Forecast looked very weak indeed, but it's been so long (a week) with no frickin wind AT ALL so I thought I've got to give it a shot. Loaded up the car with the goodies ... was up north for work today so I got a good eye-ball on the wind - looked like the thermal arrived early :-/ so I hurried away at the bell for the lake ...
Forecast said the wind would die by 6pm so as I hit the lake at 4:30pm, I put up the S3 21 and jumped on the water with my Flyradical. Oh, nicely powered - I guess I managed to catch the tail end of the thermal ...
And then the wind picked up LOL
So I was having fun. Big jumps! That's all really :D Many, many good ones ... started to get lazy with the redirects towards the end of the session, and really got some big pendulums in - landing going right when I started off going left - all good fun!
Actually had to trim the kite for the first time in ages - full trim for a while, then half then back to full power. The wind was up and down but was very smooth and consistent - best wind in AGES!!!
Same issues with nob-ends not looking behind themselves before changing direction though ... Mr Fujii nearly had me land on him when I jumped then on the way down, he turned around under me.
That's the problem with the Speeds - you spend so much time in the air that there's plenty of time for the mongs to do stupid things and come in under you ...
The other problem is how much ground you lose downwind! :D need a GPS thingy ...
Had to go to work at 7:30 so I got off the water before I wanted to and packed it up around 6:15 - only just made it in time!
Mood of the session was surprised stoked psyched!
Song stuck in my head was In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins. Oh lord!
Weather was reported as 6.5 to 8 knots, gusts to 14 at 28°C, 62%. O RLY.
Wind felt like it would have spanked me if I dealt with the kite ham-fistedly but was clean and smooth!
What I learned today ...
• Sometimes ... it's just awesome!
• After sending the kite, a brief redirect does indeed make for a higher jump with less penduluming back the other direction ... means you have be spot on with the timing of the final redirect though else you either get dropped or land without enough power in the kite to ride away. Well I do anyway.
• Pscyho4 19 would have been spot on, I bet. Wink wink nudge nudge.
• Almost managed to get through a whole session without re-tweaking the ankle ... actually did it over again when it was the front foot. That ain't right. But it was only a mild tweak ...
• Taki looks even smaller when viewed from a couple of stories up.
• Why would anyone want to wank around doing handlepasses and unhooking when there's so much fun to be had flying around like a bird?
Friday, June 29, 2012
Friday, June 22, 2012
That was a bit lame actually
Forecast was supposed to be better than Wednesday. Hit the lake after work ...
Started well enough; was out on the Flydoor then swapped to the 'radical. Then it dropped again and I went back to the 'door. Was pretty crappy the rest of the session ... but better than nowt. Bloody gusty and the wind shifted from N to NW a few times. S3 15 was the safe choice for the gusts though.
Nothing really exciting today - couldn't even get front rolls working again :-/ jumps weren't up to much - one or two good ones, the rest very average.
The water was full of crap for an hour, until it drifted into the shore. Very choppy but the river mouth end of the beach has some nice smooth waves - good for playing in. Water was silty too ...
Hurt my ankle good - now it hurts when I walk, which it wasn't doing before :( Still rode for another two hours, just made sure to scrunch my toes on landing to lock the foot or aim for my heels. Sigh.
2.5 hours in total, rode non-stop - unlike the other guys ... man, the S3 is good!
Mood of the session was painful worried relaxing.
Song stuck in my head was Someone like You by Kings of Leon.
Moment of the Day was landing the single solitary elevator ride on the gust and riding away.
Weather was reported as 18 falling to 13 knots with gusts to 28; 21°C at 70%.
Wind felt like mostly under-powered but riding upwind without too much trouble. Occasionally, I felt powered and once or twice nicely over-powered.
What I learned today ...
• Shark lenses work better when they're thoroughly cleaned.
• You CAN change direction on the face of a wave and ride it away!
• It's not possible to put on too much sunblock ...
Started well enough; was out on the Flydoor then swapped to the 'radical. Then it dropped again and I went back to the 'door. Was pretty crappy the rest of the session ... but better than nowt. Bloody gusty and the wind shifted from N to NW a few times. S3 15 was the safe choice for the gusts though.
Nothing really exciting today - couldn't even get front rolls working again :-/ jumps weren't up to much - one or two good ones, the rest very average.
The water was full of crap for an hour, until it drifted into the shore. Very choppy but the river mouth end of the beach has some nice smooth waves - good for playing in. Water was silty too ...
Hurt my ankle good - now it hurts when I walk, which it wasn't doing before :( Still rode for another two hours, just made sure to scrunch my toes on landing to lock the foot or aim for my heels. Sigh.
2.5 hours in total, rode non-stop - unlike the other guys ... man, the S3 is good!
Mood of the session was painful worried relaxing.
Song stuck in my head was Someone like You by Kings of Leon.
Moment of the Day was landing the single solitary elevator ride on the gust and riding away.
Weather was reported as 18 falling to 13 knots with gusts to 28; 21°C at 70%.
Wind felt like mostly under-powered but riding upwind without too much trouble. Occasionally, I felt powered and once or twice nicely over-powered.
What I learned today ...
• Shark lenses work better when they're thoroughly cleaned.
• You CAN change direction on the face of a wave and ride it away!
• It's not possible to put on too much sunblock ...
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Oh ... I'd forgotten!
Typhoon has passed through - what a pathetic fart it was. It has however reversed the wind so northerlies were forecast at 16 knots so that should be good.
And it is! It looks good when I get there at 4pm and the best is supposed to arrive at 5pm so I decide to go for the Speed3 15 ... probably means I'll have to ride the Flydoor for most of the session ...
Turns out to be a good idea! Had a great time, boosting when I could, working on nice clean load'n'pops and playing with the rotations. Back-rolls weren't working cos I got tired after an hour and went on to play with front-rolls instead ... got into the groove with them and realized I'd lost my touch a LOT at them :(
Wind is up and down, and the rest of them clear off in a big lull that I can keep riding through ;) Soh arrives later and gets on the water and I keep riding too, until he quits and it starts to get dark - cloudy.
By the time I got to the car, it was 7:45pm! Great day, really loved getting on the S3 15 again.
Mood of the session was surprised psyched.
Moment of the Day was getting the front-rolls to click again.
Song stuck in my head was Laid by James. "Shave my ass and call me pretty ..." yes I know it's wrong but I couldn't get that line unstuck or remember the right one ...
It sucks when you get the safety leash wrapped around an end of the bar.
Weather was reported as 8 to 14 knots (and back down again) at 21.5°C 78% with gusts to 19 knots at 5pm.
Wind felt like it was as reported.
What I learned today ...
• I missed the 15! What a great kite!
• You gotta keep practicing or you lose the edge. Who'd've thunk it.
• Bottom end on the 15 is pretty good too. I never had to walk and always got back upwind.
• Seems my messy launches are the result of too much weight on the front foot when I carve into the launch ... driving off the rear gives a clean carve and stronger pop.
• Looping out of transitions with the 15 was a bit hit'n'miss - didn't have the wing span to keep the lift up so I sorta got dropped, and ended up doing the loops closer to the water to just ride around the turn.
And it is! It looks good when I get there at 4pm and the best is supposed to arrive at 5pm so I decide to go for the Speed3 15 ... probably means I'll have to ride the Flydoor for most of the session ...
Turns out to be a good idea! Had a great time, boosting when I could, working on nice clean load'n'pops and playing with the rotations. Back-rolls weren't working cos I got tired after an hour and went on to play with front-rolls instead ... got into the groove with them and realized I'd lost my touch a LOT at them :(
Wind is up and down, and the rest of them clear off in a big lull that I can keep riding through ;) Soh arrives later and gets on the water and I keep riding too, until he quits and it starts to get dark - cloudy.
By the time I got to the car, it was 7:45pm! Great day, really loved getting on the S3 15 again.
Mood of the session was surprised psyched.
Moment of the Day was getting the front-rolls to click again.
Song stuck in my head was Laid by James. "Shave my ass and call me pretty ..." yes I know it's wrong but I couldn't get that line unstuck or remember the right one ...
It sucks when you get the safety leash wrapped around an end of the bar.
Weather was reported as 8 to 14 knots (and back down again) at 21.5°C 78% with gusts to 19 knots at 5pm.
Wind felt like it was as reported.
What I learned today ...
• I missed the 15! What a great kite!
• You gotta keep practicing or you lose the edge. Who'd've thunk it.
• Bottom end on the 15 is pretty good too. I never had to walk and always got back upwind.
• Seems my messy launches are the result of too much weight on the front foot when I carve into the launch ... driving off the rear gives a clean carve and stronger pop.
• Looping out of transitions with the 15 was a bit hit'n'miss - didn't have the wing span to keep the lift up so I sorta got dropped, and ended up doing the loops closer to the water to just ride around the turn.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Wrong is right!
For once the forecast was wrong, but in the right direction - we got more wind that we should have. And Miyachi has fixed the camera; when I looked at 11am it looked to be rocking so I chowed down on lunch and hauled ass.
Nice! Good blow is in and GPV said it'll pick up until 3pm then drop off ... should be a good afternoon! I saddle up ... take the S3 21 & 15 and both Flyboards to the beach. Get on the water about 12.
Start with the Flyradical and am just powered enough to make a jump or two and get back to the starting spot. Noodle around like that for a while the switch to the Flydoor. Much better. Then the wind picks up some so I switch back to the 'radical for the rest of the session.
Some good jumps, one stellar one but the wind is very gusty and lully, making it hard to get up speed and hold it long enough to jump and land without losing the gust and getting dumped. Much fun though!
Couple points worthy of notice ... got sloppy with a launch - got bounced off my edge, honest - and dropped the kite. Bowtie ... tried to untangle by pulling lines. Wasn't happening. I pulled the safety, considering a short swim to shore but when I reeled in the bar, it was looking better at the kite. I put the bar back together then messed with the kite some more ... it wanted to fold in half long-ways (!) but some careful and appropriate pulling on lines got it back in the air! Total - less than it takes the LEI riders to relaunch from LE down ...!!
Same thing again later but I recovered the kite in the air without tangle, but now it's pulling to the right in a turn - I balance it in the air with the LH leader but it's hauling me downwind as I try to figure out what's going on with the RH leader ... by the time it's stable, I'm at the marina beach :-/ and my board is still out in the water. I spot it from the shore though and begin an epic body drag to it. By this time the wind has dropped so I won't be able to ride it out and back to our beach ... slog back to the marina beach and plan on walking - but the work the council did to the river late last year has rendered it uncrossable - fuckers. Body drag out and around the river mouth.
Despite that, I had a nice day!
Song stuck in my head was Chocolate Rain by Tay Zonday. That'll learn me.
Mood of the Session was satisfied tired.
Moment of the Day was simply spotting and recovering my board before it drifted off to Otsu. Again.
Weather was reported as 6 to 11 knots from 12 to 4, with gusts of 20 knots; 23°C at 66%.
Wind felt like just powered, most of the time. I'd say closer to 15 knots that 12.
What I learned today ...
• It's time for thorough sunblock application :-/ got a good set of burns on arms and legs.
• Shorts are becoming a problem. They ride up my thighs and that hole in them lets the harness rub and is painful. Which is just adding insult to injury when they're already a half-mile up the crack of my ass!
• A Short John wetsuit might be the key ... http://hyperflexusa.com/product/cyclone-1-5mm-short-john/
• If I concentrate on not landing on my toes, I can ride around without hurting my right ankle.
• Required surprisingly little space downwind to untangle the big Speed from the second bow-tie this month.
• The 21 is in dire need of a mixer test and line tune, I think - lots of backstalling today.
• Shorts are becoming a problem. They ride up my thighs and that hole in them lets the harness rub and is painful. Which is just adding insult to injury when they're already a half-mile up the crack of my ass!
• A Short John wetsuit might be the key ... http://hyperflexusa.com/product/cyclone-1-5mm-short-john/
• If I concentrate on not landing on my toes, I can ride around without hurting my right ankle.
• Required surprisingly little space downwind to untangle the big Speed from the second bow-tie this month.
• The 21 is in dire need of a mixer test and line tune, I think - lots of backstalling today.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Light wind lameness
Forecast looked good, but it wasn't. Gusty, punchy but not much power. Flew the 21 non-stop, switching between Flyradical and Flydoor. Didn't get up to much really ... bursts of wind then it'd drop off - did that all freakin' day.
Dumbass looky-loos in a boat. Dumbass gear-leavers taking over the whole beach. Dumbass learners looping and dive-bombing - everything. Dumbass directional riders trying to ride in SFA with tiny little kites. Dumbass me trying to keep on riding!
Mood of the session was teased frustrated.
Moment of the Day was not getting my gear wrapped up in other people's lines! :o
Weather was reported as 8 to 12 knots, gusts to 18 at 22°C 75%.
Wind felt like it was just fucking with me.
What I learned today ...
• Don't take your sunglasses off and leave them on the shore.
• My ankle is in need of medical attention! Bothered me on numerous occasions :(
• Trying too hard when you don't have the wind ... sucks. Over-cooked the send and got my foot 'stuck' trying to load'n'pop more aggressively than the wind could cope with on multiple occasions :(
• My ankle is in need of medical attention! Bothered me on numerous occasions :(
• Trying too hard when you don't have the wind ... sucks. Over-cooked the send and got my foot 'stuck' trying to load'n'pop more aggressively than the wind could cope with on multiple occasions :(
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
The one I've been waiting for
Forecast looked like a cracker ... from 3pm :-/ take time off work and get to the lake at 2:40pm or so. Wonderful weather, 27°C so I go without my wetsuit.
Wind isn't up to much yet ... stand around waiting for it to pick up but it doesn't so I go with the big Speed3.
Start out on the Flyradical and to my surprise, I can ride upwind ok. Put a bit of distance into the upwind bank then start to play silly buggers ...
Oh yes baby yes! My 'new' backroll method is working a treat! Just one over-rotation and that was because I sent the kite unconsciously and lofted myself at the end ... otherwise, I'm backrolling Like. A. BOSS. Only problem now - they're starting to get so big that I'm landing pretty hard at times ... poor ankles!
Shame I'm not up to spec with the frontrolls ... work on them next!
Other than that ... I spent the rest of my time trying to jump as high as possible :D got some good ones in - real nice view up there ;) what a hoot!
Problem with the Flysurfer is the hangtime is so good that you lose a LOT of room downwind ... also, I think I'm sending it too far back - seem to jump better when I send the kite straight up.
And I think I'm sending it too far the other way ... redirect too early and it shoot across the window. This USED to result in me landing backwards and falling over, but now I just land 'toeside' and ride downwind as the kite goes to the edge. Should loop it I guess - or just wait and redirect later.
Getting better at handling big power and popping well ...
Now to the directional goofs ... boosted a real good jump, was having a nice ol' look around when I noticed that one of them decided to change direction and ride right underneath me - without looking behind himself, natch. Could have been bad but I had plenty of time to think about options :D decided to just hang under the kite and splash down, as he went sailing downwind of me, beneath my buttocks.
Got my own back, unintentionally - popped another good one off a wave face, thinking the guy was going the other way but instead, I went sailing downwind almost directly into his kite! Nose-to-nose with a parked Rally ... then I drifted downwind and it was all ok. Except he panicked and fell over ... so we had to be careful getting started again.
Couple of big moments - during the set up for a jump, just as I launched, the board caught and I got spun around on the way up and splashed down in a heap. The other one I remember, I ran out of ramp and did a double backroll ... almost landing it.
Wind was up and down all day actually, and now it was down again. Kite front-stalled in a lull and I had to noodle around for a few seconds relaunching the kite. Another time, I had to loop it just to get to the shore until the wind picked up and I could ride off.
It was a bit punchy at times too ... had a couple of moments in the gusts - went shooting away towards where the river mouth was, working hard to shut the power down and drifted off over the 'wall' that luckily is under water.
The other time, Mr Fujii was downwind of me right where I would bomb if I got yanked off my edge ... had to work hard to keep it together as the speed built up.
Got off the water with stiff and sore legs - and a sore ankle, landing on it HARD :( about 6:30pm, I guess - 3 and a half hours riding non-stop! Gotta love the Speed3!
Mood of the session was maniacal cackling like a loon.
Moment of the Day is hard to pick; could be looking the Rally in the eye, but I think I'm gonna go with the the big phat backroll that was just perfect and BIG. Well, felt big to me :D
Weather was recorded as 19.4 knots at 2pm falling to 4.6 knots at 6pm. 24°C 58% and gusts to 27.4 knots.
Wind felt like I was mostly comfortably over-powered, occasionally under-powered and rarely shitting my pants.
What I learned today ...
• When you get hit by a gust in the middle of a backroll transition - it sucks.
• You gotta have some power and speed for backrolling properly.
• Pays to keep the kite at 45° so if you do send it a tad, it doesn't loft you.
• No wetsuit makes for massive wedgies. And it rubs like a bugger everywhere. And digs into my stomach :( I think I might get a summer suit ...
• Nice being able to take a whizz without fear of a stinky suit though!
• Getting better at overpowered jumping - hitting the launch cleanly is the hard bit.
• Having someone ju-uuust downwind of you when you're really overpowered is worrying.
• Dead Man jumps ... being upside down makes it tough to judge where the water is - those are the cause of most of my redirected-the-kite-too-early jumps with sideways landings. Mmm, must remember to try tucking the bar under my knees so I can lean WAY back :D
• Jump front-loop transitions - requires some wind-power for the kite and careful modulation of the bar for the hit of acceleration ...
• I'm sure there was something else I wanted to remember ... but now I've forgotten what it was.
Wind isn't up to much yet ... stand around waiting for it to pick up but it doesn't so I go with the big Speed3.
Start out on the Flyradical and to my surprise, I can ride upwind ok. Put a bit of distance into the upwind bank then start to play silly buggers ...
Oh yes baby yes! My 'new' backroll method is working a treat! Just one over-rotation and that was because I sent the kite unconsciously and lofted myself at the end ... otherwise, I'm backrolling Like. A. BOSS. Only problem now - they're starting to get so big that I'm landing pretty hard at times ... poor ankles!
Shame I'm not up to spec with the frontrolls ... work on them next!
Other than that ... I spent the rest of my time trying to jump as high as possible :D got some good ones in - real nice view up there ;) what a hoot!
Problem with the Flysurfer is the hangtime is so good that you lose a LOT of room downwind ... also, I think I'm sending it too far back - seem to jump better when I send the kite straight up.
And I think I'm sending it too far the other way ... redirect too early and it shoot across the window. This USED to result in me landing backwards and falling over, but now I just land 'toeside' and ride downwind as the kite goes to the edge. Should loop it I guess - or just wait and redirect later.
Getting better at handling big power and popping well ...
Now to the directional goofs ... boosted a real good jump, was having a nice ol' look around when I noticed that one of them decided to change direction and ride right underneath me - without looking behind himself, natch. Could have been bad but I had plenty of time to think about options :D decided to just hang under the kite and splash down, as he went sailing downwind of me, beneath my buttocks.
Got my own back, unintentionally - popped another good one off a wave face, thinking the guy was going the other way but instead, I went sailing downwind almost directly into his kite! Nose-to-nose with a parked Rally ... then I drifted downwind and it was all ok. Except he panicked and fell over ... so we had to be careful getting started again.
Couple of big moments - during the set up for a jump, just as I launched, the board caught and I got spun around on the way up and splashed down in a heap. The other one I remember, I ran out of ramp and did a double backroll ... almost landing it.
Wind was up and down all day actually, and now it was down again. Kite front-stalled in a lull and I had to noodle around for a few seconds relaunching the kite. Another time, I had to loop it just to get to the shore until the wind picked up and I could ride off.
It was a bit punchy at times too ... had a couple of moments in the gusts - went shooting away towards where the river mouth was, working hard to shut the power down and drifted off over the 'wall' that luckily is under water.
The other time, Mr Fujii was downwind of me right where I would bomb if I got yanked off my edge ... had to work hard to keep it together as the speed built up.
Got off the water with stiff and sore legs - and a sore ankle, landing on it HARD :( about 6:30pm, I guess - 3 and a half hours riding non-stop! Gotta love the Speed3!
Mood of the session was maniacal cackling like a loon.
Moment of the Day is hard to pick; could be looking the Rally in the eye, but I think I'm gonna go with the the big phat backroll that was just perfect and BIG. Well, felt big to me :D
Weather was recorded as 19.4 knots at 2pm falling to 4.6 knots at 6pm. 24°C 58% and gusts to 27.4 knots.
Wind felt like I was mostly comfortably over-powered, occasionally under-powered and rarely shitting my pants.
What I learned today ...
• When you get hit by a gust in the middle of a backroll transition - it sucks.
• You gotta have some power and speed for backrolling properly.
• Pays to keep the kite at 45° so if you do send it a tad, it doesn't loft you.
• No wetsuit makes for massive wedgies. And it rubs like a bugger everywhere. And digs into my stomach :( I think I might get a summer suit ...
• Nice being able to take a whizz without fear of a stinky suit though!
• Getting better at overpowered jumping - hitting the launch cleanly is the hard bit.
• Having someone ju-uuust downwind of you when you're really overpowered is worrying.
• Dead Man jumps ... being upside down makes it tough to judge where the water is - those are the cause of most of my redirected-the-kite-too-early jumps with sideways landings. Mmm, must remember to try tucking the bar under my knees so I can lean WAY back :D
• Jump front-loop transitions - requires some wind-power for the kite and careful modulation of the bar for the hit of acceleration ...
• I'm sure there was something else I wanted to remember ... but now I've forgotten what it was.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Fat lady sings off-key
Looked like it should be a good long session at Machiya today, starting at 3pm and finishing after dark, so I loaded up the car and headed on over at 1:30pm, with the wife in tow. Arrived at about 2:45 to find only Auntie and Uncle there :o not a good sign. He's trying to ride his 10 but it's not happening, so Auntie is pumping the 14. The wind doesn't seem up to much ...
I decide that I drove all this way, I may as well have a shot at it. I unroll the lines from the XB bar and untangle them then decide that ain't going to work so I scout about for a clean area of beach (no shells, sticks or trash) to set up and launch from ... good luck with that! Just have to do the best I can ...
Hmm, tough going. Ending up downwind but so is uncle. Then the wind picks up a little and gradually, we're going further upwind. I start to have enough power to be able to play silly buggers. Jumps aren't up to much, backrolls are tough cos we don't have enough power or speed but backroll transitions are easy.
UNTIL
I do something wrong and crash the kite LE down. No problem I'll just do a quick reverse launch! Oh wot a bridle is wrapped around a tip? No problem I'll just erm ... hang on ... ah ... oh ... well ... float to shore and untangle it there. Hmm that ain't right.
Sort out the kite, lay out the lines, relaunch (on shells! EEK no it's ok no holes!) and try to spot my board. Grr, kite is all squirrelly ... guessing cos the TE is soggy. But that means I can't body drag out to the board. Oh it's cos the wind has died right off. Fine, stand and watch the waves wash my board into the shore, collect it, whack myself on the ankle with it then trudge back up the beach. Wife comes and carries the board, which is nice.
Pack it up then go and look at the dead porpoise. Bit of a pair of flat notes to end the day on really ... still ... it had it moments :) even though I now have to wash and dry my biggest kite :o
Mood of the Session was annoyed amused annoyed.
Moment of the Session was sorting out the back roll!
Weather was recorded as 7 to 10 to 7 knots, gusts to 15, 22°C at 77%.
Wind felt like it wasn't reaching its full potential.
What I learned today ...
• Been thinking for a while about back rolls - rather than spinning around under the kite and over-rotating all too often, I thought about edging up and popping into a jump, then as you hit the peak start the rotation so on the way down you've rotated then just fall at the water. Seems to work good - need to try it in more wind.
• Converting board speed to a clean pop gives good height but ... if there's no power in the wind then you just drop like a mong.
• Careless relaunches can result in bridles wrapped around the tips.
• Unlike an LEI (AAAAARRRGH! DEATH LOOP! Save yourselves!) that particular tangle results in a kite that flies sideways and pulls you downwind kinda ... thankfully, away from the large concrete pipe thing.
• I gotta tune that SZ line ...
I decide that I drove all this way, I may as well have a shot at it. I unroll the lines from the XB bar and untangle them then decide that ain't going to work so I scout about for a clean area of beach (no shells, sticks or trash) to set up and launch from ... good luck with that! Just have to do the best I can ...
Hmm, tough going. Ending up downwind but so is uncle. Then the wind picks up a little and gradually, we're going further upwind. I start to have enough power to be able to play silly buggers. Jumps aren't up to much, backrolls are tough cos we don't have enough power or speed but backroll transitions are easy.
UNTIL
I do something wrong and crash the kite LE down. No problem I'll just do a quick reverse launch! Oh wot a bridle is wrapped around a tip? No problem I'll just erm ... hang on ... ah ... oh ... well ... float to shore and untangle it there. Hmm that ain't right.
Sort out the kite, lay out the lines, relaunch (on shells! EEK no it's ok no holes!) and try to spot my board. Grr, kite is all squirrelly ... guessing cos the TE is soggy. But that means I can't body drag out to the board. Oh it's cos the wind has died right off. Fine, stand and watch the waves wash my board into the shore, collect it, whack myself on the ankle with it then trudge back up the beach. Wife comes and carries the board, which is nice.
Pack it up then go and look at the dead porpoise. Bit of a pair of flat notes to end the day on really ... still ... it had it moments :) even though I now have to wash and dry my biggest kite :o
Mood of the Session was annoyed amused annoyed.
Moment of the Session was sorting out the back roll!
Weather was recorded as 7 to 10 to 7 knots, gusts to 15, 22°C at 77%.
Wind felt like it wasn't reaching its full potential.
What I learned today ...
• Been thinking for a while about back rolls - rather than spinning around under the kite and over-rotating all too often, I thought about edging up and popping into a jump, then as you hit the peak start the rotation so on the way down you've rotated then just fall at the water. Seems to work good - need to try it in more wind.
• Converting board speed to a clean pop gives good height but ... if there's no power in the wind then you just drop like a mong.
• Careless relaunches can result in bridles wrapped around the tips.
• Unlike an LEI (AAAAARRRGH! DEATH LOOP! Save yourselves!) that particular tangle results in a kite that flies sideways and pulls you downwind kinda ... thankfully, away from the large concrete pipe thing.
• I gotta tune that SZ line ...
Friday, June 1, 2012
Light session runs into overtime
Odd looking forecast for the afternoon ... light wind then a big peak at 5pm-ish. Worth a look ...
Head down to the lake after a long day at work, arrive about 4:20. Looks like another 16m Xbow day; hoping the peak won't kill me but the low is looking 21m worthy. Hmm, hope I made the right call!
Get out on the 'radical for a bit and although I'm struggling for about 10 minutes, the wind picks up and it's good fun.
Feeling pretty good and my loop-transitions are working nice, so I try a 'proper' kite-loop ... heh, it works but only well enough that I get shot at the water :D I'll take that landing on my ass ... hehehe! Not so successful but the boys on shore might get a giggle. Will try that again with a smaller, faster kite!
So back to the our regularly scheduled program - trying to jump as high as I can, front and back rolls ...
Wind drops off so I switch to the 'door ... then it drops WAY off and I'm fighting to get upwind at all, without playing silly buggers - stuck at the end of the beach, about to get pushed onto the marina beach if I dont watch it!
And then I manage to drop the kite TE down and it gets swamped - frantic hauling in of the center lines gets the kite over onto the LE and relaunched ... phew! That's the same spot I had to swim in with the S3 21!
The wind has picked up a little and Soh has arrived ... we keep on riding, working hard to get upwind until the sun has well and truly set behind the hills. Nice long session! Left Locus at 8pm :)
Mood of the Session was amused.
Moment of the Day was actually as simple as getting all the way back upwind to where I started, without having to walk!
Weather was recorded as 8-12-5 knots from 4pm to 7pm; 22°C at 73%, gusts no more than 18 knots.
Wind felt like I was briefly over-powered, mostly slightly under-powered and for a short time, thought about walking.
What I learned today ...
• When self launching, make DOUBLY sure that the slackest steering leader isn't wrapped around the bar :o a gentle loop into the grass ... thank god for IDS!
• Need to watch some videos on YouTube about How to Loop Properly LOL
• Too many front loop transitions on the starboard tack = twisted lines :o
• If I had the 21 up, I would have probably been shitting my pants for a half hour, enjoying myself for the rest. Cest la vie.
Head down to the lake after a long day at work, arrive about 4:20. Looks like another 16m Xbow day; hoping the peak won't kill me but the low is looking 21m worthy. Hmm, hope I made the right call!
Get out on the 'radical for a bit and although I'm struggling for about 10 minutes, the wind picks up and it's good fun.
Feeling pretty good and my loop-transitions are working nice, so I try a 'proper' kite-loop ... heh, it works but only well enough that I get shot at the water :D I'll take that landing on my ass ... hehehe! Not so successful but the boys on shore might get a giggle. Will try that again with a smaller, faster kite!
So back to the our regularly scheduled program - trying to jump as high as I can, front and back rolls ...
Wind drops off so I switch to the 'door ... then it drops WAY off and I'm fighting to get upwind at all, without playing silly buggers - stuck at the end of the beach, about to get pushed onto the marina beach if I dont watch it!
And then I manage to drop the kite TE down and it gets swamped - frantic hauling in of the center lines gets the kite over onto the LE and relaunched ... phew! That's the same spot I had to swim in with the S3 21!
The wind has picked up a little and Soh has arrived ... we keep on riding, working hard to get upwind until the sun has well and truly set behind the hills. Nice long session! Left Locus at 8pm :)
Mood of the Session was amused.
Moment of the Day was actually as simple as getting all the way back upwind to where I started, without having to walk!
Weather was recorded as 8-12-5 knots from 4pm to 7pm; 22°C at 73%, gusts no more than 18 knots.
Wind felt like I was briefly over-powered, mostly slightly under-powered and for a short time, thought about walking.
What I learned today ...
• When self launching, make DOUBLY sure that the slackest steering leader isn't wrapped around the bar :o a gentle loop into the grass ... thank god for IDS!
• Need to watch some videos on YouTube about How to Loop Properly LOL
• Too many front loop transitions on the starboard tack = twisted lines :o
• If I had the 21 up, I would have probably been shitting my pants for a half hour, enjoying myself for the rest. Cest la vie.
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