Monday, July 30, 2012

Worth the drive? Yes.

Good forecast at Mie but I have to work in Shiga at 5pm... looks like I'll miss the best wind after 3pm when I pack up and head home. (Which wasn't the case as the hourly forecast shows the wind died after I left... oh, how sweet!)

Anyway, got to Machiya about 12 and onto the water with the Speed3 15 about 20 past. On the beach, was nice and floaty. On the water, going upwind. But jumps are just average... goes that way for the next 3 hours. A couple of tacks on the Flyradical in there but it's too much work so I stick with the 'door.

A few nice jumps, most were pretty average though. So I started playing with back-rolls using the kite like you're supposed to. Not bad but tough in the chop. Doing one of them, I dropped on my ankle hard and tweaked it again. Dang.

Choppy choppy! bouncin' around like a rental car down a rutted dirt road...

Loop-transitions working fine - both ways! Got a good one that was like a proper loop - pulled me forwards and as it went up, lifted me up softly for a sweet landing! Couldn't repeat it though :(

So it was a good session, especially after the shite of Locus recently. Gloves Guy turned up as I was leaving... had the beach mostly to myself though, a couple of pole dancers and a couple of kiters from 'the other end' but it was pretty empty out there. Sweet!

Oh, forgot to add - I got mugged by a fish! I'm cruising along when suddenly a silver torpedo leaps out of the water and makes a dive at my crotch :o BAAAAH! clonk right into my knee-cap.

And PPS the wife says I have matching bruises across my ass cheeks... bottom of the harness, maybe?


Mood of the session was hot premature bone-rattling.

Moment of the Day was that loop that went really well.

It sucks when you have to pack up early and go to work.

Weather was reported as 12.8 knots climbing to 14.4 with gusts to 19.8; 32°C at 67%.
Wind felt like I should have been jumping bigger...


What I learned today...
• How a proper loop feels.
• It is possible to get in 3 hours riding and back to Shiga for work... just. Damned traffic jams cos smacktards can't merge!!!
• 'Proper' back-rolls feel good.
• 15-20 knots is easy riding on the S3 15, 10-15 is working it hard... 20+ is necessary for the 'radical.
• Wave-riding... not as easy as it looks. Especially when the waves don't really have the push to actually surf on 0_o
• Back-roll transitions... it's necessary to start the dive sooner to not stall it and to pull you in the right direction...

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Summer doldrums

:( forecast was relying on the thermal to kick it around 4pm for it to be any good... didn't work out that way.

Got to the lake about 3:30 and got straight out onto the water. It was good for about a half hour then died off. A lot of people packed up and went home...

Wind picked up a bit later so I went out on the S3 21 again, just noodling around when suddenly ZOING I lost the bar. Thought I'd hit the QR again but no, the plastic body that holds the CL has snapped right off :o


The kite had dropped on the shore so I just walked in, wrapping the lines. Laid out the kite again, decided to get the bar from the 15. Nasty little tangle at the LH bridle - WTF! Now get this...

Naturally, the wind picks up as I'm trying to get the S3 21 reset. Everyone clears off the beach so I got the little north corner to myself. Just as I'm about to lay out my lines, Fujii the jackass dumps his kite in my way. So I lay my lines out over his. Then just as I'm about to launch, he dumps someone else's bar on my wing tip. Have to go and move it and he takes that moment to drag his lines out from under mine then self-launch - his kite drags downwind over my lines 0_o how he didn't tangle shit up, I can't understand. What a tit. Yes this is the same guy who kites with a helmet but rides his scooter on the road without.

Got back out again for a half hour of nothing much. Got back to the shore as the wind died right off... I got caught walking in, in almost zero wind with the kite at the edge of the window and couldn't get it to the zenith, so I let it land and wrapped it up.

I forgot how crappy summer can be here...

Mood of the session was baffled annoyed irritated.

Moment of the Day was that single jump at the beginning - some weird wind going on that meant you'd just hover at the zenith, not sinking at all!

Song stuck in my head was Dream Weaver by Gary Wright for some unknown reason... and even odder, I got it mixed up with a RHCP song - "Creamy Beaver/I know you are hotter than a fever"

It sucks when the wind drops right as I'm trying to walk back up the beach.

Weather was reported as 6 knots climbing to 12 with gusts of 20. 33°C at 68%.
Wind felt like we should have been rocking on the big kites. Everyone struggled.

What I learned today...
• We are truly into the shitty bit of summer now.
• The Fly is better than the Zephyr. At least, Hironobu makes it look so...
• Gear breaking is annoying when the spares aren't in your car :(
• S3 21 can be looped easily on standard length lines, but I greatly before the longer power-stroke of the extensions.
• Looking forward to experimenting with shorter extension though...

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

I walk the line


Well, it's been a while since I have had a ride at "my" beach on the lake... forecast didn't look up to much but I was counting on the thermal. Wind was looking interesting around 1pm so I thought I'd toddle off down there...

Mmm, very light. Nobody is even bothering setting up. I spend some time changing out the damaged bridle lines on the 21. By the time I'm done with that, had a cold drink and sat on my bum for a bit, the wind has picked up a tad. Gloves Guy is heading over the lake to set up... I follow him over.

Might just be doable. I set up the 21 for a side-wind launch, make sure I've not bungled the replacement lines and tangled shit up. Nope! But I can't launch this way :-/ derp! Reset for a hot-launch... no worries!

Jump in the water... riding and walking a tad but nice flat water! Gloves Guy is on the new Naish Fly... but I'm riding upwind further than him ;) Begin getting back to my starting point so I start jumping. And losing even more ground downwind :D

Keep riding though, just enjoying the flat water, silly transitions and load'n'pop in the gusts. Wind gradually pick up a bit so the boosts get a little bigger. I stop for a drink at 4:30pm and I when I get back to the lake, it's crowded - Turkey and Miyachi and The Skater Guy are on the lake, Uncle Pyro is setting up and Soh is thinking about it. Directional Guy with the Tiny Kites is watching too. I keep riding...

The thermal kicks in! I'm going upwind easy and enjoying silly jumps and transitions even more so... and still outpointing the Fly riders. Turns like a 12m? Guess the 21 turns like a 10m then LOL unless of course they're just not giving it the full bar. Or tying to go upwind as hard as I am... or as fast! Love my 21!

Finally, as the sun sets, I'm the last guy on the water. Again. About a 4-hour session and I'm a bit beaten up... but smug! Walked the line between lightest wind riding and swimming in... and survived!


Mood of the session was amused smug sore.

Moment of the Day was riding rings around the light wind Fly and the little guys on bigger boards!

Song stuck in my head was I walk the line by Johnny Cash. WTF? I only know that one line!

It sucks when somehow you jam water in your ear hole and it aches afterwards...

Weather was reported as 8.4 knots falling to 6.6 then climbing back to 8.2 - gusts no more than 15.6 knots; 33.5°C at 55%.
Wind felt like I shouldn't have been riding upwind so easily!

What I learned today...
• Fly is a great kite but I'm not ditching my S3 21 for one.
• Yes, the SZ1 is too short. I think I've sorted out by how much. Or maybe the SZ2... but definitely not the erm other one!
• The brake line on the extreme outside is now too short. By perhaps the same amount as the other one? Need to check footage of other kites...
• Do the SZ lines go over or under the br lines? I don't know.
• I have sissy girly hands that get sore after 3 hours riding.
• Have to pull in with front hand and tuck knees properly to get rotations done in light winds.
• Bar grip is getting chewed up good from the uncovered T-tube :( will replace that and the lines when the new guide block arrives!

Saturday, July 21, 2012

The Early Bird messes with your head

Been keeping an eye on the forecast, the way you do... nothing here but Mie looked good in the morning but dropping off around 3pm so I figured I should haul my ass out bed early and check again in the morning. Which I did, around 8am... hmm, worse than yesterday. I should pull finger and leave ASAP. Early bird gets the worm, and all that...

So I hit the highway and roll up to the carpark around 10:10am and the wind is crankin'! Better than forecast—I love days like this! Couple of pole-dancers and a couple of kites setting up 11m kites. Let's go for the S3 15 again, shall we? Bit chilly too... full length wetsuit!

Whoah—rapid prefill... this should be good! Head out with the 'radical tucked under my arm... BOOM off like a rocket! A great session follows...!

The waves are good; shoulder-height north of the pier/drain thing but nice and clean, knee-height south and perfect kickers! The tide seems to be going out, and oh look! there's a sandbar down south that makes for a perfect flat water playground... so long as you can get over the bar without digging fins and falling over. It's way closer than that other area way down near the river mouth too. Yes I enjoyed that a lot! Heading back into the waves and big boosting off the kickers for big yippees!

Got a bit hairy judging that crossing... at lowest tide, had to time it with waves going in (even though they were only a few inches) and riding just fast enough to plane with the board flat. Was getting enough 'reflected' waves that they were splashing back up a few feet high :o

Hang-time is great today, lots of hover. Not massive height but I can see that I'm clearing the masts of the pole-dancers with ease. But just hanging there, lookin' around, takin' in the view for a few... hours it felt like! :D

Ninja-waves got me good once... just for ol' times sake! Caught me in a lull with no board speed to pop over it, trying to get out, and I got tumbled good... kite even hit the water :o

Another time, I got lazy with a take-off and ended up doing a really slow back-roll and getting slammed good halfway through.

Rain and clouds... messed with my head and got my paranoia working over-time—was sure that I kept getting static shocks and kept looking around to see if there was lightning about. None in the forecast (usually get a warning) and none to be seen or heard, so I figured it was shock through the depower line or just rain hitting my hands.

Gravy! Rained almost non-stop though, so I have a soggy kite to deal with... but I'm happy! Got the worm!

Mood for the session was soggy psyched showing-off.

Moment of the Day was any one of the perfect carves and boosts up the face of waves or perhaps... jumping just in front of the lip of a wave and drifting downwind as it broke under me, hovering over the foam, finally landing on it and riding out of the froth... neato!

It sucks when you fall over and the water drags on the rear of your harness, levering the spreader bar deep into your liver.

Song stuck in my head was Gangnam Style by M/V... or maybe PSY. Damn you, Drew! "Dum de dum de dum whoopah! gangnam style!" over and frickin over...

Weather was reported as 13.2 - 10.6 - 8.8 - 17.8 - 13.2 - 12.4 knots from 10am to 3pm; gusts to 22.2 knots at 1pm. Fairly steady 22°C at 88% and 0.5mm of rain... was that all? Got soggier than that, surely!
Wind felt like it was a little gusty but otherwise, perfectly powered for steady, regular and predictable "having fun" jumps.

What I learned today...
• There's a sandbar south of the pier/drain that makes a wicked flat-water zone at low tide.
• My basic load'n'pop technique is fine; on flat water, it works nicely. So when I cock it up in the chop, I can blame the conditions after all ;)
• Better to have the heels closer to the edge than toes—locks the edge in chop nicer. Straps over the toes more...
• REALLY need to sack up and try to loop the kite when I get elevatored by gusts.
• Don't try to edge too hard when 'carving' a wave... dig the toes in, but don't over do it!
• Don't leave the pop too late... which I seem to be doing when I get tired and lazy.
• Doing the upside-down look-behind-me—don't drop your knees when you recover; keeping them into your chest when you come upright makes it easier to land and judge the touch-down.
• Turn hard, sheet out and load'n'pop aggressively gives the best height for jumps, I think.

Monday, July 16, 2012

I'm burning for you

Good forecast at Machiya/Tsu again today. Leave home early, go buy some new swim-shorts and hit the highway. Only size they had in a design I liked (ie. not all black) was 5L ... my current ones that replaced the zebra pants (both ripped up a seam) are 4L and incidentally, the same pattern as the new ones. Guess the shop I bought them from didn't sell them since last year :D

Traffic moving smoothly and I got to the beach early - 12pm, about 10 minutes before Junkie Sensei - makes me the first of the Locus folks.

Wind looks good! I worry that my Xbow 13 is going to be too big but it's the smallest kite in the car. I pump it up and set up anyway. Think I've crossed the lines on set up so spend some time checking them out ...

Launch the kite but ... hmm, where teh wind gone. Noodle around on the Flydoor but it ain't happening. Come back in after a bit and stand around looking at the horizon, trying to figure out what to do. Meanwhile, Boofhead, Taaki and Gloves Guy turn up ... Gloves Guy goes for his 15, Taaki his 12, and Boofhead and Junkie Sensei are barely powered on their directionals and 12's ... 16m Xbow? Can't be buggered pumping it up and the wind is supposed to peak at 2pm ... SPEED3 15 DOOD!

But where to launch ... there's a teeny open area of sand between the detritus over the other side of the pipe outlet ... but I still get shit stuck in the lines between the LH steering and mains, and the mains are caught together a meter or two from the canopy :o luckily, it all breaks and falls off as the kite fills. Phew!

Much better! For the next few hours, I'm having fun. Some decent jumps, a couple WHEE!s and some fun'n'games with transitions. Have to swap boards a few times as the wind is up and down, but I ride almost non-stop (others are walking!) and kill my legs!

Give up around about 4pm cos the wind has dropped again and my body has had enough ... good day!


Mood of the session was bemused, joyful, slaked.

Moment of the Day was boosting a passable jump, looking behind me and seeing Gloves Guy going up! We flew through the air at the same time :) Would've made a great photo ... or GoPro vid. Nuts.

Song stuck in my head was "Voices in My Head" by Denis Leary. Bah-na-na-nana-na!

Weather was reported as 10.4 knots at 12, 9.8 knots at 1, 15.4 knots at 2, 11.6 knots at 3, 9.6 knots at 4. Max gust today was 21 knots at 5pm. 32.4°C at 66%.
Wind felt like it was playing silly buggers. I wasn't over-powered at all, was nicely powered for short periods but mostly underpowered and just riding.


What I learned today ...
• You're better off wearing a size bigger swim-shorts than you would normally wear. Well I am anyway. New togs = win!
• Sun very hot.
• Sand burnee feet.
• Sun burnee legs, feet ... ouchie!
• Sun even burnee my bonce through my (thinning) hair. Must wear the hat I bought especially for the purpose :-/
• Listen to the small voice in your head that says "Hey dumbass I think you crossed your lines when setting up."
• S3 15 ... what a kite!
• Need to check the tip bridles on the 15 - they look a bit short. Grr.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Topping off the tanks!

It's been a bloody week and no wind or damned southerlies. More southerlies so today but it's the weekend so after riding the Duke in the morning, I plan on riding at Mie in the afternoon. Leave home at 12.30pm, arrive at the beach around 1.40. zOMG there's no wind! Not due till 2 though ... wait around and true to forecast, the wind arrives.

There's not much so it's another 21m day. Crap all over the beach - the last storm has left debris everywhere. Erk, going to be a messy launch.

Or not! Kite goes straight up without a hitch - or tangling on the sticks, weeds etc - nice! Wind is still light though and my first attempt at riding is a fail. Wade out, stand around ... ooh here's some more!

So I get some riding. At first, just mowing the lawn, then some jumps for the joy of the baseball boys cavorting on the beach. Some rolls, a few nice 'jump' transitions, some rotations ... all good fun!

Thought the wind was picking up so I change out my board for the 'radical. A little fun but the wind suddenly drops off ... I have to walk up the beach for the first time in ages!

But I'm happy with the session! Even smiled and waved at the jet-ski guys, said hello the family on the beach ... nice!


Moment of the Day was riding while the skinny cool guys were walking and fishing their kites out of the water. Fnar!

Mood for the session was grateful, fizzing, happy.

Song stuck in my head - none. My head was empty. For a change.

Weather was recorded as 4 knots building to 11, gusts to 18 (at 6pm!) and 32°C, 62% humidity. Hot!
Wind felt like I shouldn't have been riding at all, until it "picked up" - very weak!

What I learned today ...
• 3 hours driving IS worth 90 minutes riding!
• Leg straps on the Fusion harness are starting to fall off ... hmm, I make that about 60 sessions on that harness. Time for another moan :-/
• Apparently, I can do little jump transitions ... news to me but there you are.
• Water is now tepid. Do not need wetsuit.
• Do need sunblock.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

That's the ticket!

Been watching the internet forecast but ... one says it's all over by lunchtime, the other says it kicks off at 3 and the other says 6pm. What're you supposed to do? Camp out at the lake from 1pm which is what I did ... there's a Pole Dancing race on hogging the whole beach but praise the lord! that's all over by 3pm. As the beach finally clears of retards and their gear - the wind picks up. Fnar fnar!

Out on the 21 and the 'door ... nice flat water and the wind is good. Show off some reasonable jumps to the windsurfers and get some cheers. Wind picks up some more and I swap to the 'radical. Having fun, busting moves ... big smiles! This is what I wanted yesterday!

The Gloves Guy nearly got landed on when he changed direction and came in under me while jumping. Soh did the same too. Uncle Pyro nearly took my kite out cos he didn't look behind himself when changing direction. Thank god we didn't have to deal with the windsurfers as well!

Repeat ad nausea. Wind goes up and down for a while then drops off and I get the Flydoor again. Keep riding while everyone else gets off the water and packs up ... getting on to sunset so I pack up too.

Psycho4 19 is on the beach so I unpack that for a test flight. Thank god I did cos that HQ bar is fucking useless - way over-sheeted, the kite wont get off the ground unless I pull the center lines. The FDS is too short and any load on the lines and the above the bar safety releases :o sigh, going to have to moan at the seller. There's also 2 (4!) bridle lines that need replacing. Canopy seems fine but DAMN is that regular material heavy!

Got through the whole thing without hurting the ankle though - yah me!

Also got to use the new Hyperflex short john wetsuit ... I actually think it's a bit long in the body for me - but I need the 3XL for the bulge. Very comfy though, stopped the anal exploration of the harness ...

Mood of the session was happy amused slaked.

Moment of the day was popping of beautifully flat water and just floating like a leaf ... to a chorus of cheering!

Song stuck in my head was Ultraviolet by U2. Light my way!

Weather was reported as 13 knots falling to 8, gusts no more than 18; 25°C at 70%.
Wind felt like I was powered enough for decent but not awesome jumps, falling to just riding upwind if I didn't clown around.

What I learned today ...
• Those bloody "No Boats" signs are invisible if you approach them side on!!! Absolute waste of time.
• I've got my L and R straps on reversed on the Flyradical! WTF?
• End of the session when you're tired and not focusing well is not the time to do rotations ... cos you're too tired!
• Regular FS cloth is blood heavy.
• Wetsuit is great! Does what it meant to ... bit roomy around the shoulders though.
• Water goes in the top but suck in the gut for a cool refreshing dosing of the family jewels.

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Ah well ... good enough

Had to work again so according to the forecast, I was going to miss the best wind in the afternoon and catch the tail-end crap after 5. Which is precisely what happened ...

21 was up and went out on the 'radical ... was ok but the lulls were coming so I swapped to the 'door, for more board speed and better jumps but - well, it was all pretty lame. I was really off my game and couldn't land shit; got dropped and dumped like the village bike. I blamed the wind but over and over again, I dropped like a stone from the zenith - the kite just wouldn't redirect enough to fly me down.

Probably got an hour's riding in before the wind really sucked ass and I packed up. Oh well. Tomorrow promises to be better ... so long as the pole-dancers don't hog the water and beach :-/

Mood for the session was annoyed disappointed sated.

Moment of the Day was

Song stuck in my head was Tones of Home by Blind Melon. I'm flying home ...

Weather was reported as 13 falling to 9 knots with gusts of dick-all; 21.9°C at 85%.
Wind felt like I was powered but let me down with being gutless when it counted.

What I learned today ...
• Need to tune the 21.
• Wish I'd been able to flight-test the P4 19 - probably would have been a good time to get a handle it. But that HQ bar is ... nasty.
• I can still tweak that ankle in no wind :(