Forecast was for fun at 3pm. Miyachi reckoned 14 knots (7m/s) so I rigged the 17. Nothing happened until about 4pm though, so we were all eager to get out on the water.
It was fine for about 30 or 40 minutes. I started on the Flydoor2 with wide stance, then when I felt a bit over-powered I got on the Sumo for the first time since I broke my wrist riding it in 2009. Quite a weird experience! I enjoyed riding the Flydoor more though and went back out on that... nope, not enjoying it - going to get my 13m XB.
Land, deflate, pack, get the 13, pump, rig... and get a launch from Lil' Grom's dad.
Here's where the day starts to get weird... while he's picking up the kite, Turkey walks right at my lines and like boxer going into the ring, lifts them up and walks through them. As I'm trying to launch. I'm stunned!
Gets worse... Lil' Grom's dad holds up the kite, I give him the thumb up and - he throws my kite into the air :o it stalls, rotates back into the window so I grab and pump the center lines. It comes up nicely but a steering line is looped around the tip of a kite just downwind of the launch so the kite veers across the window. I recover it but now it's going to clothes-line Turkey so I turn it into the ground. It hits LE down with the lines on either side of Turkey. He skips out the way and I get the kite back into the air. For fucks sake, man!
Enjoy the rest of the ride. A little too powered to stunt aggressively for me but have a nice time anyway. Get slammed a few times going way too big on back-rolls but do some nice front-roll transitions. Can't quite balance it right to do foot-outs though.
Wind drops off and slowly the water clears. I'm the last one in but I have to walk back up the beach in the water cos I can't walk downwind to the beach without the kite stalling. Everyone packs up. Wait around for it to come back... and it does! A bit violent at first, but Lil' Grom is riding ok so I head out.
Then it arrives like goddamn! Me and Grom start booooooooosting and it's good! Big air, and it's getting bigger! The waves are shaping nicely and provide enough resistance to really boost some good ones!
Until... Soh is ahead and downwind of me when I boost off the face of a good sharp wave. I get pendulumed into the air and shout for joy. Soh looks back and shouts something at me. I land behind him, maybe 15 to 20 meters away. He turns and comes back at me shouting "That's fucking dangerous! Why don't you look where you're going!" I thought he was joking, but no he's serious and is pissed. I thought I had plenty of room... so I feel a bit sad.
Try to get my stoke back but it takes a while. Get some monster boosts but bugger the landings - timing seems to be the issue... I'm falling without a soft landing. The jumps are in that zone above what I'm used to. But I discover that actively holding the kite behind me - or tweaking it back - then giving an aggressive redirect when that close to the water works perfectly. HOOJ air and gentle landings!!! Woot!
Legs are burning from fighting the surges, which are getting violent. Hand hovers over the QR a couple of times... riding the waves results in rapid acceleration downwind. Sun has set behind the hills... I head in to call it a day.
Oh nuts, there's no leash or hook on the anchor... I hang around on the beach trying to self-land but it's so gusty I daren't risk it. Miyachi comes in and lands me then heads back out.
Phew, what a day! I doubt even finding my beloved Flyradical would cheer me up :(
Moment of the day was the first huge air that I sussed out the landing of, perfectly!
Mood of the session was ah-ha! boo-yah! boo-hoo.
It sucks when you get screamed at for something that you don't think happened at all.
Weather was reported as 13 to 15 knots, gusts to 26 at 6:30pm. 47% at 20˚C.
Wind felt like more than that! In the first session, I was over-powered and not enjoying it on the 17, but enjoyed the 13 - my guess is 18knots average; in the second, it was epic but there were numerous moments of survival kiting as the kite was fully depowered - 23 knots average.
What I learned today...
• Need a small board :( a proper small board.
• Wide stance on the Flydoor2 is easier to ride and weight the tail but doesn't pop anywhere near as well - the back just slides out.
• The Sumo went upwind remarkably well!!! The rocker wasn't as tough to deal with as I thought it would be but it's so stiff - reminds me of the Mako - and I couldn't really get a decent pop with it. Narrow tail and the giant fins really locked the board in though... interesting feeling. Pads are naff. Severe outline might help the upwind too... I dunno.
• Don't let strangers launch your kite
• XB13 is actually a darn good kite. Do I really need a Razor 12?
• Leave EVEN MORE room around myself when jumping.
• Have a cut in my finger that's no more than a few mm but stings like a mother :-/
• So I need a board with some flex.
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