ...
• You gotta commit to the rolls - no snap decisions or half-assed attempts.
• Back-rolls - too easy! Now I gotta go HIGHER!
• Still want a Mako for the chop.
Got to the beach at about 2pm ... checked the wind and we were getting 4 to 6 m/s with dips to 2 ... yikes.
A few people I know - Taki, Boofhead, Auntie & Uncle and Junkie-Sensei with his Turbine are here. Bunch of kites I don't know - a poos brown Zephyr and well well a Blade Fat Lady ... nobody is having much luck it seems, they're all walking.
Unpack the Silberpfeil and the Flydoor. Clean up a patch of beach to launch from :o and have at it. It's ok on the starboard tack, current works with me but I'm only holding my ground ... everyone else is walking though ;) wind gradually picks up till we're having a good time and going upwind nicely.
Wife has the camera so I lay down some back rolls (easy now) and attempt exactly 4 front rolls. I get around but land ass-first on 2 attempts, one is utterly perfect (camera missed it of course) and the other one - I boosted too high and although I muffed the rotation, I slowly windmilled around through the jump to land the right way ... it would have been ugly though :o Also came close to landing a few double rotations ... nearly!
So it turned into a pretty good day.
Dropped the kite a couple of times, once on shore but my luck held and I managed to avoid all the boards, rubbish and logs to relaunch without hassle. When it came time to land though, both Boofhead and Uncle conspired to block my landing site and I had to dump it in a spot I hadn't scoped out so when it went messy, I dumped to FDS. Tangled the lines up a bit so decided removing the lines and sorting it like an LEI was the easiest way - which it was - but later the wife said that 2 guys she was sitting near while I was doing this had a conversation that went somethinng like this ... "What's that thing? You ever seen a kite like that?" "No." "Looks like a total nightmare, all tangled up - I wouldn't have one." ... took me the same time to 'untangle' the bridle as it does to lay out LEI lines. And anyway boys - enjoy your walks? ;)
Moment of the Day was either landing that messy front roll, or starting a back roll at the bottom of a meter or so wave, spinning over the top and riding down the back side ... classy!
Wind speed was recorded as 7 to 13 knots from 1 to 5pm, with gusts to 16 at around 4:30 ... makes sense, that's when I was starting to feel a bit over-powered.
What I learned today ...
• You gotta commit to the rolls - no snap decisions or half-assed attempts.
• Back-rolls - too easy! Now I gotta go HIGHER!
• Still want a Mako for the chop.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Vexing Venturi
Wind looked good at 1pm but I had to go to the dump and they dicked me around with their brain-damaged system so I didn't get to the lake until 3pm - had to clean the car (ants & termites in the trash!) and repack with kite gear ...
Set out with the Naish Venturi race board - biggest size, 190x70 0_o - on loan from Naish and yadda yadda long story. By the time I got to the lake, the wind had dropped to 6 knots - the SA2 stayed in the sky easily though. Had a tack out on the Flydoor to see what was up - slogging out, slow run back to shore from like 10m out. Got into the water with the race board ...
Yikes what a monster! Big, wide, floaty. Tried to water start with feet in both straps on the windward rail but the tail would sink and I'd get lobbed over the other side. Ended up putting my front foot in the center of the board (riding strapless!) and got a few rides like that but there wasn't enough wind I think.
Put a rear strap in the center and that was easier to get up but still not really riding. At this stage, it has no more bottom end than the Flydoor. Fins feel really draggy, but turn hard when ahem I unbalance myself and turn the board. Easy to kick them under the water. And hitting water weed is like running into a wall. Miyachi reckons it's easier to start with the front foot in, and the rear foot out of the straps and just ahead of them, on the rail. We'll see.
Aside from the frustrations of cutting the toe I dropped a brick on yesterday (!) and dropping the kite in the water, then the board floating into the lines so I couldn't relaunch, I think I'll try it again.
Moment of the Day was non-existent. Pretty dull all round.
Wind speed was recorded as 6 to 4 knots but it was down to 2 I reckon - flag barely moving, couldn't keep the kite in the air without working it ...
What I learned today ...
• Race boards - not as easy as they look like they should be ... I mean really, the thing is as big as an aircraft carrier, it should be child's play!
Set out with the Naish Venturi race board - biggest size, 190x70 0_o - on loan from Naish and yadda yadda long story. By the time I got to the lake, the wind had dropped to 6 knots - the SA2 stayed in the sky easily though. Had a tack out on the Flydoor to see what was up - slogging out, slow run back to shore from like 10m out. Got into the water with the race board ...
Yikes what a monster! Big, wide, floaty. Tried to water start with feet in both straps on the windward rail but the tail would sink and I'd get lobbed over the other side. Ended up putting my front foot in the center of the board (riding strapless!) and got a few rides like that but there wasn't enough wind I think.
Put a rear strap in the center and that was easier to get up but still not really riding. At this stage, it has no more bottom end than the Flydoor. Fins feel really draggy, but turn hard when ahem I unbalance myself and turn the board. Easy to kick them under the water. And hitting water weed is like running into a wall. Miyachi reckons it's easier to start with the front foot in, and the rear foot out of the straps and just ahead of them, on the rail. We'll see.
Aside from the frustrations of cutting the toe I dropped a brick on yesterday (!) and dropping the kite in the water, then the board floating into the lines so I couldn't relaunch, I think I'll try it again.
Moment of the Day was non-existent. Pretty dull all round.
Wind speed was recorded as 6 to 4 knots but it was down to 2 I reckon - flag barely moving, couldn't keep the kite in the air without working it ...
What I learned today ...
• Race boards - not as easy as they look like they should be ... I mean really, the thing is as big as an aircraft carrier, it should be child's play!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Skunked but productive ... sorta.
Looked like enough wind to try a ride on the web cam, so I trotted down to the beach.
Got talking to Miyachi and it turns out that all the Naish gear at the club has been sent by Naish Japan to Locus so that the club is a Naish demo place. This includes Parks, Chargers and 3 2012 Venturi's ... so while Miyachi was setting up the biggest one for me, I went to the beach ...
No riding but I also had my anemometer with me so I have some data at least ...
Moment of the Day was getting the biggest Venturi set up just for me!
Wind speed was recorded as 4 to 6 knots. I concur.
What I learned today ...
• The Speed 2.5 Silver Arrow will fly in 1 to 2 knots but you have to work it. Basically, if you can feel the wind, the kite will fly.
• At 4 to 6 knots (solid average of 5 knots) you can get up on a plane but will lose it as you have to turn the kite to re-stroke. I'm thinking a high volume board with float will keep you rolling and let you build up apparent wind ... hence me bugging Miyachi about Venturi.
• That leads me to conclude that at 8 knots I can be riding downwind and by 10 knots holding a beam reach easily, probably going upwind. That my fat ass on the Flydoor XL.
No riding but I also had my anemometer with me so I have some data at least ...
Moment of the Day was getting the biggest Venturi set up just for me!
Wind speed was recorded as 4 to 6 knots. I concur.
What I learned today ...
• The Speed 2.5 Silver Arrow will fly in 1 to 2 knots but you have to work it. Basically, if you can feel the wind, the kite will fly.
• At 4 to 6 knots (solid average of 5 knots) you can get up on a plane but will lose it as you have to turn the kite to re-stroke. I'm thinking a high volume board with float will keep you rolling and let you build up apparent wind ... hence me bugging Miyachi about Venturi.
• That leads me to conclude that at 8 knots I can be riding downwind and by 10 knots holding a beam reach easily, probably going upwind. That my fat ass on the Flydoor XL.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
A little bit of ...
... wind.
... riding.
... walking.
... back loops.
... front loops.
... little jumps - very little.
... back roll transitions.
Huzzah for the Speed2 19!
Moment of the Day was nailing a perfect front roll.
Wind speed was recorded as 4 to 6 knots with gusts to 12. I reckon it was about 8 knots on average; I spent a lot of time working hard to get upwind and even then had to walk. The only people going upwind were the tiny men on giant directionals and the guy on the race board.
What I learned today ...
• Front rolls - you need a good jump and you need to launch vertically and you need to really stomp and jump off the back foot.
• Mind you, same goes for all jumps on the foil. I really lost my mojo lately for just regular jumps.
... riding.
... walking.
... back loops.
... front loops.
... little jumps - very little.
... back roll transitions.
Huzzah for the Speed2 19!
Moment of the Day was nailing a perfect front roll.
Wind speed was recorded as 4 to 6 knots with gusts to 12. I reckon it was about 8 knots on average; I spent a lot of time working hard to get upwind and even then had to walk. The only people going upwind were the tiny men on giant directionals and the guy on the race board.
What I learned today ...
• Front rolls - you need a good jump and you need to launch vertically and you need to really stomp and jump off the back foot.
• Mind you, same goes for all jumps on the foil. I really lost my mojo lately for just regular jumps.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Why did I bother?
Cos I couldn't possibly know till after the fact.
Went to the lake for the 2pm fun fest of 12 to 16 knots. Got something.
Put up the 16m Xbow. The wind was blowing but it wasn't pushing.
Put up the Speed2 19. Still not enough wind then HOLY CRAP gusty slam invert yoink splash give up.
Got back on the Xbow. A little better but not much - no jumping fun, took all my effort just to get riding.
Wind drops off. Think about putting up the Speed2 again - already packed it up once though.
Wind comes back so I go back out. It's better for a short while and I'm starting to have fun when suddenly I'm over-powered on the Flydoor, so I grab the 'radical but I'm not loving that cos it just sprays in my face non-stop. I go back to grab the Flydoor as the sun is starting to set and get skunked. Can't relaunch the fucking 'bow and now my lines are caught in water weeds underwater so that's fucked.
Wade to shore, now the kite is soggy and covered in sand and my lines are a bunch of knots. It's getting dark, I'm getting bitten by mosquitos ... why did I bother today? I got no satisfaction at all :(
Moment of the Day was the beer when I got home.
Wind speed was recorded as 10 to 14 knots with gust over 20 ... and shifted from NE to NW. Crappy.
What I learned today ...
• LEI can still get soggy and be useless.
• You can recover and inverted Speed2. Thank god.
• Front rolls - still hard.
• Back rolls - dialed in ... maybe. Easier with the 'bows on the redirects that's for sure.
• I'm starting to hate the Flyradical - going to change the footpads around and see if that helps :(
Put up the 16m Xbow. The wind was blowing but it wasn't pushing.
Put up the Speed2 19. Still not enough wind then HOLY CRAP gusty slam invert yoink splash give up.
Got back on the Xbow. A little better but not much - no jumping fun, took all my effort just to get riding.
Wind drops off. Think about putting up the Speed2 again - already packed it up once though.
Wind comes back so I go back out. It's better for a short while and I'm starting to have fun when suddenly I'm over-powered on the Flydoor, so I grab the 'radical but I'm not loving that cos it just sprays in my face non-stop. I go back to grab the Flydoor as the sun is starting to set and get skunked. Can't relaunch the fucking 'bow and now my lines are caught in water weeds underwater so that's fucked.
Wade to shore, now the kite is soggy and covered in sand and my lines are a bunch of knots. It's getting dark, I'm getting bitten by mosquitos ... why did I bother today? I got no satisfaction at all :(
Moment of the Day was the beer when I got home.
Wind speed was recorded as 10 to 14 knots with gust over 20 ... and shifted from NE to NW. Crappy.
What I learned today ...
• LEI can still get soggy and be useless.
• You can recover and inverted Speed2. Thank god.
• Front rolls - still hard.
• Back rolls - dialed in ... maybe. Easier with the 'bows on the redirects that's for sure.
• I'm starting to hate the Flyradical - going to change the footpads around and see if that helps :(
Monday, August 15, 2011
DIY - this time, QR and CL
Thought I could add the Switch QR/CL to the PL Navigator bars ... a mixed bag of results. Here's why ...
• The QR/CL uses the same double depower rope and safety through the center - that all works fine, plugs'n'plays no worries.
• The PL CL has a larger diameter hole (7 or 8mm versus 5mm) through the body to cope with the heat-shrink that covers the line where the thicker safety joins the thinner safety - that gets stuck at the hole to the Switch QR body. I cut the heat-shrink off and it glides through fine ... the stitching could probably be improved with some whipping if necessary. I tried to drill the hole out - I got it out to 5.5mm but then my drill bits were melting and the tube was deforming :o
• Solution to the hole problem : drill it out (meh) or replace the entire safety line with the 3mm Amsteel. Which makes me wonder why they didn't do that in the first place ...? The only issue I see of NOT drilling it out, is if you go for a shortened V setup - it may not get through easy :(
http://switchkites.com/warehouse_comp/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=67
Oh I've just noticed that they've dropped the Complete QR from their parts page ... so basically, all this is moot. Sucky.
EDIT : back up. Great!
I'll try the whole thing out on a light wind day, anyway. So there you have it. And here are the pics ...
• Solution to the hole problem : drill it out (meh) or replace the entire safety line with the 3mm Amsteel. Which makes me wonder why they didn't do that in the first place ...? The only issue I see of NOT drilling it out, is if you go for a shortened V setup - it may not get through easy :(
http://switchkites.com/warehouse_comp/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=67
Oh I've just noticed that they've dropped the Complete QR from their parts page ... so basically, all this is moot. Sucky.
EDIT : back up. Great!
I'll try the whole thing out on a light wind day, anyway. So there you have it. And here are the pics ...
Switch QR/CL
Peter Lynn Navigator QR/CL
The tricky bits ... pull the cam cleat out of the sock, note that the depower line is finished with a square-knot and sheep-shanked to the cleat and that the stopper ball is knotted with a bow-line. Easy o_0
Then undo the square-knot and feed it all out.
Then undo the square-knot and feed it all out.
Loop the depower line around the swivel in the Switch QR/CL then reassemble. Note the order. And note that the stopping slider block in default configuration has the holes closer together at the bar end ... make sure to get the square-knot and sheep-shank tight and compact.
Finished!
UPDATE
After a bout of paranoia, I went back to the PL chicken loop - the hole through the Switch QR just wasn't big enough and required removal of the heat shrink covering the stitched loops of the safety line to fit through. Which got me worried about wear on the ends ... I should probably find a way to nicely splice them into each other.
In the interim, I've decided that I need to either drill the hole out PROPERLY with a drill press and some lube before I attempt it again.
Also, I've realized that the somewhat bulky and messy (IMHO) cam cleat could be replaced with the Switch "Regulator" and offer adjustable depower throw and trim range :D
... a project for the coming winter ;)
Friday, August 12, 2011
Cabrinha demo day
Again the forecast didn't promise much but the lake delivered much better. Headed down about 2pm I think, jumped onto the water with the Silberpfeil ... not much wind, fighting to hold my ground and doing even a single roll lost too much downwind for a while. Eventually, the wind picked up to the point where the SA was too much.
Packed it up and stood around hoping to get out with the Cabrinha kites. The 'salesmen' weren't too friendly, and didn't seem interested in talking to people off their own bat - I thought if you're trying to sell a couple grands worth of fabric, you'd be kissing customer ass, not trying to get them to kiss yours ...? Also, note to Cabrinha - you should probably employ people who know the difference between front and rear lines or are at least smart enough to keep their mouths shut instead of trying to be the BMOC around my Flysurfer. Especially, when they can't even relaunch their own kites :o
Thanks to Miyachi and the wife hassling them, I finally got a go on the 2012 Switchblade 14. And then the Crossbow 13 LightWind and finally, the Vector 12 ... here are some thoughts.
• Like the new bar - looks tight. Didn't bother playing with the QR cos daylight was fading ...
• I don't get why everyone at our beach & almost every other kiter with Cabs has Switchblades, except for a few Converts and Nomads and that one other guy in Mie with the Xbow ... the sheeting bar-pressure was as bad as my Xbow 16 (which isn't as bad as the Speed2 19 ...?!? ) and it wasn't that powerful. Didn't really improve much when it was worked. It did turn about it's own axis though, and relaunched the same off the water - dead easy.
• The XB 13 LW on the other hand was lovely - just like mine ;) maybe felt a tad smoother but that might have been just coming from the SB. Much easier to get bigger and longer jumps ...
• the Vector 12 was a surprise - very fast kite ... like, once you let it accelerate in a given direction, it was off like a freakin' rocket! Bit of canopy flutter when redirecting jumps ... the whole thing reminded me of a Charger with less bar pressure. Nice kite, I liked it.
Pretty good, the wind picked up nicely and despite having to chase some guy out from under where I was trying to land the SA2 when over-powered, it was fun. I'm going to be wrecked tomorrow though, my arms are already killing me! The wife had even come down to watch for a while too ...
Got back to the car ... huh, the door is locked I could swear I left my keys in there. Searched the beach, the lake ... nothing. Called the wife, she came back after she'd finished work at 8pm and guess what - she'd left a chocolate goodie on the seat and then locked my door with her keys - sealing mine inside. Doh.
Moment of the Day was busting front and back rolls with no problems at all! Success rate now up to 75% :D
Wind speed was recorded as 8 to 12 knots with a peak of 15 ... hmm, seemed like more than that! I would have guess 20knots in the afternoon ...!
What I learned today ...
• You really gotta explode off the back foot for front rolls - and keep your foot in the strap >_O a few times, the board went whipping around only attached to one foot. Not fun.
• The faster turning foils are ... interesting ... for rotations. I had less success with them in general, but more success with riding away from the good ones as the kite redirects much quicker. There was one time that I pendulumed under the kite as it went from one side of the wind to the other - I like that fine when I'm trying to do BFJ but when I'm spinning under the kite - yikes!
Packed it up and stood around hoping to get out with the Cabrinha kites. The 'salesmen' weren't too friendly, and didn't seem interested in talking to people off their own bat - I thought if you're trying to sell a couple grands worth of fabric, you'd be kissing customer ass, not trying to get them to kiss yours ...? Also, note to Cabrinha - you should probably employ people who know the difference between front and rear lines or are at least smart enough to keep their mouths shut instead of trying to be the BMOC around my Flysurfer. Especially, when they can't even relaunch their own kites :o
Thanks to Miyachi and the wife hassling them, I finally got a go on the 2012 Switchblade 14. And then the Crossbow 13 LightWind and finally, the Vector 12 ... here are some thoughts.
• Like the new bar - looks tight. Didn't bother playing with the QR cos daylight was fading ...
• I don't get why everyone at our beach & almost every other kiter with Cabs has Switchblades, except for a few Converts and Nomads and that one other guy in Mie with the Xbow ... the sheeting bar-pressure was as bad as my Xbow 16 (which isn't as bad as the Speed2 19 ...?!? ) and it wasn't that powerful. Didn't really improve much when it was worked. It did turn about it's own axis though, and relaunched the same off the water - dead easy.
• The XB 13 LW on the other hand was lovely - just like mine ;) maybe felt a tad smoother but that might have been just coming from the SB. Much easier to get bigger and longer jumps ...
• the Vector 12 was a surprise - very fast kite ... like, once you let it accelerate in a given direction, it was off like a freakin' rocket! Bit of canopy flutter when redirecting jumps ... the whole thing reminded me of a Charger with less bar pressure. Nice kite, I liked it.
Pretty good, the wind picked up nicely and despite having to chase some guy out from under where I was trying to land the SA2 when over-powered, it was fun. I'm going to be wrecked tomorrow though, my arms are already killing me! The wife had even come down to watch for a while too ...
Got back to the car ... huh, the door is locked I could swear I left my keys in there. Searched the beach, the lake ... nothing. Called the wife, she came back after she'd finished work at 8pm and guess what - she'd left a chocolate goodie on the seat and then locked my door with her keys - sealing mine inside. Doh.
Moment of the Day was busting front and back rolls with no problems at all! Success rate now up to 75% :D
Wind speed was recorded as 8 to 12 knots with a peak of 15 ... hmm, seemed like more than that! I would have guess 20knots in the afternoon ...!
What I learned today ...
• You really gotta explode off the back foot for front rolls - and keep your foot in the strap >_O a few times, the board went whipping around only attached to one foot. Not fun.
• The faster turning foils are ... interesting ... for rotations. I had less success with them in general, but more success with riding away from the good ones as the kite redirects much quicker. There was one time that I pendulumed under the kite as it went from one side of the wind to the other - I like that fine when I'm trying to do BFJ but when I'm spinning under the kite - yikes!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Taking a spin in the light wind
Damned blogger has lost my entire post :( not impressed again.
In summary ...
Went to lake at 1pm. Played with Charger 19 for an hour - good kite, launched with less than full inflation fairly easily, flies nice in light wind so long as it's moving.
Wind picks up, ride with the Silberpfeil.
Chase off a jet-ski asshole from the swimming area.
Not enough wind to make the big jumps, I see Uncle Pyro doing back rolls so I decide to give rotations a go too.
Start with spinning under the kite during transitions - easy enough. Try with bigger and bigger jumps until I'm either landing or getting close to landing.
Big fun!
Pack up after sunset. Wife was worried cos it was so late.
Moment of the Day was landing my first back roll! The one that felt totally under control, smooth and that I rode away from easily!
Wind speed was recorded as 5 knots when I had the Charger up, 6 knots when I first put up the Silberpfeil and 7 to 14 knots when I was riding with a gust of 20 knots around 3pm. That all seems to fit nicely ...
What I learned today ...
• When going for the BFJs, get your knees up and your weight back - it seems to just point you right at the kite making it VERY easy to control the ride ...!
• Rotations aren't too hard - you have to commit to a solid jump/pop and rotation though. All this was done with the Flydoor - maybe the 'radical will be easier ...?
• SA is nice and slow so doesn't spank me when I mess up the handling ... but so much lift, THAT gives you time to spin around.
In summary ...
Went to lake at 1pm. Played with Charger 19 for an hour - good kite, launched with less than full inflation fairly easily, flies nice in light wind so long as it's moving.
Wind picks up, ride with the Silberpfeil.
Chase off a jet-ski asshole from the swimming area.
Not enough wind to make the big jumps, I see Uncle Pyro doing back rolls so I decide to give rotations a go too.
Start with spinning under the kite during transitions - easy enough. Try with bigger and bigger jumps until I'm either landing or getting close to landing.
Big fun!
Pack up after sunset. Wife was worried cos it was so late.
Moment of the Day was landing my first back roll! The one that felt totally under control, smooth and that I rode away from easily!
Wind speed was recorded as 5 knots when I had the Charger up, 6 knots when I first put up the Silberpfeil and 7 to 14 knots when I was riding with a gust of 20 knots around 3pm. That all seems to fit nicely ...
What I learned today ...
• When going for the BFJs, get your knees up and your weight back - it seems to just point you right at the kite making it VERY easy to control the ride ...!
• Rotations aren't too hard - you have to commit to a solid jump/pop and rotation though. All this was done with the Flydoor - maybe the 'radical will be easier ...?
• SA is nice and slow so doesn't spank me when I mess up the handling ... but so much lift, THAT gives you time to spin around.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Sunset Silberpfeil Special Session
Looked like a viable light wind afternoon from 1pm till dark on the interweb's forecast so I trotted off to the lake. Got there about 2pm and sat around, had a swim for an hour cos there was no wind. About 4pm I decided to try anyway so set up the Silberpfeil and got in the water ...
Working it downwind, walking back up the beach. I think I did 3 times ... on the last tack out and during the walk back up the beach, I watched Junkie-Sensei unpack a brand new Slingshot Turbine 17m and had jump in the water just before I started going back out. He was making ground upwind so I had high hopes :)
Yes! Upwind finally! I'm parked and flying but Junkie-Sensei is still working the Turbine a little ... seems to me like the big T is very close to the bottom end of the Speed2 19 but the Silberpfeil is still Uber Alles!
So proceeds the afternoon ... I honk about on the SA throwing down my jumps and trying to make ground back upwind. It was tough for a while, the wind was only just ... picked up for a bit towards the end and I was able to easily make ground but ... would lose it all in the jumps :D
Fucking powered paraglider moron - comes down to buzz the beach like they often do. Ok buzz the beach at about 50m up. Must have given him a scare on one of my jumps cos when I looked up at the kite, the PPG was making evasive maneuvers up there to avoid the Silberpfeil. Idiot.
Had reset the front lines to include a bunch of backstall, but was riding around with the kite trimmed a little ... seemed to need it right down at the low end ... hmm. No issues with it, only remember once muffing a turn and having the kite float on me, but grabbing the leader line sorted it out. North Rebel and LF Havoc both went down, unable to relaunch and had to swim for it. Miyachi had trouble relaunching his new 14m RPM too.
Got darker and darker, the YMCA kids came out for a campfire at the other end of the beach, so I showed off to them for a bit before calling it a day and packing up just on dark. Wife was a bit stressed because I hadn't checked it ... but I was having too much fun!
Moment of the Day was a brown pantser - coming back into shore for the last time, thought I'd throw a little jump within a line's length of the beach ... and it turned into a monster boost with a lot of downwind drift 0_o I redirected the kite and edged up thinking I was going to get pulled into the shore - again - but managed to stop within a meter of the beach. Never again :D
Wind speed was recorded as 3.2 to 5.1m/s (6 to 10 knots) from 4 to 7pm, with a peak gust of 8.1m/s at 5. Another wind site recorded 7m/s ... it felt like 10 to 14 knots to me, mostly on the low end of that - I was parked'n'riding but working hard to get upwind and losing a lot when I jumped.
What I learned today ...
• In the build-up to the jump ... with the Speed - dunno about my other kites yet - it's better to load your edge then launch off both feet rather than try a load'n'pop. Much more of a slingshot effect up and out!
• Don't boost jumps close to the shore cos you'll scare yourself when (thank you Mr. Murphy) you get more float than you expected and drift at the shore.
• It's amazing the contortions you'll put yourself through to land a jump and not dunk your Flysurfer :D
Working it downwind, walking back up the beach. I think I did 3 times ... on the last tack out and during the walk back up the beach, I watched Junkie-Sensei unpack a brand new Slingshot Turbine 17m and had jump in the water just before I started going back out. He was making ground upwind so I had high hopes :)
Yes! Upwind finally! I'm parked and flying but Junkie-Sensei is still working the Turbine a little ... seems to me like the big T is very close to the bottom end of the Speed2 19 but the Silberpfeil is still Uber Alles!
So proceeds the afternoon ... I honk about on the SA throwing down my jumps and trying to make ground back upwind. It was tough for a while, the wind was only just ... picked up for a bit towards the end and I was able to easily make ground but ... would lose it all in the jumps :D
Fucking powered paraglider moron - comes down to buzz the beach like they often do. Ok buzz the beach at about 50m up. Must have given him a scare on one of my jumps cos when I looked up at the kite, the PPG was making evasive maneuvers up there to avoid the Silberpfeil. Idiot.
Had reset the front lines to include a bunch of backstall, but was riding around with the kite trimmed a little ... seemed to need it right down at the low end ... hmm. No issues with it, only remember once muffing a turn and having the kite float on me, but grabbing the leader line sorted it out. North Rebel and LF Havoc both went down, unable to relaunch and had to swim for it. Miyachi had trouble relaunching his new 14m RPM too.
Got darker and darker, the YMCA kids came out for a campfire at the other end of the beach, so I showed off to them for a bit before calling it a day and packing up just on dark. Wife was a bit stressed because I hadn't checked it ... but I was having too much fun!
Moment of the Day was a brown pantser - coming back into shore for the last time, thought I'd throw a little jump within a line's length of the beach ... and it turned into a monster boost with a lot of downwind drift 0_o I redirected the kite and edged up thinking I was going to get pulled into the shore - again - but managed to stop within a meter of the beach. Never again :D
Wind speed was recorded as 3.2 to 5.1m/s (6 to 10 knots) from 4 to 7pm, with a peak gust of 8.1m/s at 5. Another wind site recorded 7m/s ... it felt like 10 to 14 knots to me, mostly on the low end of that - I was parked'n'riding but working hard to get upwind and losing a lot when I jumped.
What I learned today ...
• In the build-up to the jump ... with the Speed - dunno about my other kites yet - it's better to load your edge then launch off both feet rather than try a load'n'pop. Much more of a slingshot effect up and out!
• Don't boost jumps close to the shore cos you'll scare yourself when (thank you Mr. Murphy) you get more float than you expected and drift at the shore.
• It's amazing the contortions you'll put yourself through to land a jump and not dunk your Flysurfer :D
Friday, August 5, 2011
Machiya and Me
Wind looked ok on the forecast and I decided to drive over and brave the rain that might be lurking around - according to the forecast, but not according to the web cam ... arrived about 1pm to clear skies and 20knots. It's supposed to drop off though ...
... so I rig the 13m Crossbow and jump onto the water with the other 3 kiters. Quiet day at the ocean!
At first, I'm nicely powered and having a good time but the wind IS dropping and it's getting harder to boost decent air at all. I'm still able to go upwind ... just. Spend a good time riding around, enjoying the sun, water and waves.
After about 2 hours, the weather makes like it's going to pack in, so I think about packing it in. My back is starting to hurt - being unable to lean against the kite means the harsh impacts from the chop is going straight up my spine.
Moment of the Day is again, drifting across the peak of two waves with my ass just scraping the tops.
Wind speed was recorded as 8.4m/s from 1pm. I got my 16 knots and that felt pretty close to the average ... which means, the 13 is only fun from 20knots on the ocean. Yikes!
What I learned today ...
• Spinning around under a kite, facing back the way you came from - I had a lot of problems with that a while back, and I did it a few times again today. Seems it's the result of improper load and carving upwind and/or bringing the kite down too soon and/or not aggressively enough, letting it pull to the edge of the window.
• Suicide on the Cab bar still pulls a lot - accidentally unhooked after a big prang. Got yoinked downwind.
• You CAN land the Xbow by pulling the front lines, but it'll bobble off downwind a bit - watch out!
• Should've gone with the 16m.
... so I rig the 13m Crossbow and jump onto the water with the other 3 kiters. Quiet day at the ocean!
At first, I'm nicely powered and having a good time but the wind IS dropping and it's getting harder to boost decent air at all. I'm still able to go upwind ... just. Spend a good time riding around, enjoying the sun, water and waves.
After about 2 hours, the weather makes like it's going to pack in, so I think about packing it in. My back is starting to hurt - being unable to lean against the kite means the harsh impacts from the chop is going straight up my spine.
Moment of the Day is again, drifting across the peak of two waves with my ass just scraping the tops.
Wind speed was recorded as 8.4m/s from 1pm. I got my 16 knots and that felt pretty close to the average ... which means, the 13 is only fun from 20knots on the ocean. Yikes!
What I learned today ...
• Spinning around under a kite, facing back the way you came from - I had a lot of problems with that a while back, and I did it a few times again today. Seems it's the result of improper load and carving upwind and/or bringing the kite down too soon and/or not aggressively enough, letting it pull to the edge of the window.
• Suicide on the Cab bar still pulls a lot - accidentally unhooked after a big prang. Got yoinked downwind.
• You CAN land the Xbow by pulling the front lines, but it'll bobble off downwind a bit - watch out!
• Should've gone with the 16m.
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