Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Hey bartender, hit me with a double!

Forecast was for N-O-T-H-I-N-G… nothing at all! There was a tickle after work though so I thought I'd chance it. Down to the lake!

Hmm, looks a little lighter than yesterday. Oh well why not? Same gear over to the beach… launch the 21—oh yeah, that'll do nicely!

Straight back into the double rolls like yesterday :D little less power actually makes it tricky, cos it's too easy to stall the kite being ham-fisted. So the success rate is down but the fun rate is off the charts!

Even manage a double back-roll at one point, and very nearly land several triple fronts—having trouble getting the kite in the right place for them on landing though.

The wind seems good so I switch boards. Bit of diddling around then I click with the Mako. Oh wow, it really does fly upwind! It loves the magically flat water though, slices through the chop, and just carves lovely. Can get skatey when you do… something… and carves wicked fast when you edge. It'll be surprisingly floaty as a mutant, I think…

Wind has dropped and I have to walk. Get the Flydoor and… what the hey—I'm not actually making that much more ground upwind! Struggle for a bit, worry about dunking myself and the kite, throw a stunt per tack but lose so much ground that I'm thinking of giving up.

So's arrived and… he's bought the wind with him! Keep on riding, throwing some one footers, till after dark again. The moonlight on the water is magic and I'm having great fun stunting but I'm getting tired and hungry. Fight back upwind to the start and call it a night.

A session from nothing… Jesus saves!

Moment of the day was the double back-roll.
Mood of the session was aw HELL yeah again!

Weather was reported as 6 to 12 knots, gusts to 20 (!) at 6pm; 22˚C at 49%.
Wind felt like 10 to 15 knots, and less: walked a couple of times but never felt over-powered like 20 knots worth!

What I learned today…
• I can do double back-rolls too!
• Might even be able to do triples :o
• Mako rocks upwind and slices through chop but needs board speed—flat water helps, it really doesn't like bouncing around. You can ride it pretty flat too.
• Would I like a King more than a directional?
• Kite skills for landing the stunts are vital. Lost it a bit as I got tired… but was still chuckling!
• Nearly landed an accidental double front-roll kite-loop :o
• One-footers are so easy when you have days of hang-time! Getting used to doing tail grabs the other way too.
• Shore water is warm but it's still chilly out in the depths.

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