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.

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