Mako's up!

Wind's up again. Headed over to Mie...

Forecast was much the same as yesterday but when I got there, it was a bit stronger. I went for the XB 13m... nobody else around except some pole dancers so I self-launched... which nearly turned into a disaster when the bar jumped out of my hand and looped back to the left and slammed into the concrete footpath :( no damage at all though!!!

Head out on the Mako to start with - determined to get to grips with it. Bit hard to get moving - the board likes speed but the water is so choppy is very bouncy out there... pads hurt my feet some too - both the sore on the RH foot and general arch pain. Seems a bit easier to get through the rough stuff though and rides nicely... just bouncy. Upwind is a bit of work (although jumps are fine) so I go back in for the Flydoor.

Easier to ride slower with the bigger board, but it's less fun. Jumps are just too crappy - no flat water to boost from and no decent waves to kick off. I play with the waves some which is fun and even manage a gybe turn without thinking about it!

Give up when my legs get sore. Self-land by attaching the kite to a big log. Much easier than I thought it'd be! On the water for about 2 hours...


Mood of the session was relaxed, intrigued, irritated.

Moment of the day was floating through the air while the fish leapt out of the water under me. Got a good look at them this time...

Weather was reported as 16.6 knots steady, 31°C 68%. Gusts to 21 knots...
Wind felt like I could have gotten away with the 16 but not without an assist on launch/land.


What I learned today...
• Mako is FAST when it gets going... which makes it bouncy. If you go slow, it's more sinky. I think it'll be better on flatter water. Maybe; I might just have to get used to it! Does carve awesome and ride through and down waves really nice though.
• Flydoor feels like a bus in comparison... but I think I knew that.
• It's just not worth trying to do big jumps or tricks when the water is that chopped up - better to surf?
• Need mutant fins for the Mako...

Back down to earth :(

Back in Japan, back to crappy summer southerlies... off to Mie with me! Checked the harbour cam in the morning - kites on the swimming beach?! Apparently there's racing on down there, which explains the Speed3 I saw...

Get there about 1pm-ish; wind looks good. I measured 8 to 20 knots though... go for the 16m XB but the repair on the Mystic harness has been stitched through the power-belt so I have to unpick that :-/ Have to self-launch (and make a gash in the LE :-/ FFS) and head out on the 'door.

Easy powered... but DANG after the smooth water of Thailand, the chop sucks ass. No really good jumps, don't want to do any 'tricks' cos the landing and take-off suck...

Play with the waves some too... got me thinking about how well a Sector 60 would do on days like today...

Had a mad polio dancer come rocketing in behind me, then throw a turn right in front of me... then fall over. Idiot!

Pack up and in the car at 4pm...


Mood of the session was mildly annoyed, mellow.

Moment of the Day was landing a jump on the face of a wave and actually surfing on down it. Dude!

Song stuck in my head was Electric Blue by Ice House. Oh I had a dream, for a moment I believed it was true... mmm, flat water...

Weather was reported as 15 to 18 knots with gusts to 21; 31°C at 67%.
Wind felt like it was pretty smooth, always powered, a few times slightly overpowered; but I should have been jumping higher :(


What I learned today...
• Chop sucks.
• That Mystic harness sucks. Colonoscopy, much?
• Chop really sucks.
• My 16m XB is a magnet for frickin damage... I'll never be able to sell it!
• Sigh... wish I was back in Thailand...

Phangka and Squallus again

Stopped by KBA in the morning - no spare Dakine spreader bar (O RLY) so I bought a new Mystic Supporter seat harness - XL but aside from the "Power Belt" only closing an inch, I think it fits ok. Can swap the spreader bar to the Dakine if I replace the D's hooks... not sure about the click thing though :-/

Headed out to ol' faithful - late cos someone who shall remain nameless decided to wander off shopping - but it didn't matter cos the tide was still out. A little wind at the Peaks, so I pumped up the 16, walked out over the sand to the the far off water...

Nope, slightly planning downwind. This blows.

OH look a storm is coming in - neato! Now I'm riding! Hmm Mark from NZ is heading into the shore - maybe I should pack up NAH just one more jump OMG and that's only 3cm of water splat! O SHIT the kite has unhooked somehow and then yoink! O look the D-ring has ripped out of the harness and my kite is skipping downwind... joy!

Sam made a valiant effort to hold the 'bow but he had to let the CL go... kite finally settles just short of the shore and Mark outpaces Olivia to rescue it!

PISSES down and blows like a bastard - that broken harness might have been a lucky thing...

Wind and rain finally passes over, but there's no blow left. KBA packs up and heads home... Mark and I try to fly the kites (to dry them off!) but there's nothing... he gives up. As I'm walking back to land though... it picks up!

So I finally have a few inches of higher-than-low-tide to play with and some wind! Get about a 30-minute ride before sunset, with some great jumps and nice sent rotations... I pack up cos a. it's getting dark b. the wind has picked up enough that I'm happy over-powered but worried about the landing and c. there's lightening blasting the other side of the island 0_o

Mark helps Olivia land the kite...

Get back to the hotel - tired, hungry, in need of shower and beer - to discover there's a fucking street market blocking BOTH streets that access all the hotels - and ours - down off the main road... don't even start me >:( spoiled the day and my feelings about the place, did the little wanker with the whistle who said "This is Thailand -- go back to your own country"


Wind felt like 8 knots initially, then 30 knots in the squall, then 15-25 in the last bit...


What I learned today...
• Sometimes, gear failure is a good thing :o
• Gray has some mad-ass stories!
• Best just to land the shit when clouds roll in like that...

Phangka again

Same plan with Buzz as yesterday... we drove to Nathon about 3pm and there was N-O-T-H-I-N-G - I couldn't even tell you which way the wind wasn't blowing. Drove to The New Spot to see if B was there; a little wind from the north but not enough. Headed back to Phangka bay - it was cooking!

Stood around watching the KBA lessons taking up the whole bay, wondering how long till the tide came in, and should I go home for the 13... when B arrived. We both decided on the 16 and a small board... wind had dropped by the time we'd set up though, so I chose the big board and shot upwind of him.

Crowded today! A trio of Frenchies turned up but shared 2 kites between them... Sam and Gray went out too so there was about 7 of us on the water :o

I played "race upwind" with the Dyno guy... then decided that was boring and started doing jumps. Not as much wind as yesterday so I start doing rotations... get some nice ones in too!

Then... poink! spreader bar hook separates on the RHS and as I ride along looking at it going "WTF do I do now!?" the LHS gave out. The kite shot to the zenith and looked like it's just going to sit there, on my safety leash so I pulled it in and released the QR. Easy wind up of lines and walk into shore, which was nice. And I wasn't 30 feet in the air when the hook gave out too.

Le sigh.


Wind felt like it was on the low side of 15-20 knots but it picked up as the sun set... while I was watching from the side lines :(


What I learned today...
• Carry a spare spreader bar if you're using Dakine :-/
• I've been pretty lucky with gear failures so far...

Primo Phangka!

Went down to Nathon to meet Buzz at 4pm-ish... sat around chatting with Gray and Sam (KBA guys) on the beach cos there was NO wind :( Buzz arrived a bit late but said it was rocking down near the new spot at a place nicknamed Twin Peaks cos of the two mountains duh. Seems they generate thermals... Buzz took off, I ran around looking for the wife who was out shopping, rounded her up and headed down that way...

KBA was already on the water, Buzz was pumping up when I arrived... I decided to go with the XB 16 cos there wasn't enough clean beach to launch the 21 - another good call cos the thermal picked up toward sunset!

I got set up on the limited real estate and branch etc strewn beach - managed to tangle lines :( - and had an interesting launch with Buzz holding my kite while flying his - we got there in the end!

BAM straight out and riding good - lovely flat water, super-smooth wind... fucking awesome! Good jumps, great back-rolls and easy jump-transitions. Went at it a bit over-enthusiastically and then realized I only had about 30cm of water under me at times... but no prangs!

Was great to be riding with Buzz - he shot way upwind of me (I was upwind of KBA students) and we did stereophonic jumps :)

Rode until the sun set... didn't want to quit! Packed up in the dark... awesome spot! Best session to date!


Wind felt like about 15 knots when I got on the water, up to about 20 knots when I got off. One single punch from a gust that felt like maybe 25 but otherwise, super-smooth!


What I learned today...
• You don't even have to do up the harness leg straps at all :o
• Should take the Flyradical with me.
• It's inspiring riding with people who do something other than just cruise back and forth!
• The wife is actually turning into quite a handy little kite monkey...

Squally... squalls... squalus... oh dang.

Wind looked good this morning as I sat in the Radiance restaurant at the spa in Lamae, waiting for Missus to finish her yoga, and I enjoyed my tofu pattie. No shit.

Went back to the other side of the island, Mae Nam where we're staying, had some chill time in the air-con then decided to head out to Nathon for the incoming tide... wind was still up, by the way.

On a whim, I decided to look at the beach our 'hotel' is supposedly on. If the beach is anything like the hotel, it'll be a dump.

Whoa! Dude, it's seriously not bad! Best beach I've seen and hey! there are kiters out down there! Grab my gear back out of the car and head on down... set up the 16, easy self-launch and away we go!

Downwind. For miles. It's gusty as shit and too light to do much. I submarine down the beach about a kilometer... body drag back into the beach, drop the kite TE down a couple of times - narrow escapes! Ride out a few squalls for fun but it's just not working... struggle back to the beach and start a long walk, with the kite in the air... narrowly miss parking it in coconut trees :o

Meet the wife coming back down the beach with a drink (nice!) who chases off the little twit local who made a grab at my bar >:(

As we're walking back to our hotels beach area, another squall comes in so I jump in the water and try again, leaving the missus to stomp back to our beach and frolic with a water buffalo - I kid you not!

Much better for me! Wind comes right up (still gusty) but I get some yahoos in and enjoy another hour or two. Almost make it back up the beach to our spot... but the wind is now gusting hard and I don't want to risk a walk or self-landing in the higher tide, so I get a landing from the little school there...


Movie dialog stuck in my head was from Jaws :-/ "Indicates the non-frenzied feeding of a large squalus..." squalls...  This was no boating accident! Eep.

Wind felt like it was going from about 8 knots to 28 - kite was starting to behave very badly. Best bit of the session was probably 15-20 knots.


What I learned today...
• Best location so far is within walking distance.
• The hat works good.
• Local kids are little bastards.
• The wee school just up the bay are nice guys!

White caps need not apply

Tried to ride The New Spot in the morning... low tide. I got a few 20m tacks in on the S3 21 till the wind died. But not before I scratched the SHIT out of my board :(

Had lunch at a French place on the bay...

Tried again in the afternoon. More wind, more water but DANG was it unstable. I got some riding in on dead flat water OMG so nice! but when the kite inverted, then uninverted itself I decided it was just too gusty and gave up.

Got the wife to help land the 21... it was shifty, and as I put it down on a tip, it drifted back toward the water and I was treated to the sight of the wife leaping like Superman to grab the kite :D

What I learned today...
• Simply not worth even trying low tide riding, what with all the fucking coral around.
• Anything other than SW is not worth the effort at TNS - but what else am I going to do with my time!
• Unstable wind... sucks worse than Biwako in late winter!!!
• I'm such a sad, desperate old fart that I'd even try in these conditions 0_o

Thailand again, first attempt...

After being introduced to the spots that I'll be using by Robert aka Buzz yesterday (thanks again man!), we bit the bullet and hired a car... wind looked good in the morning, around lunch when we hired the car and... the wind died just as I carried my gear to The New Spot. Which is quite the coincidence because the car had just died too :-/ got a replacement car and headed up to Nathon. Had a snack and the wind's looking ok! Toddle over to the KBA hut... not much beach space! But Sam thinks the wind is rideable so I put up the XB 16...

Nah, not riding. Submarine downwind for a couple of tacks, then body drag (in knee deep water!) back to the spot. While I'm doing that the wind picks up some so I try again. Am riding! Downwind though...

By a combination of body drags and walking on the sand bar, I make my way up and downwind. Lovely flat water though! Nothing exciting happens... although the Samui Marine Police line up on the lawn outside the front of their HQ to watch :o

Back on shore, Sam is laughing at me falling over when I try to ride over the sand bar... but suggests I should make a short video of me riding and doing some safe jumps, as a promo for KBA to show old, fat guys that yes you old, fat guys CAN do kiteboarding! Thanks, Sam! I think...

Head home just after sunset...

Weather was reported as 10 knots. I dunno, maybe...

What I learned today...
• Flat water gives a couple of knots on the bottom end!
• The New Spot has a beach about the size of Locus at high tide. That'll work just fine!
• Nathon is going to be a VERY tight launch at high tide :( specially for the S3...

Pre-Thai shake-down

Probably shouldn't, considering I'm supposed to be packing and doing other chores, but it's last chance for a session here and Mie is looking good again. That big cell of nasty looking clouds sitting down to the S.E. seems to be driving the groovy weather we've had for the past week or so! They're sitting there being all intimidating as I drive down to the beach.

Oh goody. Beach for of university students with barbeques, alcohol, and jetskis, all screaming at each other and behaving like junior high school kids trying to cop a feel. Grr...

Set up the Crossbow 16 cos I want to compare it to the S3 15... lay out my lines, then drop my kite on the beach in a clear spot. Well it was until two asshole windsurfers drop their gear up- and down-wind of my stuff... sketchy self-launch. Wankers.

Get on the water and feel better. Track up to the tidal lagoon and start playing in there... mostly. Good idea cos it keeps me away from the pole-dancers and DICKHEAD directional riders who don't look behind them when doing their imitation of surfers who miss all the waves... and can't jump worth shit :D

So I have a good play time... use the flat water to do some sent front- and back-rolls - they're ok but I'm worried about knees/ankles so aren't trying to go big. No seriously! Bit weird riding an LEI again - been a long time since I was on one. Bar pressure... phew!

Had a good 3 hours out... now to pack up for Thailand!


Mood of the session was relaxing athletic educational.

Moment of the Day was probably that first front roll that was just so perfect and easy!

Song stuck in my head was Wouldn't It Be Nice by The Beach Boys.

It sucks when uni student mongs stand within a foot of you watching you wash yourself down with the hose... just standing there, watching... and looking... and staring...


Weather was reported as 13 to 15 knots between 12 and 4pm, pretty consistent. I measured 14 to 16 knots on the beach when I arrived at about 1pm. 22 knots gusts at 5am was the peak... 31°C at 69%.


Wind felt like I could have gone with a smaller board... but would have had to work hard at getting back upwind.


What I learned today...
• Delay releasing the edge a bit longer for more height... when you feel the kite REALLY pull upwards.
• Send it back further than you have been.
• Xbow has almost NO pull when looping and well sheeted out...!
• But sheeting out when redirecting makes a nice loft for gentle touchdowns...
• Sent rotations seem to be easier with the 'bow... I'm betting cos it sits & pulls downwind more than the Speeds...

Spicy sausage

Had a lunch-time obligation that I thought I couldn't get out... then I just decided to put my foot down and inform the wife that I'm leaving at 2, like it or not. So I did, and I did...

Got to Mie in time for the blow that was forecast from 3pm... measured 15 to 25 knots on the beach. That'll explain the full carpark, the hordes of pole dancers and a bunch of kites too. Hummed and harred about the gear... decided on the S3 15 and the Flyradial, as the wind was supposed to drop off.

Man, I'm glad I did! Perfectly over-powered... big ol' jumps, big ol' smiles :) bloody gusty though - lots of times, I went up beautifully then the kite stalled and I got dropped... took those landings on my ass so as not to risk the ankle. Enough wind that I could cruise upwind at very slowly walking speed, just hanging on the kite... then sheet in, point the board downwind and BOOOOOST! I like that... good kickers today too, but only one direction - wind was cross-on.

Got an hour of awesome riding, then it seemed to drop a bit - came in for a drink. Went back out and now had to work and actually ride the board at speed to get upwind.

Trying too hard, I launched a medium sized jump but overdid the take-off and... ended up doing a double back-roll :o I knew on the way up it was going to be messy, but with my long experience of messy kite action I managed to keep my head and tried to fly the kite properly; even if I wasn't going to land properly, I'd rather not just slam down... by some miracle though, I touched down perfectly and rode off. LIKE. A. BOSS.

Wind didn't want to pick up and although my hands didn't hurt, my legs were ok and I was still having fun, I was getting to the "Oooh shower and a drink" stage so I called it a day.


Mood of the session was timorous pumped amused.

Moment of the Day was definitely the double back-loop... even big ol' air can't compete with the slickness of that move!

Song stuck in my head was The Flight of Icarus by Iron Maiden off the only IM album I like - Live After Death. "Fly... on your wings... like an eagle!"

It sucks when you had the spicy sausage for lunch and keep belching.

Weather was reported as 17.2 knots, dropping to 14.6; gusts of 25.2! 31°C at 67%.
Wind felt like 10% zOMG! 60% AW hell yeah! 30% hmm...


What I learned today...
• What a double back-roll feels like. It feels like awesome.
• Landing bum first is what causes the harness to go riding wa-aaay up in there.
• Sending the smaller S3 back more than directly up gives the yoink up, then redirecting gives the float for a nice landing. Which is doable cos it's fast enough.
• Was a long drive home... very sleepy.

Great Expectations

Cracking forecast for Mie today!!! Should be mental...

Well. It WAS mental, just not mental enough. I measured 18-22 knots when we arrived at 12 but the forecast was calling for 30 or so. The 3 or 4 other adult kiters were on 9 or 10s and Lil Grom was on a 6 LOL so I should be good on my 13 and small board.

Mmm... not living up to expectations. I can ride mostly ok but it's gusty and I'm not loving it... ride around for a bit, wishing I hadn't erred on the side of caution and had put up the S3 15 instead. Waves are big and the chop is rough... tweak my ankle slamming into a pre-breaking wave face :(

Come in for a drink and the Flydoor... wander back to the car, have the drink, chat to the wife, head back to the beach, oh ho! The wind has picked up! Head back out on the Flyradical...

That's better! Even more gusty... get all excited about powering into a kicker, sheet in and then... nothing. Back-stall. Even though I've trimmed the kite so I can't back-stall in the lulls o_0 but get too aggro with the bar and the kite is violent. Gah.

But the jumps are great, when I time it all right. Some nice big floaty ones too. Lots of slams into wave faces, getting bounced off edges etc which got old quickly.

I'm (mostly) having fun but my hands are starting to kill me... maybe I need gloves. That blows. Harness is wedged so far up my butt I can taste neoprene. Legs are getting tired too. Timing is off. Starting to think about cold drinks and the fresh water shower...

I pack it in. Pretty good session but I'd have been happier if it was less gusty. Can't sneeze at riding for 3 hours until you're knackered though!


Mood of the session was frustrated elated invaded.

Moment of the Day was finally getting to show-off for the wife with a couple of monster jumps. Yes I'm 12 years old.

Song stuck in my head was My Hero by Foo Fighters. Watch him as he goes - whee!

It sucks when you're over-powered then sheet in to boost and the kite back-stalls...!

Weather was reported as 16 to 18 knots, gusts no more than 30; 32°C at 69%.
Wind felt like it was trying to sneak up and spank me for getting aggressive in the lulls.


What I learned today was...
• The wife can't put on sunblock properly HAaaar!
• The flat-water area is only good at lowest tide and disappears in a couple of hours.
• 20 to 25 knots IS the sweet spot for the 13 but up to 30 is the big fun.
• I need a slightly bigger board for these conditions for easier planing while working.
• Should have taken the Mako with me!
• It's not landing the big jumps that hurts the ankle, it's the little hops :-/
• When you start fantasizing about the cold fresh-water shower rather than the next boost, it might be time to get off the water.