And it didn't help that I had the S3 21 up when I should have had the 15 up, and vice versa.
Back to the beginning... holiday today, so I casually headed down the lake at 1pm, to time it with the day time high at 3pm... Taki was there too, and the wind looked ok but not as great as was forecast.
Put up the 21 and rode for a bit but the wind is still dropping... and now I'm body-dragging back to the beach cos there's NO wind at all! Stand around for a bit then the wind comes back up - Junkie Sensei and WagonR man are here now too.
Cue the seizure that I described above. It had some moments but not many...
Then the QR on the 21 popped. Must have knocked it, or unhooked partially or something?!? Second time it's every happened which is a pain...
Anyway, kite didn't want to get down on the water, flapping and spinning in the air. It eventually settled though, and I reeled the bar in - QR had released. Nuts, wonder if it's the new nut I'm using...
At the end of the lines, the kite is a mess - a tip has gone through the bridle and it's inverted at least once - and I contemplate swimming in but there's mountains of debris on the shore - bamboo spears, dead turtles (the dog has gone), branches and any manner of junk just begging to crucify my light-wind savior.
No real choice then but to untangle it... which I start by dragging the bar back in. Hook in, start jiggling lines... most effective method seems to be pulling the center lines, getting the kite to open up then yank a rear line to pull the tip back through and... voila! kite is flying again. Awesome, so much for unable to relaunch a downed and tangled Flysurfer...
I ride back into shore and land the kite (bit of a fight, the wind has picked up) to throw the bar back through the lines. While doing so I question the wisdom of putting the 21 back up, and instead go get my 15.
So naturally, the wind drops again - either that or it's Soh's Curse cos he's just pumped up his kite. He's just going upwind so I head out too - and I'm going upwind ok.
The 15 takes a bit of getting used to - it will actually backstall if you choke it too much - but once I get the hang of it - man, what a PEACH of a kite! It's so quick that I can set up another jump within a few seconds of landing the previous one and the hang-time is excellent! Even better, it's really easy to time the redirect!
I'm having a ball! I stay out way past when my hands have gone numb, so when I come in pack it in for the day when the wind has finally died, I suffer several minutes of agony as my fingers warm up...
Worth it though!!! Got back to the car about 5:30pm... probably had about 2, 2 and a half hours riding today.
Moment of the Day was that 'click' when I synced with the 15 and popped that first big, floaty jump... magic!
Weather was recorded as 14knots, rising to 16 then dropping to 9, 6.8°C falling to 4.9 at 47%. Man, that so doesn't tell the whole story - it was gusty, punchy and shifty as hell!
What I learned today...
• It's bloody cold out there still. The water gives you brain-freeze when you dunk your head.
• And it would appear that my gloves are buggered. And there's none in the stores until next October.
• Flysurfer kites can be untangled on the water and flown back after an invert just fine.
• The 15 is a total gem - in the right wind, it's going to be a boost monster!
• I want a dry-suit.
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