Supposed to be blowing good all day but the web cam is showing... dead calm. Keep an eye on it all day and finally something starts to happen around 2:30pm. Load up and head down to the lake...
White caps out there. Doesn't look too strong though - decide to take the Pyscho4 19 for a test-fly anyway. Bit chilly getting dressed so I put my 3mm booties on. Contemplate the gloves but can't be bothered.
Set up on the beach... untangle the twists I put in the bridle doing the replacements. Wind is not bad, I might be able to ride after all. Try to inflate the kite by standing on the tip - doesn't seem to work for me :D so I inflate the regular way and launch.
Kite is good - mixer tune was successful, it seems. Still flying it on the old 21 bar though - eep. Wind seems rideable so I get into the water... it's way cross on though. Double eep. If the shit goes down, next stop is about 5km down stream.
Tack out, back in... come ashore past our beach in the trees bit. Naturally, the kite stalls in a lull then reopens just as I'm trying to come ashore - I get yoinked through the shallows and dance over all the nasty rocks hiding there, ripping open my boot and getting a boo-boo on my foot. Mutter mutter moan complain.
Walk back up the beach, try again. Wind is so up and down that I do that a few times. Trying to get used to the Psycho doesn't help...
Obviously, the Psycho turns faster than the Speed3 21 and makes enough power when doing so for it to be a viable low-wind option. Needs a good ol' haul on the bar though. When the wind is good, it parks nicely but likes to be given its head and let run. Still a bit back-stally but I'm betting that's the fault of the bar & line set.
So I potter around, trying to keep upwind. A few jumps but only one was exciting - and that just reminded me that I shouldn't probably be trying that with a mostly unknown kite. Miyachi comes out for a ride too. We both end up having to loop the kite to get back into shore. Then the wind picks up again...
Sun is going down, and so is the wind. I give up, pack up and head back to the warm shower. My board falls over as I'm washing it and dings the edge.
Sigh... dinged board, ripped boots, sore foot - why did I bother?
Moment of the day was non-existent.
Mood of the session was anxious irked resigned.
It sucks when you bang all your gear around.
Weather was reported as 14 knots; 13°C at 55%. Max gust was 40 knots (!) but that was at 1am so... so what.
Wind felt like nothing to maybe 18 knots... gusty and lully and just shit.
What I learned today...
• Boots go under the suit - otherwise, stones get into the boots.
• Psycho4 19 makes nice power when being worked - makes up for it's lack of low-end parkability.
• Bar pressure seems about the same as the Speeds...?
• Need new 3mm boots :-/
• And I probably didn't even need them - wasn't that cold.
• The new FSer straps are easy to adjust, at least.
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