Bitch-slapped

Miyachi's BBS entry reads "Extremely heavy Kevin is riding easily on his 16"... cheeky bugger!

This is being written on Sunday night; we went to Hamamatsu Saturday night and didn't have time to enter Saturday morning's ride report.

Went to the lake in the morning. Forecast looked ok and it was going to crank in the afternoon but I had to work though :-/ dragged myself out of bed at 9:30, got to the lake slightly after 10. Suited up - with gloves this time - and headed over to the lake with the Flyboards and the XB 16. Measured 9 knots on the shoreline :(

Pumped up the 16 and launched... wind isn't up to much, might be able to ride though. Head out with  the Flydoor... riding upwind ok. Certainly, it's much easier than the Fly; better low-end with more upwind, easier to park'n'ride, but the jumps are slower to initiate and turns are noticeably vague, and makes less power in loops and turns.

Noodle around some... about 10:30 the wind starts to pick up and gets punchy with it - I'm fully trimmed - and when I get high-speed lobbed a few times, I decide to get my Flyradical strapped on.

For the next hour, I'm well- to over-powered and mostly enjoying it. Some good, high, floaty jumps, nice rotations and transitions too. Wind is punchy (said that already) so it's hard to get it timed. Mostly I'm pretty timid with the 'technical' stuff but go full-out at the jumps...

Then this one time, I set up for a jump and bounce off a wave's lip and lose the edge before I was ready and I launched with no board on my feet, way off balance and spinning like a top...  I went up, I came down, ass up head down and SLAMMED into the water, right on my side! Head and ribs took the full brunt of it - went OOF damn ouch! when I hit - and I managed to knock my leg around too. Head still hurts today (Sunday) too... it should be bruised so I can get some sympathy!

My Sharks even got ripped off my face too... I ended up downwind of them and my board, so I thought I'd lost ANOTHER pair of sunglasses to Biwako... but as I body-dragged back upwind to my board, I found the sunglasses bobbing in the water :) sweet!

Ride it out till the wind throttled a bit at 11:30 and I could go back to full power trim. Pack it up at 12 and rush home for a hot shower and clean duds for work!

---

Moment of the day was hard to choose cos nothing really spectacular happened... it was just good to get out again in strong wind!
Mood of the session was cold ouchie happy.
It sucks when you would have had more fun if you'd pumped up two kites :-/
Song stuck in my head was "Running Bear"... WT actual F?

Weather was reported as 9 to 15 knots, gusts to 26; 12˚C at 45%!!!
Wind felt like 20% just powered, 30% nicely powered, 40% woohoo and 10% holy crap!

What I learned today...
• Water's cold, air's cold - time for gloves! My thin ones did ok and my hands were cold but not debilitating. Soh was complaining about stiff hands cos of the cold...
• Wind chill is tough... time for the 6/5/4 :o or the Ghetto drysuit.
• I seem to be able to get away with smaller kites, and need them when the wind picks up. Winter, huh.
• Like my Xbows but I feel like I need something else - more turning speed and power in the turns... more than just a racing machine.
• Believe it or not, the Speeds are good for that! But I like the non-bridal twistingness of LEIs sometimes.
• Getting slapped like a bitch hurts... I need an emergency plan for brutal impacts!

A Fly and a Rainbow

Forecast had potential so on the spur of the moment I loaded up and headed down to the lake just after 1pm, getting there about 1:30pm then shooting the shit with Miyachi for a bit... wind looked pretty light. I spotted the Naish Fly in the changing room and asked Miyachi if I could borrow it... he said sure so I toddled over to the lake with that, the XB 16 and the 2 Flyboards.

Measured 10 to 20 knots at the shoreline with the anemometer in the few minutes I stood there. A few whitecaps around...

Plan was to pump up both kites but... dang! I guess I been flying the Speeds too much cos pumping up SUCKS. So I only inflated the Fly.

Especially sucky are the 'regular' sized valves and no one-pump—forgot how tricky it can be to get those valves plugged—only 2 struts though... there's a LOT of ripstop in the center of the kite, between them. Was surprised at how fat the leading edge is! Noted the little spar at the center of the leading edge too. Nice simple bridle, Ronstan Orbit pulleys... nice! Bar looks a little narrow though! Have always liked the clean, simple-looking Naish bars... works good! Mutiny swivel needs a lube though.

Tether-launched the Fly. Didn't go up as easy as the Xbow so I decide then and there to NOT test the water relaunch!

Good static pull, very stable - I'm impressed. When the wind dropped, it'd just float back down, rather than stalling and diving like the XB.

Was a bit shocked at how light the bar pressure was. Seemed a bit vague & unresponsive too... I thought about landing the kite and resetting the rear leaders but I'm oddly lazy about that kind of thing—can't be bothered with the whole landing/relaunching thing. If it was a joystick, I'd think that the response curve had been meddled with—fish-poling the bar got it moving.

The Fly is fast, but not too fast. Suitably agile? Be a good kite for a beginner to advance on.

Kite worked ok but was really good to just park'n'ride. Using the stopper, I could just park the kite and take my hands off the bar :o very stable! More downwind pull than the XBs, harder to work it upwind—gonna feel it in the legs tomorrow. Loops and redirects pull more downwind too.

Jumps are good - when the wind is good, it goes up fine, hangs nice and floats good on the way down.

Rotations are fun; good lift when the kite is overhead makes them easy and the agility of the kite makes them fun. Rotation transitions are working again!

Only issue... when turning hard-ish, the unloaded tip—the material on that side—flaps around and feels like it creates drag. Oh and the bar was a tad rough on chilly hands...

Basically, I like the kite—and bar!—and enjoyed a 2-hour session in crappy wind on it. Wished it was bigger though... I think I wouldn't be really excited until closer to 20 knots. Wonder how the Flite 17.5 is?

Noticed a 4 inch slash on the LE when I was packing up—wasn't me, cos the kite only touched the ground on launch and landing. Hope that doesn't bite me in the ass.

Miyachi supposedly has photos of today too... there was a brilliant, 180˚ rainbow when I got in the water too.

EDIT: Miyachi delivers! Doot-doo-doot-dee-doot-de-doo-doo...

---

Weather was reported as 9-12-9 knots—with gusts to 34 ROFL again! I think the weather station is broken. 11°C at 73%.
Wind felt like 10% having fun, 70% just barely powered but still having fun, 20% underpowered.

Moment of the day was throwing a bit fat backroll... transition!
Mood of the session was intrigued amused happy.
Song stuck in my head was the theme from Rainbow.
It sucks when you can't remember the lyrics except for Doot-doot-doot-dee-doot-de-doo-doot over and over again.

What I learned today...
• Naish have good product.
• Really digging the stopper. Thinking about using my Charger just to use the stopper!
• And really want a Flite. Better email Ned.
• Cold enough that I needed gloves. Hands were a bit shut down at end of session.
• Arms were chilly. Need something to block wind.
• Realized that ALL my Flysurfers are out of commission, even if only very temporarily.
• I love rotation transitions.
• CTBs legs up rolls are tough to do.
• Wonder what the Park is like...

Joy from the North

Had a couple of beers now (cos I earned them) and on an empty stomach, I'm having a hard time remembering what happened today exactly... went a bit like this.

Got to the lake at 12:30pm-ish. Gloves Man was waiting to get on the water but Junkie Sensei and Old Duffer were waiting for the wind. I took the S3 15 over to the lake with the 2 boards.

Set up the kite and it filled nicely but the wind was up'n'down. Noticed that the endline was looking worn, around wear it bangs up against the tube it threads through... hmm, that doesn't look good. Should be ok, no worries mate.

So I head out on the Flydoor cos the wind is light. I'm riding around ok, not flying upwind but not getting sucked onto the beach either. Noodle noodle doot-de-doo.

Clunk. What is clunk? Oh, the end has snapped off the end-line and my leash is flailing around. Gah. And naturally, the ring falls off when I hook it onto my spreader bar.
What to do, what to do... tie a knot in it and attach the leash to that - but now I can't do rotations or loops without the leash getting wrapped around the QR etc. Hmm...

But the wind has picked up so I swap out for the Flyradical and whoop it up. Gusty and punchy, kite is misbehaving and I have a few tip-wraps, clams, and drops but am getting the hang of either avoiding them (feeling what's happening) or catching them before the bad happens. And then...

And then...

And then the wind switches to the north. ZOMFG smooth, consistent wind!!! Let the good times roll! Which they did for quite a while... I even start to cope with the leash/safety line situation and start doing some nice rotations - even some kewl front rolls. This is more like it! Even the sun comes out... happy times.

Wind starts to drop... I work for a while and enjoy the gusts but now it's starting to rain and the sun is gong time. Time to pack up.

Good day - hopefully, a sign of things to come... from the North.

---

Moment of the day was when the wind switched to Northerlies. Hallelujah!!!
Mood of the session was anxious annoyed ecstatic.
It sucks when shit breaks.

Weather was reported as 14 to 9 to 10 knots, gusts to 36 (ROFL) and 10°C at 78%.
Wind felt like 30% underpowered, 65% having a good time, 5% OHH SHIIIIIIT SON!!!

What I learned today...
• Worn bits should have attention paid to them :-/
• Unpleasant kite behaviour post-jump seems to be the result of redirecting directly downwind too soon or too aggressively and sending it too far to the edge of the window.
• Better to leave it later and redirect hard.
• Also better to send it with a hard turn, sheet way out and let it run! Big yoink!
• It IS getting cold... thin gloves would be nice. Something to block the wind around my arms too. Don't think it's time for that... scary... 6mm gimp suit. How the hell do I get in that small hole in the top?!
• That's all carry on pass the gin.

Short morning ride

Didn't look like much wind in the forecast, but the hourly data and the webcam were promising so I headed down the lake at 10 a.m., with my watch on my wrist cos I gotta work in the afternoon :-/

According to The Master of Disaster, the wind was dropping. 'K, that'll be the Psycho4 19 then... oh no it won't be, cos the endline on the old bar is holding on by a single thread only. Can't be bothered pumping up the Xbow 16 so it'll have to be the Speed3 15... but given the time I had with it last time, and the concerns I have over the mixer... le sigh.

Get to the beach and the wind has dropped. I launch easily and head out with the Flydoor, for a few tacks before the wind gives out completely. Stand around for a while waiting... wind picks up and I head out and get about 40 minutes of riding...

Varied from mowing the lawn to doing a few small jumps and rotations. Didn't have to walk at all but wasn't going upwind easily :(

Kite didn't give me too much grief--I was just thinking that it was pretty good when we got hit by a punchy bit and it twitched on me. Also managed to wrap a tip once, just like the 12 was doing... I think there's a bit of technique involved too. Easy enough to sort that one out... still want to check the mixer!

Gave up about 11:45 as the wind had dropped right off and refused to come back up--although according to the hourly data, the afternoon was awesome. My shortest session in a very long time.

:-/

---

Moment of the day was realizing I have totally sussed out back-rolls in one direction (effortless big ones!) and am comfortable and confident on my weak side!
Mood of the session was less than thrilled.
It sucks when you wrap your safety leash around the board's fins. And the bar. And backwards around your leg...

Weather was reported as 12-14 knots, 16°C at 56%. Max gusts today were 24 knots but that was well after I left the lake.
Wind felt like 5 to 10 knots most of the time, and no more than 15 knots in the good bits :(

What I learned today...
• I might be using bad technique on the redirect to cause the tip-wraps and stalls... maybe. Be nice to actually get flyable wind to test all this in!
• Standing on the boards flatter of foot, as it were, gives an easier ride - edging too hard causes all the spray and skipping around.
• Splashing down from a back-roll can force a massive amount of water right up my nose.
• Working the S3... best method seems to be gentle sines with consistent but gradual turns.
• Front-rolls... I have to go back to not doing using the kite :(

A lucky disaster

The forecast on GPV and the Locus webpage finally aligned - I checked them both at 1pm at it looked good so I finished my whatnot at home then loaded up and headed out around 2. Must have arrived about 2:30pm, headed over to the beach and measured the wind - good solid 16 to 20 knots... The Master of Disaster thought it was just the "rain blow" but I thought I'd rely on the good forecast and rig small.

Had moments of doubt setting up the S3 12 but once it was in the air, and once I'd had a single walk up the beach, it was all on. Good wind!

Seemed fairly consistent for a while; smooth enough that I was doing foot outs (ugly but landed them... need more work huh) and phat backrolls like a boss... then the wind got punchy :( and started making me look like a twat.

My timing for redirects was wa-aay off and at first, I sending the kite too early and getting yoinked. Got back in the groove a little but the kite started to get fond of shooting across the window to the very edge... then front-stalling. Recovered a number of tip twists when it did this. And the kite would front stall when I unloaded the lines carving 'waves' rather than just floating downwind. Hmm, mixer not right?

Some good jumps, loving the 12 and it's got nice hangtime now, more consistent feel through the wind range. Just that stalling issue... gotta do some research!

So I'm having a good time, trying to cope with the redirects when I drop the kite and twist the left hand tip... dick around trying to fix it but it's not going to recover this time.

Then I notice that the metal clip on the chicken loop has broken - one end is held on by only one side of the U-loop :o so it's kinda lucky that the kite is all messed up, otherwise... it might have given way in the middle of a jump :o

The kite is thrashing around, but I can touch the bottom so I try and sort it out while shuffling back towards the beach - naturally, I'm upwind of the bloody trees. Miyachi comes into the water and rescues my board, then rescues the kite from The Master of Disaster who is trying to grab the bridles. I wrap up the lines while Miyachi holds the kite, then fold it tip-to-tip and walk it to shore. Bridle looks a horrid mess but is untangled in a few seconds :)

Close look at the QR... sigh, guess I won't be riding that again today. But I launch the kite on the beach to dry it out, holding onto the depower line. Back up, head home... got about 80 minutes on the water.

After what feels like weeks of no wind, it's all good!

---

Moment of the day was that feeling of extended hangtime for the first time.
Mood of the session was relieved philosophical thankful.
It sucks when you've borked up the mixer test... or think you have.

Weather was reported as 12 to 14 knots, 15°C at 61%. Gusts to 22 knots at 4:30pm.
Wind felt like it was closer to my measured 20 knots... 80% nicely powered, 10% under-powered and 10% thrilled.

What I learned today...
• Foot outs... I seem to be messing up the balance of myself or the kite and making landings a bunch more difficult than they need to be - I've gone down in skills! :o
• As the mixer test is, I've gotten better bottom end than before, faster turning speed (slightly), and the upwind is good. Hangtime is really nice, and there's no backstall while floating under the kite with the bar right in.
• However, it seems unstable and prone to shooting across the window then front-stalling... hmm.
• Gotta get to the forums for some research.
• The water is shallow :o I guess all the storms have driven sand into the beach, making it shallow further out than it used to be... hit the bottom on a couple of splash downs!
• Me and metal just don't seem to be getting on at the moment :(
• This is the season to be riding my LEIs...

Back mount for GoPro

aka scorpion mount. Neat!

http://goprobackpackmount.blogspot.co.il/

Shouldnabothered

Supposed to be blowing good all day but the web cam is showing... dead calm. Keep an eye on it all day and finally something starts to happen around 2:30pm. Load up and head down to the lake...

White caps out there. Doesn't look too strong though - decide to take the Pyscho4 19 for a test-fly anyway. Bit chilly getting dressed so I put my 3mm booties on. Contemplate the gloves but can't be bothered.

Set up on the beach... untangle the twists I put in the bridle doing the replacements. Wind is not bad, I might be able to ride after all. Try to inflate the kite by standing on the tip - doesn't seem to work for me :D so I inflate the regular way and launch.

Kite is good - mixer tune was successful, it seems. Still flying it on the old 21 bar though - eep. Wind seems rideable so I get into the water... it's way cross on though. Double eep. If the shit goes down, next stop is about 5km down stream.

Tack out, back in... come ashore past our beach in the trees bit. Naturally, the kite stalls in a lull then reopens just as I'm trying to come ashore - I get yoinked through the shallows and dance over all the nasty rocks hiding there, ripping open my boot and getting a boo-boo on my foot. Mutter mutter moan complain.

Walk back up the beach, try again. Wind is so up and down that I do that a few times. Trying to get used to the Psycho doesn't help...

Obviously, the Psycho turns faster than the Speed3 21 and makes enough power when doing so for it to be a viable low-wind option. Needs a good ol' haul on the bar though. When the wind is good, it parks nicely but likes to be given its head and let run. Still a bit back-stally but I'm betting that's the fault of the bar & line set.

So I potter around, trying to keep upwind. A few jumps but only one was exciting - and that just reminded me that I shouldn't probably be trying that with a mostly unknown kite. Miyachi comes out for a ride too. We both end up having to loop the kite to get back into shore. Then the wind picks up again...

Sun is going down, and so is the wind. I give up, pack up and head back to the warm shower. My board falls over as I'm washing it and dings the edge.

Sigh... dinged board, ripped boots, sore foot - why did I bother?

---

Moment of the day was non-existent.
Mood of the session was anxious irked resigned.
It sucks when you bang all your gear around.

Weather was reported as 14 knots; 13°C at 55%. Max gust was 40 knots (!) but that was at 1am so... so what.
Wind felt like nothing to maybe 18 knots... gusty and lully and just shit.

What I learned today...
• Boots go under the suit - otherwise, stones get into the boots.
• Psycho4 19 makes nice power when being worked - makes up for it's lack of low-end parkability.
• Bar pressure seems about the same as the Speeds...?
• Need new 3mm boots :-/
• And I probably didn't even need them - wasn't that cold.
• The new FSer straps are easy to adjust, at least.