Topping off the tanks!

It's been a bloody week and no wind or damned southerlies. More southerlies so today but it's the weekend so after riding the Duke in the morning, I plan on riding at Mie in the afternoon. Leave home at 12.30pm, arrive at the beach around 1.40. zOMG there's no wind! Not due till 2 though ... wait around and true to forecast, the wind arrives.

There's not much so it's another 21m day. Crap all over the beach - the last storm has left debris everywhere. Erk, going to be a messy launch.

Or not! Kite goes straight up without a hitch - or tangling on the sticks, weeds etc - nice! Wind is still light though and my first attempt at riding is a fail. Wade out, stand around ... ooh here's some more!

So I get some riding. At first, just mowing the lawn, then some jumps for the joy of the baseball boys cavorting on the beach. Some rolls, a few nice 'jump' transitions, some rotations ... all good fun!

Thought the wind was picking up so I change out my board for the 'radical. A little fun but the wind suddenly drops off ... I have to walk up the beach for the first time in ages!

But I'm happy with the session! Even smiled and waved at the jet-ski guys, said hello the family on the beach ... nice!


Moment of the Day was riding while the skinny cool guys were walking and fishing their kites out of the water. Fnar!

Mood for the session was grateful, fizzing, happy.

Song stuck in my head - none. My head was empty. For a change.

Weather was recorded as 4 knots building to 11, gusts to 18 (at 6pm!) and 32°C, 62% humidity. Hot!
Wind felt like I shouldn't have been riding at all, until it "picked up" - very weak!

What I learned today ...
• 3 hours driving IS worth 90 minutes riding!
• Leg straps on the Fusion harness are starting to fall off ... hmm, I make that about 60 sessions on that harness. Time for another moan :-/
• Apparently, I can do little jump transitions ... news to me but there you are.
• Water is now tepid. Do not need wetsuit.
• Do need sunblock.

That's the ticket!

Been watching the internet forecast but ... one says it's all over by lunchtime, the other says it kicks off at 3 and the other says 6pm. What're you supposed to do? Camp out at the lake from 1pm which is what I did ... there's a Pole Dancing race on hogging the whole beach but praise the lord! that's all over by 3pm. As the beach finally clears of retards and their gear - the wind picks up. Fnar fnar!

Out on the 21 and the 'door ... nice flat water and the wind is good. Show off some reasonable jumps to the windsurfers and get some cheers. Wind picks up some more and I swap to the 'radical. Having fun, busting moves ... big smiles! This is what I wanted yesterday!

The Gloves Guy nearly got landed on when he changed direction and came in under me while jumping. Soh did the same too. Uncle Pyro nearly took my kite out cos he didn't look behind himself when changing direction. Thank god we didn't have to deal with the windsurfers as well!

Repeat ad nausea. Wind goes up and down for a while then drops off and I get the Flydoor again. Keep riding while everyone else gets off the water and packs up ... getting on to sunset so I pack up too.

Psycho4 19 is on the beach so I unpack that for a test flight. Thank god I did cos that HQ bar is fucking useless - way over-sheeted, the kite wont get off the ground unless I pull the center lines. The FDS is too short and any load on the lines and the above the bar safety releases :o sigh, going to have to moan at the seller. There's also 2 (4!) bridle lines that need replacing. Canopy seems fine but DAMN is that regular material heavy!

Got through the whole thing without hurting the ankle though - yah me!

Also got to use the new Hyperflex short john wetsuit ... I actually think it's a bit long in the body for me - but I need the 3XL for the bulge. Very comfy though, stopped the anal exploration of the harness ...

Mood of the session was happy amused slaked.

Moment of the day was popping of beautifully flat water and just floating like a leaf ... to a chorus of cheering!

Song stuck in my head was Ultraviolet by U2. Light my way!

Weather was reported as 13 knots falling to 8, gusts no more than 18; 25°C at 70%.
Wind felt like I was powered enough for decent but not awesome jumps, falling to just riding upwind if I didn't clown around.

What I learned today ...
• Those bloody "No Boats" signs are invisible if you approach them side on!!! Absolute waste of time.
• I've got my L and R straps on reversed on the Flyradical! WTF?
• End of the session when you're tired and not focusing well is not the time to do rotations ... cos you're too tired!
• Regular FS cloth is blood heavy.
• Wetsuit is great! Does what it meant to ... bit roomy around the shoulders though.
• Water goes in the top but suck in the gut for a cool refreshing dosing of the family jewels.

Ah well ... good enough

Had to work again so according to the forecast, I was going to miss the best wind in the afternoon and catch the tail-end crap after 5. Which is precisely what happened ...

21 was up and went out on the 'radical ... was ok but the lulls were coming so I swapped to the 'door, for more board speed and better jumps but - well, it was all pretty lame. I was really off my game and couldn't land shit; got dropped and dumped like the village bike. I blamed the wind but over and over again, I dropped like a stone from the zenith - the kite just wouldn't redirect enough to fly me down.

Probably got an hour's riding in before the wind really sucked ass and I packed up. Oh well. Tomorrow promises to be better ... so long as the pole-dancers don't hog the water and beach :-/

Mood for the session was annoyed disappointed sated.

Moment of the Day was

Song stuck in my head was Tones of Home by Blind Melon. I'm flying home ...

Weather was reported as 13 falling to 9 knots with gusts of dick-all; 21.9°C at 85%.
Wind felt like I was powered but let me down with being gutless when it counted.

What I learned today ...
• Need to tune the 21.
• Wish I'd been able to flight-test the P4 19 - probably would have been a good time to get a handle it. But that HQ bar is ... nasty.
• I can still tweak that ankle in no wind :(

In the air tonight

Forecast looked very weak indeed, but it's been so long (a week) with no frickin wind AT ALL so I thought I've got to give it a shot. Loaded up the car with the goodies ... was up north for work today so I got a good eye-ball on the wind - looked like the thermal arrived early :-/ so I hurried away at the bell for the lake ...

Forecast said the wind would die by 6pm so as I hit the lake at 4:30pm, I put up the S3 21 and jumped on the water with my Flyradical. Oh, nicely powered - I guess I managed to catch the tail end of the thermal ...

And then the wind picked up LOL

So I was having fun. Big jumps! That's all really :D Many, many good ones ... started to get lazy with the redirects towards the end of the session, and really got some big pendulums in - landing going right when I started off going left - all good fun!

Actually had to trim the kite for the first time in ages - full trim for a while, then half then back to full power. The wind was up and down but was very smooth and consistent - best wind in AGES!!!

Same issues with nob-ends not looking behind themselves before changing direction though ... Mr Fujii nearly had me land on him when I jumped then on the way down, he turned around under me.

That's the problem with the Speeds - you spend so much time in the air that there's plenty of time for the mongs to do stupid things and come in under you ...
The other problem is how much ground you lose downwind! :D need a GPS thingy ...

Had to go to work at 7:30 so I got off the water before I wanted to and packed it up around 6:15 - only just made it in time!

Mood of the session was surprised stoked psyched!

Song stuck in my head was In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins. Oh lord!

Weather was reported as 6.5 to 8 knots, gusts to 14 at 28°C, 62%. O RLY.

Wind felt like it would have spanked me if I dealt with the kite ham-fistedly but was clean and smooth!

What I learned today ...
• Sometimes ... it's just awesome!
• After sending the kite, a brief redirect does indeed make for a higher jump with less penduluming back the other direction ... means you have be spot on with the timing of the final redirect though else you either get dropped or land without enough power in the kite to ride away. Well I do anyway.
• Pscyho4 19 would have been spot on, I bet. Wink wink nudge nudge.
• Almost managed to get through a whole session without re-tweaking the ankle ... actually did it over again when it was the front foot. That ain't right. But it was only a mild tweak ...
• Taki looks even smaller when viewed from a couple of stories up.
• Why would anyone want to wank around doing handlepasses and unhooking when there's so much fun to be had flying around like a bird?

That was a bit lame actually

Forecast was supposed to be better than Wednesday. Hit the lake after work ...

Started well enough; was out on the Flydoor then swapped to the 'radical. Then it dropped again and I went back to the 'door. Was pretty crappy the rest of the session ... but better than nowt. Bloody gusty and the wind shifted from N to NW a few times. S3 15 was the safe choice for the gusts though.

Nothing really exciting today - couldn't even get front rolls working again :-/ jumps weren't up to much - one or two good ones, the rest very average.

The water was full of crap for an hour, until it drifted into the shore. Very choppy but the river mouth end of the beach has some nice smooth waves - good for playing in. Water was silty too ...

Hurt my ankle good - now it hurts when I walk, which it wasn't doing before :( Still rode for another two hours, just made sure to scrunch my toes on landing to lock the foot or aim for my heels. Sigh.

2.5 hours in total, rode non-stop - unlike the other guys ... man, the S3 is good!

Mood of the session was painful worried relaxing.
Song stuck in my head was Someone like You by Kings of Leon.

Moment of the Day was landing the single solitary elevator ride on the gust and riding away.

Weather was reported as 18 falling to 13 knots with gusts to 28; 21°C at 70%.
Wind felt like mostly under-powered but riding upwind without too much trouble. Occasionally, I felt powered and once or twice nicely over-powered.

What I learned today ...
• Shark lenses work better when they're thoroughly cleaned.
• You CAN change direction on the face of a wave and ride it away!
• It's not possible to put on too much sunblock ...

Oh ... I'd forgotten!

Typhoon has passed through - what a pathetic fart it was. It has however reversed the wind so northerlies were forecast at 16 knots so that should be good.

And it is! It looks good when I get there at 4pm and the best is supposed to arrive at 5pm so I decide to go for the Speed3 15 ... probably means I'll have to ride the Flydoor for most of the session ...

Turns out to be a good idea! Had a great time, boosting when I could, working on nice clean load'n'pops and playing with the rotations. Back-rolls weren't working cos I got tired after an hour and went on to play with front-rolls instead ... got into the groove with them and realized I'd lost my touch a LOT at them :(

Wind is up and down, and the rest of them clear off in a big lull that I can keep riding through ;) Soh arrives later and gets on the water and I keep riding too, until he quits and it starts to get dark - cloudy.

By the time I got to the car, it was 7:45pm! Great day, really loved getting on the S3 15 again.

Mood of the session was surprised psyched.
Moment of the Day was getting the front-rolls to click again.

Song stuck in my head was Laid by James. "Shave my ass and call me pretty ..." yes I know it's wrong but I couldn't get that line unstuck or remember the right one ...

It sucks when you get the safety leash wrapped around an end of the bar.

Weather was reported as 8 to 14 knots (and back down again) at 21.5°C 78% with gusts to 19 knots at 5pm.
Wind felt like it was as reported.

What I learned today ...
• I missed the 15! What a great kite!
• You gotta keep practicing or you lose the edge. Who'd've thunk it.
• Bottom end on the 15 is pretty good too. I never had to walk and always got back upwind.
• Seems my messy launches are the result of too much weight on the front foot when I carve into the launch ... driving off the rear gives a clean carve and stronger pop.
• Looping out of transitions with the 15 was a bit hit'n'miss - didn't have the wing span to keep the lift up so I sorta got dropped, and ended up doing the loops closer to the water to just ride around the turn.

Wrong is right!

For once the forecast was wrong, but in the right direction - we got more wind that we should have. And Miyachi has fixed the camera; when I looked at 11am it looked to be rocking so I chowed down on lunch and hauled ass.

Nice! Good blow is in and GPV said it'll pick up until 3pm then drop off ... should be a good afternoon! I saddle up ... take the S3 21 & 15 and both Flyboards to the beach. Get on the water about 12.

Start with the Flyradical and am just powered enough to make a jump or two and get back to the starting spot. Noodle around like that for a while the switch to the Flydoor. Much better. Then the wind picks up some so I switch back to the 'radical for the rest of the session.

Some good jumps, one stellar one but the wind is very gusty and lully, making it hard to get up speed and hold it long enough to jump and land without losing the gust and getting dumped. Much fun though!

Couple points worthy of notice ... got sloppy with a launch - got bounced off my edge, honest - and dropped the kite. Bowtie ... tried to untangle by pulling lines. Wasn't happening. I pulled the safety, considering a short swim to shore but when I reeled in the bar, it was looking better at the kite. I put the bar back together then messed with the kite some more ... it wanted to fold in half long-ways (!) but some careful and appropriate pulling on lines got it back in the air! Total - less than it takes the LEI riders to relaunch from LE down ...!!

Same thing again later but I recovered the kite in the air without tangle, but now it's pulling to the right in a turn - I balance it in the air with the LH leader but it's hauling me downwind as I try to figure out what's going on with the RH leader ... by the time it's stable, I'm at the marina beach :-/ and my board is still out in the water. I spot it from the shore though and begin an epic body drag to it. By this time the wind has dropped so I won't be able to ride it out and back to our beach ... slog back to the marina beach and plan on walking - but the work the council did to the river late last year has rendered it uncrossable - fuckers. Body drag out and around the river mouth.

Despite that, I had a nice day!

Song stuck in my head was Chocolate Rain by Tay Zonday. That'll learn me.

Mood of the Session was satisfied tired.

Moment of the Day was simply spotting and recovering my board before it drifted off to Otsu. Again.

Weather was reported as 6 to 11 knots from 12 to 4, with gusts of 20 knots;  23°C at 66%.

Wind felt like just powered, most of the time. I'd say closer to 15 knots that 12.

What I learned today ...

• It's time for thorough sunblock application :-/ got a good set of burns on arms and legs.
• Shorts are becoming a problem. They ride up my thighs and that hole in them lets the harness rub and is painful. Which is just adding insult to injury when they're already a half-mile up the crack of my ass!
• A Short John wetsuit might be the key ... http://hyperflexusa.com/product/cyclone-1-5mm-short-john/
• If I concentrate on not landing on my toes, I can ride around without hurting my right ankle.
• Required surprisingly little space downwind to untangle the big Speed from the second bow-tie this month.
• The 21 is in dire need of a mixer test and line tune, I think - lots of backstalling today.

Light wind lameness

Forecast looked good, but it wasn't. Gusty, punchy but not much power. Flew the 21 non-stop, switching between Flyradical and Flydoor. Didn't get up to much really ... bursts of wind then it'd drop off - did that all freakin' day.

Dumbass looky-loos in a boat. Dumbass gear-leavers taking over the whole beach. Dumbass learners looping and dive-bombing - everything. Dumbass directional riders trying to ride in SFA with tiny little kites. Dumbass me trying to keep on riding!

Mood of the session was teased frustrated.

Moment of the Day was not getting my gear wrapped up in other people's lines! :o

Weather was reported as 8 to 12 knots, gusts to 18 at 22°C 75%.

Wind felt like it was just fucking with me.

What I learned today ...

• Don't take your sunglasses off and leave them on the shore.
• My ankle is in need of medical attention! Bothered me on numerous occasions :(
• Trying too hard when you don't have the wind ... sucks. Over-cooked the send and got my foot 'stuck' trying to load'n'pop more aggressively than the wind could cope with on multiple occasions :(

The one I've been waiting for

Forecast looked like a cracker ... from 3pm :-/ take time off work and get to the lake at 2:40pm or so. Wonderful weather, 27°C so I go without my wetsuit.
Wind isn't up to much yet ... stand around waiting for it to pick up but it doesn't so I go with the big Speed3.

Start out on the Flyradical and to my surprise, I can ride upwind ok. Put a bit of distance into the upwind bank then start to play silly buggers ...

Oh yes baby yes! My 'new' backroll method is working a treat! Just one over-rotation and that was because I sent the kite unconsciously and lofted myself at the end ... otherwise, I'm backrolling Like. A. BOSS. Only problem now - they're starting to get so big that I'm landing pretty hard at times ... poor ankles!
Shame I'm not up to spec with the frontrolls ... work on them next!

Other than that ... I spent the rest of my time trying to jump as high as possible :D got some good ones in - real nice view up there ;) what a hoot!

Problem with the Flysurfer is the hangtime is so good that you lose a LOT of room downwind ... also, I think I'm sending it too far back - seem to jump better when I send the kite straight up.
And I think I'm sending it too far the other way ... redirect too early and it shoot across the window. This USED to result in me landing backwards and falling over, but now I just land 'toeside' and ride downwind as the kite goes to the edge. Should loop it I guess - or just wait and redirect later.
Getting better at handling big power and popping well ...

Now to the directional goofs ... boosted a real good jump, was having a nice ol' look around when I noticed that one of them decided to change direction and ride right underneath me - without looking behind himself, natch. Could have been bad but I had plenty of time to think about options :D decided to just hang under the kite and splash down, as he went sailing downwind of me, beneath my buttocks.
Got my own back, unintentionally - popped another good one off a wave face, thinking the guy was going the other way but instead, I went sailing downwind almost directly into his kite! Nose-to-nose with a parked Rally ... then I  drifted downwind and it was all ok. Except he panicked and fell over ... so we had to be careful getting started again.

Couple of big moments - during the set up for a jump, just as I launched, the board caught and I got spun around on the way up and splashed down in a heap. The other one I remember, I ran out of ramp and did a double backroll ... almost landing it.

Wind was up and down all day actually, and now it was down again. Kite front-stalled in a lull and I had to noodle around for a few seconds relaunching the kite. Another time, I had to loop it just to get to the shore until the wind picked up and I could ride off.
It was a bit punchy at times too ... had a couple of moments in the gusts - went shooting away towards where the river mouth was, working hard to shut the power down and drifted off over the 'wall' that luckily is under water.
The other time, Mr Fujii was downwind of me right where I would bomb if I got yanked off my edge ... had to work hard to keep it together as the speed built up.

Got off the water with stiff and sore legs - and a sore ankle, landing on it HARD :( about 6:30pm, I guess - 3 and a half hours riding non-stop! Gotta love the Speed3!

Mood of the session was maniacal cackling like a loon.

Moment of the Day is hard to pick; could be looking the Rally in the eye, but I think I'm gonna go with the the big phat backroll that was just perfect and BIG. Well, felt big to me :D

Weather was recorded as 19.4 knots at 2pm falling to 4.6 knots at 6pm. 24°C 58% and gusts to 27.4 knots.
Wind felt like I was mostly comfortably over-powered, occasionally under-powered and rarely shitting my pants.

What I learned today ...
• When you get hit by a gust in the middle of a backroll transition - it sucks.
• You gotta have some power and speed for backrolling properly.
• Pays to keep the kite at 45° so if you do send it a tad, it doesn't loft you.
• No wetsuit makes for massive wedgies. And it rubs like a bugger everywhere. And digs into my stomach :( I think I might get a summer suit ...
• Nice being able to take a whizz without fear of a stinky suit though!
• Getting better at overpowered jumping - hitting the launch cleanly is the hard bit.
• Having someone ju-uuust downwind of you when you're really overpowered is worrying.
• Dead Man jumps ... being upside down makes it tough to judge where the water is - those are the cause of most of my redirected-the-kite-too-early jumps with sideways landings. Mmm, must remember to try tucking the bar under my knees so I can lean WAY back :D
• Jump front-loop transitions - requires some wind-power for the kite and careful modulation of the bar for the hit of acceleration ...
• I'm sure there was something else I wanted to remember ... but now I've forgotten what it was.

Fat lady sings off-key

Looked like it should be a good long session at Machiya today, starting at 3pm and finishing after dark, so I loaded up the car and headed on over at 1:30pm, with the wife in tow. Arrived at about 2:45 to find only Auntie and Uncle there :o not a good sign. He's trying to ride his 10 but it's not happening, so Auntie is pumping the 14. The wind doesn't seem up to much ...

I decide that I drove all this way, I may as well have a shot at it. I unroll the lines from the XB bar and untangle them then decide that ain't going to work so I scout about for a clean area of beach (no shells, sticks or trash) to set up and launch from ... good luck with that! Just have to do the best I can ...

Hmm, tough going. Ending up downwind but so is uncle. Then the wind picks up a little and gradually, we're going further upwind. I start to have enough power to be able to play silly buggers. Jumps aren't up to much, backrolls are tough cos we don't have enough power or speed but backroll transitions are easy.

UNTIL

I do something wrong and crash the kite LE down. No problem I'll just do a quick reverse launch! Oh wot a bridle is wrapped around a tip? No problem I'll just erm ... hang on ... ah ... oh ... well ... float to shore and untangle it there. Hmm that ain't right.

Sort out the kite, lay out the lines, relaunch (on shells! EEK no it's ok no holes!) and try to spot my board. Grr, kite is all squirrelly ... guessing cos the TE is soggy. But that means I can't body drag out to the board. Oh it's cos the wind has died right off. Fine, stand and watch the waves wash my board into the shore, collect it, whack myself on the ankle with it then trudge back up the beach. Wife comes and carries the board, which is nice.

Pack it up then go and look at the dead porpoise. Bit of a pair of flat notes to end the day on really ... still ... it had it moments :) even though I now have to wash and dry my biggest kite :o

Mood of the Session was annoyed amused annoyed.

Moment of the Session was sorting out the back roll!

Weather was recorded as 7 to 10 to 7 knots, gusts to 15, 22°C at 77%.
Wind felt like it wasn't reaching its full potential.

What I learned today ...
• Been thinking for a while about back rolls - rather than spinning around under the kite and over-rotating all too often, I thought about edging up and popping into a jump, then as you hit the peak start the rotation so on the way down you've rotated then just fall at the water. Seems to work good - need to try it in more wind.
• Converting board speed to a clean pop gives good height but ... if there's no power in the wind then you just drop like a mong.
• Careless relaunches can result in bridles wrapped around the tips.
• Unlike an LEI (AAAAARRRGH! DEATH LOOP! Save yourselves!) that particular tangle results in a kite that flies sideways and pulls you downwind kinda ... thankfully, away from the large concrete pipe thing.
• I gotta tune that SZ line ...

Light session runs into overtime

Odd looking forecast for the afternoon ... light wind then a big peak at 5pm-ish. Worth a look ...

Head down to the lake after a long day at work, arrive about 4:20. Looks like another 16m Xbow day; hoping the peak won't kill me but the low is looking 21m worthy. Hmm, hope I made the right call!

Get out on the 'radical for a bit and although I'm struggling for about 10 minutes, the wind picks up and it's good fun.

Feeling pretty good and my loop-transitions are working nice, so I try a 'proper' kite-loop ... heh, it works but only well enough that I get shot at the water :D I'll take that landing on my ass ... hehehe! Not so successful but the boys on shore might get a giggle. Will try that again with a smaller, faster kite!

So back to the our regularly scheduled program - trying to jump as high as I can, front and back rolls ...
Wind drops off so I switch to the 'door ... then it drops WAY off and I'm fighting to get upwind at all, without playing silly buggers - stuck at the end of the beach, about to get pushed onto the marina beach if I dont watch it!

And then I manage to drop the kite TE down and it gets swamped - frantic hauling in of the center lines gets the kite over onto the LE and relaunched ... phew! That's the same spot I had to swim in with the S3 21!

The wind has picked up a little and Soh has arrived ... we keep on riding, working hard to get upwind until the sun has well and truly set behind the hills. Nice long session! Left Locus at 8pm :)

Mood of the Session was amused.

Moment of the Day was actually as simple as getting all the way back upwind to where I started, without having to walk!

Weather was recorded as 8-12-5 knots from 4pm to 7pm; 22°C at 73%, gusts no more than 18 knots.
Wind felt like I was briefly over-powered, mostly slightly under-powered and for a short time, thought about walking.

What I learned today ...
• When self launching, make DOUBLY sure that the slackest steering leader isn't wrapped around the bar :o a gentle loop into the grass ... thank god for IDS!
• Need to watch some videos on YouTube about How to Loop Properly LOL
• Too many front loop transitions on the starboard tack = twisted lines :o
• If I had the 21 up, I would have probably been shitting my pants for a half hour, enjoying myself for the rest. Cest la vie.

WOOP WOOP! Kiteloop!

Forecast looked totally feeble, but possible so I headed off to the lake anyway. Long drive from the wrong side of the tracks ... frickin work. Got there about 4:40pm and people were on the water, I could see some white-caps so I got changed and headed over ...

Definite 21m weather ... thought maybe I could get away with the Flyradical and had a few tacks on it, but I can't hold ground. Swap for the 'door ...

Better. More speed more height ... noodle around ... wind is up and down a bit and there's a patch where I have to fight to get upwind. Then it comes back just a bit and I can keep on going.

In the midst of all this, I'm doing my "loop" tranistions ... going to the right, send the kite to the left, jump, sheet out on the way down and fish-pole the bar so the kite front-loops then land 'toe-side' and ride off in the new direction. Meh, I know what I mean.
Anyway, must have started the loop earlier or something, cos the kite was coming around while I was still in the air so I sheeted in harder as it came around and felt it yank me forewards - kiteloop! Intentional and controlled! WOOP WOOP!
Spent the rest of the evening trying to do it again :-/ till the wind dropped off so low that all I could do was rotations for shits'n'giggles ... then the sun set and the wind was truly feeble, so I packed up.

Mood of the Session was surpised satisfaction smirk.

Moment of the Day was the kiteloop that pulled!

Weather was recorded as 6 to 7 knots at 17°C 75%, gusts no more than 16 knots ...! Ri-iiight.
Wind felt like exactly what it was - just-powered to powered; I'd guess it was more like 10 to 14 knots.

What I learned today ...
• Kiteloops can be done and are addictive and fun! Now I get it ...!
• Bottom end of the S3 is fantastic. Just keep an eye upwind, so you don't get caught in the lulls ...
• The old straps are better on the big Flyboard. Still 'stretch' though ...
• My knee is sore again ... only noticed when I was kneeling in the sand though. Fingers crossed ...

To the sea ...

Long time no riding. Feels that way anyway. Forecast looked like it might be worth a trip to the seaside in Mie, over the hills and not-so-faraway.

Wife wanted to come so naturally, we ended up leaving late - I'd planned on leaving at 12-ish but we didn't get out of the driveway until 1. So I took the highway and hauled ass!

Got to the carpark just after 2 - not a bad effort. Wind was picking up slowly. I hummed and harred about what kite to use - the beach looked not as trashed as usual but was tight, with people in tents (?!?) and kids making spiked death traps out of sticks. So I went for the Cab 16 instead of the Speed3 ...

Started out riding crosswind only on the Flyradical so I came back in for the Flydoor. Better, going upwind easily. As the wind picked up gradually, things got more fun then I switched back to the Flyradical. Sometime in between all that, I had to replace the straps on the 'door cos now the right hand one is slipping - new design is easy to adjust but totally can't handle the strain!

Had a pretty good day; nothing fabulous but it beat the ass off of not riding. Some jumps were ok but nothing that'd make me go Whee! Mwa-hahaha! Ahoy! etc. I did some really nice downloop transitions, either 'carving' or jumping. So tired now I can't remember exactly what I did but one of them made me cackle with glee ...

Wind died right off and I gave up. Must have been just after 4:30 so I got off the water ... and discovered that I hadn't attached my leash when I relaunched the kite :o
Shook my head, then packed up and headed home.

Noticed as I was rolling up the kite that my right knee hurt when I kneeled on it - wonder if that time I dropped the board off one foot twisted that knee ... seems ok now though. Oh and I sliced up the bottom of my left foot on shells.

Not a bad effort for someone suffering from the flu.

Mood of the Session was satisfied happy tired.

Moment of the Day was getting the timing and kite control just right so I could land jumps on the faces of waves and surf away! Nailed everyone I attempted - sweet feeling!

Weather was reported as 8 knots at 2pm, climbing to 16 at 4 then falling off again; gusts to 20 at 3pm ... at around 23°C 62%, more or less.
Wind felt like I should have been more powered. Even when I WAS powered, I didn't go upwind much ... tide was coming in, I think ...

What I learned today ...
• The mong on the Waroo and directional is a dangerous, erratic little man. By way of confirmation, he parked his kite in the trees at the end of the day.
• Check your leash is attached :o
• Probably should have tried out the Mako instead of the 'radical ...
• The 'door has a bit of a hard time in the big choppy sloppy conditions ... bounced and slapped around a bit.
• I love my lake!
• I love my Sharks too ;)

Better than nothing!

Contrary to the forecast, the wind looked good so I headed down to the lake. Wasn't that flash but I had to get out so I changed and loaded up with the Speed3 21 and the Flyboards ...

Mmm. Not going upwind on the 'radical so I switch to the 'door. Only just powered ... noodled around for a bit but didn't have much joy. Finally give up - had maybe a half-hour riding I guess :o

On the beach, started playing with lengths to adjust the SZ bridle and get the kink out of the kite tips. Seems like I won't need more than a couple of inches, otherwise the tip-most bridle pulls during turns and makes the tip look ugly. Need to do a mixer test, measure that line and have another fiddle ...

Mood of the session was mellow resigned not-unhappy.

Moment of the day was simply getting out and getting some air under the fins!

Weather was reported as 11 knots falling to 3, 19°C at 64%.
Wind felt like it was exactly as it seemed - I should have just gone home ... chop was gnarly though!

What I learned today ...
• Tweaking the bridles is easier than I thought but could be incredibly time consuming ...
• The kite seems to fly better without the tucks ruining the airflow ...
• Need to check a video or two of other 21's to see how they look when sheeted in.
• Next time, I'm buying a brand-new purple 21 :D

In the Evening

You can sail the seven seas!

Why the hell not? Left my wetsuit and harness hung up and drying at Locus so I could come down after work and have a quick splash before I had to go to work at 7:30pm ...

Well, it was light. I knew it would be, GPV was spot on for the whole day - except for the gusts. There was a breath of wind but I thought it was doable so although everyone else was standing around looking sorry for themselves, I set up the big Speed between all the LEIs and got it into the air ... just as the wind picked up :D

Tacked back'n'forth for a bit trying to get upwind ... bit more wind ... ah, now I can (try to) jump and ride upwind! What fun!

A few good jumps! Bit of a surprise, given how the light the wind is - I'm doing something a little different though, without noticing ... which I don't click to until later.
The wind is up'n'down and although I ride constantly for the next 90 minutes, I'm the only one - everyone else is on and off the water like jack-in-the-boxes. Mistress of Disaster is trying to ride a 9m kite ... I seriously think she has a very small brain - even Taki is on his 14!

Finally the wind dies right away and it's good timing - just before 6 - I need to get off the water and go to work again :-/
A nice satisfying session to unwind from the hectic morning!

Mood of the Session was smug mellow surprised.

Moment of the Day was popping up the big airs in next to no wind!

Weather was reported as 12 falling to 8 knots at 16°C 64% and it looks like it picked up to 12 again after I left.
Wind felt like I shouldn't have been riding at all, let along upwind AND jumping. A few spikes of "Oh yeah!" but they didn't last.

What I learned today ...
• A few things about the GoPro ...
• Fogging issues - using the car a/c to blast the case with cool dry air ... you gotta blast it for more than a few minutes. It might even be the case that the WHOLE CAR should contain cool and dry air.
• Perhaps the fridge would be a better idea ... or the toilet paper, just in case. Bah.
• Battery ... using one that was charged weeks ago only gets you an hour of recording :(
• Jumps that feel great IRL look like you just cleared the water on the GoPro. And they look even lamer when all the details are blurred out by fog :-/
• Jumping ... the good ones in the evening, I was sheeting right out as I sped up with a little downwind. Recently, I've been not sheeting out at all and the height of jumps has been variable. With the sheeting out, the UP was more aggressive!
• Which reminds me ... ages ago I decided that if you can't hold and load your edge when you sheet out to jump, then you're over-powered. How about that then?
• Water/wave/wind theory DOES work but is only any good for that moment in time ...

In the Morning ...

You can sail the seven seas!

Took 3 hours off this morning cos it was supposed to be crankin', yo! Well it wasn't. But it was punchy as hell instead 0_o started off trying to ride the S3 15 but it was lulling below its capabilities. So I ran back across the road and got out the 21 but it ended up gusting above its capabilities; so it was survival kiteboarding mode. Me versus the Norwester. Came out as a draw ... and I have a horrible feeling that the moment of the day was NOT captured by the GoPro :-/
Yep, confirmed ... damned battery!

So started off underpowered, but fighting gusts, trying to get away from the beach on the Flyradical. The wind came and went and came back with a vengeance; by which time I'd swapped to the Flydoor then back to the 'radical again ...

The Master of Disaster has arrived and will be raceboarding ... after he figures out how to relaunch his kite.

The jumps get better ... then, I got on the elevator - from hell! Up, up some more, then again and - oh wow I can see INTO the carpark that's behind the 20m-tall trees! Now I'm finally going down but wait what - I'm flying backwards?!?! I can actively feel the kite flying into the wind :o Try to redirect the kite on the way down but leave it too late so sorta dunk my bum then ride off ... does that count? +1 for me!

That was fun so I keep riding, but the gusts are nasty - the next big one shoots me off across the lake at Warp Factor 5 and I end up pulled forwards spinning around, miles downwind from my board. +1 for the wind :(

Keep riding for a while more but it's getting a bit mad, and I think it might be close to pack-up time ... I land the kite just as Miyachi comes over the road and he lands me - nice!

Pack up the 21, go to pack up the 15 but it's put a wingtip through a bridle while I left it laid out on the beach, so I untangle that then head on home. Hmm, I think I should come back after work and see if I can get some satisfaction ... wind is supposed to be more stable in the PM.

UPDATE 20/05/2012
I stand corrected! Good ol' GoPro! It was the whacky file-naming convention that threw me off ... I DID get the massive jump, all fogged up though it is. Looks like nothing special on the video :( nuts!




Mood of the Session was frustrated psyched shell-shocked.

Moment of the Day was the elevator ride from hell ... then flying backwards. Now I know what the gliding guys do ... and I think I can handle it - over nice soft water, anyway!

Weather was reported as 9 to 12 knots (LOL what-evah!) at 18°C 61% with gusts no more than 20knots. I think Hikone was a bit sheltered today ...
Wind felt like it was trying to kill me or make me pack up in disgust.

What I learned today ...
• Make sure you have ALL the bridles around the right way before you unattach lines and manually loop the end of the bridles through other bits of the bridle :-/
• Face-first into the water at speed ... doesn't matter if you close your eyes, the water is getting in anyway :o but you can still tell which way is up and keep the kite under control at the zenith :D use the force, Luke!
• When you're flying backwards, redirect sooner so the kite has time to pull you forwards.

Mellow top-up session

Been watching the weather forecast since Saturday, even the long range one ... getting desperate. Today there was a slim chance of a ride, so I went down the lake. Got there about 4pm (thanks to idiots at work insisting on a meeting in the middle of my lunch hour) and it looked doable.

Headed over to the lake with the S3 21 and the Flydoor and Mako, just in case. Nice quick set up but the launch went haywire because something got tangled in the bridle. Couldn't dump the kite on the ground cos ASSHOLES had left the gear they weren't using strewn across the beach so I had to fly it between their shit and then stall it to the ground. No bad skills for a kite that wasn't flying properly. Untangled that mess then got it back in the air ... bastards.

Started out on the Mako but I've yet to click with that ... going downwind too far. Get on the Flydoor - much better! More board speed means better jumps ;) I work on my load'n'pop take-offs. A few nice big jumps when the wind gusts up around 5 I guess.

Now I'm more powered, I change back to the Mako ... but the holes for the mutant setup are squirting water directly into my eyes. Dafuq? Give up on that and ride out the rest of the mellow session on the Flydoor.

Do some rotations, mess with the backroll transition ... might have that down, we'll see.

The Master of Disaster and dropped his kite TE down and is drifting up the river. Miyachi rescues him with his the SUP board.  Uncle Pyro has dropped his kite on the shore and wrapped lines around my Mako - that'll learn you for leaving your shit over the beach. Other kites are dropping. Auntie is going downwind. People are giving up. I'm still riding. In fact, yet again, I'm the last one riding and I'm still going upwind. Huzzah Flysurfer!

This should keep me going for a few more ... days.

Mood of the Session was cranky satisfied mellow.

Moment of the Day was getting the load'n'pop ju-ust right and rocketing up in the air!

Weather was recorded as 12 knots at 3pm, 22°C 44%, falling to 5 knots at 6. Gusts of 16 knots at 1pm.
Wind felt like I was slightly over-powered on the big board few a while, comfortable most of the time, falling to mowing the lawn. Was surprised to be riding without white-caps but still able to get right back upwind ... so long as I didn't jump or anything.

What I learned today ...
• Yes, the back-roll transition - stop pulling on the bar once the kite has moved to the other side of the window.
• But digging the new direction's front tip into the water is a silly way to face-plant.
• MUST replace the straps on the 'door! That LH one is hacking me off ...
• Good load'n'pop makes for good jumps with lots of drift ... hard edging on load'n'pop gives a more UP jump with little cross-wind drift.

Damned work

Who needs it? Not me. Not when it's blowing 20 knots ... finished at 5pm and rushed down the lake, probably got onto the water about 5:30pm well powered on the S3 15.

Mmm. Wind's gusty and punchy. Water is making like it can't decide if it should do rolling waves, short waves or karate chops. Or which direction it should come from. I try to get my thing down (as the kids say) and get a couple of fun jumps, a bit of elevator action but most is pretty limp - it's tough to get speed up, hold it long enough to find a piece of water to boost off then set up the jump :(

A couple of times the board gets wiped off my feet and once, I manage to keep the board on one foot, only to slam my other foot with it when I hit the water. Ouch.

The wind drops off again and people are getting off the water. Eventually, I have to loop the kite just to get back to the beach. Wait around for the wind to pick up - but it doesn't. Bastard. Be surprised if I got more than 45 minutes riding today ... all that lovely wind wasted!

Mood of the Session was expectant battered unsatisfied.

Moment of the Day was that first pair of tacks out, flying upwind of everyone thinking the rest of the session would rip. Oh you poor deluded fool.

Weather was recorded at 5pm as 21 knots falling to 15 knots 2 hours later; 12°C 68%.
Wind felt like it was awesome bu was just teasing me.

What I learned today ...
• My Grand Unified Wave/Water Theory has yet to be proven wrong.
• Might have gotten more riding in if, having had a psychic vision, I'd waited till the gusts had passed and pulled out the 21.
• Landing with your foot UNDER the board hurts.
• But not for long.
• Best way to pack up a Flysurfer ... use two of the bags of sand, on LE and TE, then fold the kite in half and tuck it under the bags. Now you can tidy up the bridles and THEY'LL STAY PUT while you roll it up.
• Oh  yeah and pack it in the bag while your standing - trying to stuff it in on the ground drags the sand in and makes it all messy ... we all know how important a tidily packed kite is :D

Blah

Forecast was cranking, hourly wind reports was cranking, wind LOOKED like it was cranking the flags. Unfortunately, it was all show and no blow :(

Put up the big Speed3 21 expecting to be nicely powered but couldn't ride either the Mako or the Flyradical so I went back to the the car for the Flydoor. Meh, still mowing the lawn but at least I'm going upwind occasionally. And getting the odd nice jump ... shame I'm so close to the shore - nearly had a close call there!

Despite being so underpowered, I stayed out for just over an hour. Naturally, just as I start packing up the wind picks up again ...

Mood of the Session was blah blah blah.

Moment of the Day was that back roll that was totally supporting by the kite moving around over-head :D funny!

Weather was reported as 12 knots falling to 9 (BULL-SHIT!) at 12°C 79%. Bloody cold, wind-chill was nasty - water felt warmer!
Wind felt like I should have been at least a little powered ... but wasn't :-/

What I learned today ...
• I should have asked Miyachi to borrow one of the race boards - would have been a good day for it.
• My theory with the waves seems to be a good one.
• Good speed and pop can still produce surprisingly good jumps in light wind.
• As does sending the kite properly.

\m/

ROCK ON! Epic session! Forecast was for heaps and that's what we got. Of course, it was better before I got there :-/ Frickin' work - who needs it?
Hauled ass out from the wrong side of the train lines and finally got to the lake around 4:40pm.

Everyone looked under-powered on their 7 to 10m kites - I guess it was even better before I got there.  I got changed in a hurry and took my 13m XB and 15m Speed³ cos ... well why not, the wind is forecast to drop and I want to jump BIG. For a change :D

Unwrapped and launching the Speed, although the wind felt fine on the beach it was a something else again once I got up and moving. And it was punchy too ... I was a bit worried for a few minutes.

First big jump I screwed up the redirect and slammed into the water; I can see how people break ribs. From then on though, it was absolute BUT-TAH!
Could I do anything wrong? Not really :D I borked a (very) few landings but that was down to either enjoying the view for far too long or doing something silly with the board, like falling off it. There were some ugly landing: flailing around trying to get into a balanced position but for the most part I landed and rode off like A BOSS. Several times I over-did the launch and ended up sailing through the air backwards ... but still landed it.

Fear is the mind killer.

From then on, it was all shits and giggles. Well, cackling like a lunatic anyway. And lots of WHEE! and AW HELL YEAH and I CAN SEE MY HOUSE FROM HERE and even an AHOY ME HEARTIES AAARGH! yeah, I dunno where that one came from ...
Hironobu gives me a thumbs-up while I'm flying a few times :D

Took out the Mako for a run early on but was too over-powered - it bounced me around like a toy but when the wind lulled, I got a nice smooth ride out of it and some nice pops. It really does carve well ... maybe I need a 140 too :o

So when I swapped back to the 'radical, it got me thinking about how lazy I was being with my load'n'pops - I wasn't really using my legs. I worked on that for a while and got some smoother  launches ...

But the wind is dropping now and lulling down ... soon, Hironobu and Soh give up and I'm only riding across wind. So I pack it in ... my legs are tired but I had an awesome session!

I was in the car loaded up for home by about 7:30 so I guess I got 2 solid hours on the water ... great!

Mood of the session was jubilant cracked weary.

Moment of the Day was yet again another jump. This time though, it wasn't the highest or longest; it was the most backward-flying. And not getting pasted on the landing which is nice.

Weather was reported as 15 knots falling to 9 then climbing back to 11 knots by the time I quit; 15°C at 70%. Gusts no more than 30 knots - peak was recorded at 1pm. That data was recorded at the weather station at Hikone, about an hours drive north of Locus ... 1pm to 4 at Hikone was 17 to 8 knots; FWIW.
Wind felt like I was comfortably over-powered (on the Flyradical but fighting too hard for control on the Mako) and having fun; falling to being unable to ride upwind. After about 6pm, the wind got very lully, and as it dropped the lulls got longer till I gave up around 7pm.

What I learned today...
• You can (probably) gauge the wind by the height and "quality" of the waves.
• Free your mind and your ass will follow. Look where you want to go!
• My load'n'pops are getting VERY lazy. That *may* be down to sore legs from working out this week but most launches were very average - thank god for kickers!
• Mako needs less power than the 'radical but it's bottom end usefulness drops off sooner. I think 0_o
• Perhaps I need a 140 after all :D er, Buzz ... got any left?
• Speed3 15 has a great range! Easy to hold a good posture and ride over-powered with good YOINK when you boost. So much less back-stally than the 12 too ...
• Seems I jump both ways fine but it depends on the direction of the wind and waves ... I might be better one way than the other due to the above conditions.
• Sheeting out on the redirect speeds the kite across the window then sheet in just before you touch down - fast and butter-smooth landing!

Is more like it...

Last day of the hols for me; forecast looks good, thank god!

However, the weather had other ideas - I knew it was going to rain about 3-ish ... but hail? Seriously? In 15 degrees. Crikey! Once that was over though, the wind eventually picked up and the sky cleared and it was all good!

Well, it was better than yesterday. Wind was up and down and I had to concentrate solely on making ground upwind on occasions, but when the wind peaked around 5 it was great. Nice big jumps and as the wind dropped off, I did some rotations for the hell of it.

Pretty crowded out there, full turn-out for once. No real problems ... other than having to be super-careful about who was where when I was thinking about jumping - nearly landed on Mr. Fujii when he came ripping in almost under me :-/

Must have ridden for about 3 hours - I gave up when the wind was totally off ... and my legs were starting to be unable to cope with edging. Good day!

Moment of the Day was realizing that I can pretty much land any jump I do now ... sweet!

Mood of the Session was baffled satisfied worn-out.

Weather was recorded as 5 to 9 knots at 19°C 48% with gusts no more than 22 knots ... but that was at 10 a.m.
Wind felt like I was just powered at worst and well-powered at best. Could have done with a few more knots for some epicness though ...

What I learned today...
• As I said, landing 'regular' jumps seemed to have totally clicked.
• Good, clean pop is the key to jumping big. Messing that up ruins the jump ... big time!
• I should be doing rotations with my body more in the axis of the lines, rather than perpendicular to them ...
• That might solve my over-rotating when I get more loft than I expect.
• You have to look downwind, in front of and behind yourself before you jump ... problem with Flysurfers and their mad hang-time is how far you can float downwind and how much the traffic can change in the time you're in the air.

Well that was lame ...

Long story short - wind came up twice at 2 pm and 4pm-ish, allowing for short mowings of the lawn. We all packed up and ran away when the lightning started.

Mood for the Session was blah.

Moment of the Day was riding at all.

Weather was recorded as 8knots for one session and 10 for the other, 21°C at 55%.
Wind felt like I should have been having fun ... but wasn't.

What I learned today ...
• If it's sunny and warm, I don't need a wetsuit.
• But this is actually still cold water season - run-off from the snow melting in the mountains.
• And I get sun-burned :(

Like Mythbusters Life Raft*

* "... I'm ok I'm ok OHHHH MY GOD OHHHH MY GOD I'm ok I'm ok ..."

Supposed to be nukin' all day with some rain thrown in. It rained hard here in the morning so I kinda gave up on kiting and went out for lunch with the missus. By then though the rain had stopped, the wind was up and everything was dry. Headed to the lake at about 2pm.

No freakin' wind. At all. Stood around watching the horizon for a half hour, then some white caps rolled in. I suited up and dragged the S3 21 and 15 across to the beach. Waves looked small, white caps weren't that numerous so I set up the 21. Got it in the air - despite Uncle Pyro trying to dump his Rebel 16 on top of it ... for FUCKS sake you buy a brand new kite but skimp on the bar? Fucking F-One bar won't bloody work, that's why it won't fly!!!

Should have known ... when I was trying to launch, the wind shifted a bit and flopped the kite over. Got it in the air ok, then ... well DAMN. Got onto the water fine, started moving then got hit by shifty gusts as the kite shifted from NE to NW. Kite falafeled around up there, right over all the kites lined up on the beach - I was worried I'd have to QR and they'd get sliced. I barely managed to keep the kite flying but was being lobbed a little so I spotted Miyachi and called for a landing. By now the wind has shifted to total W and as I finally get the kite near the ground, the wind turns to S and starts blowing the parked kites around :o mine is in the lee of the trees so I wrap it up and pack it.

Crikey! I guess it IS bigger than some paragliders ... but that doesn't mean I want to do THAT in the middle of a crowded beach!

Wait a bit, wind settles then picks up from the NW. Seems constant but after the previous excitement, I'm wary. I wait a bit ... ok fuck it - lets go!

I pull out the 15m this time as it seems to be blowing. Have to wait while Boof-head walks OVER MY BAR and then OVER MY LINES then stands around dicking with his trim :-/ but eventually get on the water. Well powered! I'm loving it ...

Some nice boosts ("I ... like ... big ... boosts and I can not lie!") and some great kickers off the waves that are ramping up ... and some nice rotations. SOooo much easier using a smaller kite! Or maybe just shorter lines ... carry on like that for bit, then the wind dies off. My jumps get smaller, I'm losing ground so I get off the water cos it's NW and very cross-off - should I have to swim, I'll end up way past the Hino river mouth in the windsurfer area ... if I'm lucky. I'm still nearly the last one on the water though.

Tons of surfer dudes out there today, lots of non-locals. Thankfully, I get upwind away from them easily. Then look down on them from a great height :D
Gloves Guy is doing back-rolls now like a boss - he gets about 3m up on one and although he doesn't complete it (slams back-first into the water) he looks really great during the trip up!

Anyway, it looks like rain is on the way. I wait a bit; the wind picks up and others go out, but there's rain on the way for sure. I pack it in ...

Mood of the Session was disappointed worried stoked.

Moment of the Day was getting out on the S3 15 again - I love that kite! Easy pleased I am yes.

Weather was reported as 5 to 13 knots at 15°C 78% with gusts to 21 knots. The "averages" seem a bit low, I doubt I can be THAT powered on the 15 and Flyradical in 15 knots!!!
Wind felt like ok-powered then falling away to barely riding. That was when it wasn't trying to yank me skyward 0_o

What I learned today ...
• When the weather forecast say NW and the wind is blowing NE, it might shift and punch you in the nuts. Check my shorts!
• You don't need to tighten the leg straps up so much on the Fusion harness - snug them up and they don't ride up. Or rather, they don't get trapped and return to a suitable position.
• 15m Speed3 is a superb kite. The range is incredible - but when the wind drops, I see it stalling like the 12 does. So I can only assume that the 12 needs even more wind to be rocking. Yikes.
• When you do a front roll, on a smaller faster kite, don't keep pulling with your front hand - not only will it pull you out of the roll, but the kite will down-loop and lob you downwind, then drag you and ... it's not pleasant.
• After holding your breath through a jump (STILL?! idiot) it's best not to open your mouth for the big breath just as you land and spray water into your faith. Le splutter.
• I can do silly tail grabs - judo kick your front foot out and make an karate face ... OOOS!
• It's actually very satisfying to look around at the other riders, people on the beach etc while jumping ... I can see my house from here!

Phew!

So I've been keeping an eye on the weather - the way you do - and the forecast said the afternoon will be rocking. All afternoon. Thus one PM found me making my way to Locus ...

"Ah, this morning was great! We were all on our smallest kites! And the wind was silky smooth!" says everyone. Great, weather report was off again ...

Oh well, it looks ok now - but what is the wind going to do? Tough decision ... and everyone's telling me it's going to be windy ... but the waves are small and those on 12's and smaller look underpowered - I go for my 16 with the 13 handy just in case.

Well. I get out on one tack on the Flyradical but I'm underpowered so I go back for the Flydoor - then the wind totally dies. First time I've had to carry a kite on a Walk of Shame :o

Waiting, waiting ... hmm, I may as well unroll the Speed3 21 and check that I haven't tangled shit up while I was fixing the bridle lines the other day. Joy, I did a good job - even got the lines around the right way. Still pulling on that part of the kite though - that's annoying. Wonder why ...

Oh hey, the wind is picking up ... is it worth the effort? Why not! I prefill and launch and jump into the water - yeah! We're rockin'!

At first I'm comfy-powered and play with rotations some, keeping away from the far end of the beach cos I'm paranoid of the wind dropping like it did just before and leaving me to swim in for a third time ... but I kept an eye upwind on the white caps and didn't push my luck.

I did drop the kite once though, and it taco'd and had me worried cos it took a bit of time to relaunch it ... the wind was light at that time so it didn't really pop straight back up like it usually does. Got it in the end though!

As the wind reached its peak, I was throwing down some good jumps - got some well timed sends with kickers off the 'waves' too. Man, I'm giving up a lot of ground downwind though - scary amount really; more than once I fly further than I thought and had to make some emergency moves to stop riding into or wrapping people up in my kites and lines. I nearly collected Hironobu but he just laughed and smiled at me like a loon.

But all good things must come to an end, and the wind eventually started to drop again. Soon I was the only one riding upwind, then the only one riding and although I couldn't help myself, jumping was losing me too much ground downwind to get upwind enough on the remaining part of the tack. So I went back to shore and waited ...

The wind never came back so I packed up, glad to have had a good successful session on the 21 and to have tested my bridle replacement!

Mood was annoyed amped relieved.

Moment of the Day was landing and riding away from the really big jumps - and having someone notice and comment :)

Weather was recorded as 6 to 10 knots at 17°C 80% with gusts to 14 knots. Maybe - the good bit would have been at least 10 to 15 knots ...
Wind felt like I was on the verge of being over-powered ... I was having mad fun but if the peaks had become the average I would have changed kites.

What I learned today ...
• We seem to be into that season where the forecast doesn't match the wind, and the wind comes and goes in waves. As it were ...
• You can make ground upwind even if you cut your tack short so you don't get stuck with a long  crappy swim, should the worst happen. Again.
• I've lost a bit of confidence in the Speed3 21 - or maybe just have a less blase attitude toward it and light wind. Which is probably a good thing.
• S3 21 still delivers the goods for light wind power, lo-ooong hangtime and - when you time it right - frickin' big jumps!
• The group from Fukui had no clue about water etiquette - even simple things like raising or lowering their kites when passing :o
• Timing is king with the big kite - you have to pay a lot more attention to what it's doing to survive the jumps and landings!

Nice end to the week!

Finally get a day with decent wind ... maybe I won't have to swim this time! Good chance to break out the 16m Xbow ...
Get to the lake after a LONG day and everyone tells me how awesome it was an hour before I got there :-/ nice one guys. Still looks good but I know it's forecast to be dropping. And everyone is riding 10m kites ... I think I'll try the Speed3 12 ... would prefer to use the 15 but the bridle line I need to replace is a whole lot more intricately connected than I thought it would be, so that's still awaiting repair. Take only the Mako over to the beach cos I don't think this is going to work and bet I'll be heading back to the car soon.

Hmm, maybe not - the 12 is lifting me good and the whee! boing! warm-up is impressive! On the water it's a bit different though ... tough to get the kite making power - keeps wanting to back-stall. I try to adapt my style but the wind is lulling so much that I end up walking back up the beach :( man, that kite can jump though!!! Just time the redirect correctly :o

Stand around scratching my head ... oh well, I'll try the 16m Xbow after all. Find 4 holes in the canopy setting up :-/ not so happy. Once it's in the air though - oh yes, it feels better than the 2010! On the water ... it's faster, more responsive and less bar pressure. Jumps really well too!

Spend the rest of the session on the 16 and Flyradical - swap once back to the Mako but I can't yet go upwind as well on it and nearly have to walk. Have a great time jumping, then start doing rotations. Oh my, easy! And even better - I start doing sent front-rolls! Getting some nice height on them (feels like anyway) and using the kite redirect to pull me out of the spin.

Everyone else packs up but the wind is ju-uuust ok so I keep riding till after sunset ... I been waiting for a good session all week! Pack up in the dark and hump 2 kites and 3 boards back over the road ... phew!

Mood of the session was frustrated satisfied stoked.

Moment of the Day was the first front-roll that I went up, had enough hang time to go "Hey! I'm doing a good front-roll!" then redirect out of it and ride away ... awesome!

Weather was reported as 8 knots 17°C 52% from 4pm, falling to 4 knots by 7 but that just aint right either. Gusts of 20 knots at midnight ... huh.
Wind felt like I was almost over-powered with fully trimmed kite but lulling to walking!

What I learned today ...
• Speed3 12 ... needs really good technique or nukin' steady wind. It might be an ok land kite for me, cos once you get speed up it hauls nicely but it's a mare to get to that stage.
• Above kite was very back-stall-y especially during turns near the water. Huh? How you supposed to work it, if it won't turn without stalling?
• 2011 16m Crossbow is an improvement on the 2010 for sure - new bridle design I bet is the answer.
• The blue actually looks really nice IRL although it looks lame in pictures.
• 60cm is a lo-ooong bar ... maybe I need a 48cm for my 13 after all ...
• Using the kite for rotations is fun. I'm getting ok at it :D
• Jumps are no problem it seems - with the Xbows. I think I only screwed one landing and I even rode away from the splash down!
• Need to spend some time in the hols this week doing maintenance :(
• Switching from the Flyradical to the Mako - the 'radical feels more slicey when riding but the Mako feels more carvey when turning.
• Mako pops of its edge easier when jumping when is, in the chop, a bad thing.
• I can't go upwind as easy on the Mako ... yet.
• Mako certainly is a nicer ride through the chop.
• Both boards feel light on the feet; the 'radical feeling a little more mobile, especially when in the air. It IS shorter though ...
• Feel like I'm riding more on top of the Mako too. FWIW

Wot - again? Seriously???

Forecast looked ok - as good as the last time I was out there anyway - so I hit the lake.

Got on the water about 5 I think, nicely powered on the Flyradical and the 21 ... doing jumps and rotations, trying to stick the ball under the guidance block again but the wind is dropping. Having to concentrate on the riding to hold ground so I give up on the 'radical and get the 'door.

Still easily riding upwind, but the jumps are getting lame and I'm only just getting around on the back-rolls. Then my jumps are all turning into down-loop transitions cos there's just no wind to ride the landing out, without looping the kite.

By now, there's only me and a couple of directional riders on the water and I'm the only one not going downwind. I'm feeling pretty impressed with myself and my gear ... I should have known better :D

Fall over being silly bugger and lose the board, so I drag back to it. Not really paying attention, just enjoying the cool water and the warm evening, the glow of the sun behind the fog when ... the wind just DIES.

The kite stalls at the edge, and I wait for it to drop so I can pull a steering line but instead, it flies FORWARDS and almost lands on me. I swim backwards from it but there's literally NO WIND to relaunch it. I float around for a bit, check the horizon 'upwind' but there's nothing coming ... sigh, another swim I guess 0_o

I wrap my lines up carefully this time, properly at the bar, a hitch near the kite then wind on as much of the bridle as I dare and hitch that too. Swim to the board - it's not gone far - and head for the shore ...

Of course, I'm way the hell down the other end again and have set myself up for the longest possible swim. Again. Murphy screws me again.

Drag the kite in, push the board ahead of me ... probably a 30-minute-swim but it feels like an hour. The kite has got water in it again, but cos I've wrapped the lines and bridles up well, it's easier to deal with on the beach, soggy. Drains easily and I roll it up, start walking out ... then Miyachi turns up with the van! I get a nice ride back to the club house and someones brought my bag and other board back :) that's nice!

Lay the kite out, shake off the sand. There's only one inconsequential tangle in the bridle that's soon shaken out so otherwise, I'm good! There has to be a better way of getting the kite in though ...

It'll all learn me for crowing over everyone else's having to walk upwind eh!

Mood of the Session is happy, smug, humble-pie.

Moment of the Day was popping a big jump right in front of Mr Fujii, turning around to look down at him and STILL riding further upwind :D

Weather was recorded as 8 knots, 19°C (ZOMG!) 61% at 5pm falling to ... 1 knot LOL gusts to 14 knots at 4pm. Water was nice and flat again too.

What I learned today...
• If the wind is dropping and you don't want to quit riding, taking a long-ass tack all the way out towards Otsu is not the best idea - stay closer to shore with shorter tacks. Better to walk than swim!!!
• The Speed3 21 is a dangerous kite because it WILL fly in sweet-fuck-all wind ... so I've become overly cocky about just how little wind I will actually try to ride in, and how far away from the beach I'll push it.
• And if you're up and moving with apparent wind, you don't notice if you're scarily out of wind ... so you don't stay on top of keeping the kite loading and - well, you know the rest.
• Wrapping the lines up properly AND as far up to the bridle as you can is the way to do it.
• Get the kite over onto it's trailing edge while it's still full of air.
• I'm gonna have fun trying to dry this big white monster ...

Grr... bah humbug.

It all started so well...

Wind was forecast to be a bit on the light side then die off as the evening wore on. I got to the lake around 4:30 and everyone was setting up big kites... well, big kites for them - 12m and 14m kites :o

I thought it'd be a good session on the 21 so I hauled that out (been a while!) and got out onto the water with the Flyradical...

Oh yeah! I would have to say that I'm perfectly powered! Absolutely in the sweet spot - lots of power for speed, big floaty jumps and easy rotations but not so much that I can't edge up and load'n'pop perfectly! Loving the flat water too - best it's been in M-O-N-T-H-S!!! I'm happy! For maybe 30 minutes...

Then... coming out of a front roll, the lines are of course twisted but I look up and see a ball on the steering line is wedged in under guidance block and the kite is diving to right, picking up speed... I struggle with the line, pulling and yanking but it won't release the ball. In the second before the kite slams into the water I decide the smart thing to do is to pull the safety. Kite releases fine but flaps around in the air... hmm.

I swim up the fifth line and reassemble the QR (easy) and hook back in, but by this time the kite has managed to invert itself, bowtie and wrap a bridle through the middle of the bow-tie, effectively sealing the bow-tie in place. I struggle with the kite for a bit but I can't get even a tip up into the air and it looks like I'm pumping water into the inverted LE.

I think about swimming to the kite and manually untangling but it looks like I would drift into the marina wall. So I decide to self-rescue. Wind up the lines, swim to the kite (yup, pumped water into a tip) and begin my swim to the marina beach.

Oh so I wasn't actually that close to the beach :( I finally arrive after an epic cross-current swim, struggle to drain the water out of the kite then struggle with the tangled lines I've created by badly wrapping them around the bar. I think about relaunching it from the marina beach, but it's not big enough to lay out the whole kite - even though it was big enough and clear enough of junk to get onto safely. Actually pretty lucky where I ended up...

So I hump it back up to beach Locus. Phew, weighs a ton wet and sandy . . . lay it out, untangle the bridle - all this actually takes less time than it took to swim in :-/ shake the sand off and relaunch - takes a while to get air into it, but it flies ok and everything looks fine . . . will check it thoroughly in the daylight.

In the mean time - my board has dissapeared. We are not amused.

UPDATE 19/4: Mr Miyachi took the boat out today for an hour and found the board! Ahoy!

Moment of the Day was realizing I was perfectly powered and this was going to be a totally epic session. O cruel fates!

Mood was stoked baffled annoyed.

Weather was reported as 13 knots (16°C at 62%) falling and gusts of 20 just as I got on the water. I could believe 13, but not the gusts...
Wind felt like I was 100% perfectly powered!

What I learned today...
• The guidance block has GOT to go.
• Pulling the QR is not a good solution.
• People who worry about dangling bridles and getting tangled up underwater are wrong.
• The fifth line, on the other hand... tricky bugger.
• Even full of water, the kite floats.
• Wet and sandy, it weighs a ton.
• When self-rescuing, wrap the lines properly - don't figure-8 them over the bar. That leads to the bar putting itself through the bridles etc and compounding the mess.
• I've learned a great deal of patience in this sport - I didn't swear and curse or throw a tantrum at all.

Another good one

But a bit chilly...

After a drive from my new work location - way the hell out the other side of the state highway :-/ I finally arrived at the lake around 4:45. Wind looked great! Got dressed and decided to leave off the boots and gloves... took the Flyboards and 13m Xbow over to the lake.

Kickin'! Boosting big, pretty much at the limits of the kite I reckon. It started misbehaving in the gusts but not badly. I did, however, have to trim it all the way at one time - got difficult to hold the edge while riding.

It was pretty awesome being able to boost big jumps time after time on a single tack and still be making ground upwind :)

I kept riding till the sun started getting close to the hills and thought about packing up, then Soh showed up so I didn't stop :D we were the last two on the water as it got dark... the wind had died by then so I packed up, feeling satisfied.

Mood was mellow satisfied bemused.

Moment of the Day was another front roll, that went up up up and round and down oh so smooth. Just like I meant to do it that way ;)

Weather was supposed to be only 6 to 8 knots :o but I'd pull the trim strap all the way in on the 13. 11°C at 78% and gusts of only 20 knots... you're letting me down, JMA.
Wind felt like I was 30% powered but not riding upwind, 65% over-powered but loving and 5% over-powered: check my shorts!

What I learned today...
• 15°C is enough to go without gloves and boots. Right about the time the cherry trees blossom ;)
• Water is still too cold to be trying to do rotations and getting dunked... brain freeze!
• I should probably have put up my 10.
• Or the 12m Speed3...
• If there's waves on the water like there was tonight, probably a good idea to use the Mako.

Now we talkin'

Well it's about goddamn time. Good afternoon forecast... I tried to weasel out of working a full shift but it didn't happen. So when work let out at 4:45 I headed straight down the lake... got there about 5:20-ish. Straight into the wetsuit, quick look at the wind and other kites up - 13m day! hopefully on the Flyradical - and hauled ass over the road, pump the kite (quick relax and check my shit is wired right) then jump in the water...

... just as everyone is getting off :D so for a while it's me, Soh and Hironobu, then just me and Hironobu till dark.
Wind is great, I'm psyched so I go at it as big as I can. Some really good jumps, and I only foul up the landing of one. I even start doing some backrolls, trying to go big (double to splash down) and front rolls...
I rode until dark and when Hironobu got off the water, I decided it was time to pack it in... the wind was dying, anyway.

Mood of the session was amped.

Moment of the Day was that front roll that straight up, around and back down to land almost where I took off... not sure if that's how they should be done, but it felt really good :D

Weather was recorded as 18 to 14 knots, 11°C 76%. It was gusty, and there was one occasion when the kite started twitching so I'm betting the peak gust of 28 knots was pretty accurate.

What I learned today...
• Don't need gloves and boots any more.
• I can get to the lake after Saturday work and still have enough time to wear myself out - HOO rah!
• You can survive pretty much any ugly send or takeoff so long as you get the kite back over your head and time the redirect properly.
• I still hold my breath when jumping :-/
• And I'm still pussying out when the gusts come through and I could really boost huge!
• My excuse for the above is that it's tough to hold the edge to pop properly. Honest.

Better...

but still not Epic.

Forecast looked awesome all day, so I headed to the lake at 12:30pm-ish to make the most of the sunny afternoon... and there was frickin' NO WIND.
Stood around shooting the shit with Miyachi and after moaning about the bar pressure on my Xbow 16 (am I turning into a limp-wristed sissy?!?!) he offered me his 14m RPM. I was actually hoping for the 15m Naish Charger but oh well :D

During the standing around, the wind picked up and we got white-caps on the lake - suit up! Rush the beach! Hump the gear!
Pah, no need... even after setting up the kite and diddling around going back to the car for gloves, it still wasn't that windy. I got on the water anyway with the new kite...

So what's it like, mister?
First thoughts on the RPM were "Wow, this is just like my arcs! But without all the power through the turns!" As the day went on, that feeling was reinforced as the kite jelly-fished, twitched and vibrated just like the arcs do. It IS a very nice kite though, don't get me wrong!
Heavier on the steering that the sheeting; likes to be worked to make power but doesn't really feel like it's powered; fast in turns but not so fast that it'll spank you... where I enjoy riding it the most though is no doubt out near it's top-end... and it gets twitchy and punchy up there, jerking and behaving badly.
Directly connected rear lines give good feedback - but too much in my opinion... you feel every twitch and vibration of the lines; I prefer the 'damping' of systems with pulleys. For now...
I was surprised at how little power it made in loops... and it needed a lot of wind for me to park'n'ride. I never got off the Flydoor and never though about trimming it either - much to Miyachi's surprise.
Also, really didn't want to turn with the bar right out - I dunked it once (and only once!) when it just wouldn't  turn and I dragged a wing-tip... relaunch was fine, maybe just a tad more difficult than the Xbow but that may have been cos the kite was heading towards a buoy and I was getting worried...!
Over all, a really nice kite but I'm happier with my 2011 Crossbows!
(Was on a big bar - 65cm probably, with 27m lines too... FYI)

... wind was up and down all session - we spent a lot of time trying to get moving in the lulls and then having fun in the gusts. Soh changed his kite several times and I either kept working the hell out of the kite, jumping like a loon or standing on the beach :(

Got some nice jumps in, really nice float with the RPM - there was even one magic moment when I just hovered there, like a helicopter :) one hard landing really gave my gammy ankle grief though and I thought I'd have to quit... but I didn't!

As I was giving up for the day, I was trying to catch Miyachi's eye to get him to land the kite - I don't want to self-launch or -land borrowed kites! - the kite got hit by a gust and front-stalled, falling to the ground :o I watched in horror as it rolled over on to the L.E. and I sheeted out so it flipped on then just waited as Miyachi was dashing over to secure it... phew!

Nice session, despite all the underpoweredness and it was really interesting to try a modern, different kite system to those I'm familiar with.

Mood of the Session was relaxing enjoyable.

Moment of the Day was the back-spin that used the kite nicely and was more what I think they should be rather than an overly quick whip-around... it was up, float, rotate, redirect then pull out of it :)

Weather was all over the place... it's recorded as between 12 and 14 knots with gusts no more than 29 (5am) but it was above and below that all day. Temperature was between 7 & 8°C at 45%. I felt cold when I got off the water and stood around doing nothing.

What I learned today...
• JMA forecasts, especially the hourly ones... if the wind is NW then it's an hour ahead, if the with is N to NE then the wind is an hour behind. So if JMA said the wind was 6m/s at 1pm from the NW then it hit Locus at 6m/s around 12; 2pm at Locus if the wind is N.
• I should be happy with my 2011 Crossbows cos they are really great, stable, and well-behaved kites.
• Where I like to ride kites is out the top-end of their design limits.
• So the heavier, more stable kites give me more fun and peace of mind. See point one.
• I'm still of the opinion that behaviour of the kite when over-powered is related to the number of struts... I'm thinking 5 might be a magic number for a balance of light weight (my god the RPM was light!!!) and stability...
• My jumping 'skills' are transferable between kites.
• I prefer riding my S3 15 in winds like we had today - and I would have been jumping much higher :D

Light-wind workout

Forecast looked good so I tripped down the lake at 12 and had a look. Mmm, looks bloody cold out there... I'll shoot off to Immigration and wait for it to warm up a bit.

Got back about 3 and Taki was out on the water. Miyachi reckoned it would be ok and the sun was out so it was warmish. Took the 16 Xbow and Flydoor over to the lake again...
The 'bow is mostly dry from yesterday's horror show so I only need to flick the sand off. I lay the bag out on a stump to dry out...

Onto the water, I'm feeling as powered as yesterday but am going upwind, which is nice. Bar pressure still feels massive though! Some tiny jumps and some half-assed rotations but the wind is dropping.
I unpack and launch the Speed3 21 but now the wind has totally dropped, so I land it and pack everything up. Le sigh again.

WagonR Guy got stuck down past the marina when the wind dropped... he had a good ol' walk back to the launch spot. So it could have been worse!

Moment of the Day was not having to walk.

Weather was reported as 10 knots, falling to 6 at 6.1°C 66%. It was cold enough that you could see your own breath! Yet my body was warm. Weird.

What I learned today...
• I need a big inflatable kite with less bar pressure!!!
• A good load'n'pop is essential to jumping bigger. I knew that already in my head, but seeing it work on the water set it in stone. Ok not seeing - feeling.
• Should have gone with the S3 21 straight away... that would have made it a gravy session :(

Riding in the rain...

... sucks.

Forecast was for the rain to come through then stop - which it did - not for it to start raining again :( I wanted to try out the 16m Xbow again so set that up and got into the water with Miyachi and Taki.

Man, what a gyp. At first, the wind was fine and there was no rain so it was ok, but I'm not really enjoying the kite - too much bar pressure and I'm not getting good drive. Then the rain starts and the wind (apparently) is all shifty cos although I'm feeling powered, I can't actually get upwind.

Keep riding for a while but give up in disgust - about 15 minutes before it stops raining :-/ now my kite is soggy, my gear is soggy, the kite bags are soggy... le sigh.

Moment of the Day was the nice warming vodka shot when I got home.

Weather was reported as 14 knots, falling to... 3 :o at 8.7°C 80%. Gusts no more than 20 knots.

What I learned today...
• Not even worth trying to ride in the rain.
• You can't wait it out.
• Xbow 16 has too much bar pressure for me now - I've been spoilt by the smaller kites and more technically effective Flysurfers.
• Of course, it might be the 5mm gloves causing the forearm pump :o

More like it!

Forecast for today was less than yesterday, but the fronts weren't rolling through, so I was betting that the wind would be more stable. Loaded up the car and headed down at 1pm.

The course racing kooks were at it again, and the carpark was crowded, the beach was crowded, the water was... you get the picture. Junkie Sensei and I stood around looking at the far banks of the lake, humming and harring. He decided on his 9, I decided on my Xbow 13. I had my 16 with me too but when the blow-line arrived, I thought it wouldn't be needed so when I went back to the car to change and get my boards, I brought my 10 with me...

Laid out my lines to set up and go to launch but - the Flysurfer distributor has laid his lines out over the top of mine. Derp. And not the last time today he'll annoy me - he turns in front of me hard, without looking behind him and nearly wears my kite. Good thing I was watching him... kook.

At first, the 13 is great and I switch to the Flyradical and have some fun. The wind dies off again so I'm back on the Flydoor. So continues the theme for the day, repeating 3 times until...

Must be about 4pm - big front comes through and it's all on like Donkey Kong! I'm over-powered on the 13 and have to trim it a bit, and it's gusty and punchy, but I'm having great fun, boosting as big as I can and - best of all - I'm landing all but maybe one or two! As the wind starts to stabilize, it drops off a bit and while I'm getting some great boosts, the wind drops off while I'm up and I get plonked a few times.

After maybe 30 minutes or more, the wind finally falls away consistently but I'm weary and a bit cold so I call it a day. And what a great day it was!!!

Poor old Flysurfer Guy had another kitemare - dunno what happened yet but when I left the beach, he was unpacking a Pulse 2 and when I looked back a few minutes later, it was wrapped around the top of a tree :o

The Mistress of Disaster is obviously feeling threatened by ability to ride upwind when she can't, land big jumps and do back-rolls - she had the bloody cheek to ask if I'd put weight on. Shame my Japanese isn't good enough to say "Actually, bitch, I gone down 2 sizes in pants. You, however, look like you need a bigger harness and wetsuit." Oh ok - I can say that in Japanese but I'm just too polite.

Moment of the Day was surviving the gusts and boosting huge and riding away with feather-soft landings!

Weather was reported as 8 knots falling to 4, back up to 16 then dropping to 10 with peak gusts of 24 knots; about 8°C at 68%.

What I learned today...
• Why people like fast kites.
• It cos when you do jumps and stuff, you can use the kite to rescue your cock-ups with timing, sending etc.
• And it's easier to control what's actually happening.
• Everyone is someone else's kook.
• Freakin' course racing numpties riding downwind through the middle of everyone else trying to tack, flailing around in the launch zone trying to get on a plane, dropping kites while trying to man-handle their gigantic boards, not giving way and pushing through the riding pattern... dicks.
• Ok so I can handle more power with the Crossbow 13... but on flat water. With the big chop and waves and whatnot on the lake, you bounce around so much that you can't edge up against the kite and drive it to the edge...
• Glad I didn't have my S3 21 out!
• S3 15 wouldn't have been totally mental!
• Started playing with using the kite to 'pull' me out of backrolls... mixed results.
• Sometimes it's just fun to edge up a kicker-wave not so hard, send the kite back and rotate around to downwind :D
• And some other times it's fun to ride in fast, edge up hard and send the kite - BIIIIIIIIG jumps!!!

Gnarly... and cold.

Wicked looking weather forecast - great front whipping through from the north, clearing out the southerly and rain...

Well, it was supposed to arrive at 2pm but didn't. I was down at Locus all set up with my Xbow 13 and Mako & Flydoor... got some runs on the 'door and some on the Mako then the front TRULY arrived! I landed the kite about 10 seconds before massive gusts came through... kites were sliding down the beach, guys with 7's up were tea-bagging, sand was stinging exposed skin... it was gnarly!

There was supposed to be a course racing practice and although lots of people got out, nobody had much joy. Flysurfer guy was here again too, on a S3 12 DLX but as the bad gusts came in he dropped the kite and (apparently) broke a line... but he didn't self-rescue, he just floated in until the kite snagged on the river mouth walls. Odd fellow... does odd things when I tried to land his kite for him too...

I got to ride though, and got the feel of the Xbow again so that was nice. Water and wind were every which way though so it was survival kiting... I labeled the wind as 'crappy' cos it was so freakin gusty, making riding a real trial! Looking at the weather, you could say there was a delta-V of 30knots :o looked like snow was falling later on too... yikes what a day!

Moment of the Day was surprising myself that I could get out riding upwind on my 13 and Flydoor while Junkie Sensei struggled on his 9 and directional!

Weather was recorded like this...
2pm... 11knots
3pm... 7knots
4pm... 8knots
5pm... 22knots (with gusts to 38knots!!!)
6pm... 11knots
and temperature of 8°C falling to 5... around 77% humidity. That'll be why I'm cold then :o

What I learned today...
• The forecast is usually about an hour off in this season.
• When NW but the waves are coming from the N, it's going to be rough riding...
• But when the wind switches to N and the waves to NW then there's massive gusts coming.
• If all you can see at the blow line is white, then get the kite landed and secured.
• Harden up and try that 7 out!!!

Highs and Lows

Well, the forecast was promising for the whole day but when I arrived at 1:30pm there was SFA wind at Locus. I spent some time tuning all my bars - yes ALL. I'd even taken the Core 7 to Locus cos the wind looked so nukin'. Just as I was finishing the last bar, the wind picked up...

Soh is setting up his biggest kite, so is Taki... Junkie Sensei is out with his 9m. Hmm, wonder what I should use? Speed3 15 bitches!!! Although Soh says he's getting HIS 9m too - maybe I should have brought the 12m over with me... ah nuts.

I'm first into the water again, despite being the last to set my kite up :D nicely powered on the Flyradical, easily going upwind. Whoa Bessie, it's gusty as a bastard out here! Go through stages of "WTF where is the wind?" to "WTF wish I had the 12!" Yeah, it's mental...

Warm up with a few small jumps... feeling pretty good. Get into the groove and start chasing the big one... good power, nice kicker coming, bear off a tad, edge and up-tiddly-up-up! Holy shit that's a big jump! I'm looking downwind at the top of Soh's head! And... yessss, a perfect landing and ride away!

Repeat ad nauseam... wind is up, wind is down, jumps are big, jumps are small. But it's all good! Even the water co-operates - we're getting long flat areas behind the waves...

Even getting a few elevator jumps! Manage to land a total dead-stop forwards/up only jump - first one! Pretty neat feeling :D


Get spanked once or twice - over-rotation or lazy take-off sees me spinning around and getting slammed.
Then, after an hour or so, down the marina end, I set up for a jump which went fine, though the wind was in a lull when I went up, it had gusted as I landed and the redirect was a bit too deep... I went shooting off downwind, trying to ride out the super-sonic exit but couldn't hold it, got pulled over the front of the board... SLAMMED head first into the water, submarined and got folded in half the wrong way! Popped up out of the water and the kite is on the surface. Whee!

Get the kite relaunched but now I can't see my board... drag back and forth, use the kite to pop up but just can't see it. Head into the shore and stand around looking - then finally spot it. Walk out and body drag to it, keep on riding...
Taking out back to the river, I notice a couple of bridle lines dangling. Head back in and replace the LCLs but find that one of the green leaders has knotted or something and the sheath is cut through... nuts! Minor gear failure...!

That's the end of the day for me... didn't have the 16m Xbow with me and I don't think there's enough wind for the 13 or the S3 12 and there's only another hour or so of daylight left.
So a bit of a mixed bag today - that slam tweaked my shoulder I think - but still left with a huge smile on my face... and The Master of Disaster - who is known for his big air - came over and said "Wow big air!" so that was icing on the cake!

Moment of the Day was looking DOWN on Soh's kite... and landing it perfectly and riding away! I CAN FLY!!!

Weather was reported as 12°C 67%, 11 to 14 knots from 2 to 5pm, with gusts to 22. Wot-evah...

What I learned today...
• Watch how you redirect the kite when it's gusty, you numpty!
• Get that helmet on. It might just be a dead dog, but you don't want to head-butt it.
• Especially not with your mouth open.
• S3 15 is pretty well behaved up it's top-end... still a bit twitchy, not as stable as a Xbow but still has a huge range.

What's the opposite of thermal?

Cos that's what happened this afternoon... nice hot morning, should have been great :(

Skipped down to the lake about 3:30pm, set up the 21 and got a few tacks in... then the wind died a bit. Then it picked up again and I got a few more tacks it... then it died right off.

I played about on shore waiting, but when it became obvious (even to me) that there was no more wind, I started meddling with things on the kite... like the mysteriously twisted mini-5th line. And removing the easy-un-lark's-head doohickeys that I suspect of hooking the steering lines, where the extensions meet the main lines...

So a smidge of riding, and some productive fiddling. And it was nice and sunny and warm too - maybe Spring finally HAS arrived!

Moment of the Day... well there wasn't one. Ah yes there is - the VB waiting for me in the fridge! Hurrah the import store!

Weather was reported as Northerlies ranging from 9knots and falling to 3 at 12.1°C 49%. 12 knots of gusts at 1pm... so very low wind!!!

What I learned today...
• I really want to try an Airush Sector thingy.
• Am going to try the Naish race boards again - once the water warms up!