O woe is me! More than a week with no ride! So despite the forecast of rain along with a good blow, I loaded up the car and headed over to Mie at the crack of dawn. 9am. It's Sunday, y'know - anything before 11 is the crack of dawn.
Wife insisted we go to Starbucks (blerg) so we didn't get on the highway until 9:30. Drove through the rain, which lessened by the time we arrived in Tsu, at the beach, about 10:45. Rain was non-existent and the wind looked great!
Hironobu was coming in just as I was going out - said he doesn't like the rain that's coming but he was comfortable on a 9 C-kite. Hmm, I think I'll give the 10m Xbow a shot. Measured a solid 18+ knots on the shore.
Naturally, as I start pumping up, it starts raining :-/ Fuck, I'm still going for it. Jump in the water with the Flyradical... I might not be powered enough for it but - hey whaddya know, I'm riding!
Ah, it's fun to be back on the 10m - it's been over a year since I used it, I reckon! I can see why people like the quicker kites and now I'm kinda used to it, it rules. Jumps start off pretty good, kite is easy to redirect all around the show and the landings are smooth. Sent back-rolls are good but a bit hairy on the landing - the water is pretty rough. There's a nice flat are south of the launch spot - tide is low-ish - so that's fun.
Noodle around for about an hour, then the wind drops. Swap the 'radical for the Flydoor. Still riding and having fun...
Been raining all the session so far but shortly after I swap boards, the rain REALLY comes in - zOMG it's vapourizing the surface of the ocean! The wind then dies off so I come back to shore and land the kite. Or rather, it falls outa the sky and I walk in and secure it. Wrap my lines up and wash the salt out of my hair in the torrential downpour...
Rain slacks off, wind picks up. I go back out for another 1/2 or so but the wind just doesn't have the oomph, even with the Flydoor, to do much other than mow the lawn. I call it a day and pack up - now it's after 1pm.
Yes, it was worth the drive and trunk-full of soggy gear :)
Moment of the day was getting out and riding at all... then being well-powered on the 10 and my 'small' board!
Mood of the session was surprised stoked deflated.
Its sucks when it's raining so hard, the water pools in your leeward eye socket!
Weather was reported as 20 falling to 14 knots, gusts to 28 just around the time I got on the water; 18°C at 81%.
Wind felt pretty good - I was surprised I could ride the 10m in only 20knots and have fun.
What I learned today...
• I seem to be able to get away with riding smaller kites in 'less' wind - maybe I have some kite skills finally? :o
• Riding in the rain is actually bearable. Will do it again. If I have to.
• Going from the 'radical to the 'door - the new 'door with the center fin feels like it has more drag, but is actually faster and certainly seems more locked into the water. Holds a line like it's on rails, while the 'radical needs the rear weighted to carve and can be bouncy. But is more fun :D
• I see a need for either less depower or a stopper ball on the smaller kite.
• That frothy area behind a breaking wave made me eat shit a few times again today - keep forgetting to weight the rear of the board to compensate!
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