First!

Had to get out with the new board today.

Wind was light, so i thought I needed a foil. Mistake. That made it harder to get going do to the way the kite worked. After the long-ass bodydrag out as far as possible so I wouldn't slam the bottom, I finally managed to get up and riding away from the shore.

Much better with the new board, much easier to ride. Obviously more stable but different enough that I could barely manage heel to toe, and toe side riding.

Then the wind picked up and I thought I'd try the TT but it was barely enough, then newbie guy fell off and got washed into marina bay, without his board.

I secured the board before it ended up in Otsu, then had to body drag back to our beach, but managed to ride back upwind some, which was a surprise, but then the wind died off again and I gave up.

Managed not to destroy the board, but stood on it by mistake and chipped the nose. Le sigh again.

Saved by the grandad

and his Naish foil. Insisted I take the whole set up for a test drive, after I'd given up trying to ride the 15 and the TT. I don't think it's quite right yet still, and the wind was shit.

But the foil was fun. Definitely slower but more stable than mine, and the length and mass distribution of the board makes it "heavier" to swing around. Riding strapless wasn't as much of a challenge as I thought it would be so that's nice.

Got a brief play with the Reo 12 which didn't really improve my opinion of them (gutless and slow), but as the wind dropped off I guess it wasn't fair. Relaunch was easy though.

So, thanks Grandad, you saved my day!

Showing off for the uninitiated

Off to the ocean. Good forecast didn't arrive, but I got some just-powered foiling. 10 knots in summer is only just enough.

Had a swim with mother, then tried the TT as the wind had picked up . . . under-powered. Oh well.

Nailed it! Railed it!

Rate this an epic session, not because of huge phat airs and wicked tricks, but because I had such a great time on the foil. Really hooked up some fabulous, razor-sharp carving gybes and generally felt very impressed with myself . . .

S3 15 is still out of whack though, I'm going to have to go full retard on the fiddling . . . at least I know where to start.

2 boards, more joy

Really wanted to ride the Duke, but it's just not a low-powered board :( didn't work well with the faulty 15 and I basically could jump straight on the TT and ride upwind better :( :( So I did that and had a nice time getting back in the swing of swinging around at the end of the rope.

The bar is in dire need of reglueing though . . .

3 boards, not a lot of joy

Testing out the repaired 15 . . . hmm, something very wrong. But I got out on all three boards trying to get my groove on. Just not feeling it today, but stuck around trying to ferret it out for 3 hours . . .

Could have been worse

Crappy forecast but a front was due at three so I thought I'd escape the house for some quiet time staring at the far side of the lake, waiting/hoping for wind.

When I arrived there was actually enough wind to foil on the 15 so that was great; had the lake all to myself for an hour. Then the wind picked up and I swapped to the TT and had some fun jumping around...after I fought out the two tip tangles that just out not come undone. Had to drag one across the water but the other had made itself a knot which needed landing...

Then the storm front moved in. Wind got nasty and punchy so I headed back to the beach.

Just as I reached the shore, yet another gust collapsed the kite, then it opened and lifted me again. Not worried, no problem...but just as I picked me up, *that* line snapped and the kite looped hard, lobbing me at the beach. Thankfully the sand had been fluffed up some and I managed to take it on the feet like a small jump. The kite had lost shaped so it didn't pull me all the way down (just a jerk), and it stayed on the ground, so I pulled the QR after a moment of watching and making sure I wasn't broken, and Miyachi got a hand on the kite.

Quick pack up and a rush back to the clubhouse before the massive downpour hit...

Got to eyeball the Alpine Access v2 too. Very nice it was. I want a ride.

Under and over

Light wind forecast, and it was very when I got to the lake just before 3. Out on the 21 and the foil board for some very light noodling. But after about an hour, it looked like it was picking up and so I packed up the 21 and stood lookin' and thinkin' . . . good call, me.

Hiro went out on his 10 and he looked powered, so I got the Limited and went out on the 15. Yeah, it was ok. Bit rusty I am, many almost-balls up but a good time was head.

Miyachi did well on the Cabrinha foil--strapless!--but wasn't getting on the foil . . . I had to leave before he went out again and I missed the fun.

Surprise session

Huh. Forecast yesterday for today was nothing at all, but it was picking up around 3pm so I went on down. Thought it would only be a foil day so didn't bother with the Duke . . . should have.

FX was ok but does that running-away-on-the-front-lines thing. Great power in loops, was able to get up and foiling just by working it. Couldn't jump it at all, and no wind to work on the technique :(

Contra s-u-c-k-e-d. No power in a loop, then it started bending the LE when I loaded it up hard.

But both impressed with how well they stayed in the air when the wind dropped. Very light, must be the new material.

Got a bit over-powered on the 15 when riding the foil, switched to the 'door but by the time I got it from the shed, the wind was dying off again.

More of the same but better

Another session at Tsu, forecast for 3 p.m. looked better than yesterday.

Got to the beach, and there's Jun and 3 other guys getting foils ready. Neat! Wind was super-light though, bit annoying. Set up the foil again, but gambling that the wind would pick up, I took the 15 to ride.

Flailed around in the water again, with no success and so I came in for the 21. As I launched, the wind dropped right off and the other guys kites started hitting the water. Jun couldn't relaunch and the other guys (Diablo, Chrono) just made it back to shore. I helped Jun untangle his lines and by that time, the wind had come up a little.

I reckoned I could cope with the 21, so I headed out as the guinea pig. Yep, riding ok. Nice cruise around . . . the wind picks up so I go back for the 15. More excellent cruising; nailed a lot of my foot changes . . . hmm.

Jun dropped his kite again for a longer swim, and it felt like it started to rain so I called it a day. Rain didn't appear so I could have gone longer but oh well.

I love the D

Over the hills and far away.

Jun had just finished his morning session; he was out on the foil. I was hoping for the Duke ride and got lucky--the wind picked up and I had a rocking good session on the D for two hours, hackin' and slashin'.

Took a break, thinking I'd have a little fun on the 15 and the TT but the wind died away and it sucked so I packed up and came home.

Another great one

There wasn't really supposed to be any wind, and there wasn't much in truth either--6 knots the webpage said, but I think it was more like a steady 8, maybe 10. The 15 stayed in the air but only just; had to trim the heck out of it to stop it stalling, and thank god I didn't put it in the drink.

But I had an excellent session, cruising on the foil, riding the swell. Managed a few feet changes and nailed some downloop gybes which are really nice to do.

Brilliant.

What a surprise

In a good way this time. Slight puff of wind, hoped to ride the foil . . . but the wind suddenly picked up and stuck around. Huh. Laid out the 15 and went out on the TT for a jumping good time. Apparently I'm a bit rusty.

Wind dropped a little so I went out on the foil and had some of the most perfect rides, until I fell and landed on my face. Felt like someone kicked me in the face. Gave up and went home before they could do it again.

Well!

. . . that was a surprise.

Absolutely nothing when I got there, but everyone was sticking around so I did to and it came up some. The other foiler went out on a Chromo 15 but I suspect he was over-powered for a while, because I was. Then it slowly dropped off til we all gave up.

I had a nice time but had zero successful tack, almost no successful pre-jibe foot changes but mostly managed the post-jibe changes, however badly. . . .

First it sucks, then it blows

Forecast was supposed to be good, but it really sucked.

I went out with the S3 15 and the foil, but it was so light the kite was just staying in the air. I could ride though so that was nice.

Getting really bloody sick of being unable to transition without falling in the water first :( or having to ride topside. Even if I can do it for miles . . .

Wind started to pick up, so I went out on the TT but it sucked worse. Came back in, landed the kite and thought about packing up. Then one of the guys came over and set up, and it looked like the wind was really coming so I went back out . . .

And had a great little boostathon for what must have been an hour, cos I was late to pick the boy up :o

Lighter but better...?!

One more time to Tsu. Forecast was for lighter wind but it turned out pretty good, actually. My timing was better, to catch the squalls, so I had a nice time on the foil until the wind filled in a bit, then I played silly buggers on the TT. Gravy.

April fooled by the wind

New work schedule gave me the afternoon off . . . off to Tsu!

Gah. Wind died as I was on the way over the hills, down from 16 to 10 knots. Went out with the 15 and took the TT to the shore just in case, but I only got some gentle riding on the foil till it dropped off again. Oh well.

Maybe good, maybe bad...

Whoops, forgot to fill this out so my memory is a bit vague, but I remember it was light and I didn't want to risk the 21, so I went with the 15 to see what it's bottom end was with the foil. Not bad, but the problem is the kite isn't swift enough to work to build speed. Seems like the 12 is the limit for that, and if it's lighter then go for the 21 and change early...

Little bit light

Should have been good, but the wind didn't shift until after 3, then it was light wind puttering around. Oh well, at least I coukd still get back to shore.

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.