Scooz me while I kiss the sky

Oof, dang. All the internets said the wind would be lighter than yesterday and falling off.

Nope.

We got 18 to 20 knots and gusts to 28 (if the weather station is to be believed). I swear it wasnt blowing that when I arrived, decided on kit and set up.

Started off light, just going upwind on the Limited, doing some rotations (fail central) then it just went all bat-shit insane.

I forgot how much fun it is to fly and float, Flysurfer style. Or just how big you can actually go on the 21. Or just how much effort it takes to hold all that power down... but, dang, it's worth the effort!

But after an hour of huge air, just big air won't cut it. Had to go to work anyway :(

What I learned today...

• There's a bit of a trick to jumping the big Speed, which took me a time to get back. Seems to be just holding the line then, releasing the edge and popping hard. Mind you, every time I thought I had it, the same method didn't work the next time...
• I get the most giggles and cackles out of the FSers by far... along with the most hair pulling.

Mellow hits the spot

Forecast was good and with the in-laws in town, I could sneak off for the afternoon.

Wind was a bit light so I went for the Crossbow 16 to make sure of some grunt. Took the Dialer cos I thought I might like to...

Enough to get going on the Limited, just, so I forced some rotations to get back in the habit. Even nailed some doubles...

Then the wind got light but not too light, so I went for the Dialer. Rusty!

Good session, had a nice time :)

Rock on!

Surprise forecast, couple of days after the typhoon and we get a cracking good day.

Unfortunately, they're having a comp so the beach is COVERED in unused kites, lines and bars and there's literally nowhere to launch a kite, let alone set up.

Tough choice on the size, the little guys were riding 12 to 14 meters, but it's supposed to pick up continuously through the afternoon, so I risk the 13. Pump up in the grass (spiky things everywhere, look out), carry it across to a freshly vacated spot and lay out my lines, threading between other kites.

Got into the air and on the water... great! Going to be good. Spent a couple of hours whooping it up, but the wind drops off so I take a break. When I think it's picked up, I go back out... more woohoo fun, but the wind drops off again after an hour or so, so I call it a day.

Some good jumps and rotations - front rolls are rusty. Occasionally in the gusts I had to fight to hold edges, and a few times went wa-aaay downwind just a few feet off the water as I got hauled off. Great fun, much better than the typhoon day!

Weather was reported as 15 to 22 knots, gusts to 32!!! 25˚C at 64%, climbing throughout the day.
Wind felt like 50% comfy-powered, 35% WOOHOO, 10% bah-humbug and 5% Whoa Nelly!

What I learned today...

• Soh is a little bitch.
• Back is good, pain almost nonexistent and legs working as well as I can remember they can.
• Want a kite that loops better...!

Lame-ass typhoon is lame. Laaaaaaame.

Well that was the lamest typhoon to date. Took the 10m and 7m to the lake cos I was grossly over-optimistic. For the first 30 minutes it looked good, then it petered right out. Got a drink, the wind came back but it was only good in the rare gusts... a few giggles but mostly just topping up the tanks.

Got to ride the 2014 Park 10m for a few minutes in the gusts but didn't get a real feel for it. Feels a lot  like the Nitro, same light bar and rapid response but I have to say, the Nitro was more stable - kept front stalling the Park on the beach, needed a firm hand on the bar. The bar was fantastic though, loved it. Same kind of jump feel too...

Moment of the day was a front roll down loop transition then landing on a cresting wave and riding it out, slack-lined, into the new direction. Total fluke but it rocked.

Weather was reported as 19 knots, falling to 12; gusts to 24 before I got there :(

What I learned today...

• The Limited seems picky about pad placement. 1/-1 seems to be the sweet spot... or maybe I'm just adapting to the non-Door shape.
• I really don't think looping the XBs is a good plan...

Crack-a-lackin'!

Well, that's more like it. Was hoping for wind on the holiday tomorrow, but that wasn't going to happen. The wife managed to get time off work to cover me, so I could go to the lake by 4pm. Niiii-thh!

People were saying it was no good, but they were going for 12m kites and I thought it'd pick up, so I went for the Speed3 12 cos I really wanted to ride it after the fun of last night...

Went well on the Flydoor for a good while, then there was a parting of the ways in the SPL and I had a kite that wouldn't fly right... it'd stay in the sky, parked at 2pm and pull so I body dragged back to shore and packed it up.

Had the 16m XB on the beach, so up it went. I was feeling pretty good, so being over-powered that much was just FUN. Jump-fest...

Packed up after sun set... although there's a good 30 minutes of light left, forgot that.

Was probably going just as high on the 12, but it was much easier to ride so there's something in that old chestnut then I guess, after all.

Light but not lame

Not expecting much, and it delivered. Luckily, I was just in the mood for an easy cruise so it worked out well. Legs feeling better, but not perfect yet...

Just enough wind to get back to the start, and do a couple of silly tricks on the tack. Good enough to keep me happy.

I should try the Flydoor with the pads back one step, and put the new fin on. Should really get around to the repairs that need doing too :o

Back in the saddle

So, you might have noticed no posts for a while... stuffed my back again at the start of the holidays and after the crippling pain passed, my legs stopped working at full power and other weird things. Back to about 80% now so thought I could get back on the water.

Wind looks good but am a bit hesitant... suck it up and go for the 13m (want to be powered so I can just laze back against the kite) and the Limited. Good choice, mostly ok-powered and don't need to work the kite much until the wind drops off at the end of the sesh.

Could have been a good jump fest but my legs aren't responding well enough to hold and edge, and I can't "feel" my feet... so it was a bit crap but at the same time good.

Bit more time needed then...