Super-light wind forecast, but I like foiling so that's fine. Took the 21 and the 15 over to the lake and . . . oh now it's picking up.
Lay out the 15. Oh it's still picking up. Pack that up and get the 12.
Go out on the foil--cos it's the only board I have--but I'm a little over-powered. Decide I want to play jumps, so I go back for my Flydoor that's in the shed.
So that was fun. Till the windsurfer kook bears down on me from his port tack, without blinking or making like he'll move, so I jump downwind of him as far as possible but he decides to bear off at me and crash, like it's my fault. Tosser.
Showing posts with label door. Show all posts
Showing posts with label door. Show all posts
Sunday, April 24, 2016
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Well there's your problem!
Pulled all the bits I could use off the Door today ... and took a pic of the damage. Ouch.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Alas! My poor Door is no more!
Went back to Mie today with the wife ... wind was a little better, more consistently around 14 knots - contrary to the forecast!
I had my Door with me this time and it made all the difference. Into the water, up on the board and riding! Had a good long play in and out to my starting point, although I didn't make much ground upwind ... not a big fan of waves yet! The wind died off a bit so I had a rough time of fighting out through the waves only to be pushed back into shore and being unable to ride out past the waves.
The wind picked up again and I got out riding for a while. Noticed the wife had come back from her walk and was watching so thought I'd show off and throw down a big jump. Going out fast, I carved hard up the face of a wave and popped over the top! Felt like my biggest jump on the water but I bet it was no more than 2 meters from board to water, but I hit with a nice slap! and then another slap! and rode for a few feet before toppling over forwards.
Uh?
Try to get back up, no joy and the board feels mushy. Looks ok, what's going on? Water-start back towards shore, now I can see the back bending ... I've bent the board from edge to edge at the outside bolt hole for the right footpad :(
Bah! Not only have I ruined my favourite board, but ruined the rest of the day cos I didn't bring another board!
And ... when I was packing up, I noticed that the Speed's chicken loop is looking very munted :(
Cost per session for the Door - $14 ... not bad, I guess!
I had my Door with me this time and it made all the difference. Into the water, up on the board and riding! Had a good long play in and out to my starting point, although I didn't make much ground upwind ... not a big fan of waves yet! The wind died off a bit so I had a rough time of fighting out through the waves only to be pushed back into shore and being unable to ride out past the waves.
The wind picked up again and I got out riding for a while. Noticed the wife had come back from her walk and was watching so thought I'd show off and throw down a big jump. Going out fast, I carved hard up the face of a wave and popped over the top! Felt like my biggest jump on the water but I bet it was no more than 2 meters from board to water, but I hit with a nice slap! and then another slap! and rode for a few feet before toppling over forwards.
Uh?
Try to get back up, no joy and the board feels mushy. Looks ok, what's going on? Water-start back towards shore, now I can see the back bending ... I've bent the board from edge to edge at the outside bolt hole for the right footpad :(
Bah! Not only have I ruined my favourite board, but ruined the rest of the day cos I didn't bring another board!
And ... when I was packing up, I noticed that the Speed's chicken loop is looking very munted :(
Cost per session for the Door - $14 ... not bad, I guess!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Magic!
Went down the lake at 2:30pm expecting the wind to be up for the forecast 4pm blow ... didn't think it was possible to have ABSOLUTELY no wind, but there was. Or wasn't, if you see what I mean.
Sat under a tree for a while, went for a swim and then sat under the tree some more. Once I'd dried off, I thought I'd unpack my Speed and make sure I hadn't tangled the bridles etc when I had packed hurriedly last time.
I'd finished poncing around when the wind picked up and people started hitting the water. I pulled out my anemometer; although the lake still looked pretty smooth and there were no white-caps, we were getting an honest 12 knots, so I thought - why the hell not?
Launched the kite, grabbed the board and away! For probably 20 minutes the wind was in that 12-15 knots range and the water was super-smooth! Magic! Was easy to make and keep speed too ... then the waves arrived but also a little more wind and again, it was easy to play silly buggers on the waves.
Did some toe-side riding and toe- to heel-side carving turns, some pop'n'load jumps (and one real stonker that had me flying!), some 'surfing' around the waves and had a great time riding upwind! Also dunked myself a few times and trying a jump, I managed to leap one foot out of the straps, sink the other and flip myself over onto my back - splat! Naturally, I did that right in front of a boat full of cool wakeboarders ...
Had a good hour or so then the wind died off and I had to slog back to the beach, then body drag upwind to miss riding into a wall thing ... landed the Speed then sat and waited for the wind to pick up. It didn't pick up over 8-12 knots and although the locals were riding, I called it a night.
Great session though, I enjoyed muchly!
PS. talking to one of my more sensible kite buddies, he informs me that because there are no IKO approved schools in Japan (not correct) then the international sailing/water rules don't apply O_o and it may be chaos here, but at least people are polite ...! So, much like the roads then huh?
Sat under a tree for a while, went for a swim and then sat under the tree some more. Once I'd dried off, I thought I'd unpack my Speed and make sure I hadn't tangled the bridles etc when I had packed hurriedly last time.
I'd finished poncing around when the wind picked up and people started hitting the water. I pulled out my anemometer; although the lake still looked pretty smooth and there were no white-caps, we were getting an honest 12 knots, so I thought - why the hell not?
Launched the kite, grabbed the board and away! For probably 20 minutes the wind was in that 12-15 knots range and the water was super-smooth! Magic! Was easy to make and keep speed too ... then the waves arrived but also a little more wind and again, it was easy to play silly buggers on the waves.
Did some toe-side riding and toe- to heel-side carving turns, some pop'n'load jumps (and one real stonker that had me flying!), some 'surfing' around the waves and had a great time riding upwind! Also dunked myself a few times and trying a jump, I managed to leap one foot out of the straps, sink the other and flip myself over onto my back - splat! Naturally, I did that right in front of a boat full of cool wakeboarders ...
Had a good hour or so then the wind died off and I had to slog back to the beach, then body drag upwind to miss riding into a wall thing ... landed the Speed then sat and waited for the wind to pick up. It didn't pick up over 8-12 knots and although the locals were riding, I called it a night.
Great session though, I enjoyed muchly!
PS. talking to one of my more sensible kite buddies, he informs me that because there are no IKO approved schools in Japan (not correct) then the international sailing/water rules don't apply O_o and it may be chaos here, but at least people are polite ...! So, much like the roads then huh?
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Feast, Day 2 - The Movie!
After much meddling with Vegas, Avidemux etc this is the best I could do ... nothing exciting in the riding but the joy of actually riding!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Feast Day 3
Oh yeah boy! Best day ever for me :) so far, anyway!
Got to the lake about 3:30pm, asked Miyachi about the weather and he said it wouldn't be as good as yesterday. Humped gear over the road and sat under the tree talking to Soh, who reckoned the wind would pick up. Had the foresight to take my anemometer with me ... when the wind hit 10 knots, he decided to get riding.
I slowly set up the Speed and made sure all my lines and bridles were good ... I packed up badly last time and things were a bit messy. Only took my Door to the lake cos I was so impressed with it the other day. Have new straps on the Square One though, would like to try them but - meh!
First two runs were almost powered downwinders ... almost got it up and going. Slog, walk.
The third run - it all just took off! I worked my way out upwind as hard as I could and spent the next few hours playing right out there in the lake :) spent time trying to control my speed, played with the edge pressure and posture, balance with the kite blah blah.
Also spent some time trying to do load-and-pops with varying degrees of success. Spurred on by borntofli, I worked hard on my sliding turns but then got distracted by trying to ride toe-side and do toe- to heel-side carving turns ... less success but muy fun. Played silly buggers trying to jump, played silly buggers trying to ride waves and slalom ... got dunked a lot too but it was all fun.
Had a few interesting experiences - edged hard right into the face of a wave as I was turning the kite up and got 3/4 of a back roll/loop thing done then face-planted ... sent the kite up too fast when a gust hit and I went zooming downwind, a few inches off the water. Much cackling like a mental patient!
Stopped for a drink when I was starting to feel a bit over-powered and had to trim the kite for depower and checked my wind meter - between 15 and 20 knots ... my epic zone, apparently! Probably spent about 3 hours on the water having fun, then decided to pack it in as the sun set behind the hills and the wind started to fail - I was too tired to slog!
... today was the day I should have had the GoPro on the kite! Doh!
Got to the lake about 3:30pm, asked Miyachi about the weather and he said it wouldn't be as good as yesterday. Humped gear over the road and sat under the tree talking to Soh, who reckoned the wind would pick up. Had the foresight to take my anemometer with me ... when the wind hit 10 knots, he decided to get riding.
I slowly set up the Speed and made sure all my lines and bridles were good ... I packed up badly last time and things were a bit messy. Only took my Door to the lake cos I was so impressed with it the other day. Have new straps on the Square One though, would like to try them but - meh!
First two runs were almost powered downwinders ... almost got it up and going. Slog, walk.
The third run - it all just took off! I worked my way out upwind as hard as I could and spent the next few hours playing right out there in the lake :) spent time trying to control my speed, played with the edge pressure and posture, balance with the kite blah blah.
Also spent some time trying to do load-and-pops with varying degrees of success. Spurred on by borntofli, I worked hard on my sliding turns but then got distracted by trying to ride toe-side and do toe- to heel-side carving turns ... less success but muy fun. Played silly buggers trying to jump, played silly buggers trying to ride waves and slalom ... got dunked a lot too but it was all fun.
Had a few interesting experiences - edged hard right into the face of a wave as I was turning the kite up and got 3/4 of a back roll/loop thing done then face-planted ... sent the kite up too fast when a gust hit and I went zooming downwind, a few inches off the water. Much cackling like a mental patient!
Stopped for a drink when I was starting to feel a bit over-powered and had to trim the kite for depower and checked my wind meter - between 15 and 20 knots ... my epic zone, apparently! Probably spent about 3 hours on the water having fun, then decided to pack it in as the sun set behind the hills and the wind started to fail - I was too tired to slog!
... today was the day I should have had the GoPro on the kite! Doh!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Famine or a feast
2nd day in a row with wind that I can ride in! Thought I'd try out the Synergy 19 and switch between the Square One and the Door ...
Well. Messed up the first take off - got interrupted during setup by having to growl at people for stomping all over my lines and forgot to close the deflate zipper. Doh.
Now the GoPro line mount has unmounted one line and is all tangled up. That should be an interesting movie. Doh
The Master of Disaster was at it again - I got a real close look at a Zephyr when it nearly dropped right on my head, as a particular guy on a Cult cut through someone and rode his lines straight through someone elses. He's done that to me too. He and a few other people like to come right into shore and do tricks in the shallows - probably cos they can't relaunch their kites worth a damn! Doh.
Finally in the water and get some fun rides but can't make much ground upwind - wonder if it's my settings ... all at 50%. Am swapping the boards every run and for sure, once I'm up and planing the Door is faster and holds a line better ... have I already outgrown the Square One? :(
Only felt like 30 minutes riding when everybody got the fuck off the water when a thunderstorm rolled through ... except Grandpa who figured he'd be ok - took some harsh words by a bunch of others to get him off the water.
So I'm landing my kite and it's having a fit - bowtied on me so I'm letting it drop to the ground before I dump the safety but Mr Helpful runs up and - you guessed it, grabbed the downwind leading edge. I'm screaming at him to FUCKING LET GO as it starts to power up and he finally gets out the way so I can pop to safety. Thanks for trying to help but it's OBVIOUSLY not a tubie and I DIDN'T ask for help!
Watch the storm fade out, feel a few spots of rain then get back in the water. I've taken off the GoPro ... stick to the Door and get a few fun runs, a little downwind but ok. Then the wind drops off and I'm looping the kite to keep moving. Time to give up as the sun sets. I spend a few minutes body dragging in the water ... ah bliss! A few silly 'jumps' downwind then pack up.
Apparently we're going to have the same tomorrow too! Famine or a feast ... the wind is bulimic!
Well. Messed up the first take off - got interrupted during setup by having to growl at people for stomping all over my lines and forgot to close the deflate zipper. Doh.
Now the GoPro line mount has unmounted one line and is all tangled up. That should be an interesting movie. Doh
The Master of Disaster was at it again - I got a real close look at a Zephyr when it nearly dropped right on my head, as a particular guy on a Cult cut through someone and rode his lines straight through someone elses. He's done that to me too. He and a few other people like to come right into shore and do tricks in the shallows - probably cos they can't relaunch their kites worth a damn! Doh.
Finally in the water and get some fun rides but can't make much ground upwind - wonder if it's my settings ... all at 50%. Am swapping the boards every run and for sure, once I'm up and planing the Door is faster and holds a line better ... have I already outgrown the Square One? :(
Only felt like 30 minutes riding when everybody got the fuck off the water when a thunderstorm rolled through ... except Grandpa who figured he'd be ok - took some harsh words by a bunch of others to get him off the water.
So I'm landing my kite and it's having a fit - bowtied on me so I'm letting it drop to the ground before I dump the safety but Mr Helpful runs up and - you guessed it, grabbed the downwind leading edge. I'm screaming at him to FUCKING LET GO as it starts to power up and he finally gets out the way so I can pop to safety. Thanks for trying to help but it's OBVIOUSLY not a tubie and I DIDN'T ask for help!
Watch the storm fade out, feel a few spots of rain then get back in the water. I've taken off the GoPro ... stick to the Door and get a few fun runs, a little downwind but ok. Then the wind drops off and I'm looping the kite to keep moving. Time to give up as the sun sets. I spend a few minutes body dragging in the water ... ah bliss! A few silly 'jumps' downwind then pack up.
Apparently we're going to have the same tomorrow too! Famine or a feast ... the wind is bulimic!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Waves, wind but a wash-out
No work today so we drove down and across to Hamamatsu - like usual!
I had my first time out on the ocean with waves involved - 6 foot breakers to get through! The waves braking on the shore were waist high, but the next two rows were well over my head ...! In the past, I've been lucky enough to kite on salt water with lagoons and stuff next to the shore ...
Wind was almost enough. I measured it at around 8 knots and it picked up a bit from time to time but ... a lot of working the Speed and a lot of water-starts that seemed promising then a lot of nothing happening then a lot of walking - and I mean A LOT according to the car's GPS I walked the 2km downwind about 3 or 4 times ...!
Got a few powered runs in but the wind was laughing at me! Dragging me around in the water but not enough somehow to keep riding - I expect it's a lack of talent on my part!
Some upwind riding but a lot of waves washing over the tip of my board and sinking it then me or a wave washing into the back of my knee and knocking me down ... everyone else was on surfboards or directionals and I can see why ...
Tried a couple jumps up and over a wave face but I couldn't land them and lost the board badly - it went shooting away on the tide so I gave up that idea and tried to concentrate on going upwind.
Should have brought my Square One with me ... I missed it's floatiness - the Door sinks a lot and whoever said "Oh the ocean is so much easier you float so much better" was a liar - I love my lake! And the water tastes like shit here ... I needed several beers to wash away the taste.
But man is the Door a smooth ride! Something about it feels wrong on my feet though ... too comfortable I guess!!!
Met two Canucks, Sean (Shawn?) and Patrick riding an old C-kite and doing ok too. Nice to see some gringos around. Also nice to see mad old guy standing knee deep in the surf in straw boater drinking beer :D
Still ... it's play in the surf, walk up and down the beach a bit, a little flying or stay home and listen to the neighbors brats scream at each other while I wrestle with video editing software ... I'd rather be here, eh!
Video taken by Olivia ... sort of LOL
I had my first time out on the ocean with waves involved - 6 foot breakers to get through! The waves braking on the shore were waist high, but the next two rows were well over my head ...! In the past, I've been lucky enough to kite on salt water with lagoons and stuff next to the shore ...
Wind was almost enough. I measured it at around 8 knots and it picked up a bit from time to time but ... a lot of working the Speed and a lot of water-starts that seemed promising then a lot of nothing happening then a lot of walking - and I mean A LOT according to the car's GPS I walked the 2km downwind about 3 or 4 times ...!
Got a few powered runs in but the wind was laughing at me! Dragging me around in the water but not enough somehow to keep riding - I expect it's a lack of talent on my part!
Some upwind riding but a lot of waves washing over the tip of my board and sinking it then me or a wave washing into the back of my knee and knocking me down ... everyone else was on surfboards or directionals and I can see why ...
Tried a couple jumps up and over a wave face but I couldn't land them and lost the board badly - it went shooting away on the tide so I gave up that idea and tried to concentrate on going upwind.
Should have brought my Square One with me ... I missed it's floatiness - the Door sinks a lot and whoever said "Oh the ocean is so much easier you float so much better" was a liar - I love my lake! And the water tastes like shit here ... I needed several beers to wash away the taste.
But man is the Door a smooth ride! Something about it feels wrong on my feet though ... too comfortable I guess!!!
Met two Canucks, Sean (Shawn?) and Patrick riding an old C-kite and doing ok too. Nice to see some gringos around. Also nice to see mad old guy standing knee deep in the surf in straw boater drinking beer :D
Still ... it's play in the surf, walk up and down the beach a bit, a little flying or stay home and listen to the neighbors brats scream at each other while I wrestle with video editing software ... I'd rather be here, eh!
Video taken by Olivia ... sort of LOL
Monday, July 5, 2010
One hot minute
Sunday, possibly some ridable wind predicted at this page - http://weather-gpv.info/ - which is the most accurate weather forecast so far ... and no good for you gringos who no speak-ee the Japanese-ee. The only kanji I know on the whole page are the ones in the drop-down menu for this region and the one for wind, which is enough ...
Played on the beach waiting for the wind to pick up around 3pm. Pulled out the GoPro and mounted it on the Kite Hero line mount ... not 100% impressed how the FDS line fits there - hope we don't have to bail! Otherwise it fits good - should be perfect on the 4-line kites eg. Synergy.
Lots of work for little riding. Submarined the board all the way down the beach, or water-started then fell back in. Walked for miles. Feet and ankles got cut up, probably infected by all the dead fish floating around.
Finally!
Got about 30 minutes worth of powered-up, upwind riding in! It sort of all came at once and I was off like a rocket!
Thanks to a video I saw on James' Blog that gave a riders view of timing a sliding turn, I had a crack at that - success! Pretty surprised, the first one was too easy. Fail rate of about 2 in 10 but when I get it right, it was all good!
Had my Spleene Door 154x42 at the beach cos I wanted to compare it as a light-wind board versus my Square One, so while the wind was up I dropped the Airush and grabbed the Spleene.
2005 Airush Square One versus 2007 Spleene Door 154 ...
The Square One floats better when there isn't enough oomph to plane quickly - the Door dives like a sub if I'm not thinking about keeping the nose up.
Need to shoot the leg out a bit more on starts - the Square One has let me get lazy, I guess.
Molded foot-pads on the Door are hard to get into and the straps cut into my foot a bit. They're way new though and probably still stiff. Very comfy for the heels, though.
They seem to get up planing about the same, the Square One a little earlier maybe but once the Door is off, it's f-a-s-t!
Door is the best for going upwind - much easier to do but seems to be more technical to control the speed and harder to edge. Did I say it was fast? Cos it's fast. Real fast.
Less splash in the face from between my legs on the Door.
The Door's ride overall is smoother but I'm betting that's cos of the foot pads - the Square One has nothing! Also feels more like it's on rails when edging. And it's fast.
Then the wind dropped off and I'm back to water-starting my way down the beach and walking again :(
Got home and checked out the GoPro and it seems I ran out of memory card before the wind arrived, so it'll make for a small upload with a LOT of editing! Soon ...
Was interesting that 8Gb SD card was filled before running out of battery - might be worth getting a 16Gb.
So, to sum up ...
Got some footage of me riding and tested the Kite Hero mount. Got to test the Door against the Square One. Taught myself sliding turns ... erm oh was that it?
Played on the beach waiting for the wind to pick up around 3pm. Pulled out the GoPro and mounted it on the Kite Hero line mount ... not 100% impressed how the FDS line fits there - hope we don't have to bail! Otherwise it fits good - should be perfect on the 4-line kites eg. Synergy.
Lots of work for little riding. Submarined the board all the way down the beach, or water-started then fell back in. Walked for miles. Feet and ankles got cut up, probably infected by all the dead fish floating around.
Finally!
Got about 30 minutes worth of powered-up, upwind riding in! It sort of all came at once and I was off like a rocket!
Thanks to a video I saw on James' Blog that gave a riders view of timing a sliding turn, I had a crack at that - success! Pretty surprised, the first one was too easy. Fail rate of about 2 in 10 but when I get it right, it was all good!
Had my Spleene Door 154x42 at the beach cos I wanted to compare it as a light-wind board versus my Square One, so while the wind was up I dropped the Airush and grabbed the Spleene.
2005 Airush Square One versus 2007 Spleene Door 154 ...
The Square One floats better when there isn't enough oomph to plane quickly - the Door dives like a sub if I'm not thinking about keeping the nose up.
Need to shoot the leg out a bit more on starts - the Square One has let me get lazy, I guess.
Molded foot-pads on the Door are hard to get into and the straps cut into my foot a bit. They're way new though and probably still stiff. Very comfy for the heels, though.
They seem to get up planing about the same, the Square One a little earlier maybe but once the Door is off, it's f-a-s-t!
Door is the best for going upwind - much easier to do but seems to be more technical to control the speed and harder to edge. Did I say it was fast? Cos it's fast. Real fast.
Less splash in the face from between my legs on the Door.
The Door's ride overall is smoother but I'm betting that's cos of the foot pads - the Square One has nothing! Also feels more like it's on rails when edging. And it's fast.
Then the wind dropped off and I'm back to water-starting my way down the beach and walking again :(
Got home and checked out the GoPro and it seems I ran out of memory card before the wind arrived, so it'll make for a small upload with a LOT of editing! Soon ...
Was interesting that 8Gb SD card was filled before running out of battery - might be worth getting a 16Gb.
So, to sum up ...
Got some footage of me riding and tested the Kite Hero mount. Got to test the Door against the Square One. Taught myself sliding turns ... erm oh was that it?
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
A new toy!
Ziz.
Got a tip through the grapevine of some kiteboards up for sale in Japan ... could be a good deal cos I wouldn't have to pay retarded shipping to get some from overseas. Long story short, thanks to a weak Great British Pound and not having to pay ANY shipping, I now own two perfect condition 2007 Spleene boards, the Door 154x42 and the Rip Plus 138x44 which cost me the princely sum of $130 each!
And I even like the colours! Considering what I paid for the ancient boards I have now ... they were a bloody good deal!
Also, my Flysurfer Speed 1.5 17m arrived today too! Looks lovely and was also very very cheap - a good way to find out if I'll actually enjoy what was a US$2,500 kite and whether it's worth considering a Speed 3. If it proves to be a low-wind session saver, should be good.
Whee! I love toyziz!
Got a tip through the grapevine of some kiteboards up for sale in Japan ... could be a good deal cos I wouldn't have to pay retarded shipping to get some from overseas. Long story short, thanks to a weak Great British Pound and not having to pay ANY shipping, I now own two perfect condition 2007 Spleene boards, the Door 154x42 and the Rip Plus 138x44 which cost me the princely sum of $130 each!
And I even like the colours! Considering what I paid for the ancient boards I have now ... they were a bloody good deal!
Also, my Flysurfer Speed 1.5 17m arrived today too! Looks lovely and was also very very cheap - a good way to find out if I'll actually enjoy what was a US$2,500 kite and whether it's worth considering a Speed 3. If it proves to be a low-wind session saver, should be good.
Whee! I love toyziz!
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