Long weekend off; that is, we don't have to work Saturday :-/ so we're up in Hamamatsu. I should really know better, I never get much joy from the beach here... anyway here's the story.
Wind was up-ish, waves were down; thought it might be worth breaking out the Infinity... I'll get to see what it's like up the top-end anyway. Cross-off is a bit of a worry though but nothing ventured and all that. Will try out my new Mako 150 too happy joy! Thanks Buzz!!!
Pumped the kite up and set up, easy self-launch. Hmm bit twitchy - probably the wind shadow. And the direction changes. And the gusts. Oh well - nut up. Got in the water - not too cold, good ol' Hyperflexx! Up and riding easily, that's good. Depower some - oh a bit gusty. Yes gusty. OH SHIT GUSTY! yoink off you go down-wind then, as fast as you can... rode the shocks out but aren't having fun. A few half-assed jumps but it's survival mode out here...
And aren't going upwind either :-/ give up, land the kite, pack up the bar and walk back up the beach... I was out on the water for over an hour but it felt like 5 minutes :o
Lucky I got off the water when I did too - the walk up the beach was made worse by an epic headwind... damn Hamamatsu! :(
More thoughts on the Infinity... (relative to today and the usual caveats apply)
• Good pull when it was being worked but I didn't have a lot of joy parking and riding it... tide, current and wind (and new board?) working against me though so we'll see on the lake...
• Vicious bastard when it's over-powered - certainly not as much of a buffer out the top-end as the SLE kites eg. my Xbows; I have never felt so dangerously and uncontrollably over-powered for a very long time indeed! It was a real handful trying to land too and the DISASTER of a QR didn't help.
What I'm talking about is how punchy it got when over-powered but still pulled a lot... Cab's IDS may be for "learners" or "old men in golf pants" but it works to take a battering but not haul on you - I know when I absolutely have to change out my Xbow for a smaller size because the kite is twitchy and jerking when totally depowered... but isn't pulling me off the water :o
Twitchy and rough in the gusts and shifts, lots of flapping and stalling - I'm guessing it's the three-strut design... lots of 'canvas' to flap about. Compared with 7 on the Xbow - I'm beginning to see a pattern here, and why Dimitri says 20 knots is the top end limit! So 30 knots NOT good :D
• Definite rear-line flyer - needs the tension there to keep it under control and on the boil. Feedback is handy (not dropping out of the sky) but it's not taxing - although I was wearing thick gloves, I didn't get the forearm pump I've had from the 16m Xbow.
• Landing from the safety - easy! I was worried cos I've never done it before (except on the FSr) It dropped down onto the LE then sat up on the wing tip at the edge of the window. I reached up and pulled the upper flying line and it gradually came back into the window then down onto the LE and sat there... in 30 knots :o
Weather was a nightmare - here's why... cross-offshore to cross-onshore; I got readings of 10 to 20 knots with average around 14 at the water's edge, JMA read 12 to 14 with gusts to 30!!!
Moment of the Day was getting out on the new board. Oh and not dying. Always good, that.
What I learned today...
• Epic Infinity v2 likes 8psi. I know cos I measured :D
• Mako will be awesome when I get used to it!
• New kite and board make a tough combination for riding in rough weather :-/
• Just cos the waves aren't breaking doesn't mean they aren't towering over your head doesn't mean they're not powerful. And big...! Did I say big? Cos they were big.
• Season has started! Wetsuit FTW! Maybe I need a 5mm this year... push the envelope! Roger that, milli vanilli chilly willy!
• That quick release has got to go - when I tried to land, I couldn't release it with my left hand at all and only just managed with the right - What. The. Fuck.
• Walking sucks.
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