Big Monday - Short but Sweet!

Forecast promised rain (or snow, can't remember now) and a bunch of wind but by the time we went to lunch there was still no wind. Picked up by the time we finished so I pushed the wife out the door, hauled ass home then down to the lake... cos I have to work at 5pm. On a public holiday, no less. Neato.

Got to the lake about 2:30. That guy with the surfboard and Naish kites is just packing up... he says the wind was too harsh for his 6m. Hmm. Geared up and dragged my gear over to the beach... and I only got my 10m.

Oh myyy! I can't even walk upwind to drop my boards by the shore :o this should be fun. Might actually have needed the 7m for once!

Pump the kite, lay out the lines, get them tangled AGAIN, Naish Surf Guy helps me launch but he's having a bloody hard time holding onto it LOL! A small whee-boing sees me lofted and gliding like a good jump... yikes!

Get to the board and into the water... the slick rocks under the water at the break make it tough to get the footing to get out and away from the shoreline. Finally get up and moving... I'm over-powered-well DUH-but only horrendously so in the gusts... "I can hold it! I can hold it!"

Got my watch hooked onto the spreader bar so I won't be late for work. It's 3:20 when I get on the water... and a few minutes later I pop the biggest jump of my life WOO HOO!!! Easily as big as The Big One on the 21, with a little less hang time but some great views over the trees :D best thing of all - landed it supah! sweet and rode off like a BOSS. Narrowly missing the shore... must have drifted about 75m downwind...

So continued the rest the session! The wind was still gusty and punchy, the kite was trimmed halfway and twitching badly, but as the wind tapered off and my balls dropped, I had a great time boosting big and loving it!

Only once did I try one of those backroll things - it was nearly very clever.

So I do the flying thing for a while... then my arms start dying, I get lobbed a few times and although I'm enjoying myself (despite the rain) physically, it's kicking my ass.

I got off the water at 4pm as per the plan but I doubt I could have gone much longer... got to work on time too - I'm getting to be an expert at getting out of the whale scrotum.

More of the same forecast for tomorrow - I'm taking my 7!

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Moment of the day was of course the hooj jump, perfect landing, and riding away like I meant to do it that way.
Mood of the session was fear, thrill, exhaustion.

Weather was reported as 23 knots at 7˚C, 70% from the NNW with gusts to 36. Oh that'll explain the stains in my pants.
Wind felt like it was gusting between 18 and 36 knots every few seconds... rough! Epic gusting to Insane!

What I learned today...
• Surprisingly strong wind is surprising.
• Yes, landing big jumps is just the same as landing small ones. It was good to be able to boost big and keep a cool head, feel the kite and then respond accordingly.
• Timing the landings is the key... if you're free-falling then a good aggressive redirect gives you the lateral yoink for a soft landing.
• Long-throw bars are good but you lose control over the kite if you get too sheety-outy... better to keep  it on a tight reign and imagine you have a normal throw bar!
• Still too bloody hot for the big suit... sigh. Gloves and boots need to be thinned down too. Apparently the water gets colder when the snow melts... we'll see.
• Going out after stuffing yourself with pasta and pie is a bad idea :o