Lully lameness

Wind was on for a bit then off again. I even wrapped lines up before a decent squall came in . . . riding consisted of going out, riding, wind falling, trying to get back to shore, waiting, riding again. Sucky. And cold.

Cold

Could have done with booties at least. 4/3 is fine.

Bit of a puddle around getting used to the HG again. Crappy light wind and it dropped off on me at the end, terminating my session early . . . but just in time to get to work.

Foil fail-ish

Tried to foil at the beach. Fail. Too light . . . got up for a handful of tacks but not enough with the get upwind, and impossible to ride waves or gybe. So that's the limit for the SB. And I think it's too slow :o

Went to look at the estuary and the guy with the foil from last year, with the 16m XB, was out so I got tooled up again and headed out to keep him company at high tide.

Started out just fine, got my courage up and did some downloop gybes. Dropped the kite once, and it was interesting reverse launching it. The higher AR shows . . . got going again, then as the sun went down the wind dropped a little and I chickened out and heading back to shore.

So the LF still works, eh.

Back again

Gah, wind never arrived. Probably just as well, an easy easing back into it to test the tender bits.

Tried to ride the Sonic and the TT but the wind kept falling. Waited for the tide to come in then tried the foil, but it was just too shallow out there. Or my mast is still too long (!) despite all the bits I've cut off...

Rusty

First session of the year, first one in the whale scrotum. Goddamn I forgot how appalling that thing is, how way-too-thick it is.

Started out on the TT for a bit of a test run, as I was using the Ocean Rodeo bar to test the low V-split. I *think* it accelerates in a straight line a little faster, a little less pull in a loop and the jumps were strange, but that might have been me, the wetsuit or the conditions.

Seemed light so I went out on the foil, but very, very rusty. And I think I would have been happier on the 7m kite too :o but the HG runs at speed nicely so it wasn't so bad.

Back on the TT, but I'm getting tired from fighting the suit with every movement so I give it up . . . right as the wind picks up proper and I wish I'd brought my Angry Swallow. Typical.

A new category!

Was actually looking forward to another foil session, with the big Speed and maybe switching to the XB13 as the wing picked up. . . .

Nope.

Got in maybe 20 minutes before the rain started, slowly enough at first that I thought I might be able to keep riding until it passed as it wasn't so heavy. . . .

Nope.

The wind dropped and the kite stalled, and I couldn't relaunch it even though I had feet on the bottom. The board had shot off, floating downwind towards the rock breakwater and I just couldn't be bothered replacing bashed up wings, so I wrapped up the bar and lines and left the kite, swimming for the board. Figured I could swim back for the kite and drag it in at my leisure. . . .

Nope.

The wind had dropped because it had shifted to off-shore. By the time I got the board, the kite was already moving away fast enough that I didn't want to risk swimming for it. So I went and got Miyachi and the boat . . . which was a good call, because it was hauling ass towards the opposite side of the lake :o

Luckily it missed all the nasty "No jet skis" signs and their sharp edges, and we got it on the board without much hassle, tangles or taking on a mountain of water. So it was easy to pack it, and the untangling took just a few moments. . . .

So, first time to be rescued. Kinda.

Grr. Double Grr.

Gusty nasty nasty crap. Nothing was much fun and didn't get much of a chance to enjoy the SB, although it was what I thought it would be . . .

The Double Agent on the other hand, wasn't that good. Slow and draggy. Stable and boring. Board might be interesting though . . .

Otherwise I got very annoyed. Could be worse -- Miyachi tweaked his ankle on the foil.

So . . . early . . .

Good forecast at Tsu, so I trucked out early (9 a.m.) after very few hours sleep. Wind was ok but not up to the forecast--I wanted to ride the Duke but there was no waves. Tide was very low and going out, the wind was ok though.

So I went out on the foil and the 12, but I thought I'd try the rear wing further forward . . .

Yeuch. Too twitchy and reactive to the boiling ocean. So it was an OK session but it could have been better! It was good to chase Jun around on the water though!

Then the wind dropped

Gah. Another "why did I bother" day as the wind was up and mostly down and nothing went according to plan.

I got 15 minutes on the Duke. Then the wind dropped.

I went out on the foil with the 7m but that sucked cos it's really too small. Then the wind dropped.

So I got the 10 again and that was ok, but the riding wasn't up to much. Then the wind dropped

I gave up and went to work.

I need a bigger surfboard

Brilliant forecast. Total let down. Well, not total cos I stayed at the Yacht Harbor for 3 hours and did manage to hit some good "waves" but it was up and down again, and I spent a lot of time going downwind and being annoyed. Wanted a break from the foil and wanted to ride the waves, but the weather had other ideas. . . .

Oh it's a holiday is it?

After turning up to the kind and finding it closed--despite having made a booking the day before--I went to the lake anyway in the hope that Miyachi's wife could look after the boy.

Although I had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't going to be worth all the messing around . . .

. . . and I was right :( gusty crappy wind. Never the right amount to be of any use. Bloody annoying.

Well!

. . . that was without a doubt the biggest waste of time in a very long time. 15 knots gusting to 36.  Ha ha.

Really wanted to ride the Mako and practice feet changes and tacks but it wasn't happening.

The Pivot is the nastiest twitchiest unstable bag of crap I've had the misfortune to fly in gusty conditions. Putting the XB up right after it was night and day :o

Tried to get the RPM up in a lull, but then it tried to drag me down the beach so we gave up on that. Sigh.

Took me a long time to be convinced that I was wasting my time, but at least I was sure of my decision when I packed up. Bloody hell.

April fooled by the wind

New work schedule gave me the afternoon off . . . off to Tsu!

Gah. Wind died as I was on the way over the hills, down from 16 to 10 knots. Went out with the 15 and took the TT to the shore just in case, but I only got some gentle riding on the foil till it dropped off again. Oh well.

One hit wonder

Should have been cracking, but it was gusty crap. Tried the TT but gave up and built the foil. That was a bit weak too, but a rain front came through and I got 5 minutes of great boosts--totally way over-powered but it didn't last. Sigh.

Always seem to on about the foil

REALLY wanted to get out on the Duke and see if I can make it work, but the wind just didn't co-operate. Ended up back on the foil...again.

Wind was all up and down, gusty and rough so I didn't really have a lot of fun. Lots of porpoising up and down, no good carves. Sigh...I think the longer fuse is the problem.

Fat Bastard strikes again

Plan was to use the light wind to get some time on the foil, ready for summer.

Good decision: using the 6/5/4 suit and 5mm gloves n' boots. Spent a lot of time in the water.

Bad decision: not squaring off the bottom of the mast :-/

So the wind was good when I hit the lake, but after 20 minutes fighting out to chest-deep water, an attempt or two, the wind just dropped right off. I kept playing with the gear but it was frustrating; progress was hampered by fighting to keep the kite in the air, and the foil hitting the bottom.

Found a hole in the lake bottom down near the new breakwater... it's not very long, but if I could get up on a foil, I could fuck off upwind from there easily. The problem is of course, getting up on the foil....

Got back to the beach and thought the fuselage was bent. Yup, sure is. Dammit....

Think I got body dragging with the foil sussed out though. And the feel for the foil again, although goofy is very goofy indeed.

I hate wax

Hmm, lost some days here. Sure I went out on the last two days but then what happened to Thursday?

Low tide early afternoon so I head to the beach rather than the estuary... No messing about, straight out with the Speed and Spud.

Bah. So close to being able to go upwind well, but I can't so I ride, carve a turn, ride back, jump off and wade out upwind...

After an hour or so, I give up and ogle the blonde in the bikini as I pack up.

Head to the estuary cos I think I can get some riding in. Same set up; works just ok, I'm getting upwind a tad so I switch to the smaller Axis prototype Vanguard clone.

Oh myyy! What a stunning thing to ride... only 5' 4" but bloody hell, it cranks upwind, handles chop, and carves a turn better than the Spud. Which is bigger and wider. Wow! Shame the wax is such a shit of a thing!

Give up when the wind dies away.

Goodbye J-winter

All excited about using the 7, even thought I'd need the TT but no, the wind is just jerking my chain. Maybe 10 minutes riding, 5 continuously... bah.

Dum-de-gah-GAH

Wind picked up as the session went on, but I really should have been on the S3 15 for the kind of riding I was doing. Gah.

The deck pad is falling apart so I pulled it off and put on the new Dakine pad but . . . it isn't the same size. GAH. Naturally I didn't check before I started ripping the old one off and naturally theres messy patches of adhesive and rubber that just won't come off. Fuck.

Am now looking at SUP and longboard pads as they're the only ones long enough to cover all the mess :(

Paid for the LF Fun Foil too--watch this space.

Too close for comfort!

Too light. Got some riding done but we did a lot of fighting to ride. And there were some messy scenes trying to get off the beach... kite collisions and near misses on tangled lines... sigh.