Wednesday, May 30, 2012

WOOP WOOP! Kiteloop!

Forecast looked totally feeble, but possible so I headed off to the lake anyway. Long drive from the wrong side of the tracks ... frickin work. Got there about 4:40pm and people were on the water, I could see some white-caps so I got changed and headed over ...

Definite 21m weather ... thought maybe I could get away with the Flyradical and had a few tacks on it, but I can't hold ground. Swap for the 'door ...

Better. More speed more height ... noodle around ... wind is up and down a bit and there's a patch where I have to fight to get upwind. Then it comes back just a bit and I can keep on going.

In the midst of all this, I'm doing my "loop" tranistions ... going to the right, send the kite to the left, jump, sheet out on the way down and fish-pole the bar so the kite front-loops then land 'toe-side' and ride off in the new direction. Meh, I know what I mean.
Anyway, must have started the loop earlier or something, cos the kite was coming around while I was still in the air so I sheeted in harder as it came around and felt it yank me forewards - kiteloop! Intentional and controlled! WOOP WOOP!
Spent the rest of the evening trying to do it again :-/ till the wind dropped off so low that all I could do was rotations for shits'n'giggles ... then the sun set and the wind was truly feeble, so I packed up.

Mood of the Session was surpised satisfaction smirk.

Moment of the Day was the kiteloop that pulled!

Weather was recorded as 6 to 7 knots at 17°C 75%, gusts no more than 16 knots ...! Ri-iiight.
Wind felt like exactly what it was - just-powered to powered; I'd guess it was more like 10 to 14 knots.

What I learned today ...
• Kiteloops can be done and are addictive and fun! Now I get it ...!
• Bottom end of the S3 is fantastic. Just keep an eye upwind, so you don't get caught in the lulls ...
• The old straps are better on the big Flyboard. Still 'stretch' though ...
• My knee is sore again ... only noticed when I was kneeling in the sand though. Fingers crossed ...

Sunday, May 27, 2012

To the sea ...

Long time no riding. Feels that way anyway. Forecast looked like it might be worth a trip to the seaside in Mie, over the hills and not-so-faraway.

Wife wanted to come so naturally, we ended up leaving late - I'd planned on leaving at 12-ish but we didn't get out of the driveway until 1. So I took the highway and hauled ass!

Got to the carpark just after 2 - not a bad effort. Wind was picking up slowly. I hummed and harred about what kite to use - the beach looked not as trashed as usual but was tight, with people in tents (?!?) and kids making spiked death traps out of sticks. So I went for the Cab 16 instead of the Speed3 ...

Started out riding crosswind only on the Flyradical so I came back in for the Flydoor. Better, going upwind easily. As the wind picked up gradually, things got more fun then I switched back to the Flyradical. Sometime in between all that, I had to replace the straps on the 'door cos now the right hand one is slipping - new design is easy to adjust but totally can't handle the strain!

Had a pretty good day; nothing fabulous but it beat the ass off of not riding. Some jumps were ok but nothing that'd make me go Whee! Mwa-hahaha! Ahoy! etc. I did some really nice downloop transitions, either 'carving' or jumping. So tired now I can't remember exactly what I did but one of them made me cackle with glee ...

Wind died right off and I gave up. Must have been just after 4:30 so I got off the water ... and discovered that I hadn't attached my leash when I relaunched the kite :o
Shook my head, then packed up and headed home.

Noticed as I was rolling up the kite that my right knee hurt when I kneeled on it - wonder if that time I dropped the board off one foot twisted that knee ... seems ok now though. Oh and I sliced up the bottom of my left foot on shells.

Not a bad effort for someone suffering from the flu.

Mood of the Session was satisfied happy tired.

Moment of the Day was getting the timing and kite control just right so I could land jumps on the faces of waves and surf away! Nailed everyone I attempted - sweet feeling!

Weather was reported as 8 knots at 2pm, climbing to 16 at 4 then falling off again; gusts to 20 at 3pm ... at around 23°C 62%, more or less.
Wind felt like I should have been more powered. Even when I WAS powered, I didn't go upwind much ... tide was coming in, I think ...

What I learned today ...
• The mong on the Waroo and directional is a dangerous, erratic little man. By way of confirmation, he parked his kite in the trees at the end of the day.
• Check your leash is attached :o
• Probably should have tried out the Mako instead of the 'radical ...
• The 'door has a bit of a hard time in the big choppy sloppy conditions ... bounced and slapped around a bit.
• I love my lake!
• I love my Sharks too ;)

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Better than nothing!

Contrary to the forecast, the wind looked good so I headed down to the lake. Wasn't that flash but I had to get out so I changed and loaded up with the Speed3 21 and the Flyboards ...

Mmm. Not going upwind on the 'radical so I switch to the 'door. Only just powered ... noodled around for a bit but didn't have much joy. Finally give up - had maybe a half-hour riding I guess :o

On the beach, started playing with lengths to adjust the SZ bridle and get the kink out of the kite tips. Seems like I won't need more than a couple of inches, otherwise the tip-most bridle pulls during turns and makes the tip look ugly. Need to do a mixer test, measure that line and have another fiddle ...

Mood of the session was mellow resigned not-unhappy.

Moment of the day was simply getting out and getting some air under the fins!

Weather was reported as 11 knots falling to 3, 19°C at 64%.
Wind felt like it was exactly as it seemed - I should have just gone home ... chop was gnarly though!

What I learned today ...
• Tweaking the bridles is easier than I thought but could be incredibly time consuming ...
• The kite seems to fly better without the tucks ruining the airflow ...
• Need to check a video or two of other 21's to see how they look when sheeted in.
• Next time, I'm buying a brand-new purple 21 :D

Friday, May 18, 2012

In the Evening

You can sail the seven seas!

Why the hell not? Left my wetsuit and harness hung up and drying at Locus so I could come down after work and have a quick splash before I had to go to work at 7:30pm ...

Well, it was light. I knew it would be, GPV was spot on for the whole day - except for the gusts. There was a breath of wind but I thought it was doable so although everyone else was standing around looking sorry for themselves, I set up the big Speed between all the LEIs and got it into the air ... just as the wind picked up :D

Tacked back'n'forth for a bit trying to get upwind ... bit more wind ... ah, now I can (try to) jump and ride upwind! What fun!

A few good jumps! Bit of a surprise, given how the light the wind is - I'm doing something a little different though, without noticing ... which I don't click to until later.
The wind is up'n'down and although I ride constantly for the next 90 minutes, I'm the only one - everyone else is on and off the water like jack-in-the-boxes. Mistress of Disaster is trying to ride a 9m kite ... I seriously think she has a very small brain - even Taki is on his 14!

Finally the wind dies right away and it's good timing - just before 6 - I need to get off the water and go to work again :-/
A nice satisfying session to unwind from the hectic morning!

Mood of the Session was smug mellow surprised.

Moment of the Day was popping up the big airs in next to no wind!

Weather was reported as 12 falling to 8 knots at 16°C 64% and it looks like it picked up to 12 again after I left.
Wind felt like I shouldn't have been riding at all, let along upwind AND jumping. A few spikes of "Oh yeah!" but they didn't last.

What I learned today ...
• A few things about the GoPro ...
• Fogging issues - using the car a/c to blast the case with cool dry air ... you gotta blast it for more than a few minutes. It might even be the case that the WHOLE CAR should contain cool and dry air.
• Perhaps the fridge would be a better idea ... or the toilet paper, just in case. Bah.
• Battery ... using one that was charged weeks ago only gets you an hour of recording :(
• Jumps that feel great IRL look like you just cleared the water on the GoPro. And they look even lamer when all the details are blurred out by fog :-/
• Jumping ... the good ones in the evening, I was sheeting right out as I sped up with a little downwind. Recently, I've been not sheeting out at all and the height of jumps has been variable. With the sheeting out, the UP was more aggressive!
• Which reminds me ... ages ago I decided that if you can't hold and load your edge when you sheet out to jump, then you're over-powered. How about that then?
• Water/wave/wind theory DOES work but is only any good for that moment in time ...

In the Morning ...

You can sail the seven seas!

Took 3 hours off this morning cos it was supposed to be crankin', yo! Well it wasn't. But it was punchy as hell instead 0_o started off trying to ride the S3 15 but it was lulling below its capabilities. So I ran back across the road and got out the 21 but it ended up gusting above its capabilities; so it was survival kiteboarding mode. Me versus the Norwester. Came out as a draw ... and I have a horrible feeling that the moment of the day was NOT captured by the GoPro :-/
Yep, confirmed ... damned battery!

So started off underpowered, but fighting gusts, trying to get away from the beach on the Flyradical. The wind came and went and came back with a vengeance; by which time I'd swapped to the Flydoor then back to the 'radical again ...

The Master of Disaster has arrived and will be raceboarding ... after he figures out how to relaunch his kite.

The jumps get better ... then, I got on the elevator - from hell! Up, up some more, then again and - oh wow I can see INTO the carpark that's behind the 20m-tall trees! Now I'm finally going down but wait what - I'm flying backwards?!?! I can actively feel the kite flying into the wind :o Try to redirect the kite on the way down but leave it too late so sorta dunk my bum then ride off ... does that count? +1 for me!

That was fun so I keep riding, but the gusts are nasty - the next big one shoots me off across the lake at Warp Factor 5 and I end up pulled forwards spinning around, miles downwind from my board. +1 for the wind :(

Keep riding for a while more but it's getting a bit mad, and I think it might be close to pack-up time ... I land the kite just as Miyachi comes over the road and he lands me - nice!

Pack up the 21, go to pack up the 15 but it's put a wingtip through a bridle while I left it laid out on the beach, so I untangle that then head on home. Hmm, I think I should come back after work and see if I can get some satisfaction ... wind is supposed to be more stable in the PM.

UPDATE 20/05/2012
I stand corrected! Good ol' GoPro! It was the whacky file-naming convention that threw me off ... I DID get the massive jump, all fogged up though it is. Looks like nothing special on the video :( nuts!




Mood of the Session was frustrated psyched shell-shocked.

Moment of the Day was the elevator ride from hell ... then flying backwards. Now I know what the gliding guys do ... and I think I can handle it - over nice soft water, anyway!

Weather was reported as 9 to 12 knots (LOL what-evah!) at 18°C 61% with gusts no more than 20knots. I think Hikone was a bit sheltered today ...
Wind felt like it was trying to kill me or make me pack up in disgust.

What I learned today ...
• Make sure you have ALL the bridles around the right way before you unattach lines and manually loop the end of the bridles through other bits of the bridle :-/
• Face-first into the water at speed ... doesn't matter if you close your eyes, the water is getting in anyway :o but you can still tell which way is up and keep the kite under control at the zenith :D use the force, Luke!
• When you're flying backwards, redirect sooner so the kite has time to pull you forwards.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Mellow top-up session

Been watching the weather forecast since Saturday, even the long range one ... getting desperate. Today there was a slim chance of a ride, so I went down the lake. Got there about 4pm (thanks to idiots at work insisting on a meeting in the middle of my lunch hour) and it looked doable.

Headed over to the lake with the S3 21 and the Flydoor and Mako, just in case. Nice quick set up but the launch went haywire because something got tangled in the bridle. Couldn't dump the kite on the ground cos ASSHOLES had left the gear they weren't using strewn across the beach so I had to fly it between their shit and then stall it to the ground. No bad skills for a kite that wasn't flying properly. Untangled that mess then got it back in the air ... bastards.

Started out on the Mako but I've yet to click with that ... going downwind too far. Get on the Flydoor - much better! More board speed means better jumps ;) I work on my load'n'pop take-offs. A few nice big jumps when the wind gusts up around 5 I guess.

Now I'm more powered, I change back to the Mako ... but the holes for the mutant setup are squirting water directly into my eyes. Dafuq? Give up on that and ride out the rest of the mellow session on the Flydoor.

Do some rotations, mess with the backroll transition ... might have that down, we'll see.

The Master of Disaster and dropped his kite TE down and is drifting up the river. Miyachi rescues him with his the SUP board.  Uncle Pyro has dropped his kite on the shore and wrapped lines around my Mako - that'll learn you for leaving your shit over the beach. Other kites are dropping. Auntie is going downwind. People are giving up. I'm still riding. In fact, yet again, I'm the last one riding and I'm still going upwind. Huzzah Flysurfer!

This should keep me going for a few more ... days.

Mood of the Session was cranky satisfied mellow.

Moment of the Day was getting the load'n'pop ju-ust right and rocketing up in the air!

Weather was recorded as 12 knots at 3pm, 22°C 44%, falling to 5 knots at 6. Gusts of 16 knots at 1pm.
Wind felt like I was slightly over-powered on the big board few a while, comfortable most of the time, falling to mowing the lawn. Was surprised to be riding without white-caps but still able to get right back upwind ... so long as I didn't jump or anything.

What I learned today ...
• Yes, the back-roll transition - stop pulling on the bar once the kite has moved to the other side of the window.
• But digging the new direction's front tip into the water is a silly way to face-plant.
• MUST replace the straps on the 'door! That LH one is hacking me off ...
• Good load'n'pop makes for good jumps with lots of drift ... hard edging on load'n'pop gives a more UP jump with little cross-wind drift.


Saturday, May 12, 2012

Damned work

Who needs it? Not me. Not when it's blowing 20 knots ... finished at 5pm and rushed down the lake, probably got onto the water about 5:30pm well powered on the S3 15.

Mmm. Wind's gusty and punchy. Water is making like it can't decide if it should do rolling waves, short waves or karate chops. Or which direction it should come from. I try to get my thing down (as the kids say) and get a couple of fun jumps, a bit of elevator action but most is pretty limp - it's tough to get speed up, hold it long enough to find a piece of water to boost off then set up the jump :(

A couple of times the board gets wiped off my feet and once, I manage to keep the board on one foot, only to slam my other foot with it when I hit the water. Ouch.

The wind drops off again and people are getting off the water. Eventually, I have to loop the kite just to get back to the beach. Wait around for the wind to pick up - but it doesn't. Bastard. Be surprised if I got more than 45 minutes riding today ... all that lovely wind wasted!

Mood of the Session was expectant battered unsatisfied.

Moment of the Day was that first pair of tacks out, flying upwind of everyone thinking the rest of the session would rip. Oh you poor deluded fool.

Weather was recorded at 5pm as 21 knots falling to 15 knots 2 hours later; 12°C 68%.
Wind felt like it was awesome bu was just teasing me.

What I learned today ...
• My Grand Unified Wave/Water Theory has yet to be proven wrong.
• Might have gotten more riding in if, having had a psychic vision, I'd waited till the gusts had passed and pulled out the 21.
• Landing with your foot UNDER the board hurts.
• But not for long.
• Best way to pack up a Flysurfer ... use two of the bags of sand, on LE and TE, then fold the kite in half and tuck it under the bags. Now you can tidy up the bridles and THEY'LL STAY PUT while you roll it up.
• Oh  yeah and pack it in the bag while your standing - trying to stuff it in on the ground drags the sand in and makes it all messy ... we all know how important a tidily packed kite is :D

Friday, May 11, 2012

Blah

Forecast was cranking, hourly wind reports was cranking, wind LOOKED like it was cranking the flags. Unfortunately, it was all show and no blow :(

Put up the big Speed3 21 expecting to be nicely powered but couldn't ride either the Mako or the Flyradical so I went back to the the car for the Flydoor. Meh, still mowing the lawn but at least I'm going upwind occasionally. And getting the odd nice jump ... shame I'm so close to the shore - nearly had a close call there!

Despite being so underpowered, I stayed out for just over an hour. Naturally, just as I start packing up the wind picks up again ...

Mood of the Session was blah blah blah.

Moment of the Day was that back roll that was totally supporting by the kite moving around over-head :D funny!

Weather was reported as 12 knots falling to 9 (BULL-SHIT!) at 12°C 79%. Bloody cold, wind-chill was nasty - water felt warmer!
Wind felt like I should have been at least a little powered ... but wasn't :-/

What I learned today ...
• I should have asked Miyachi to borrow one of the race boards - would have been a good day for it.
• My theory with the waves seems to be a good one.
• Good speed and pop can still produce surprisingly good jumps in light wind.
• As does sending the kite properly.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

\m/

ROCK ON! Epic session! Forecast was for heaps and that's what we got. Of course, it was better before I got there :-/ Frickin' work - who needs it?
Hauled ass out from the wrong side of the train lines and finally got to the lake around 4:40pm.

Everyone looked under-powered on their 7 to 10m kites - I guess it was even better before I got there.  I got changed in a hurry and took my 13m XB and 15m Speed³ cos ... well why not, the wind is forecast to drop and I want to jump BIG. For a change :D

Unwrapped and launching the Speed, although the wind felt fine on the beach it was a something else again once I got up and moving. And it was punchy too ... I was a bit worried for a few minutes.

First big jump I screwed up the redirect and slammed into the water; I can see how people break ribs. From then on though, it was absolute BUT-TAH!
Could I do anything wrong? Not really :D I borked a (very) few landings but that was down to either enjoying the view for far too long or doing something silly with the board, like falling off it. There were some ugly landing: flailing around trying to get into a balanced position but for the most part I landed and rode off like A BOSS. Several times I over-did the launch and ended up sailing through the air backwards ... but still landed it.

Fear is the mind killer.

From then on, it was all shits and giggles. Well, cackling like a lunatic anyway. And lots of WHEE! and AW HELL YEAH and I CAN SEE MY HOUSE FROM HERE and even an AHOY ME HEARTIES AAARGH! yeah, I dunno where that one came from ...
Hironobu gives me a thumbs-up while I'm flying a few times :D

Took out the Mako for a run early on but was too over-powered - it bounced me around like a toy but when the wind lulled, I got a nice smooth ride out of it and some nice pops. It really does carve well ... maybe I need a 140 too :o

So when I swapped back to the 'radical, it got me thinking about how lazy I was being with my load'n'pops - I wasn't really using my legs. I worked on that for a while and got some smoother  launches ...

But the wind is dropping now and lulling down ... soon, Hironobu and Soh give up and I'm only riding across wind. So I pack it in ... my legs are tired but I had an awesome session!

I was in the car loaded up for home by about 7:30 so I guess I got 2 solid hours on the water ... great!

Mood of the session was jubilant cracked weary.

Moment of the Day was yet again another jump. This time though, it wasn't the highest or longest; it was the most backward-flying. And not getting pasted on the landing which is nice.

Weather was reported as 15 knots falling to 9 then climbing back to 11 knots by the time I quit; 15°C at 70%. Gusts no more than 30 knots - peak was recorded at 1pm. That data was recorded at the weather station at Hikone, about an hours drive north of Locus ... 1pm to 4 at Hikone was 17 to 8 knots; FWIW.
Wind felt like I was comfortably over-powered (on the Flyradical but fighting too hard for control on the Mako) and having fun; falling to being unable to ride upwind. After about 6pm, the wind got very lully, and as it dropped the lulls got longer till I gave up around 7pm.

What I learned today...
• You can (probably) gauge the wind by the height and "quality" of the waves.
• Free your mind and your ass will follow. Look where you want to go!
• My load'n'pops are getting VERY lazy. That *may* be down to sore legs from working out this week but most launches were very average - thank god for kickers!
• Mako needs less power than the 'radical but it's bottom end usefulness drops off sooner. I think 0_o
• Perhaps I need a 140 after all :D er, Buzz ... got any left?
• Speed3 15 has a great range! Easy to hold a good posture and ride over-powered with good YOINK when you boost. So much less back-stally than the 12 too ...
• Seems I jump both ways fine but it depends on the direction of the wind and waves ... I might be better one way than the other due to the above conditions.
• Sheeting out on the redirect speeds the kite across the window then sheet in just before you touch down - fast and butter-smooth landing!

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Is more like it...

Last day of the hols for me; forecast looks good, thank god!

However, the weather had other ideas - I knew it was going to rain about 3-ish ... but hail? Seriously? In 15 degrees. Crikey! Once that was over though, the wind eventually picked up and the sky cleared and it was all good!

Well, it was better than yesterday. Wind was up and down and I had to concentrate solely on making ground upwind on occasions, but when the wind peaked around 5 it was great. Nice big jumps and as the wind dropped off, I did some rotations for the hell of it.

Pretty crowded out there, full turn-out for once. No real problems ... other than having to be super-careful about who was where when I was thinking about jumping - nearly landed on Mr. Fujii when he came ripping in almost under me :-/

Must have ridden for about 3 hours - I gave up when the wind was totally off ... and my legs were starting to be unable to cope with edging. Good day!

Moment of the Day was realizing that I can pretty much land any jump I do now ... sweet!

Mood of the Session was baffled satisfied worn-out.

Weather was recorded as 5 to 9 knots at 19°C 48% with gusts no more than 22 knots ... but that was at 10 a.m.
Wind felt like I was just powered at worst and well-powered at best. Could have done with a few more knots for some epicness though ...

What I learned today...
• As I said, landing 'regular' jumps seemed to have totally clicked.
• Good, clean pop is the key to jumping big. Messing that up ruins the jump ... big time!
• I should be doing rotations with my body more in the axis of the lines, rather than perpendicular to them ...
• That might solve my over-rotating when I get more loft than I expect.
• You have to look downwind, in front of and behind yourself before you jump ... problem with Flysurfers and their mad hang-time is how far you can float downwind and how much the traffic can change in the time you're in the air.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Well that was lame ...


Long story short - wind came up twice at 2 pm and 4pm-ish, allowing for short mowings of the lawn. We all packed up and ran away when the lightning started.

Mood for the Session was blah.

Moment of the Day was riding at all.

Weather was recorded as 8knots for one session and 10 for the other, 21°C at 55%.
Wind felt like I should have been having fun ... but wasn't.

What I learned today ...
• If it's sunny and warm, I don't need a wetsuit.
• But this is actually still cold water season - run-off from the snow melting in the mountains.
• And I get sun-burned :(

Friday, May 4, 2012

Like Mythbusters Life Raft*

* "... I'm ok I'm ok OHHHH MY GOD OHHHH MY GOD I'm ok I'm ok ..."

Supposed to be nukin' all day with some rain thrown in. It rained hard here in the morning so I kinda gave up on kiting and went out for lunch with the missus. By then though the rain had stopped, the wind was up and everything was dry. Headed to the lake at about 2pm.

No freakin' wind. At all. Stood around watching the horizon for a half hour, then some white caps rolled in. I suited up and dragged the S3 21 and 15 across to the beach. Waves looked small, white caps weren't that numerous so I set up the 21. Got it in the air - despite Uncle Pyro trying to dump his Rebel 16 on top of it ... for FUCKS sake you buy a brand new kite but skimp on the bar? Fucking F-One bar won't bloody work, that's why it won't fly!!!

Should have known ... when I was trying to launch, the wind shifted a bit and flopped the kite over. Got it in the air ok, then ... well DAMN. Got onto the water fine, started moving then got hit by shifty gusts as the kite shifted from NE to NW. Kite falafeled around up there, right over all the kites lined up on the beach - I was worried I'd have to QR and they'd get sliced. I barely managed to keep the kite flying but was being lobbed a little so I spotted Miyachi and called for a landing. By now the wind has shifted to total W and as I finally get the kite near the ground, the wind turns to S and starts blowing the parked kites around :o mine is in the lee of the trees so I wrap it up and pack it.

Crikey! I guess it IS bigger than some paragliders ... but that doesn't mean I want to do THAT in the middle of a crowded beach!

Wait a bit, wind settles then picks up from the NW. Seems constant but after the previous excitement, I'm wary. I wait a bit ... ok fuck it - lets go!

I pull out the 15m this time as it seems to be blowing. Have to wait while Boof-head walks OVER MY BAR and then OVER MY LINES then stands around dicking with his trim :-/ but eventually get on the water. Well powered! I'm loving it ...

Some nice boosts ("I ... like ... big ... boosts and I can not lie!") and some great kickers off the waves that are ramping up ... and some nice rotations. SOooo much easier using a smaller kite! Or maybe just shorter lines ... carry on like that for bit, then the wind dies off. My jumps get smaller, I'm losing ground so I get off the water cos it's NW and very cross-off - should I have to swim, I'll end up way past the Hino river mouth in the windsurfer area ... if I'm lucky. I'm still nearly the last one on the water though.

Tons of surfer dudes out there today, lots of non-locals. Thankfully, I get upwind away from them easily. Then look down on them from a great height :D
Gloves Guy is doing back-rolls now like a boss - he gets about 3m up on one and although he doesn't complete it (slams back-first into the water) he looks really great during the trip up!

Anyway, it looks like rain is on the way. I wait a bit; the wind picks up and others go out, but there's rain on the way for sure. I pack it in ...

Mood of the Session was disappointed worried stoked.

Moment of the Day was getting out on the S3 15 again - I love that kite! Easy pleased I am yes.

Weather was reported as 5 to 13 knots at 15°C 78% with gusts to 21 knots. The "averages" seem a bit low, I doubt I can be THAT powered on the 15 and Flyradical in 15 knots!!!
Wind felt like ok-powered then falling away to barely riding. That was when it wasn't trying to yank me skyward 0_o

What I learned today ...
• When the weather forecast say NW and the wind is blowing NE, it might shift and punch you in the nuts. Check my shorts!
• You don't need to tighten the leg straps up so much on the Fusion harness - snug them up and they don't ride up. Or rather, they don't get trapped and return to a suitable position.
• 15m Speed3 is a superb kite. The range is incredible - but when the wind drops, I see it stalling like the 12 does. So I can only assume that the 12 needs even more wind to be rocking. Yikes.
• When you do a front roll, on a smaller faster kite, don't keep pulling with your front hand - not only will it pull you out of the roll, but the kite will down-loop and lob you downwind, then drag you and ... it's not pleasant.
• After holding your breath through a jump (STILL?! idiot) it's best not to open your mouth for the big breath just as you land and spray water into your faith. Le splutter.
• I can do silly tail grabs - judo kick your front foot out and make an karate face ... OOOS!
• It's actually very satisfying to look around at the other riders, people on the beach etc while jumping ... I can see my house from here!

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Phew!

So I've been keeping an eye on the weather - the way you do - and the forecast said the afternoon will be rocking. All afternoon. Thus one PM found me making my way to Locus ...

"Ah, this morning was great! We were all on our smallest kites! And the wind was silky smooth!" says everyone. Great, weather report was off again ...

Oh well, it looks ok now - but what is the wind going to do? Tough decision ... and everyone's telling me it's going to be windy ... but the waves are small and those on 12's and smaller look underpowered - I go for my 16 with the 13 handy just in case.

Well. I get out on one tack on the Flyradical but I'm underpowered so I go back for the Flydoor - then the wind totally dies. First time I've had to carry a kite on a Walk of Shame :o

Waiting, waiting ... hmm, I may as well unroll the Speed3 21 and check that I haven't tangled shit up while I was fixing the bridle lines the other day. Joy, I did a good job - even got the lines around the right way. Still pulling on that part of the kite though - that's annoying. Wonder why ...

Oh hey, the wind is picking up ... is it worth the effort? Why not! I prefill and launch and jump into the water - yeah! We're rockin'!

At first I'm comfy-powered and play with rotations some, keeping away from the far end of the beach cos I'm paranoid of the wind dropping like it did just before and leaving me to swim in for a third time ... but I kept an eye upwind on the white caps and didn't push my luck.

I did drop the kite once though, and it taco'd and had me worried cos it took a bit of time to relaunch it ... the wind was light at that time so it didn't really pop straight back up like it usually does. Got it in the end though!

As the wind reached its peak, I was throwing down some good jumps - got some well timed sends with kickers off the 'waves' too. Man, I'm giving up a lot of ground downwind though - scary amount really; more than once I fly further than I thought and had to make some emergency moves to stop riding into or wrapping people up in my kites and lines. I nearly collected Hironobu but he just laughed and smiled at me like a loon.

But all good things must come to an end, and the wind eventually started to drop again. Soon I was the only one riding upwind, then the only one riding and although I couldn't help myself, jumping was losing me too much ground downwind to get upwind enough on the remaining part of the tack. So I went back to shore and waited ...

The wind never came back so I packed up, glad to have had a good successful session on the 21 and to have tested my bridle replacement!

Mood was annoyed amped relieved.

Moment of the Day was landing and riding away from the really big jumps - and having someone notice and comment :)

Weather was recorded as 6 to 10 knots at 17°C 80% with gusts to 14 knots. Maybe - the good bit would have been at least 10 to 15 knots ...
Wind felt like I was on the verge of being over-powered ... I was having mad fun but if the peaks had become the average I would have changed kites.

What I learned today ...
• We seem to be into that season where the forecast doesn't match the wind, and the wind comes and goes in waves. As it were ...
• You can make ground upwind even if you cut your tack short so you don't get stuck with a long  crappy swim, should the worst happen. Again.
• I've lost a bit of confidence in the Speed3 21 - or maybe just have a less blase attitude toward it and light wind. Which is probably a good thing.
• S3 21 still delivers the goods for light wind power, lo-ooong hangtime and - when you time it right - frickin' big jumps!
• The group from Fukui had no clue about water etiquette - even simple things like raising or lowering their kites when passing :o
• Timing is king with the big kite - you have to pay a lot more attention to what it's doing to survive the jumps and landings!