Friday, November 1, 2013

Oh well...

Whoa, wind's up - could be good. Hit the lake about 2:30... hmm, might be able to get away with the 13 but I bet I need the 16. Up it goes.

Bah, can't get upwind on the Dialer. Long walks... Picks up, try the Origin... a little better but not enough.

Land the kite and swap the A/B steering etc settings. Take the Dialer back and get the Flydoor3.

Try again... better. Prefer the steering setting - really gets around. Accidentally manage some bankroll kite loops when I'm just trying to do transitions...

... but there's really not enough wind. I keep trying cos I got nothing better to do but now it's getting dark. I pack up...

The wind drops right off and one of the race board guys is swimming in... by the time I've packed up, he's not made much progress so I decide to swim out - I'm always up for an adventure.

Takes about 10 minutes, although I can walk 1/2 the way out. I get to try a deep-water self-rescue with someone else's gear :D I can get on the LE ok, get the opposite tip up into the air but there is NO wind to blow me to shore. Fine... I'm about to suggest we delate the LE, roll the kite up and put it on the race board and push it in (why hasn't he done this already?!?) when Miyachi arrives with the boat.

Whee, a boat ride too!

Weather was repotted as 7 to 11 knots, gusts to 16; 18˚C at 49%.
Wind felt like I should have been able to ride... but just couldn't manage it :(

What I learned today...
  • Flydoor is locked in TIGHT to it's tack. Feels like the Nugget.
  • Crossbow really does turn better on the less depower/more steering setting. Bar pressure is bearable, when so-so powered. We'll see when it picks up...
  • Nobody here can self-rescue worth a damn.
  • It might not really be worth trying to ride the Dialer with the big kites... seems they pull downwind if they're powered and aren't fast enough to work it... or transition nicely.
  • Big kites help with the hover when you change footing though!

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