Ooh, lucky

Nothing at all was forecast but the wind came up so I hit the beach. Thought I might be able to try some surfing, but not enough for the 10m and the Vanguard-clone is still a slippery despite the awesome wax job by the ASP guy. Swapped it all out for the 15 and the Limited.

After a shit launch, I got rolling nicely powered and had a little boosting fun for the rest of this four hour session.

Got tired, got lazy, dropped the kite at the shore, let it get tangled... called it a day. A good day, that is.

Have I told you already? I hate wax

It's the devil!

Good wind forecast and it delivered. Tide is low until very late so I went for a look at the beach, thinking I'd do a little on the surfboard then head off to the estuary...

Goddamn wax! I'd redone it but I still slipped off the front of the board every time I tried to swap my feet. Real shame cos I was having fun.

So back to the car for the TT. Zoom zoom!

Ermagerd! KICKERZ!

Good air play. Found a nice section of the beach with long period waves and flat water between the foot high kickers. Boom! Splash down depth was a bit hinkey though... thanfulky though I only ballsed it up once big time, hitting the lip of a breaking wave and jumping out of a strap, spinning around and splashing down not so badly, in front of the rubber-necker.

Repeat for 3 hours til the tide changed the water into mountainous chop and I was tired of the anal probing from the Dakine Proctologist harness. Started carving around and a wind-down but that lasted an hour...

Finally came off the water around 6:30. I love daylight saving time!

... have sunburned knees where the harness pulled my shorts up over the tanned zone :-/ stupid country. So cold out IN SUMMER you need a sweater, but you get burned in minutes.

I really hate wax

No joy again today. "The next three days are going to be great" seems to be the local joke.

Got desperate and headed out for a run. The Axis board stuns again with how good it is, and wax annoys me again with how shit it is.

Give up after a few runs and walks. Again.

I hate wax

Hmm, lost some days here. Sure I went out on the last two days but then what happened to Thursday?

Low tide early afternoon so I head to the beach rather than the estuary... No messing about, straight out with the Speed and Spud.

Bah. So close to being able to go upwind well, but I can't so I ride, carve a turn, ride back, jump off and wade out upwind...

After an hour or so, I give up and ogle the blonde in the bikini as I pack up.

Head to the estuary cos I think I can get some riding in. Same set up; works just ok, I'm getting upwind a tad so I switch to the smaller Axis prototype Vanguard clone.

Oh myyy! What a stunning thing to ride... only 5' 4" but bloody hell, it cranks upwind, handles chop, and carves a turn better than the Spud. Which is bigger and wider. Wow! Shame the wax is such a shit of a thing!

Give up when the wind dies away.

Right. Plan D.

Home to drink beer.

Waste of time, wind wasn't picking up. Fucking frustrating.

35 degrees!

Total luck I got any riding at all. Forecast was supposed to switch to cracking NWs but that held off long enough to get an hour's blast in.

Prior to that, I'd gone to Tim's shop to ask about beach access and he offered the Spud to demo.

So I rode that and liked it, but I still think it's too small, but I can't get a straight answer from anyone on the matter of a longer board giving better bottom end...

Off to Jed's for fush n' chups.

The more I learn about wax, the more I hate it

Arrived at high tide and was the only one or two there... Bit light relatively speaking, rigged the 15 and went out in the Limited. Not that good for jumping, then the SPL broke and I had a long walk in. Weak, dude.

Pumped up the 10 and went out. Ok but the jumps aren't stellar so I start in on the stunts... yeah, the old tricks work. Tried some hand-drag back rolls and only one worked so I gave up in them.

Wind dropped so I went out on the FruJu. Good board -- too good for me. Crisp and lively, rocks upwind but I had a hard time carving it nicely. Good ollies when you hit it right, butt he was is going and I risk doing the splits...

Wind seemed to pick up so I went out on the Limited but it sucked and I went out on the FruJu again til I decided I had enough... Good long session, about 4 hours!

Fare thee well, Dialer

Wind seemed light so I went out with the 10 and the Dialer, but it was also shallow so I spent a lot of time running aground and falling over.

Board felt strange when I got out of the water and it was then that I spotted the cracks in the fin bamboo near the fin boxes. A trip to Groundswell and a conversation later, the big D is pronounced DOA.

Sadness.

Goodbye J-winter

All excited about using the 7, even thought I'd need the TT but no, the wind is just jerking my chain. Maybe 10 minutes riding, 5 continuously... bah.

Not bad, not bad

Light wind forecast, turned out ok. Rode some on the TT, rode some on the directional. Bit light, bit strong, bit gusty.

Dum-de-gah-GAH

Wind picked up as the session went on, but I really should have been on the S3 15 for the kind of riding I was doing. Gah.

The deck pad is falling apart so I pulled it off and put on the new Dakine pad but . . . it isn't the same size. GAH. Naturally I didn't check before I started ripping the old one off and naturally theres messy patches of adhesive and rubber that just won't come off. Fuck.

Am now looking at SUP and longboard pads as they're the only ones long enough to cover all the mess :(

Paid for the LF Fun Foil too--watch this space.

Dum-de-doo

Bit of a disappointment cos the forecast was cracking, but did some riding as the wind picked up on the Dialer. Better jumps now I've learned to take my back hand off the bar . . . but of course, no camera this time. Landing is easier cos I've discovered I can put my foot anywhere. Kinda. . . .

Well that was lucky!

Was a good forecast but when I got to the lake, it was light and the FS crew had packed up, deciding the day was done.

There was some wind so instinct around, setting up the Swiss Army knife. Had a giggle at Miyachi trying the Lotus 10... too light for a twin tip. I tried on the Dialer but wasn't working. Stood on the beach having a moan then tried again...

... and the wind gradually picked up to the point I thought about the TT but didn't give in. Good session, it was. I liked that.

Yesterday's epic is today's gravy

 Good forecast that delivered for a change. The FSer crew was in town, but I didn't get to snarf any gear :(

Instead, I got some riding with my 10m Crossbow... Works fine on Dialer. I think. Even got some ju,oing in, but it was gusty enough for me to chicken out and resort to straight jackin'!

10m weather used to be epic, but now it's just a good day. I must be getting spoilt.

Got some footage too... 6 months later, you might see it.

Too close for comfort!

Too light. Got some riding done but we did a lot of fighting to ride. And there were some messy scenes trying to get off the beach... kite collisions and near misses on tangled lines... sigh.

Ah, tis the season

Good forecast, nothing delivered except for about 10 minutes riding. Bugger.

Tease

Cracking when I arrived and jumped out on the 10m but soon the wind dropped and I stood around with my thumb up my ass. Decided to get the 15 and the wind came back, so that was nice. Big gap of nothing in the middle but it ended nicely.

Heh...

Epic forecast, but when I arrived at the lake just after midday, it didn't seem up to much so I headed out with the Speed3 15...

... oops. It was so gusty that "couldn't keep planing" was violently contrasted with "speeding out of control". Somewhere in between, I did some jumps. Some really big ones too -- getting my head almost level with wing tips of kites parked at 12. I need a Woo or a Xensr...

After some time doing that, the beach had cleared out some so I went to land the kite... needed help, so overpowered, glad Jun was there.

Took the Speed back to the car and got the 10 and 7m XBs. Went back out with the 10 and the Limited for some more yeehaas. The wind was up and down, so when I next came in I went out on the Dialer. Then changed to the Lim when I got overpowered, then back to the D when the wind dropped to wind the session down on a high note.

Tough conditions, but I had a nice time and enjoyed the 10m XB with the D.

Riddle me this, Batman

Q. What's worse than a small beach crowded with Asian kiters?

A. A small beach crowded with Asian kiters... with foils.

FFS people. Kites landing left, right and center on too of people and gear; foil boards left standing all over the show, wrapping up lines; kites stalling everywhere; lines laid out to every point of the compass. What a mess. Self-centered people and foil-learners is not a good combo... at least I'm not the only one getting grumpy at the dickheads...

Leaving the show aside, there was no wind. In desperation, I took the Dialer and Limited back to the car and for the Flydoor and the 21.

Super light, flat water but going upwind -- amazing. Then, as I'd feared, the wind picked up and it was a bit much... should have gone with the 15, but it was good after all the waiting and watching the comedy....

Yarr

So-so forecast but tis the season to deliver wind in the late afternoon.

Really late... I'd gone out to experiment with the Flite and line extensions, so it wasn't a total loss when the wind that was exceptionally light dropped off to nothing...

I'd stood around, glaring at the horizon, then given up and packed up the Flite when the wind picked right up... I rushed back to the car for the S3 15 and proceeded to have a great 45 minutes till dark fooling around around... even nailed a few tacks.

Gah

Looked promising, and it started off nicely on the Dialer and the 10m XB but dropped off after a half hour or so. Tried the S3 12 for a bit but it's not a solution in the low end of its range, and maybe too leaky when it's on... Got the 15 out but it just dropped away.

Still going to be a tough call trying to decide what to take to NZ for the hols... but it was good to experiment.

Ooh

Average forecast was better than expected. Good boosting, good stunting, great carving, nice surfboard riding... let's say nothing about the out of town assholes who take 15 minute showers whole people are waiting, cos that would spoil the buzz.

Oh, got new brown lenses for the Shark v1s... the shizzle! Glad the web store is up and running, well worth the money: 720-armour

Bah

No work today for a change so naturally, the wind chooses this weekend to not blow. Bah humbug.

Tried a few tacks on both boards, and while I could get upwind occasionally it wasn't fun. Gave up and test-flew the S3 12 to check for how much I need to resplice the FDS to take tension out of it...

Ah, that's better

Didn't risk it this time and went out on the S3 and had a cracking good time, despite the light wind. Wind dropped off as I needed to stop for work so that worked out well.

Tricksy weather

Forecast predicted blow at 3 so we all duly descended on the beach and glared at the horizon. It finally turned up and the inevitable bums rush to the beach followed.

I wanted to try the 10m XB on the Dialer again, but didn't trust the wind and with the SB despite having laid out the 10m's bar... Didn't suck as much as I thought it would though.

Went out on the Limited and came in for the Dialer as the wind dropped then lulled then picked up then dropped. Lame.

Twice in a row was too much to ask for

Forecast better than yesterday but it was worse -- more range in the gusts, even less low end, long time no blow.

Started off on the TT as the photo dears were there again and they wanted the action. Started on the 10 but it wasn't working, so I hit the 15 and it was better but not like yesterday. Not by a long shot. Hope they got some shots of the bottom of the board so I can share on Axis FB page.

Tried again later on the Dialer and the 10. Surprisingly good, but it didn't last... Shame.

Come fly with me

Good forecast turned fucking epic.

Started on the Dialer, underpowered weirdly but riding ok. Then the wind picked up a little and the riding got tentative so I got on the TT and went for a fly.

Goddam, big jumps. Couple of old duck with cameras too, might get some photos...

Nearly a disaster at landing, gust collapsed the kite and Miyachi missed it so I went to safety and it wiggled across the window, narrowly missing all the kites on the beach and the camera lady.

No harm no foul. It were all-ll good.

I done foil!

Got some time today on the Alien Air and MHL Lift foil and my Speed3 15.

Bloody hell, water handling is a PITA! I figured out how to body drag, but our spot is just shallow enough for a couple hundred meters out to ground the foil, and just deep enough to make it impossible to walk... so I spent about 99% of the time splashing around trying to get to deep water.
Only got a half dozen or so so rides, out of a dozen attempts, before I was worn out. My wish or goal was to water start, get up on the board and ride it on the water and let it lift with board speed. Now I look at it, I wonder if I wasn't a little overly ambitious...

First attempt was, of course, a total moon shot. Boing! and dragged over the foil... ow.
Next couple I got up on the board and moving, but sunk out in the light wind or got pushed off by chop.

The wind had picked up a little so body dragging out was easier, and the last 4 or 5 rides were easier too. I managed to get up on the board and riding, with a few seconds of feeling lift from the foil but not properly foiling before grounding out or mis-balancing the board and getting lobbed.

On the last two tacks, I got up and foiling properly for long enough to enjoy the ride -- maybe 4 seconds of kangaroo hopping and finally 10 seconds of wobbly "omg omg I'm doing it I'm doing it!" before losing speed, lift, and grounding the foil again...

Yeah good fun, I can see me buying one.

Aside from that, some Dialer riding and Limited boosting. Good day.

I done tack!

Me! Fuck yeah!

Ok powered today, for 2x 45 minutes, with a drink break between. Started trying to tack on a port reach, after watching a Cabrinha tech tip video. Got closer and closer until after about a half dozen attempts - nailed it! Woohoo! Got them 50/50 for the next half dozen but that did me; now for the other side!

Otherwise, a good day.

Psch

Lully and nasty. Got about 30 seconds of perfect riding, the rest being riding along then trying to do something just as a lull hits...

This time, the cocks walk

Had some hours free this afternoon, so I fixed the 21 and went to the lake for a test flight...

Oh it's the "competition" today too. Goody, the beach is completely covered with kites nobody is using, and the only free space is down the far end. Tough launch with the long lines, between the pile of bamboo trash and all the weeds and twigs on the shore... had to wade out to get it up, but the job got done.

Me and a Lotus 18 were out, and the only ones going upwind. A couple of hours fooling around doing rotations... not bad.

Idiot me... rather than land at the YMCA beach, with plenty of space, I got Miyachi to land me in the only space free at our beach.

Sigh... the North rep, call sign "Cock One", was trying four his unhooked mad skills 2 inches from the shore and dumped his kite downwind with his lines right on top of me, wrapped around my neck and actually started trying to relaunch his kite, before someone grabbed it and landed it, and I could untangle. Naturally, he apologized to Miyachi -- who was 12 feet away -- and just ignored me. Nice one.

Enter "Cock Two". First, he drags his boards and fins over my lines, then proceeds to drag his lines out from under my kite, ignoring the horrible noises as it catches on the material, then just yanks them out of the bridle lines. Then, when I'm halfway into rolling up, he's got the nerve to ask me to launch him -- without using polite grammar, so it's like he said, "I want to start, so launch me." I suggested he should ask someone who wasn't busy...

Fuck I hate comp days, and the cocks from Tokyo.

This time, a giant rubber cock

Good forecast didn't pan out but it was ok. First real ride on the directional in ocean waves... well, if you can't do little strapless airs you could be in trouble, instead of having a hoot. Waves weren't up to much but we're good for hopping and floating over.

Spent the first hour downwinding and walking, which is where I tripped over the latex rod of love. After I'd had enough of the walking, I landed the kite and took the ROAM2 of so naturally, the wind then picked right up and the riding improved...

Dropped off again so I packed up at sunset.

Another pair of sunglasses at the bottom of the lake

Was pretty good from about 3 to 5, but I was feeling a bit over-done on the Dialer and wanted to do some jumping so I switched to the S3 15 and the Flydoor... just as the wind died off. Did some low wind waffling around; rotations and kite loops that didn't do much.

Lost my Sundogs too... floats, my ass. Now, I wonder where I put the new ones I bought recently...

Coulda been worse

Good forecast all day, but have to work in the afternoon. Headed down at 10am for a couple of hours, but the wind was lulling too much to be worth the effort...

I was stood on the beach watching the horizon for a blow line when the guy on the hydrofoil dropped his Chrono wa-aaay the hell "outside"... it wasn't going back up so I went and told Miyachi and we went out on the boat looking for him. Couldn't find him, and it took another boat coming over who had seen him to point us in the right direction. Bloody hell!

Came back after work about 530pm and went out for a run on the Dialer with the S3 15, but it was crappy again. I packed up after a long lull, close to sunset, and just as I'd put the kite in the back in the bag it picked right up. Could have had another 45 minutes... Oh well.

Coulda been better

Forecast looked ok, but it didn't pick up til close to the time I had to leave, so only got less than an hour of powered riding... life is tough. And it turned out I didn't need to leave so early anyway!

Good enough

Not as much wind as yesterday, but enough to try to recreate the awesome feeling... although it fell a little short.

Tougher to transition feet on the Dialer with less wind to tap with the bar, need to keep the speed up. Has some need hitting of waves and getting a push back to get the feeling of actually surfing.

Despite being mostly underpowered, I had a pretty good time for 3 hours or so. Need to give my knees a break -- 5 sessions in 6 days! Unheard of!

Awesome!

Forecast looked ok, but it turned out to be a stonker!

Started out doing some good jumps on the 'door then as the wind dropped, got onto the Dialer. What a great session, just totally awesome feeling.

Has to be the Dynabar, just so much freer riding the boards. Even now I put in an hour or so on the TT with the Dynabar rather than changing it for the fixed hook, that's easy too. Greatly prefer; I reckon it's easier on my back too.

Just wish I could get the Teletubbies theme outa my head...

Dynabar intro

Thought I'd done this already. Can't remember the details, but I seem to remember it being acceptable and having a nice time playing with the Dynabar...

Two in a row?

Arienaiiiiii!

Forecast wasn't up to much, but I had the time so why not? The SB had arrived, I was sitting on the Dynabar for a light wind day, and the Mako Duke was sitting there begging for it...

Unfortunately, while the wind was ok, the water was a little full of crap, like chunks of wood and bamboo. I went out on the Dialer, was doing ok and avoiding the flotsam, then went out on the Mako Duke...

Initial thoughts are it's over-finned, as the back end is dug in and doesn't like to be shifted but it's more stable at speed than the Dialer and maybe I just need to move my foot back, like in the video. Tougher to gybe as it's narrower at the front but I only got to try that a couple of times...

Worried about the gunk in the water, I change back to the Dialer as the wind is up and down too... ride out the rest of the afternoon thusly.

Man, I love the Dynabar. The pad still rides up like a pig on the Mystic harness but at least it's not trying to dig my guts out. EVERYTHING is so much easier on the directional!

Sonic BOOM

Typhoon forecast was all jacked up -- last night it looked great all day, this morning it looked weak as. I'd pretty much given up on it as a bad joke, but had been messaging with Jun in Mie during the day. He reckoned 4 pm would be good, and I had the time free so I rocked on over.

Bloody glad I did... Jun offered to let me use the Sonic 18 he's borrowed, so long as I could pack it away dry :D it got soaked on the weekend. High tide, low wind, hot launch...

It was 6 knots when I got out of the car, and it picked up to 16 when I got back in. At first, I filled the kite and struggled with the tips a bit, then was surprised by how much pull it actually had. Hmm...

Got out in the light wind, a loop to get up and planing (!) and away across the beach. Got halfway back to my starting point then headed back out. Can feel the wind picking up, and I'm actually GOING UPWIND WHILE WORKING THE KITE! Amazing...

Wind continues to pick up, I go upwind easier, the jumps get bigger, the hang time longer... bloody amazing kite! It's a little more stable, and a little more twitchy, than the Speed3 but in different ways. Teeny bit more bar pressure I reckon, but more responsive. I want one.

Had to pack up as Jun was going home... didn't want to stop.

My thanks to the truck driver who threw a tantrum after I overtook you -- great comedy, I laughed mightily at your antics.

:(

Forecast looked ok, but I got ripped off. A handful of tacks, barely going upwind, for about 30 minutes. The racer boys impressed with the foil boards -- Sonic 11 guy was amazing.

On top of that, it rained so I have a soggy kite with no chance of drying it out cos it's rained every day since we got home...!

And so it begins

Light wind, just enough to ride. Got a bit of practice in on the Dialer... There's a ripped cell in the right wing tip too, great. Going to fix it with Dacron tape and be done with it. Poor old girl...

Rode from about 5pm to past sunset. Temp dropped under 30 and so we get out first whining about the cold... Gotta wonder what is wrong with these people eh.

Not as good as last time

Hoped for the same as last time, and took the Limited to the lake and out for the first run, but was lighter than last time and a bit limp. Need to do the mixer...

Unprepared for a warm welcome

Back in Japan, the wind is finally blowing.  Got to the lake only to realize that I'd forgotten my hat and glasses in a suitcase somewhere. I hope. And my Limited is in the shed...

So I took the Dialer and the Flydoor over to the lake, with the 21. Nope. Too much wind for the big beast, go back for the 15.

Good choice. Wind was a bit Lully but some fun was had.

Hard work, all this chop. I'm out of shape, it seems: spiked by flat water, light wind, big boards and beer on the beach...

Met another gringo too, which was nice.

So long, Samui

Probably last chance day - don't want to face wet, heavy gear at check-in again.

Start out on the 21 and the Slayer, doing fine in the light wind but I can see big black clouds behind me. I keep an eye on them but decide too late that I need to drop the kite. Get tea-bagged in the gusts and call it a day with the QR again, timing it right so the kite drops on the sand bar; honest, I meant to do that. I pack up the damp (but not sodden) tangle and leave it for another day to sort out, chase down the abandoned Sector and head back in for the XB and the Limited.

Boosting fun for a half hour until the wind drops off so I get back on the Slayer.

Slayer goes through chop fine, probably less bouncy than the Dialer but is harder work going edge to edge and carving gybes are like squating 400lbs, and holding it there.

Wind drops off again, so I haul the gear back to the beach and pack up. Sit around drinking and talking, then the wind picks up but I've got a date to get too. Moo thod samun prai and pad thai noodles, mojito and sex on the beach...

PS. In Japan, we loaded all our luggage on the scales at once so all my careful packing to get 23kg in each bag was pointless. Figured they'd do the same here, so I dumped all my kite gear in the kite bag for easy packing... 36kg on the scales, as they weighed them individually. We instantly agreed to pay the excess baggage and it went through without a hitch. Fnar!

Wedding photos photobomb

Sat around waiting for the wind, was supposed to be good so had the "small" kite pumped up on the beach, after abortive efforts to do... anything.

Wind came up close to sunset and Tim convinced me to try his 2012 Slayer 60.

Tide was up so I rode right off the beach. Very nice board, super stable and fast off the fins. Easy to ride and not so dead for such a large and well-finned board. Good upwind too... Fun!

Someone was taking wedding photos out on the spit, with the stormy skies in the background (uh?) and possibly a big fat farang too.

Back again after back blow-out

Pulled a muscle in my back bending over to change a nappy, and spent the day in bed with Voltaren and ice packs. The next day was a quite one too, although greatly improved. One more to be sure, then a tentative session in light wind today... No problems!

Not quite the same

Almost the same as last time, but slightly less wind... Took off and landed on the beach, so I can do that.

Light fun

Light wind la-la in the lagoon. Launched from the sand bar, noodled around having a nice time. Landed on the beach and got seaweed all up in the lines... ah yes, I remember that from last time too.

Way over the top welcome to Samui

Arrived on Samui on Monday, and some wind arrived today. I thought it'd be light, and contemplated putting up the 21, or going out on the XB16 and the Flydoor... Thank god I did neither!

As it was, I was overpowered, then out if control in gusts. Some nice boosts though. The wind picked up and the gusts got worse, and after about a half hour I got hit by one I couldn't hold onto and started rocketing off towards the pier...

So I threw the safety, splashed down then walked back to the beach, towing the kite. Shame, I was having such fun!

Sliced up my foot on reef remains in the shallows... forgot my reef shoes and my Kindle! More to come, no doubt...

Oh, and the force of the wind on the kite when I ejected caused the Amsteel to cut the bungy in the safety line. Huh!

Sea Day. At the sea side. Dodging the sea life.

Thought the weather forecast has stuffed me, but after waiting til it felt like the right time, then relaunching the kite for one last time before giving up, the wind came in as predicted.

Light but went upwind with fun for a while, then slowly downwind with fun til I just couldn't get back upwind.

Goddam fish jumping out everywhere at me... think I sconed a couple with the board, so take that.

Wussy-phoon

Supposed to be psycho, but if it wasn't for the gusts I would have been on the Speed3 15. Surf was big so that was fun. Jumps were ok but the gusty wind meant it was like flying through turbulence.

Got dunked once and dragged, then later thought my harness was broken. Turned out the battle belt had gotten caught somehow so it all worked out in the end. After the wedgies had gotten too much and I packed up.

Guess where

Tsu again. Started good for a while then died off, but had a nice time.

Got pulled over the board, couldn't get my foot out of the strap and it broke. Sigh. Rode another hour like that til the wind was naff.

About time Biwako

Back to normal - forecast was rocking, get to the lake there was no wind. At all. Lame.

Turn the lines of the S3 15... depower rope was a few cm too long... wind picks up as I'm trying to sort that out and balls it up by twisting the trim straps.

Head over to the beach, take the Rebel 18 out. God, I can't live with the fifth line tangles and the retarded bar pressure. It's up for sale.

Unpack the Speed3 15 and have a good time, despite the wind drops and squalls. Bar needs some glue, pulleys need replacing but love it. Fucking tubes...

Fun! at Tsu again

Weather delivered a whole lot better than the forecast, so that was nice.

Arrived just ahead of Jun, who's training for the race this weekend. I, on the other hand, planned to have fun.

Good enough for the 15 and the Limited; not epic but I'm having a nice time for maybe an hour, then the wind drops. Take a break, Jun lands the kite for me, then he heads home. I noodle around on the 'door (middle straps better, but board feels so heavy!) for a whole, then the wind picks up so I get back on the Limited.

Not epic, as I said, but I really enjoyed myself... doing my tricks, playing with the waves - fun!

Tsu again!

Could have been better... but it was better than nothing.

Tried the old 'door on wide foot strap... Don't think I like it for that board - too hard to pop.

Found a Fleshlight on the beach

Not your normal beach combing score... Thought it was a lump of dead octopus or a shark egg or something exciting. Nope... eww.

Storm coming through, brought some ok wind. Bit gusty but was the best for a long time... Biwako needs to step up its game!

Good blow for an hour, then it died off. Waited some, then went back out. Rain came in, hosed down for a while, then died off.

10 minutes into the second session, my frickin Fusion harness blew a strap, this time going up on a decent jump... had to hang on to the bar like grim death. Funny, cos I swapped out the CL on the bar before I started as it has holes and I was worried it'd break.

As luck would have it, had the Mystic Star in the car. Dang, lot of hard work using a waist harness... new Fusion is in-bound but goddam Dakine, an inch of stitching? Seriously...

Let down, big time

Same forecast as last weekend, but it haut didn't pick up enough....

Tried to ride the landboard but the sand was too soft, the wind too light. Ah well.

Light but that's alright

Light wind forecast, picked up enough to have a little fun at the cable park... Nuff said.

Gusty, much?

Great forecast but damn it was gusty - really off and OH HELL on. Wanted to use the Rebel 18 but wasn't sure if the wind would be right, and I'm glad I didn't cos... dang.

Way under to uncomfortably over in a few seconds. But here and there, it was stable enough for some riding.

Had a good couple of mini-sessions on the Dialer; played around with foot more forward, stance wider and it seemed to be less bouncy through the chop; maybe even easier to plane. Fun but hard work.

Wind picked up enough to make life difficult on the Dialer so I went to the Limited but it wasn't really happening. Struggled for a while then gave up and went home to play some Assassin's Creed before picking up the boy...

In which I face-plant from several meters above the water

Started out light and built up.

I got out on the 21 and the Origin for about 30 minutes, just in case it continued not following the forecast. Flat-bottomed boards just aren't as locked and loaded feeling as the channeled boards. By the time I don't need to ride the 'door, I can get on the Limited so I think I either want an Ultra or will just get rid of the Origin and leave it at that.

Swapped out for the 15 and had a good time. Ok jumps, so I got into some tricks. Started doing some foot outs until, near the end of the day, the chicken loop snapped at the apex of a jump.

I was ended up falling and hitting the water in a staple, with the board still on my feet. Thought the spreader bar had gone again, but nope. Nothing hurt but my pride... although I had an odd, very localized ache in my left leg... gone now, so not broken or anything.

Fuckin' CLs. That's the fourth FS one I've broken. Looks like the hook is wearing through the PU tube and then the rope is just letting go, which it shouldn't cos I'm guess it's rated to thousands of pounds, so maybe it's rotting as water gets in...

Checked all my others... the 21 is borderline, the 12 is fine; 55cm Cab bar has holes, the two 48cm bars are fine; and of course the North bar is fine. Hmm... will either replace with Switch CLs or try adding another layer of PU.

Might flick a mail to FSer...

I know I went out but...

Forgot to do this, now I forget what happened. Oh I remember - I went to Mie. Left here early and got to Mie and onto the water just as the wind was dropping. Had a boostathon for 10 minutes, then it dropped so I played with the waves. Started to feel iffy after a while and gave up... mustn't have timed brunch right cos I felt much better once I got something to eat.

Super-light again

Crappy cos it just didn't last long enough...

Was a fun start though. Flat water, fun rotation tricks. Shame. I need a foil.

Mmm

New kite arrived, got some wind... Off we go.

Well. Lotsa bar pressure, feels like it's over-sheeted, bloody hard work getting upwind, can't figure out how to jump it, turns like balancing a broom in the palm of your hand. Want to sell it on, but I'll give it a run in the wind it's supposed to be in and with a bigger board.

Went straight out on the S3 15 and was much happier...

Piss-poor pay-off

For all the preparation. And I gave myself a headache shouting obscenities at the wind. Fucker.

Boostathon

Big forecast for Mie.

Supposed to pick up so I went for the Speed3 12, as I wanted to check the state of tune and test the Cabrinha pulleys. Was a bit underpowered for a while, then it dropped off. Kite needs a tune, the mini-5th is too short.

Got out the 15. Much better! Could probably tickle the mixer a little but it was good. Mmm good REAL good! Real huckfest... gush and choppy so it was straight jackin' but jolly good fun. Good height and hang, and a bit of a tweak to technique produced some of the most violent rips off the water I've experienced. Crimes! And I thought I had it all sussed out...

Even though I dunked the 15 a few times (water dropping away under my landing spot) and inverted/bow tied once, it was still a kick-ass session!

---

The Tsu Yacht Harbor; yachts to the left of me, kiddies' park the right...

Sub-10 knots... Believe it, or not

Light wind forecast but thermals may improve it. Went and waited...

About 4pm, everyone decided it was as good as it as going to get and jumped in. I joined them...

Still impressed with that 2014 Zephyr, eh. But I must have really nailed the tune for the 21 cos it rocked upwind, was super-stable and gave good lift.

Everyone gave up after a while but I kept going cow I was making headway upwind, and was still able to throw some rotation tricks. And so it went for the next couple of hours...

The wind was so light... no white caps at all, you had to stand still to see trees or stalks of grass moving. Amazing! Weather site said 4 to 8 knots, gusts no more than 14 but that was 2 hours before I got on the water...

Same old, same gold

Good forecast, better wind. Good power from the kite and I didn't need a 'door! Bit gusty for stunts, so mostly just straight boosting and wave slashing. Man, wish I had a camera on today...

Wind shifted front the N to the NW but was still rideable. 16 to 22 knots, apparently. Water was actually more rideable after the switch as it was less choppy and we got longer flatter spaces better better formed crests.

Harness is more comfy if the bottom straps are tighter than the top. I need to try the wider stance on the Limited too...

Home sweet home

Didn't quite live up to the forecast but was pretty good anyway.

Crowded ol' beach with just over 15 kiters out and about. 10s and 17s... but there's some wind so I go with the Speed3 15. End up having to swap my boards a few times but it's a pretty good day's riding.

Called this one "epic" cos I nailed many big phat sent rotations, like I meant to do it that way...

Tsu yet again

Kinda the same as yesterday, (without the traffic) but with the wind dying it went from fun to lame...

Tsu again

Dropped the wife at the airport with the bit and took the other highway to Tsu... traffic was bad.

Had a nice time doodling around, despite the crowds of trailer trash on the beach.

Tsu on a holiday

Was good fun but I need to tune the kite.

Nailed it again!

NW forecast but yellow arrows - worth a look. Head right down after lunch.

Bit light - rig the 16. Wind picks up... Too much now. Rig the 13... Almost too much but I know it's going to die late.

Nailed it again! Epic session for 2 hours, boosting good times! Til the wind dropped, but I'd had enough anyway...

Tsu again.

Good forecast, headed down to Mie alone. With my refreshed local knowledge of how the wind rocks on in then buggers on off, I timed my arrival carefully and went out with what I hoped would be the best kite and board for most of the conditions...

Nailed it!

But either the mixer is out, or it was gustier than it seemed... Bit twitchy. Stunts weren't up to much. Fun, nonetheless.

First in Mie for '15

Should be a good southerly come through today, so headed down to Mie.

Hmm. Very light when I arrived. Set up the 16... wind picked up. Oops. Hung on to it for a bit but I'll have more fun on a smaller kite... except the wife has wandered off with the car.

When she gets back, I set up the 10m XB but soon I'm just under powered . Sigh... To lazy to set up a third kite for the day.

Had fun though. Even got applause by some spectators when I got off the water... weird.

... in which a kite gets away and creates "havoc" on the road

Another light session that picked up to just under epic conditions. Had fun til late, then...

Tether landing a Speed. It's possible, although not for the faint of heart. My technique relied on keeping the kite flying with the upper steering line until the last moment, then letting it mosey to the ground while I dashed forward and grabbed the tip. Like the sky diver said, "So far, so good".

Today, the kite surged in a gust just as it got within grabbing range, slipped through my fingers, collapsed, opened and flew up, over the zenith and nose-dived on the other side of the window. I jogged over to sort it out, but the kite had bounced the kite up and it was headed back to the other side again, fully loaded and...

... SPROING!

Something snapped (CL it turns out) and the kite shot off downwind. I got a smack from the bar on the way through. Wind pushed it up over the trees, across the road and the bar snagged on the trees. Yikes...

Kite stuck in the trees on the other side of the road, lines strung taught across road. Got the lowest ones off ASAP despite complaints from the road users - sorry, didn't mean to keep you waiting a whole 60 seconds, wankers.

Top lines are high enough to let trucks under, and keep them out of my reach. New kiter with a Merc van helps me out. He gets a ladder, I climb it and hook the bridle with a leaf rake. Cut the pig tails just before a truck with exceedingly tall stuff on the back rounds the corner.

Now to get the kite out of the tree. Wont be jiggled or pulled out so I gotta climb the tree. Naturally, the bridle is wrapped around the highest point, so eventually my helper comes back with a saw blade (no handle) and I get to hacking. Got it down and balled up - no obvious damage.

Bar is still stuck up the tree. Won't be pulled out so up the ladder I go again. Lines disconnected at the bar (yah Flysurfer) and pulled back out through the trees.

Back at the club house, I do a quick untangle and lay out. Bridle sorted in about 10 minutes, no obvious damage again! Wrapped up nice and packed.

A nice balance of good and bad luck, I reckon.

EDIT : checked it out today - no more damage than it went into the trees with (a hole and 2 split seams) and I can't find the bridle line I thought I hacked into with the saw... huh. CL is stuffed though.

... in which I have a good time

Gloves Man was at the beach when I arrived, despite little wind and a crappy forecast. I was hoping for afternoon thermals...

Started off really light and picked up nicely, we had fun.

I nailed foot-outs. I nailed multiple, phat rotations. I nailed foot-out rotations. Oh yes.

... in which I just can't choose the right kite

Gusty. Couldn't get the timing right for which kite to have in the air, for all but a short time.

Nitro just isn't working for me. Lovely, smooth and stable in its actual wind zone - but I'm underpowered, but too twitchy and hot when it's overpowered and I can park n' ride. Shame, cos it's an awesome bit o' kit.

How Stella got her groove back

Never seen the movie, no idea what the title means, but I'm stealing it.

Decided that my sessions have been sucky because I've been going out trying to use the smallest kite I can. Went out today with the 21 and the Ol' Faithful the Flydoor... and the Fusion seat harness. Last time on the Star, I wasn't comfy being over-powered so it kinda sucked.

Today rocked. Rotations, grabbed, foot-outs... even with the smaller Limited. And some great hucking boosts. I got my technique back, even though it is technically wrong for what I want to do but it seems to work for me.

Started out ok-light, then died off... then came back and was good enough to switch to the Limited and rock on out 'til dark.

... could I have gotten away with the S3 15?

Wind was reported as 10 to 16 knots, gusts to 20. Woo!

Buyers remorse?

Think I missed a session post from a Saturday back...

So, I bought a Switch Nitro4 14m last week. It arrived last night and the wind looked good enough to at least give it a run on the beach today...

Hmm. Well, it's different. And different to what I remember of the Nitro3 14 too - more aggressive is how I would sum it up. Light wind relaunch was tricky and left me on the marina beach and a long walk.

Really hard to judge though as the wind was actually pretty shit - I swapped it out for the S3 21 and had trouble getting upwind at times too...

No work, not much wind

Not working Saturday for a change, and the wind arrived which was nice.

Can't remember the details so well, but I do remember it being light but enough to satisfy...

About damn time!

Started out light, some riding, some walking... Tried both the Flydoor and the Dialer - the 'door clearly has the better bottom end.

After a very lully ride out - thought I was going to have to swim in for a few minutes - I landed the kite and took the Dialer back to the shed, got a drink and the Limited and headed back for one last attempt.

The optimism paid off - the wind came up. I had a fun time on the Flydoor; the wider stance setting is good. Did some riding on the Limited too... still getting used to it; Adrian says its identical to the 2014 but I know it's not :D

So, grabs during rotations... Yeah that just happened.

But I tried a hand drag with loop, messed it up and looped the kite again to recover the dive - and got dragged through the water towards the shore :o as the kite climbed to zenith the lift got my feet under me as I narrowly missed ploughing a furrow with my nose up the beach. Yikes, and I thought I had them nailed, like backroll transitions.

Ran out of time, so had to pack it up. Shame.

Same as last week...

Just a little bit warmer. Gah. I need a lower ranking than crappy.

One of those days...

I question what the hell I'm doing.

Wind so strong I couldn't I could barely get upwind to the water but couldn't get up on a plane.

Gah.

Aah...

Brilliant forecast ruined by reality. Squally, but got some riding in, primarily on the Flydoor, not really enough to do anything fun but it was worth pumping up the kite a second time, after I'd already decided to give it up...

Found a hole in the canopy of the XB... no biggie. New fin on the Flydoor *seems* to be smoother and gripper... Need to try wider stance still.

Hmm...

And forgot this one too... Nothing much to note.

Erm...

Oops forgot to do this one....

Finally some wind!

At lunch time, it looked like I was going to get stiffed but I was bored at home and went back to the lake around 2, as the wind looked like it was picking up.

It had. I went for the seat harness and the XB13 and the Limited hoping for a boost session. Would have been better if I wasn't so much out of practice...

Pretty gusty, but I was happy. Tried to do some kite loops tricks in the lulls - dark slide and hand drag loop - but discovered that perhaps the XB isn't the kite for that kind of stunt. I landed the hand drag - just - but dark slide become a body drag. I started to investigate how the XB loops and came to the conclusion that the best I can get is a fat loop that pulls horizontally.

Time for new gear...

The LE was leaking too, pretty sure the new higher flow valve wasn't seated right. Hmm.

Wind was 14 to 18 knots, gusts to 35 :o

Le sigh yet again

Snowing like a bastard, but the wind came up for about 30 minutes, enough to get a feel - at last! - for the Dialer+Flite combo. Me likey!

What a

Fucking waste of time. 15 to 20 knots my ass. Gah.

God, been over a month!

Determined to do do something with my day off. Forecast changed in the morning and it looked like I was going to get stiffed, but I wanted to swap the lines over on the S3 15 and 21, then test-fly the brummel spliced lines on the 15.

The wind died right as I go to the lake, but I waited it out and it picked up enough to get my hopes up.

Up with the 21 and the Dialer.... Walk upwind, ride downwind, rinse and repeat. After a half-dozen or more runs, the wind kicked up enough that I could make it back upwind a little, so I had a nice time getting back into it.

Those split toe boots... leave my big toe frozen and feeling like I'm constantly stubbing it. Do not like. I think with the whale scrotum they're too thick anyway.

The Neo Workman gloves did their thing again too, flawlessly. Good value, them. No forearm pump either, despite a month off!