Props to John at powerzonekitesports.com for a great priced and speedy repair that looks good too!
Hourly updates were looking awesome right up until the time I got to the lake :( not a good sign when everyone is sitting over at the club having a chin-wag. I checked the tune of the S3 21's new bar & lines - close enough - then hauled ass over to the beach. Bit of fiddling to get the bridles untangled but we got there in the end... inflated and launched just fine... my bridle mods look fine, but the very tips look pulled. Gah! Test pull on the bar... big loft 'n' float! Whee!
Onto the water... with the Flydoor3 cos I know it's light. Easy upwind on a single stroke... DAYUM that's a slow kite! Balls up a few turns and jumps cos it's... so... s-l-o-w but get the hang of it quickly enough and it's the good ol' Great White Beast again.
Not really enough wind for the big boosts, although the hang time is just endless :D a few near calls as I drift towards the beach, and even one occasion when I run aground and have to jump off the board :o
And so I go for the rotation thing again. Roll rate has to be slowed right down - a moment of over-enthusiasm sees me almost making a double but swinging under the kite and it falling... to be caught before it hits the water :)
I even manage to do the front-roll down-loop transition thing... although they take FOREVAH!
Got some foot-outs down, with the masses of hang-time they are pretty easy.
So I keep riding until the sun sets and although I'm not over-powered, I had another great session!
Moment of the day was boosting an air nearer the beach than I meant to be, but watching the rubber-neckers who were coming to the shore for a gawk stop, then back off LOLz
Mood of the session was smug ow smug.
It sucks when you really wish you still had your Flyradical.
Weather was reported as 15 to 16 knots; 11˚C at 65%. Gusts 26 but that was 6 hours before I got there.
Wind felt like 10 to 15 knots, gusts to 15.1 knots... consistently more gutless than yesterday.
What I learned today...
• The very tips of the bridles are now too short... le sigh.
• So much hang time from the Cable Park in a Bag!
• Cos things happen so slowly and you have so much hang-time, it's kind of easy to do stuff.
• Very hard to time jumps now... been spoiled by the Flite!
• Noticeably more difficult to do front-rolls on the left. Nuts.
• Down-loops need to be planned and began early in advance! Like, 3 weeks before :o
• Gotta recheck the lines etc...
• The Flydoor3, when landing with the board across the wind and power in the kite just stops man, it just STOPS.
• Don't need a lot of redirection to get enough pull in the new direction... noticed that the kite was still almost at zenith when it was most effective.
• Now I remember - back-loop transition... I was doing a half, then redirecting the kite while still facing backwards - it was pulling me out and off on the new tack nicely :)
Showing posts with label flyradical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flyradical. Show all posts
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Bye bye, Flyradical?
Forecast was for awesome picking up to OMFG at 3pm so I thought I could toddle down to the lake just after lunch, set up at a relaxed pace and work up to going bat-shit crazy out there...
Got there about 1-ish, decided on the 10m Crossbow but took both boards over to the lake... hand trouble walking upwind with them though :o got changed and waddled over... gloves but no boots and a nice, new, red t-shirt to start the day.
First half hour on the water was great; huge airs and plenty of hang time. Then the wind dropped right off so I came in and had a drink, stood around for a bit, waiting. It piced up so I went out again, but it wasn't as strong so I just enjoyed some rotations and medium airs.
Another lull, so took another break. Went out when it picked up again and was having a great ol' time!
Wind direction was ll over the place again... at one point, we were riding straight out into the waves and then heading back in right behind them, dropping in over the top of the waves - neat!
Then I went out the other side of the river, to enjoy the sharper waves for boosting off... borked a landing and managed to drop my kite right on top of a fucking buoy - black and moldy on a dark green lake; didn't even see it. So while I'm trying to get the fucking thing out of my power lines, I lost my board. My hook knife has gone missing so I dumped the kite and hand-over-handed and cleared my lines. Am now downwind of the rock wall - try to body-drag past it but give up and just walk over it. While I'm standing on the top, I look around for my board but I can't see it at all :(
The body-drag from hell back to the beach... Miyachi goes for a walk down the beach to look for my board, I walk over the bridge to spot from a height but can't see shit, captain!
Go back out on the Flydoor but despite getting closer to the trees than I should, I can't see anything on the shorelines. Wind is dropping again so I call it a day... and get packed up just before it starts raining on me as well.
Drive up and down the river looking but no luck. Le sigh... Miyachi can't go up the river in his boat so if it's up there, it's gone, it seems...
And to top it all off, my knee is killing me... nuts.
Moment of the day was any of the boosts in the gusts... yeehaw!
Mood of the session was aw yeah! aw ok! aw no!
It sucks when you lose your board because of fucking fisher-assholes.
Weather was reported as 20 to 15 knots, gusts to 30. 11˚C at 57%.
Wind felt like crappy 20%, gravy 60%, and epic 20%.
What I learned today...
• When you really need something and you don't have it... it's bad.
• Somehow, Turkey can get his lines wrapped around mine even though my kite was on the ground.
• Should probably have put my cell number on the board... now I think of it, I could have melted it into the grab-handle. Doh!
• Love the little kites!
• I'm doing something to really hammer my right knee, but not the left. Seems to be not letting the knee flex enough...
• Boards that are white and blue quickly become invisible, especially at eye level on the water.
The next one(s) are going to be bright and garish.
• Possible replacements... my mind goes straight to Switch, Naish, Underground/Axis and Cabrinha.
• Now, go I go for the same size or slightly bigger? Certainly won't be going smaller...
Got there about 1-ish, decided on the 10m Crossbow but took both boards over to the lake... hand trouble walking upwind with them though :o got changed and waddled over... gloves but no boots and a nice, new, red t-shirt to start the day.
First half hour on the water was great; huge airs and plenty of hang time. Then the wind dropped right off so I came in and had a drink, stood around for a bit, waiting. It piced up so I went out again, but it wasn't as strong so I just enjoyed some rotations and medium airs.
Another lull, so took another break. Went out when it picked up again and was having a great ol' time!
Wind direction was ll over the place again... at one point, we were riding straight out into the waves and then heading back in right behind them, dropping in over the top of the waves - neat!
Then I went out the other side of the river, to enjoy the sharper waves for boosting off... borked a landing and managed to drop my kite right on top of a fucking buoy - black and moldy on a dark green lake; didn't even see it. So while I'm trying to get the fucking thing out of my power lines, I lost my board. My hook knife has gone missing so I dumped the kite and hand-over-handed and cleared my lines. Am now downwind of the rock wall - try to body-drag past it but give up and just walk over it. While I'm standing on the top, I look around for my board but I can't see it at all :(
The body-drag from hell back to the beach... Miyachi goes for a walk down the beach to look for my board, I walk over the bridge to spot from a height but can't see shit, captain!
Go back out on the Flydoor but despite getting closer to the trees than I should, I can't see anything on the shorelines. Wind is dropping again so I call it a day... and get packed up just before it starts raining on me as well.
Drive up and down the river looking but no luck. Le sigh... Miyachi can't go up the river in his boat so if it's up there, it's gone, it seems...
And to top it all off, my knee is killing me... nuts.
Moment of the day was any of the boosts in the gusts... yeehaw!
Mood of the session was aw yeah! aw ok! aw no!
It sucks when you lose your board because of fucking fisher-assholes.
Weather was reported as 20 to 15 knots, gusts to 30. 11˚C at 57%.
Wind felt like crappy 20%, gravy 60%, and epic 20%.
What I learned today...
• When you really need something and you don't have it... it's bad.
• Somehow, Turkey can get his lines wrapped around mine even though my kite was on the ground.
• Should probably have put my cell number on the board... now I think of it, I could have melted it into the grab-handle. Doh!
• Love the little kites!
• I'm doing something to really hammer my right knee, but not the left. Seems to be not letting the knee flex enough...
• Boards that are white and blue quickly become invisible, especially at eye level on the water.
The next one(s) are going to be bright and garish.
• Possible replacements... my mind goes straight to Switch, Naish, Underground/Axis and Cabrinha.
• Now, go I go for the same size or slightly bigger? Certainly won't be going smaller...
Friday, April 19, 2013
What happened to spring?
Awesome forecast and awesome wind all day. Hauled ass to the beach; launched the kite just after 5pm I reckon. Put the 13 up (even though Miyachi thought I was mad) and left 20 meter long skid marks down the beach, just self-launching and getting it to zenith. Sheeting in sent me hovering downwind... this is going to rock!!!
Get on the water, tack, tack away for the shore, set up for a jump and... oh FFS the wind has dropped off. And so it went for the rest of the session - on and off wind, never quite delivering the goods :(
A few good boosts and elevator rides, some front- and back-rolls, some good rotation transitions but lots of gusty annoyance.
Still better than nothing!
Moment of the day was finally getting a decent boost.
Mood of the session was rah bah har.
It sucks when the wind is gusty like a night after the curry and beer.
Weather was reported as 16 to 15 knots, gusts no more than 30 at 9am :-/ 9˚C, 54%.
Wind felt like 10 to 20 knots, gusts to 25. Perhaps - cos I was trimmed for full power and it wasn't a thing.
What I learned today...
• Glad I had my gloves with me - could have done with boots too... was chilly!
• In fact, it still is chilly - bloody put the heaters away too soon :-/
• Seems I've been resorting to edging up too hard to set up jumps... use the back fin more, eh.
• Want a Razor...
Get on the water, tack, tack away for the shore, set up for a jump and... oh FFS the wind has dropped off. And so it went for the rest of the session - on and off wind, never quite delivering the goods :(
A few good boosts and elevator rides, some front- and back-rolls, some good rotation transitions but lots of gusty annoyance.
Still better than nothing!
Moment of the day was finally getting a decent boost.
Mood of the session was rah bah har.
It sucks when the wind is gusty like a night after the curry and beer.
Weather was reported as 16 to 15 knots, gusts no more than 30 at 9am :-/ 9˚C, 54%.
Wind felt like 10 to 20 knots, gusts to 25. Perhaps - cos I was trimmed for full power and it wasn't a thing.
What I learned today...
• Glad I had my gloves with me - could have done with boots too... was chilly!
• In fact, it still is chilly - bloody put the heaters away too soon :-/
• Seems I've been resorting to edging up too hard to set up jumps... use the back fin more, eh.
• Want a Razor...
Monday, April 15, 2013
Great day for a swim
Noticed at 4 the wind was up, so postponed after-work work and rushed to the lake. "Ooh it's too strong I'm getting my 7" everyone told me, so I took my 15 and 13 over to the lake. I knew we'd only get an hour of cracking wind before it wimped out and I was looking forward to go stratospheric on the Speed3 :)
Launched fine, powered up real good - should be intense! Tack out with the Flyradical (only brought one board to the beach) with the CrazyFly straps* on... first tack only but I narrowly avoid 2 people turning without looking behind themselves and almost riding into me. Nice long tack out the marina end of the beach, set up a small jump to test the weather, no problem. Redirect and SPROING the kite is gone. I pop up out of the water and the kite is down, the bar is missing a steering line.
Great, the same place I had to swim in from with the 21 :( the lake is drifting south, parallel to the beach... I wrap up the lines* and try to keep hold of the board* cos that's shooting off down the beach towards Kusatsu. Thought I could make 'our' beach but the drift is pushing me at the retaining wall that's bristling with bamboo. I opt to go with the drift and take it to the marina beach... naturally, I get tangled up and have line wrapped around my foot but better yet, the buoy that marks the retaining wall has snagged some line too - neat! Then the kite is being pushed away from the beach cos of the 'reflection' of the waves off the shore - I revert to towing it in. Get it drained, out of the water, wrapped up* and then hump it back to the club house.
Back to the beach, I inflate and launch the XB 13... powered but I know the wind is dropping.
Some good boosts for a while, then some ok ones, then it's gone and I'm trying sent front- and back-rolls... lame.
Ride till dark with So and pack up when I can't see the waves. Tough making ground back to the beach but we get there in the end. Interesting session!
Moment of the day was the solitary good front-roll that felt so good - knees up mother Brown!
Mood of the session was worried worried worried - too much wind? gonna make the beach? not enough wind?
It sucks when shit breaks on the first tack.
Weather was reported as 18 to 8 knots, gusts to 24. 14˚C at 44%.
Wind felt like 30% powered, 70% barely-powered :(
What I learned today...
• The CrazyFly footstraps are easier to adjust, stay tight longer and hold well, but still shift around and dig into my feet :(
• Holes in your t-shirt are great for snagging the bar ends when you try to wrap your lines up :(
• Contemplating putting my reel-leash back on the harness for when I have to self-rescue and the board wants to run away or wrap itself up in the kite
• Much easier to handle a wet 15m than a soggy 21
• Whipping your knees up on front-rolls really seems key... and you need a good amount of power
Launched fine, powered up real good - should be intense! Tack out with the Flyradical (only brought one board to the beach) with the CrazyFly straps* on... first tack only but I narrowly avoid 2 people turning without looking behind themselves and almost riding into me. Nice long tack out the marina end of the beach, set up a small jump to test the weather, no problem. Redirect and SPROING the kite is gone. I pop up out of the water and the kite is down, the bar is missing a steering line.
Great, the same place I had to swim in from with the 21 :( the lake is drifting south, parallel to the beach... I wrap up the lines* and try to keep hold of the board* cos that's shooting off down the beach towards Kusatsu. Thought I could make 'our' beach but the drift is pushing me at the retaining wall that's bristling with bamboo. I opt to go with the drift and take it to the marina beach... naturally, I get tangled up and have line wrapped around my foot but better yet, the buoy that marks the retaining wall has snagged some line too - neat! Then the kite is being pushed away from the beach cos of the 'reflection' of the waves off the shore - I revert to towing it in. Get it drained, out of the water, wrapped up* and then hump it back to the club house.
Back to the beach, I inflate and launch the XB 13... powered but I know the wind is dropping.
Some good boosts for a while, then some ok ones, then it's gone and I'm trying sent front- and back-rolls... lame.
Ride till dark with So and pack up when I can't see the waves. Tough making ground back to the beach but we get there in the end. Interesting session!
Moment of the day was the solitary good front-roll that felt so good - knees up mother Brown!
Mood of the session was worried worried worried - too much wind? gonna make the beach? not enough wind?
It sucks when shit breaks on the first tack.
Weather was reported as 18 to 8 knots, gusts to 24. 14˚C at 44%.
Wind felt like 30% powered, 70% barely-powered :(
What I learned today...
• The CrazyFly footstraps are easier to adjust, stay tight longer and hold well, but still shift around and dig into my feet :(
• Holes in your t-shirt are great for snagging the bar ends when you try to wrap your lines up :(
• Contemplating putting my reel-leash back on the harness for when I have to self-rescue and the board wants to run away or wrap itself up in the kite
• Much easier to handle a wet 15m than a soggy 21
• Whipping your knees up on front-rolls really seems key... and you need a good amount of power
Friday, April 12, 2013
Lawn mowing but laughing
There was supposed to be wind today. It was even blowing a bunch in Ryuo so I headed off to the lake with high hopes... only to be disappointed when I got there. The surface was broken but there were very few white caps - looked like that time I arrived from Osaka so decided to head over with the P4 19 cos hey - what else am I going to do?
Seems So and Turkey have nothing better to do either - So on his 12 and Taki on a 9 FFS!
Kite is pulling a little... water start was sink, sink, sink, plan, then take off on the 5th sine. OMG I'm going! Had to do a big of a walk but on the way up, it picks up a teeny bit so I'm off again - and riding upwind!!!
Noodle around some. Hmm, the wind has picked up a little more - upwind is super-easy... wonder if I could ride the Flyradical?
I can! But there's still not enough wind to boost so I work on my rolls.
Wind drops off again, swap back to the Flydoor and keep doing rolls but there's just not enough wind.
Pack up in the dark again, all alone. Light wind, lawn mowing but it was ok anyway.
Moment of the day was sneaking in the last, nice front-roll before the wind completely died.
Mood of the session was heh har hum.
It sucks when the lots of wind forecast doesn't really arrive.
Weather was reported as 10 to 15 knots, gusts to 26 (LOL) 9˚C at 68%.
Wind felt like 8 to 12 knots with gusts to 15. Just powered enough to get upwind with one, maybe two stunts per tack.
What I learned today...
• Sometimes you don't have to be flying to the moon to be having fun
• Working SUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS
• Looking forward to getting my S3 21 back - thanks John at powerzonekitesports.com!
• Need to wash socks and undies
Seems So and Turkey have nothing better to do either - So on his 12 and Taki on a 9 FFS!
Kite is pulling a little... water start was sink, sink, sink, plan, then take off on the 5th sine. OMG I'm going! Had to do a big of a walk but on the way up, it picks up a teeny bit so I'm off again - and riding upwind!!!
Noodle around some. Hmm, the wind has picked up a little more - upwind is super-easy... wonder if I could ride the Flyradical?
I can! But there's still not enough wind to boost so I work on my rolls.
Wind drops off again, swap back to the Flydoor and keep doing rolls but there's just not enough wind.
Pack up in the dark again, all alone. Light wind, lawn mowing but it was ok anyway.
Moment of the day was sneaking in the last, nice front-roll before the wind completely died.
Mood of the session was heh har hum.
It sucks when the lots of wind forecast doesn't really arrive.
Weather was reported as 10 to 15 knots, gusts to 26 (LOL) 9˚C at 68%.
Wind felt like 8 to 12 knots with gusts to 15. Just powered enough to get upwind with one, maybe two stunts per tack.
What I learned today...
• Sometimes you don't have to be flying to the moon to be having fun
• Working SUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS
• Looking forward to getting my S3 21 back - thanks John at powerzonekitesports.com!
• Need to wash socks and undies
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Ridden hard and put away wet
Not good for kites but what can you do?
Miyachi said it'd be a good session today so I left my gear hanging up last night and made my way to the lake at about 4:45 today. Hoping for another 15m session :)
Started well, was great for about 20 minutes then the wind dropped. Came and went in gusts so I stuck it out while the other 2 packed up. Then a front came in from the NW and it picked up a bit again.
So I started out doing some ok jumps, then got into sent back- and front-rolls, then tried some actual kite loops (with a Speed3!!!) and then went back to rolls and jumps. Tried some heli-loops but couldn't make them work.
Started raining as the sun set so I called it a day. Good session, worth the effort despite the less than stellar wind and the rain.
Moment of the day was a big phat sent front-roll. Felt all proper-like.
Mood of the session was yargh bah mah-mah.
It sucks when you have to pack a wet kite.
Weather was reported as 14-10-12 knots, gusts to 24 and 10˚C at 61%.
Wind felt like ok powered to under-powered (but holding ground) to blah powered. If it was truly 10 knots, then bloody good job S3 15 and Flyradical!
What I learned today…
• The S3 15 isn't a looping machine :D it (or I) seem to loop in the lower half of the window. I'm only just getting off the water so perhaps the kite doesn't have the time to climb back up the window and catch me…
• It's a hell of yank downwind. Or rather, backwards and sideways—it reminds me of the feeling when you send the kite back to like 10, or launch off a wave before the kite is all the way sent.
• Can't see how you can Darkslide like that. Attempted some not-jumping loops but it just felt so wrong :-/
• Really shouldn't slam the kite—it's not an LEI, don't just let go the bar fool!
• Wore gloves and boots and I'm glad I did: still had cold hands for a wee while.
• Get your knees up on front-rolls, redirect when you're facing the wrong way but when you feel the kite pull stop pulling on the bar.
Miyachi said it'd be a good session today so I left my gear hanging up last night and made my way to the lake at about 4:45 today. Hoping for another 15m session :)
Started well, was great for about 20 minutes then the wind dropped. Came and went in gusts so I stuck it out while the other 2 packed up. Then a front came in from the NW and it picked up a bit again.
So I started out doing some ok jumps, then got into sent back- and front-rolls, then tried some actual kite loops (with a Speed3!!!) and then went back to rolls and jumps. Tried some heli-loops but couldn't make them work.
Started raining as the sun set so I called it a day. Good session, worth the effort despite the less than stellar wind and the rain.
Moment of the day was a big phat sent front-roll. Felt all proper-like.
Mood of the session was yargh bah mah-mah.
It sucks when you have to pack a wet kite.
Weather was reported as 14-10-12 knots, gusts to 24 and 10˚C at 61%.
Wind felt like ok powered to under-powered (but holding ground) to blah powered. If it was truly 10 knots, then bloody good job S3 15 and Flyradical!
What I learned today…
• The S3 15 isn't a looping machine :D it (or I) seem to loop in the lower half of the window. I'm only just getting off the water so perhaps the kite doesn't have the time to climb back up the window and catch me…
• It's a hell of yank downwind. Or rather, backwards and sideways—it reminds me of the feeling when you send the kite back to like 10, or launch off a wave before the kite is all the way sent.
• Can't see how you can Darkslide like that. Attempted some not-jumping loops but it just felt so wrong :-/
• Really shouldn't slam the kite—it's not an LEI, don't just let go the bar fool!
• Wore gloves and boots and I'm glad I did: still had cold hands for a wee while.
• Get your knees up on front-rolls, redirect when you're facing the wrong way but when you feel the kite pull stop pulling on the bar.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Lucky epic session!
GPV forecast a change of weather around 5pm today, so I played the odds and headed down to the lake from work... at least I'd get an idea of how long it takes. 20-25 minutes, by the way.
Standing on the beach talking to Miyachi, he reckoned nothing would happen. I agreed and was about to head home when the wind started to shift. Thought I'd give it another 5 minutes... and spotted white caps rolling in. Decided to wait around and see if the wind is going to stick around. It did so I hauled ass back to the car to gear up. Looked about right for the S3 15 and the Flyradical... fingers crossed!
Quick set up so I'm first on the water :) after a few tacks, the wind has a fit and gets all nasty... got me a bit worried but it settles down so I go back to jumping like a nutter :D ooh good ones today! Several "Yeehah!" moments!
Now I encounter a new problem... I'm having problems timing and controlling the redirects and landings. Not cos I'm useless, but cos they're so high I'm swinging around and dragging the kite in front of me before I really want it over there! So I use some downloops to control it (otherwise the kite just tacos) but that's freaky cos the kite is going right back into the powerzone. Simply sheeting in and holding it doesn't seem to work consistently either... I might have to learn how to helicopter loop properly :o
Anyway, the jumps were great fun! We rode until dark - could hardly see the waves by the time we gave up and came in. Thankfully, Miyachi was there to land my kite for me; the wind had picked up and it would have been an interesting landing if I had to do it solo!
Awesome session, despite the nasty herka-jerk moments; sometimes it pays to wait another few minutes, eh! Only a short session - 90 minutes max! - but I packed in as much air-time as I could :D
Moment of the day was watching as the wind changed direction by 180˚ and the front rolled on in :)
Mood of the session was oh ooh yargh!
Weather was reported as 14 to 18 knots, gusts to 25 :D 11˚C at 70%.
Wind felt like 15 to 20 knots with gusts to 25. How about that for a coincidence? Unstable but perfectly powered... when it wasn't trying to rattle my teeth out.
What I learned today...
• Redirects on big jumps... tricky. Needs work.
• Taco'd the kite a few times too, mostly recovered them though. Seemed to be when it went too far upwind (cos I'd gone downwind under it) and I sheeted right out and I rode at the kite on landing. The problem being that if you keep the bar sheeted in during the jump... well I forget now but it didn't work. But if you sheet out at all, the kite zooms across the window and taco. Annoying.
• At least the relaunches were easy, despite some attempts by the kite to bowtie. Good.
• I think I did a backloop transition by accident! Trying to wiggle the kite back when still way up there and just kept pulling. It was a bit messy but I didn't slam... hmm.
• Sometimes, if you sheet out on the way down, you drop like a rock (nice negative Gs!) but can catch the kite as it whips across but before it slams into the edge of the window... and land light as a feather. Whee!
Standing on the beach talking to Miyachi, he reckoned nothing would happen. I agreed and was about to head home when the wind started to shift. Thought I'd give it another 5 minutes... and spotted white caps rolling in. Decided to wait around and see if the wind is going to stick around. It did so I hauled ass back to the car to gear up. Looked about right for the S3 15 and the Flyradical... fingers crossed!
Quick set up so I'm first on the water :) after a few tacks, the wind has a fit and gets all nasty... got me a bit worried but it settles down so I go back to jumping like a nutter :D ooh good ones today! Several "Yeehah!" moments!
Now I encounter a new problem... I'm having problems timing and controlling the redirects and landings. Not cos I'm useless, but cos they're so high I'm swinging around and dragging the kite in front of me before I really want it over there! So I use some downloops to control it (otherwise the kite just tacos) but that's freaky cos the kite is going right back into the powerzone. Simply sheeting in and holding it doesn't seem to work consistently either... I might have to learn how to helicopter loop properly :o
Anyway, the jumps were great fun! We rode until dark - could hardly see the waves by the time we gave up and came in. Thankfully, Miyachi was there to land my kite for me; the wind had picked up and it would have been an interesting landing if I had to do it solo!
Awesome session, despite the nasty herka-jerk moments; sometimes it pays to wait another few minutes, eh! Only a short session - 90 minutes max! - but I packed in as much air-time as I could :D
Moment of the day was watching as the wind changed direction by 180˚ and the front rolled on in :)
Mood of the session was oh ooh yargh!
Weather was reported as 14 to 18 knots, gusts to 25 :D 11˚C at 70%.
Wind felt like 15 to 20 knots with gusts to 25. How about that for a coincidence? Unstable but perfectly powered... when it wasn't trying to rattle my teeth out.
What I learned today...
• Redirects on big jumps... tricky. Needs work.
• Taco'd the kite a few times too, mostly recovered them though. Seemed to be when it went too far upwind (cos I'd gone downwind under it) and I sheeted right out and I rode at the kite on landing. The problem being that if you keep the bar sheeted in during the jump... well I forget now but it didn't work. But if you sheet out at all, the kite zooms across the window and taco. Annoying.
• At least the relaunches were easy, despite some attempts by the kite to bowtie. Good.
• I think I did a backloop transition by accident! Trying to wiggle the kite back when still way up there and just kept pulling. It was a bit messy but I didn't slam... hmm.
• Sometimes, if you sheet out on the way down, you drop like a rock (nice negative Gs!) but can catch the kite as it whips across but before it slams into the edge of the window... and land light as a feather. Whee!
Sunday, March 31, 2013
A great day for up!
Wind is due later in the afternoon, so did some stuff at lunch time then headed to the lake. Got there about 3pm, just ahead of the wind. Came in cracking like yesterday but was a bit more gusty.
Headed out on the 'radical with the Renegade harness, slung low and doing fine... till I fell over and pushed it up again. Got off the water and swapped harnesses... felt really weird at first but is an improvement. Much more comfy...
So the wind is cracking, and I'm having a blast! Over-powered but loving it. Front-rolls were off but back-rolls were great. Numerous no-hander foot-outs too... guess that's how I tweaked my knee :-/
Fun jumps, not so high but hours of hang time. Then the wind kicked it up for a bit and I got a few jumps that made me want to "HOOWOO" and wish someone was filming. Narrowly missed someone's kite when the gust lofted me a good 'un... but kinda got the hang of looping on landings. Kinda. One time I wasn't paying attention and managed to get the kite out of shape and folded the leading edge.
Waves were only good one way for boosting, so it was ride out jumping then back in making ground upwind.
Stayed out til I was the last one on the lake, pushing sunset. Feeling very beaten up but I like flying.
Gloves man had either a front line or bridle break on him - guess the later, cos he didn't just swap the bar over... ooh, just thought - he might have broken a pulley! Going to replace mine with Ronstan Orbits - so long as I can find blue Amsteel.
On Miyahci's blog, I am now a kite size. He makes a short comment about the day, often adds a phot, lists wind direction, number of kiters, and the sizes used; like 8~14 or whatever. Days I'm there, I'm using gear that's just so OTT it's merely written as "8~Kevin". I'm not sure how to process that...
Moment of the day was smacking a 'wave'... long carve across the front of it as it broke and sent a fine, gentle spray across my face.
Mood of the session was mwa-hahahaa!
Song stuck in my head was The Immigrant Song by Led Zepplin... "Valhalla I am coming..." BOOOST!
It sucks when you fall over and push the harness up your body so it starts digging into you chest again... and the muscles are still sore from yesterday so even though you're using a waist harness, it still feels like it's digging into you, every time you have to use the muscles.
Weather was reported as 12 to 18 knots, gusts to 26; 12˚C at 48%.
Wind felt like ~18 knots with gusts just over 20.
What I learned today...
• Wetsuits fit better when you put them on properly :D
• Seems I can either have a harness that gives proctological exams or one that attempts open-heart surgery.
• Flite has about the same wind range (tad wider) as the XB16 but is way more fun.
• Really need a smaller kite though, cos I'm losing the edge boosting when that over-powered.
• Gotta sort out the 15m Speed3. See above...
• Upwind easier with the knots on the long setting.
• Looping on landing big jumps... don't forget to pay attention to what the kite is doing.
• All the people with cameras out there... and I bet I don't get any pics of the good stuff!
Headed out on the 'radical with the Renegade harness, slung low and doing fine... till I fell over and pushed it up again. Got off the water and swapped harnesses... felt really weird at first but is an improvement. Much more comfy...
So the wind is cracking, and I'm having a blast! Over-powered but loving it. Front-rolls were off but back-rolls were great. Numerous no-hander foot-outs too... guess that's how I tweaked my knee :-/
Fun jumps, not so high but hours of hang time. Then the wind kicked it up for a bit and I got a few jumps that made me want to "HOOWOO" and wish someone was filming. Narrowly missed someone's kite when the gust lofted me a good 'un... but kinda got the hang of looping on landings. Kinda. One time I wasn't paying attention and managed to get the kite out of shape and folded the leading edge.
Waves were only good one way for boosting, so it was ride out jumping then back in making ground upwind.
Stayed out til I was the last one on the lake, pushing sunset. Feeling very beaten up but I like flying.
Gloves man had either a front line or bridle break on him - guess the later, cos he didn't just swap the bar over... ooh, just thought - he might have broken a pulley! Going to replace mine with Ronstan Orbits - so long as I can find blue Amsteel.
On Miyahci's blog, I am now a kite size. He makes a short comment about the day, often adds a phot, lists wind direction, number of kiters, and the sizes used; like 8~14 or whatever. Days I'm there, I'm using gear that's just so OTT it's merely written as "8~Kevin". I'm not sure how to process that...
Moment of the day was smacking a 'wave'... long carve across the front of it as it broke and sent a fine, gentle spray across my face.
Mood of the session was mwa-hahahaa!
Song stuck in my head was The Immigrant Song by Led Zepplin... "Valhalla I am coming..." BOOOST!
It sucks when you fall over and push the harness up your body so it starts digging into you chest again... and the muscles are still sore from yesterday so even though you're using a waist harness, it still feels like it's digging into you, every time you have to use the muscles.
Weather was reported as 12 to 18 knots, gusts to 26; 12˚C at 48%.
Wind felt like ~18 knots with gusts just over 20.
What I learned today...
• Wetsuits fit better when you put them on properly :D
• Seems I can either have a harness that gives proctological exams or one that attempts open-heart surgery.
• Flite has about the same wind range (tad wider) as the XB16 but is way more fun.
• Really need a smaller kite though, cos I'm losing the edge boosting when that over-powered.
• Gotta sort out the 15m Speed3. See above...
• Upwind easier with the knots on the long setting.
• Looping on landing big jumps... don't forget to pay attention to what the kite is doing.
• All the people with cameras out there... and I bet I don't get any pics of the good stuff!
Saturday, March 30, 2013
At long last!
Made the mistake of checking the hourly weather on the lake while I was in Nagoya "on business" and of course, it was cracking. I felt so good. Today, the forecast was for not very much but GPV said a burst of nice would come in about 3pm, so I headed down the lake about 1 and set up...
Out with the Flite again, then stood around on the beach waiting for the wind. Picked up a bit around 2:30 so I thought I'd give it a go... Almost 100% walk back up the beach. Then 75%, then 50%, then 0% and then 75% again so I gave up, landed the kite and had a drink.
Shortly after, the wind came in! Cracking! Bit over-powered so I headed straight out on the Flyradical... blast out and get straight into boosting. Easy semi-decent jumps... the Flite doesn't boost to the moon but has mad hangtime. It's just a shame the spreader bar pad is digging into my chest. Felt a bit too much for stunts but tried some, and they all went well.
Was riding with my new Switch 4/3 wetsuit and Dakine Renegade waist harness... The wetsuit was fine but the harness spent the whole time digging into my sternum :(
3-hour session wound up when I couldn't stand the poking in the ribs. It was good though. At least I think it was... finishing this after Sunday's session cos we went out to see Cloud Atlas last night right after I got home...
Moment of the day was just getting out again after all week stuck in Nagoya.
Mood of the session was do-de-doo rock on! gnnn.
Weather was reported as 8-12 knots, gusts to 20 (1am) and 12˚C 50%.
Wind felt like sub-10 knots then 15 to 20.
What I learned today...
• Had the kite on the 'short' knots which was nice when the wind was down, but had to trim the kite when it was up. Will stick with the long knots, I think.
• Trimming the kite is easy enough, I have no issues with below-the-bar depower.
• What I do have issues with is the waist harness, digging into my chest... I'll try it again but I may be going back to the seat harness if I can't get it to sit on my waist properly!
• The Swtich 4/3 wetsuit is 2XL and a ittle big snug around the legs (seam behind the knee bit some), little bit lose around the forearms?!?! Fits fine otherwise. Warm enough today, although I could feel cold wind-chill on my chest... a fleece panel there would be great!
• Wore my Ballistic Slippers but too cold for that sill - the exposed skin chilled the rest of my feet.
Out with the Flite again, then stood around on the beach waiting for the wind. Picked up a bit around 2:30 so I thought I'd give it a go... Almost 100% walk back up the beach. Then 75%, then 50%, then 0% and then 75% again so I gave up, landed the kite and had a drink.
Shortly after, the wind came in! Cracking! Bit over-powered so I headed straight out on the Flyradical... blast out and get straight into boosting. Easy semi-decent jumps... the Flite doesn't boost to the moon but has mad hangtime. It's just a shame the spreader bar pad is digging into my chest. Felt a bit too much for stunts but tried some, and they all went well.
Was riding with my new Switch 4/3 wetsuit and Dakine Renegade waist harness... The wetsuit was fine but the harness spent the whole time digging into my sternum :(
3-hour session wound up when I couldn't stand the poking in the ribs. It was good though. At least I think it was... finishing this after Sunday's session cos we went out to see Cloud Atlas last night right after I got home...
Moment of the day was just getting out again after all week stuck in Nagoya.
Mood of the session was do-de-doo rock on! gnnn.
Weather was reported as 8-12 knots, gusts to 20 (1am) and 12˚C 50%.
Wind felt like sub-10 knots then 15 to 20.
What I learned today...
• Had the kite on the 'short' knots which was nice when the wind was down, but had to trim the kite when it was up. Will stick with the long knots, I think.
• Trimming the kite is easy enough, I have no issues with below-the-bar depower.
• What I do have issues with is the waist harness, digging into my chest... I'll try it again but I may be going back to the seat harness if I can't get it to sit on my waist properly!
• The Swtich 4/3 wetsuit is 2XL and a ittle big snug around the legs (seam behind the knee bit some), little bit lose around the forearms?!?! Fits fine otherwise. Warm enough today, although I could feel cold wind-chill on my chest... a fleece panel there would be great!
• Wore my Ballistic Slippers but too cold for that sill - the exposed skin chilled the rest of my feet.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Better than forecast but not good enough
Forecast called for SFA but the camera and hourly reports looked good so I geared up and headed out. Hmm, up close the lake doesn't look this there's a lot of wind after all.
I rig the Flite with a bit of trepidation cos it seems strong... get into the damp wetsuit and take the Flyradical and Mako over to the beach. So is on his 14m Havoc but reckons he's over-powered. I go out on the 'radical and feel just powered... it's ok. So get his 12m Hadlow out but very soon slams it and rips it LE to TE. Poor bugger!
Rolls are good, jumps are ok-ish, transitions are fun. Water is chopped up to shit, like there were big boats going every which way... tough to get board speed, a smooth line or launch. Wind keeps dropping...
Stop for a break and a drink. Beach is getting a bit crowded cos there's a few of us here. Mr Fujii turns up in a light wetsuit and no gloves or boots... and later complains it's cold LOL.
Go back out on the 'radical but it's not working. Come back in, take the Mako back to the car and get the Flydoor. Better, but I still have to work the kite some.
Come in for another drink, wait for a bit more wind. Chat with Gloves Guy and he confesses he's working on frontrolls. Inspires me to go out and try them more... mmm, they're tough when there's no wind. Start doing sent frontrolls - they're working! Woo hoo! Wind keeps dropping...
... now I'm the last one on the water. No one is looking and a voice in my head says "Try a kite loop"... first attempt, the kite gets around but I land hard on the board. Second attempt goes better - a pull downwind and land with speed, ride off. Keep in mind though that my fins are barely clearing the water - real sissy loops! Eventually, I forget to really pull the bar and slam hard - right into my nuts! Ouchies... do one more to prove I can, then get off the water.
Long session, crappy wind but some good times!
Moment of the day was carving up the face of a way, redirecting the kite then carving out the other way... it felt good!
Mood of the session was grr whee bah.
Song stuck in my head was My Beautiful Balloon by Nancy Sinatra. Up, up and away!
It sucks when the wind looks like it's storming but is actually a baby fart.
Weather was reported as 12-15 knots, gusts no more than 24 knots at 11am. 9˚C at 54%.
Wind felt like 5 to 10 knots. It was some serious all show and no blow BS going on today!
What I learned today...
• Sent frontrolls - not that difficult, actually. Just haul on the bar when you're halfway around.
• Kiteloops jumps... mmm. Now I've started, I guess I'll keep doing then until I smash myself in the nuts again. Need more height, I think, and to watch the How To's again.
• More sunblock! More water!
• Want a directional... Nugget?
I rig the Flite with a bit of trepidation cos it seems strong... get into the damp wetsuit and take the Flyradical and Mako over to the beach. So is on his 14m Havoc but reckons he's over-powered. I go out on the 'radical and feel just powered... it's ok. So get his 12m Hadlow out but very soon slams it and rips it LE to TE. Poor bugger!
Rolls are good, jumps are ok-ish, transitions are fun. Water is chopped up to shit, like there were big boats going every which way... tough to get board speed, a smooth line or launch. Wind keeps dropping...
Stop for a break and a drink. Beach is getting a bit crowded cos there's a few of us here. Mr Fujii turns up in a light wetsuit and no gloves or boots... and later complains it's cold LOL.
Go back out on the 'radical but it's not working. Come back in, take the Mako back to the car and get the Flydoor. Better, but I still have to work the kite some.
Come in for another drink, wait for a bit more wind. Chat with Gloves Guy and he confesses he's working on frontrolls. Inspires me to go out and try them more... mmm, they're tough when there's no wind. Start doing sent frontrolls - they're working! Woo hoo! Wind keeps dropping...
... now I'm the last one on the water. No one is looking and a voice in my head says "Try a kite loop"... first attempt, the kite gets around but I land hard on the board. Second attempt goes better - a pull downwind and land with speed, ride off. Keep in mind though that my fins are barely clearing the water - real sissy loops! Eventually, I forget to really pull the bar and slam hard - right into my nuts! Ouchies... do one more to prove I can, then get off the water.
Long session, crappy wind but some good times!
Moment of the day was carving up the face of a way, redirecting the kite then carving out the other way... it felt good!
Mood of the session was grr whee bah.
Song stuck in my head was My Beautiful Balloon by Nancy Sinatra. Up, up and away!
It sucks when the wind looks like it's storming but is actually a baby fart.
Weather was reported as 12-15 knots, gusts no more than 24 knots at 11am. 9˚C at 54%.
Wind felt like 5 to 10 knots. It was some serious all show and no blow BS going on today!
What I learned today...
• Sent frontrolls - not that difficult, actually. Just haul on the bar when you're halfway around.
• Kiteloops jumps... mmm. Now I've started, I guess I'll keep doing then until I smash myself in the nuts again. Need more height, I think, and to watch the How To's again.
• More sunblock! More water!
• Want a directional... Nugget?
Thursday, March 21, 2013
You won't believe what I seen...
No pogo-sticks - the lunatics were at the end of a kite... I'll get to it in a bit.
Forecast was for epic all day but we got crappy gusting to gravy instead. Dropped the wife off at that train station (she's going to Singapore in the school hols) and hit the lake... got on the water about 2, I guess.
Dennis the Menace was there too and was thrilled he wasn't alone... I wasn't so sure. He put up his 9, and I put up my 13 and thought I was making a mistake... too small!
Played for a bit on my 'radical, then got on the Mako cos I really wanted to try it out again. But the wind was up'n'down like whore's drawers and I ended up walking and getting on the Flydoor - yes I took all three over to the beach!
Some nice backrolls - I'm really getting my goofy side sorted! - but for the life of me, couldn't land a frontroll that wasn't UGLY. A few nice jumps but a lot of the time was spent mowing the lawn back upwind... really needed more sail in the air - probably could have gotten away with a 15m :D loop transitions were iffy cos the wind was erratic... did a lot of chicken loops tee hee!
As the afternoon wore on, So turned up and broke the wind, then Skinny Naish Dude turned up and fixed it. Had another hour of hee-haws then I started feeling sick from lack of food and drink so called it a day. It was 6pm when I got into the car :o long session!
Now for the derp... Dennis the Menace of course.
First up, he drops his kite at the shore break (numerous times) but gets it tangled and twisted... so he marches in from the water, picks the kite up, straightens out the bowtie and... lobs it downwind :o it tumbles till it reaches the end of the lines then he spins the bar to sort it out.
Next, he's fucking around on shore again and is trying to tether-launch. He's at the right hand side of the window, setting up the kite - I look away briefly, and when I look back, the kite is making its own way to the LHS of the window... slam!
So he finally gets the kite in the air and there's a bloody stick - not a twig or weed - a STICK jammed in his front line bridle. Does he land and pull it out? No way man! just keep riding till it falls out... or kills him.
Lunatic!
Moment of the day was hard to choose - no jumps that really made me go woohoo, no really awesome stunts, no great wave rides... lets just say riding powered was an achievement.
Mood of the session was grr gar aah.
It sucks when the kite stalls when you sheet out, it stalls when you sheet in, but the wind is blowing leaves off trees...
Weather was reported as 16 to 12 knots, 6.5˚C at 45%. No data on gusts that's reliable, cos we had 50 knots at midnight and we only get peak gusts recorded so... I measured 15 to 20 knots on the beach when I arrived, so I bet that's the best we got.
Wind felt like 40% aah 40% bah 20% argh!
What I learned today...
• Sometimes, you should go with your gut and rig big.
• Sunburn! Hey Zeus, I need to go with multiple coatings.
• Need to check the bar tune on the Cab 65cm.
• Also need to start taking the 2L thermos to the beach... damn the 6mm sweat suit!
• Going from the Flyboards to the Mako... the Fly's seem so locked into the edges, the Mako more loose. Still struggle to get it upwind in light conditions...
• Can fit three boards and all the gear into the car nice and snug, with no knocking or abrasion. It matters.
• Take your shades and wear them!
• I'm sure there was something else...
Forecast was for epic all day but we got crappy gusting to gravy instead. Dropped the wife off at that train station (she's going to Singapore in the school hols) and hit the lake... got on the water about 2, I guess.
Dennis the Menace was there too and was thrilled he wasn't alone... I wasn't so sure. He put up his 9, and I put up my 13 and thought I was making a mistake... too small!
Played for a bit on my 'radical, then got on the Mako cos I really wanted to try it out again. But the wind was up'n'down like whore's drawers and I ended up walking and getting on the Flydoor - yes I took all three over to the beach!
Some nice backrolls - I'm really getting my goofy side sorted! - but for the life of me, couldn't land a frontroll that wasn't UGLY. A few nice jumps but a lot of the time was spent mowing the lawn back upwind... really needed more sail in the air - probably could have gotten away with a 15m :D loop transitions were iffy cos the wind was erratic... did a lot of chicken loops tee hee!
As the afternoon wore on, So turned up and broke the wind, then Skinny Naish Dude turned up and fixed it. Had another hour of hee-haws then I started feeling sick from lack of food and drink so called it a day. It was 6pm when I got into the car :o long session!
Now for the derp... Dennis the Menace of course.
First up, he drops his kite at the shore break (numerous times) but gets it tangled and twisted... so he marches in from the water, picks the kite up, straightens out the bowtie and... lobs it downwind :o it tumbles till it reaches the end of the lines then he spins the bar to sort it out.
Next, he's fucking around on shore again and is trying to tether-launch. He's at the right hand side of the window, setting up the kite - I look away briefly, and when I look back, the kite is making its own way to the LHS of the window... slam!
So he finally gets the kite in the air and there's a bloody stick - not a twig or weed - a STICK jammed in his front line bridle. Does he land and pull it out? No way man! just keep riding till it falls out... or kills him.
Lunatic!
Moment of the day was hard to choose - no jumps that really made me go woohoo, no really awesome stunts, no great wave rides... lets just say riding powered was an achievement.
Mood of the session was grr gar aah.
It sucks when the kite stalls when you sheet out, it stalls when you sheet in, but the wind is blowing leaves off trees...
Weather was reported as 16 to 12 knots, 6.5˚C at 45%. No data on gusts that's reliable, cos we had 50 knots at midnight and we only get peak gusts recorded so... I measured 15 to 20 knots on the beach when I arrived, so I bet that's the best we got.
Wind felt like 40% aah 40% bah 20% argh!
What I learned today...
• Sometimes, you should go with your gut and rig big.
• Sunburn! Hey Zeus, I need to go with multiple coatings.
• Need to check the bar tune on the Cab 65cm.
• Also need to start taking the 2L thermos to the beach... damn the 6mm sweat suit!
• Going from the Flyboards to the Mako... the Fly's seem so locked into the edges, the Mako more loose. Still struggle to get it upwind in light conditions...
• Can fit three boards and all the gear into the car nice and snug, with no knocking or abrasion. It matters.
• Take your shades and wear them!
• I'm sure there was something else...
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Flite delivers the goods again
Hurt my back lifting weights this morning - no, really, I was doing kettlebells and on the up-swing, something in my mid-back spasmed and left me whimpering like a little girl. Finished my workout though :D I'll be skipping the 'bells for a while.
Despite that, the wind was forecast to be a teeny bit good today so I thought I'd head out for a look anyway - being my last week of holidays and all. Got to the lake about 12:20 and the wind was picking up, so I thought I'd go for it with the Flite and the new OR Freeride bar.
Pumped it up and laid the bar out - nice! That sure is a lo-oong depower line LOL! I like the orange too, it matches my bike :D and it's easy to see when spinning the bar.
A bar review then...
OR ditched the ergo bend and adjustable width cos they said nobody used them and I have to admit, I don't on bars I have that do. Shame, cos I like ergo things; been using an MS ergo keyboard for 20 years now :o
Bar is of a thick diameter (bucking a trend) and has serious finger ridges. I like both so far - but I was in 2mm gloves again today. The bar ends are the 'horns' like Ozone bars and do their job just fine. They have 'built-in' bungy line-tides with a tab that tuck away when not it use - I like that design touch.
Line adjustment is under the floats. Oh Shit! handles are velcro secured for tidiness.
The depower line has two areas about 50mm long that have a smaller diameter line spliced inside it - I guess they are there to give tactile feedback for the stopper for depower throw and for max trim. If/when I replace the depower line, I'm going to splice in a red line and loop it over like Naish bars for a visible reference. Swivel is the Mickey Mouse-ears things with a neoprene covered pulley for the depower line; apparently, these things work just fine but they look naff. If I get anal, I'll replace it for the Naish/Mutiny/Slingshot plastic sexy thing.
Lines are 23m long, plus the depower/leader lines are at least 3m I swear! Look like Ozone lines too - red for left, blue for right. Pigtails are on the end of the lines. Bridles are short but do their job to roll the kite over easy.
QR is old school; a flap that releases the chicken loop, similar to the Naish system but external - easy to reset in the water. QR/CL body is rugged black nylon. Chicken finger is bolted onto the body, so it swivels and is easy to engage... I'd prefer it to be integrated into the body cos that looks slicker ;) no swivel below the bar but you don't need it.
Safety is one end of the depower line - when released it pulls through the CL body and the kite goes away; works just fine, the stopper slides up to the swivel. Depower is the other end of the depower line, below the bar, a cleat on the CL. Forgot to test it but it held fine. I imagine you could leash to the depower side if you really wanted too... QR/CL body will 'lock' or nest into the bar nicely...
Relaunch... finally tested it today several times. It's almost automatic! A poorly timed looped had the kite LE down directly down-wind of me; the kite was on it's back but had tension in the steering lines, so it floated away to the edge of the window, came up on it's tip then got off the water and hovered a few feet in the air when I tensioned the bar :o fabulous!
Re-ride... hmm. Kite goes totally onto its back, completely depowered, the depower line goes all the way through the CL/QR body and up to the swivel. I hauled the bar back in, reassembled the QR (easy!) then expected the depower line just to feed out till the kite was in 'normal' configuration. Didn't happen so I manually fed the line through the swivel... kite stayed on it's back, despite me pulling on the rear lines. Oh noes! it's going to be a C-kite launch. I was too lazy to swim around so like a dummy I just kept pulling the lines until... I tangle it all up :D manage to invert the kite and relaunch it but now the rear lines are through the fronts - OMG it's actually an arc!!! Got back to the beach though...
I guess I gotta work on that!
...
Back to the kiting. Tether-launch, hum'n'har about board choice then head out with the 'radical. Works fine! The water is unusually flat so it's super-sweet riding! Upwind is good so I get to playing. Man it's good to be able to ride the fun board in light wind and on flat water! Despite the light wind, I'm having a great old time! Front-rolls, back-rolls, transitions - oh my!
I'd been on the water for an hour by myself before I decided to test the re-ride. Got back to the YMCA beach and tried to land the kite to throw the bar through the lines... it wasn't co-operating so I walked back to our beach and noticed that asshole guy who tells everyone what size kite they should be using had arrived. Self-landed, got a drink of water, then got back out on the lake.
Having such a great time! More people arrive - Tall Skinny Guy, Can't relaunch my Helix guy, and Dennis the Menace.
I don't want to stop but I'm starting to fell REALLY tired so I call it day - the wind has dropped anyway, just as it was forecast to do. I get back to my car at 4:30 - I was out for 3 hours!
Back didn't bother me either ;) bi-winning!
Moment of the day was front-roll, back-roll, front-roll, back-roll, jump-downloop transition, back-roll... like a BOSS.
Mood of the session was surprised extra-stoked exhausted.
It sucks when you only have your 6mm suit and it's 20˚C out!
Weather was reported as 8 to 12 knots, gusts to 18; 16˚C at 61%.
Wind felt like 75% gravy, 24% almost gravy, 1% oh damn I'm walking.
What I learned today...
• Relaunch is awesome.
• Re-ride is need practice.
• Have to start putting my 3/2 in the car - too damned hot in the 6mm, I was dying out there! But the water is bloody cold!
• Got a repair to do on the 6mm too :( stitching coming undone under the chin.
• Jumping with the Flite: best results from riding fast, edging but not braking then leaping when it pulls up, sheet in and... I can see my house from here! Sheeting out some once it's sent seems to help but I had good results just riding up the face of waves with the bar in too :D
• Sheeting out on a too big back-roll chops the height but you don't lose control.
• Knees up on the front rolls!
• Backrolls on my goofy side are feeling pretty much like on my good side!
• If you do a bunch of loops all in the same direction, the depower line will twist but you can loop back in the other direction to sort it out.
• The depower line will clack on the hole through the bar... distracted me till I figured out what it was.
• Sand washes out of the bar holes etc very easily!
Despite that, the wind was forecast to be a teeny bit good today so I thought I'd head out for a look anyway - being my last week of holidays and all. Got to the lake about 12:20 and the wind was picking up, so I thought I'd go for it with the Flite and the new OR Freeride bar.
Pumped it up and laid the bar out - nice! That sure is a lo-oong depower line LOL! I like the orange too, it matches my bike :D and it's easy to see when spinning the bar.
A bar review then...
OR ditched the ergo bend and adjustable width cos they said nobody used them and I have to admit, I don't on bars I have that do. Shame, cos I like ergo things; been using an MS ergo keyboard for 20 years now :o
Bar is of a thick diameter (bucking a trend) and has serious finger ridges. I like both so far - but I was in 2mm gloves again today. The bar ends are the 'horns' like Ozone bars and do their job just fine. They have 'built-in' bungy line-tides with a tab that tuck away when not it use - I like that design touch.
Line adjustment is under the floats. Oh Shit! handles are velcro secured for tidiness.
The depower line has two areas about 50mm long that have a smaller diameter line spliced inside it - I guess they are there to give tactile feedback for the stopper for depower throw and for max trim. If/when I replace the depower line, I'm going to splice in a red line and loop it over like Naish bars for a visible reference. Swivel is the Mickey Mouse-ears things with a neoprene covered pulley for the depower line; apparently, these things work just fine but they look naff. If I get anal, I'll replace it for the Naish/Mutiny/Slingshot plastic sexy thing.
Lines are 23m long, plus the depower/leader lines are at least 3m I swear! Look like Ozone lines too - red for left, blue for right. Pigtails are on the end of the lines. Bridles are short but do their job to roll the kite over easy.
QR is old school; a flap that releases the chicken loop, similar to the Naish system but external - easy to reset in the water. QR/CL body is rugged black nylon. Chicken finger is bolted onto the body, so it swivels and is easy to engage... I'd prefer it to be integrated into the body cos that looks slicker ;) no swivel below the bar but you don't need it.
Safety is one end of the depower line - when released it pulls through the CL body and the kite goes away; works just fine, the stopper slides up to the swivel. Depower is the other end of the depower line, below the bar, a cleat on the CL. Forgot to test it but it held fine. I imagine you could leash to the depower side if you really wanted too... QR/CL body will 'lock' or nest into the bar nicely...
Relaunch... finally tested it today several times. It's almost automatic! A poorly timed looped had the kite LE down directly down-wind of me; the kite was on it's back but had tension in the steering lines, so it floated away to the edge of the window, came up on it's tip then got off the water and hovered a few feet in the air when I tensioned the bar :o fabulous!
Re-ride... hmm. Kite goes totally onto its back, completely depowered, the depower line goes all the way through the CL/QR body and up to the swivel. I hauled the bar back in, reassembled the QR (easy!) then expected the depower line just to feed out till the kite was in 'normal' configuration. Didn't happen so I manually fed the line through the swivel... kite stayed on it's back, despite me pulling on the rear lines. Oh noes! it's going to be a C-kite launch. I was too lazy to swim around so like a dummy I just kept pulling the lines until... I tangle it all up :D manage to invert the kite and relaunch it but now the rear lines are through the fronts - OMG it's actually an arc!!! Got back to the beach though...
I guess I gotta work on that!
...
Back to the kiting. Tether-launch, hum'n'har about board choice then head out with the 'radical. Works fine! The water is unusually flat so it's super-sweet riding! Upwind is good so I get to playing. Man it's good to be able to ride the fun board in light wind and on flat water! Despite the light wind, I'm having a great old time! Front-rolls, back-rolls, transitions - oh my!
I'd been on the water for an hour by myself before I decided to test the re-ride. Got back to the YMCA beach and tried to land the kite to throw the bar through the lines... it wasn't co-operating so I walked back to our beach and noticed that asshole guy who tells everyone what size kite they should be using had arrived. Self-landed, got a drink of water, then got back out on the lake.
Having such a great time! More people arrive - Tall Skinny Guy, Can't relaunch my Helix guy, and Dennis the Menace.
I don't want to stop but I'm starting to fell REALLY tired so I call it day - the wind has dropped anyway, just as it was forecast to do. I get back to my car at 4:30 - I was out for 3 hours!
Back didn't bother me either ;) bi-winning!
Moment of the day was front-roll, back-roll, front-roll, back-roll, jump-downloop transition, back-roll... like a BOSS.
Mood of the session was surprised extra-stoked exhausted.
It sucks when you only have your 6mm suit and it's 20˚C out!
Weather was reported as 8 to 12 knots, gusts to 18; 16˚C at 61%.
Wind felt like 75% gravy, 24% almost gravy, 1% oh damn I'm walking.
What I learned today...
• Relaunch is awesome.
• Re-ride is need practice.
• Have to start putting my 3/2 in the car - too damned hot in the 6mm, I was dying out there! But the water is bloody cold!
• Got a repair to do on the 6mm too :( stitching coming undone under the chin.
• Jumping with the Flite: best results from riding fast, edging but not braking then leaping when it pulls up, sheet in and... I can see my house from here! Sheeting out some once it's sent seems to help but I had good results just riding up the face of waves with the bar in too :D
• Sheeting out on a too big back-roll chops the height but you don't lose control.
• Knees up on the front rolls!
• Backrolls on my goofy side are feeling pretty much like on my good side!
• If you do a bunch of loops all in the same direction, the depower line will twist but you can loop back in the other direction to sort it out.
• The depower line will clack on the hole through the bar... distracted me till I figured out what it was.
• Sand washes out of the bar holes etc very easily!
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Like an internet tough guy
... the weather was making a big ol' noise beating its chest and wobbling my car around on the way to the lake, but when I actually got out on the water is wasn't that strong at all.
Measured 6-10m/s on the shore so went with the 13m XB... got out on the Flyradical too so that was good.
Wind sure was odd - couldn't just sheet and go, had to work the kite and it was seeming like it wanted to be sheeted out the whole time to make power... sheet in and it'd stall. Uh?
Got some nice boosts in but I had to pick'n'choose the gusts and aim for decent waves. Wind was a bit on'n'off so I didn't do many stunts, although I did try to do foot-outs but was so tired by that time I couldn't lift my legs high enough to grab the board.
Went down the windsurfers side of the river and played in the bigger, cleaner waves there - what a hoot! But it looked like I decided to head 'home' just in time, cos the wind dropped just after I arrived. Diddled around for a while, but the wind died right off and I was getting tired so I decided to call it a day.
Great session, it was actually pretty relaxing out there, in spite of the wind's attempt to be all rough'n'tough.
Moment of the day was whooping a BIG back-roll with a sent kite, facing the wrong way for a long time and thinking "Oh crap I'm gonna get spanked!" then redirecting the kite and coming in for a smooth landing like I meant to do it.
Mood of the session was doop-de-doo whee blah.
It sucks when you find a hole in your kite :(
Weather was reported as 14-18 knots, gusts no more than 36 knots (8 am) at 6˚C, 48%.
Wind felt like 60% ok powered, 30% happy-happy, 5% uh-oh, 5% su-uuucks.
What I learned today...
• Front-rolls are physically easier than they are mentally.
• Need to get back into doing my trademark "Disco is Dead" Man...
• The LE access zipper can pinch holes in the canopy. Shit.
• Might get an electric pump, if I'm going to be working until 5pm... might save me a few minutes. Especially if I'm going to set up more than one kite... today, I could have done with the 10m set up for shits'n'giggles but couldn't be arsed pumping it up too.
Measured 6-10m/s on the shore so went with the 13m XB... got out on the Flyradical too so that was good.
Wind sure was odd - couldn't just sheet and go, had to work the kite and it was seeming like it wanted to be sheeted out the whole time to make power... sheet in and it'd stall. Uh?
Got some nice boosts in but I had to pick'n'choose the gusts and aim for decent waves. Wind was a bit on'n'off so I didn't do many stunts, although I did try to do foot-outs but was so tired by that time I couldn't lift my legs high enough to grab the board.
Went down the windsurfers side of the river and played in the bigger, cleaner waves there - what a hoot! But it looked like I decided to head 'home' just in time, cos the wind dropped just after I arrived. Diddled around for a while, but the wind died right off and I was getting tired so I decided to call it a day.
Great session, it was actually pretty relaxing out there, in spite of the wind's attempt to be all rough'n'tough.
Moment of the day was whooping a BIG back-roll with a sent kite, facing the wrong way for a long time and thinking "Oh crap I'm gonna get spanked!" then redirecting the kite and coming in for a smooth landing like I meant to do it.
Mood of the session was doop-de-doo whee blah.
It sucks when you find a hole in your kite :(
Weather was reported as 14-18 knots, gusts no more than 36 knots (8 am) at 6˚C, 48%.
Wind felt like 60% ok powered, 30% happy-happy, 5% uh-oh, 5% su-uuucks.
What I learned today...
• Front-rolls are physically easier than they are mentally.
• Need to get back into doing my trademark "Disco is Dead" Man...
• The LE access zipper can pinch holes in the canopy. Shit.
• Might get an electric pump, if I'm going to be working until 5pm... might save me a few minutes. Especially if I'm going to set up more than one kite... today, I could have done with the 10m set up for shits'n'giggles but couldn't be arsed pumping it up too.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Storm front fun
Didn't think I'd get a session in today, cos the forecast looked borked - snow and rain and mental wind. Storm front coming through I guess... thought I'd go and look anyway. Yeah, it's cold but the wind is up and the rain is easing. Hmm...
Junkie sensei is out on the water with a 7m SB he borrowed (brave man) from Dennis the Menace and he looks like he's doing well. Measure the wind as 10-12m/s - if the gusts are bad, I might prefer the 10. Miyachi reckons I should take the 16. He's taking a 6 - bloody joker!
Leave the shop to get ready about 2:30pm... by the time I gear up and get over to the lake, the wind has dropped some and I'm a bit concerned the 13 won't be enough. I can tell it's gusty though, so I head out on the Flyradical.
Not bad. Trim the kite for comfort and start playing. Fun!
Then the wind kicks it up a notch :o crikey it's a bit mental out here! Hang on to the kite and try to jump when I can... get some great boosts in but it's hard getting upwind in the gusty conditions and some get a bit close to shore. Not to mention the epileptic elevator rides... gets hairy at times, lobs and drops and jerks. The wind is punchy and shifty and very, very angry!
This one time, I lose the board on take off and get to enjoy a nice flight without it... recover from the off-kilter take-off, then almost loop the kite, now the shore is coming up and SPLASH oh I've hit the bottom - hope I don't lose the kite and... no! Whee, great fun - now I'm still alive.
Repeat that with various erm variations... I daren't try doing any stunts. Carving the waves is risky enough... after a while, I'm alone on the lake. Then Ji-chan comes out and - the wind drops. I ride for a while more but am just powered and falling... I give it up when I almost have to walk. It's been about 3 hours anyway!
Moment of the day was not getting killed.
Mood of the session was hmmmm yeaaaah aaaargh.
It sucks when the wind has a delta-V of about 30 knots in the gusts...
Song stuck in my head was California Dreamin' by The Mamas & The Papas. "I'd be safe and warm, if I was in LA."
Weather was reported as 12 to 16 knots with gusts to 36 :o 5.3°C at 80% and falling.
Wind felt like 50% the 20-25 knots I'd measured on the shore, 30% AW SHIT SON and 20% Am I going to have to walk?
What I learned today...
• Drying your gloves inside-out messes up the rubber on the fingers, where they crease as they're inverted. Thankfully, only on the $8 gloves, not my lovely XCEL gear.
• You can invert a Crossbow by sending it hard across the window and completely sheeted out.
• Might need to start wearing sunblock... and sunglasses.
• Thank god I didn't try to use a Flysurfer - they would've been jerking and yanking like a school boy.
• Crossbow is good'n'stable but not very exciting, except when the shit is hitting the fan... Razor 12 want :)
Junkie sensei is out on the water with a 7m SB he borrowed (brave man) from Dennis the Menace and he looks like he's doing well. Measure the wind as 10-12m/s - if the gusts are bad, I might prefer the 10. Miyachi reckons I should take the 16. He's taking a 6 - bloody joker!
Leave the shop to get ready about 2:30pm... by the time I gear up and get over to the lake, the wind has dropped some and I'm a bit concerned the 13 won't be enough. I can tell it's gusty though, so I head out on the Flyradical.
Not bad. Trim the kite for comfort and start playing. Fun!
Then the wind kicks it up a notch :o crikey it's a bit mental out here! Hang on to the kite and try to jump when I can... get some great boosts in but it's hard getting upwind in the gusty conditions and some get a bit close to shore. Not to mention the epileptic elevator rides... gets hairy at times, lobs and drops and jerks. The wind is punchy and shifty and very, very angry!
This one time, I lose the board on take off and get to enjoy a nice flight without it... recover from the off-kilter take-off, then almost loop the kite, now the shore is coming up and SPLASH oh I've hit the bottom - hope I don't lose the kite and... no! Whee, great fun - now I'm still alive.
Repeat that with various erm variations... I daren't try doing any stunts. Carving the waves is risky enough... after a while, I'm alone on the lake. Then Ji-chan comes out and - the wind drops. I ride for a while more but am just powered and falling... I give it up when I almost have to walk. It's been about 3 hours anyway!
Moment of the day was not getting killed.
Mood of the session was hmmmm yeaaaah aaaargh.
It sucks when the wind has a delta-V of about 30 knots in the gusts...
Song stuck in my head was California Dreamin' by The Mamas & The Papas. "I'd be safe and warm, if I was in LA."
Weather was reported as 12 to 16 knots with gusts to 36 :o 5.3°C at 80% and falling.
Wind felt like 50% the 20-25 knots I'd measured on the shore, 30% AW SHIT SON and 20% Am I going to have to walk?
What I learned today...
• Drying your gloves inside-out messes up the rubber on the fingers, where they crease as they're inverted. Thankfully, only on the $8 gloves, not my lovely XCEL gear.
• You can invert a Crossbow by sending it hard across the window and completely sheeted out.
• Might need to start wearing sunblock... and sunglasses.
• Thank god I didn't try to use a Flysurfer - they would've been jerking and yanking like a school boy.
• Crossbow is good'n'stable but not very exciting, except when the shit is hitting the fan... Razor 12 want :)
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Best day evah? Flite for the win!
Miyachi said yesterday that there'd be wind today - I was skeptical cos I'd seen the forecast, but I went out and did some chores in the morning, stopped by at Locus to check... anything.
There was a slight breeze and I was going to fiddle with the Pyscho4 again but somehow I got roped into fiddling with the Locus webcam - locus-biwako51.ddo.jp/ - which hasn't been working for weeks. Miyachi is about as tech-savvy as the missus... which is to say, not at all. I figured out pretty quick that the new camera he got for the system didn't have the same AV plug as the old one and Miyachi was trying to use the USB plug. I fiddled with the old camera and.. bingo! Got it working again :)
Miyachi was convinced the wind was on the way, so I went home and got my gear... put a drain hole in the legs of the whale scrot. Took the old 3/2 for Miyachi to fix the seams before I chop the legs off to make it a 3/4... while we were meddling, the wind kicked it up a knot and the Master of Disaster and Mistress of Disaster both headed over to the lake. Oh goody...
I had a moment of genius and remembered that ages ago I'd bought a set of Slingshot pigtails from Miyachi - they'll be prefect to convert the OR kite to work with the Cabrinha bar... so I take that over to the lake. In the back of my mind, I'm thinking I might have to have the Psycho4 19 too cos while we've got white caps, the waves aren't very big and the wind doesn't feel strong enough for a tube...
Ooh, it looks beautiful pumped up! Pigtails work - should be trimmed about right too... rush back to put the 'suit on. Jesus it's getting too hot for that thing but I want to test the drainage...
By the time I get back to the beach, everyone is on the water - even Miyachi - so I have to tether launch. With a strange kite on a non-matching bar... joy! Despite my fears, it goes up without a problem. I check the trim - might be a tad over-sheeting but I've got grunt so I'm going for it...
Out onto the water with the Flydoor a-aaand... we're off! Nicely powered! I trim the kite a bit to ease the pressure on the bar...
What do I think of the Flite?
• Jumps are floaty and hang-time is great; height is very good but I think the Psycho get me up higher. Setting up for a jump - sheet in, point downwind a tad and pick up a bunch of speed, then send the kite and hang on!
• Landings are easy as the redirect is precise and the kite is quick.
• Turns fast makes great power in the loops!
• Stable - I really want to see it on a bar with a stopper and see how it compares to the Naish Fly.
• Very well behaved; even when fully depowered and sheeted right out, the kite responds to the bar and barely flutters the canopy.
• Upwind is great, working the kite makes power, it builds apparent wind quickly, you can park it real quick.
• Gusts don't bother it much, although it gets a tad twitchy - the tips jiggle a tiny bit. 4 struts and it's LIGHT so I guess the jiggling is to be expected... compared to a 7-strut Crossbow!
• Comparing it to the 16m XB... turns quicker; makes more power, easier, in loops; sheet'n'go is as easy; upwind is comparable, if not better; bottom end is perhaps better; top-end is marred by the twitching but probably comparable - depends on the accuracy of the weather station :-/ and the bar pressure is probably about the same...
• Things I want to change - the pulleys for sliders or Ronstan Orbits; the tube clips - are different to the Cabs - feel funny; low-flow pump valve - seriously?; big white panel in the canopy - my OCD can see the dirt there :(By far the most fun big kite I've used! I want the 15 and a razor 12 and 10 now :D
So anyway... I was loving it! Jumps were a hoot! Started doing back-rolls and they were working so well I started doing front-rolls and they were just awesome so I started doing back-roll transitions with a downloop to power out of them and they were so good I got into the downloop jump transitions and... dang I had fun! It all seemed so easy to do!
Luckily, the Master of Disaster did his thing (fly upwind on the race board) then got the hell off the lake. He was on an 11m Naish Charger. The Mistress of Disaster was doing her half-assed unhooked railey-to-assplant thing on her new 10m Switchblade Siren series (lassie, replacing your 2012 Envy isn't going to help) and was going back'n'forwards on the same tack - she couldn't really get upwind, it seemed. I had no issues ;) She left and it was just me and Miyachi on his 10m Reo and directional...
Having a great time on the Flydoor, easily going upwind no matter how many silly things I did... thought I'd swap to the 'radical. Also easy to do silly things then work back upwind :D awesome fun to be had!
I was getting pretty tired - hadn't eaten anything but a tomato advocado salad and a milkshake all day - but I was determined to be the last one on the lake. As the sun slipped below the horizon, Miyachi finally landed his kite and I followed suit.
So to sum up today...
Moment of the day was when I realized just how good the Flite is (or at least, how well suited to me it is) and then started throwing down :D
Mood of the session was cautious psyched exhausted.
It sucks when you realize you have to sell all your Crossbows!
Weather was reported as 7 to 10 knots, peak gust of 16 just before I got on the water about 3pm. 12.6°C at 54%.
Wind felt like 15 to 20 knots :o Seriously, the kite was pulling like a good 'un the whole session!
What I learned today...
• I have moments of genius. They may be few and far between, but when they're good, they're really good.
• The Flite is the right kite for me now and it ROCKS!
• I want my frickin' bar!!!
• It's so much easier to do stuff when you can rely on the kite! I'd find myself doing backroll downloop transitions and forget that I've done all that hard stuff and can just be enjoying carving away on the new tack!
• Might have to sell the Psycho too :o
• The drain holes work good - but I can feel cold water come in through them when I'm IN the water :( so I don't think I need more than the one.
There was a slight breeze and I was going to fiddle with the Pyscho4 again but somehow I got roped into fiddling with the Locus webcam - locus-biwako51.ddo.jp/ - which hasn't been working for weeks. Miyachi is about as tech-savvy as the missus... which is to say, not at all. I figured out pretty quick that the new camera he got for the system didn't have the same AV plug as the old one and Miyachi was trying to use the USB plug. I fiddled with the old camera and.. bingo! Got it working again :)
Miyachi was convinced the wind was on the way, so I went home and got my gear... put a drain hole in the legs of the whale scrot. Took the old 3/2 for Miyachi to fix the seams before I chop the legs off to make it a 3/4... while we were meddling, the wind kicked it up a knot and the Master of Disaster and Mistress of Disaster both headed over to the lake. Oh goody...
I had a moment of genius and remembered that ages ago I'd bought a set of Slingshot pigtails from Miyachi - they'll be prefect to convert the OR kite to work with the Cabrinha bar... so I take that over to the lake. In the back of my mind, I'm thinking I might have to have the Psycho4 19 too cos while we've got white caps, the waves aren't very big and the wind doesn't feel strong enough for a tube...
Ooh, it looks beautiful pumped up! Pigtails work - should be trimmed about right too... rush back to put the 'suit on. Jesus it's getting too hot for that thing but I want to test the drainage...
By the time I get back to the beach, everyone is on the water - even Miyachi - so I have to tether launch. With a strange kite on a non-matching bar... joy! Despite my fears, it goes up without a problem. I check the trim - might be a tad over-sheeting but I've got grunt so I'm going for it...
Out onto the water with the Flydoor a-aaand... we're off! Nicely powered! I trim the kite a bit to ease the pressure on the bar...
What do I think of the Flite?
• Jumps are floaty and hang-time is great; height is very good but I think the Psycho get me up higher. Setting up for a jump - sheet in, point downwind a tad and pick up a bunch of speed, then send the kite and hang on!
• Landings are easy as the redirect is precise and the kite is quick.
• Turns fast makes great power in the loops!
• Stable - I really want to see it on a bar with a stopper and see how it compares to the Naish Fly.
• Very well behaved; even when fully depowered and sheeted right out, the kite responds to the bar and barely flutters the canopy.
• Upwind is great, working the kite makes power, it builds apparent wind quickly, you can park it real quick.
• Gusts don't bother it much, although it gets a tad twitchy - the tips jiggle a tiny bit. 4 struts and it's LIGHT so I guess the jiggling is to be expected... compared to a 7-strut Crossbow!
• Comparing it to the 16m XB... turns quicker; makes more power, easier, in loops; sheet'n'go is as easy; upwind is comparable, if not better; bottom end is perhaps better; top-end is marred by the twitching but probably comparable - depends on the accuracy of the weather station :-/ and the bar pressure is probably about the same...
• Things I want to change - the pulleys for sliders or Ronstan Orbits; the tube clips - are different to the Cabs - feel funny; low-flow pump valve - seriously?; big white panel in the canopy - my OCD can see the dirt there :(By far the most fun big kite I've used! I want the 15 and a razor 12 and 10 now :D
So anyway... I was loving it! Jumps were a hoot! Started doing back-rolls and they were working so well I started doing front-rolls and they were just awesome so I started doing back-roll transitions with a downloop to power out of them and they were so good I got into the downloop jump transitions and... dang I had fun! It all seemed so easy to do!
Luckily, the Master of Disaster did his thing (fly upwind on the race board) then got the hell off the lake. He was on an 11m Naish Charger. The Mistress of Disaster was doing her half-assed unhooked railey-to-assplant thing on her new 10m Switchblade Siren series (lassie, replacing your 2012 Envy isn't going to help) and was going back'n'forwards on the same tack - she couldn't really get upwind, it seemed. I had no issues ;) She left and it was just me and Miyachi on his 10m Reo and directional...
Having a great time on the Flydoor, easily going upwind no matter how many silly things I did... thought I'd swap to the 'radical. Also easy to do silly things then work back upwind :D awesome fun to be had!
I was getting pretty tired - hadn't eaten anything but a tomato advocado salad and a milkshake all day - but I was determined to be the last one on the lake. As the sun slipped below the horizon, Miyachi finally landed his kite and I followed suit.
So to sum up today...
- Got a choco-mint milkshake
- Fixed the webcam
- Sorted the draining in the legs of the whale scrot - ju-uuust right
- Rocked the Flite til dark - like a boss
- Came home to find a job offer waiting for me
- Toasted cheese sandwiches for dinner
- Baskin Robbins ice cream for desert
Moment of the day was when I realized just how good the Flite is (or at least, how well suited to me it is) and then started throwing down :D
Mood of the session was cautious psyched exhausted.
It sucks when you realize you have to sell all your Crossbows!
Weather was reported as 7 to 10 knots, peak gust of 16 just before I got on the water about 3pm. 12.6°C at 54%.
Wind felt like 15 to 20 knots :o Seriously, the kite was pulling like a good 'un the whole session!
What I learned today...
• I have moments of genius. They may be few and far between, but when they're good, they're really good.
• The Flite is the right kite for me now and it ROCKS!
• I want my frickin' bar!!!
• It's so much easier to do stuff when you can rely on the kite! I'd find myself doing backroll downloop transitions and forget that I've done all that hard stuff and can just be enjoying carving away on the new tack!
• Might have to sell the Psycho too :o
• The drain holes work good - but I can feel cold water come in through them when I'm IN the water :( so I don't think I need more than the one.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Patience is its own reward
One homepage said the wind would be good till 3 p.m., the other said it'd be crap. The window showed no wind at all, not even moving the steam clouds from the factories. So we went to lunch at Stagione in Yasu and enjoyed great Italian food - as always.
About 12 I saw the leaves twitch. And flags flap. And grass fields sway... so I dumped the wife at home and headed down to the lake.
My plan was to play with the Ocean Rodeo Flite 17.5 but I had a nagging suspicion that they have their pigtail "back to front"... so I took it outa the bag - beautiful! but the pig tails ARE back the front. I toy with the idea of putting the pigtails on my Cabrinha bar back-to-front but they're really jammed in there and now the wind is up. I give up on it and drag the 16m Xbow over to the lake and set up...
Wriggle into the whale scrot. Choose the thinner gloves cos it's not that cold and the sun is out... stand around on the beach waiting for the wind.
It comes and goes. We get a bit of a ride then we wait some. It'd be good if it stayed around for more then 5 minutes. Then we get a good session... starting to feel a bit over-powered after a half hour or so, so I swap for the Flyradical and whaddyaknow? The wind dies...
Wait around a bit while everyone else packs up... once they've left though, the wind really picks up and we (me and skinny directional guy with the Park) have a really good hours play till what must be about 5 p.m. Wind was good and consistent - got some nice jumps with good grabs, phat back-rolls, neato jump and back-roll transitions and even throw down some front rolls!
Nice session, should keep the psychosis at bay for a while.
Moment of the Day was landing 2 very sweet front rolls!
Mood of the session was amused annoyed satisfied.
It sucks when your kite falls outa the sky and wraps around driftwood on the shore then turns itself upside and floats up into the sky.
Weather was reported as 10 to 15 knots, gusts no more than 26 knots (which was at 2 a.m.); 6°C at 54%.
Wind felt like 15 knots gusting to 20 but I couldn't get on the 'radical :(
What I learned today...
• You can't ride along with one foot out of the straps on the front of the board then put it back in after it falls out when jumping. You fall over. Which is a shame, cos it looks stylish.
• The Cab bar could do with a stopper. If you hold the bar carefully and keep the kite constantly turning it makes nice power... sheeting out during turns really kills the power.
• Grabs (that could be foot-outs) can be flown single-handed if you redirect gently pretty much the whole time after you get the board grabbed.
• Front-rolls need more power and less kite-sending... for now. Except the redirect for landing.
• I WANT MY Ocean Rodeo BAR fucking Chinese factory...
About 12 I saw the leaves twitch. And flags flap. And grass fields sway... so I dumped the wife at home and headed down to the lake.
My plan was to play with the Ocean Rodeo Flite 17.5 but I had a nagging suspicion that they have their pigtail "back to front"... so I took it outa the bag - beautiful! but the pig tails ARE back the front. I toy with the idea of putting the pigtails on my Cabrinha bar back-to-front but they're really jammed in there and now the wind is up. I give up on it and drag the 16m Xbow over to the lake and set up...
Wriggle into the whale scrot. Choose the thinner gloves cos it's not that cold and the sun is out... stand around on the beach waiting for the wind.
It comes and goes. We get a bit of a ride then we wait some. It'd be good if it stayed around for more then 5 minutes. Then we get a good session... starting to feel a bit over-powered after a half hour or so, so I swap for the Flyradical and whaddyaknow? The wind dies...
Wait around a bit while everyone else packs up... once they've left though, the wind really picks up and we (me and skinny directional guy with the Park) have a really good hours play till what must be about 5 p.m. Wind was good and consistent - got some nice jumps with good grabs, phat back-rolls, neato jump and back-roll transitions and even throw down some front rolls!
Nice session, should keep the psychosis at bay for a while.
Moment of the Day was landing 2 very sweet front rolls!
Mood of the session was amused annoyed satisfied.
It sucks when your kite falls outa the sky and wraps around driftwood on the shore then turns itself upside and floats up into the sky.
Weather was reported as 10 to 15 knots, gusts no more than 26 knots (which was at 2 a.m.); 6°C at 54%.
Wind felt like 15 knots gusting to 20 but I couldn't get on the 'radical :(
What I learned today...
• You can't ride along with one foot out of the straps on the front of the board then put it back in after it falls out when jumping. You fall over. Which is a shame, cos it looks stylish.
• The Cab bar could do with a stopper. If you hold the bar carefully and keep the kite constantly turning it makes nice power... sheeting out during turns really kills the power.
• Grabs (that could be foot-outs) can be flown single-handed if you redirect gently pretty much the whole time after you get the board grabbed.
• Front-rolls need more power and less kite-sending... for now. Except the redirect for landing.
• I WANT MY Ocean Rodeo BAR fucking Chinese factory...
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Luck of the Irish
So one weather forecast looked like weak crap but the other was cracking... I got myself sorted out and down to the lake (in the new kitemobile) just after 12:30-ish. It's looking ok - Miyachi says the morning was better...
Take the Psycho4 19 and Speed3 15 over to the beach with both the Flyboards... thinking the 19 should be good. So I rig up the ol' girl and launch without a hassle.
Out onto the water, with the Flyradical. Mess around trimming the kite and getting the hang of a Flysurfer again - been a while. Struggle for a bit to get upwind much... then the wind drops. I blame Miyachi, cos he just turned up on the beach with his kite.
Switch to the Flydoor and get into a groove, working upwind and throwing some jumps... then the wind kicks it up a notch! Swap back to the 'radical.
Now we're starting to have some fun! Jumps are fun but the kite is fully depowered and I'm fighting hard to go upwind... thinking maybe I should go the 15 but don't want to stop.
Have fun for an hour then the gusts start getting uncontrollable... this one time, I'm heading out way past our beach and the marina and get hit by a good gust. I start rocketing off towards Otsu and it doesn't look like it'll quit - so I boost :D ooh, it's a good 'un too! Shame I didn't land it...
So it goes, for a while. Fighting the gusts, jumping when I can... get pulled off my edge a lot.
Miyachi has landed his kite and I'm thinking I might be due to give it up too... when a gust hits again. I jump, get elevatored but bork the landing... then the gusts REALLY hits! My head is underwater and I feel the kite pulling like crazy and it's heading into the eye of the power zone - so I pull the safety.
Well.
I come up out of the water to see the kite goes to safety fine - then the line breaks (twice as it turns out) and the kite goes sailing!
I'm over 2 line lengths from the beach, the beach is about 100m from the trees, the trees line the road, the road is in front of a YMCA camping grounds with cabins, and that's in front of a paddy field - in front of some guys house...
The kite (completely folded in half) clears the trees, the road (thank god!), the trees and cabins in the camping ground, and comes to rest in the paddy field - just in front of the guys house. Ho-lee-shee-it!
Miyachi bolts after it and I fight my way out of the water and follow him... down the road, into the camping ground... then I lose Miyachi. He hollers from the field and I make a right turn to find him.
Roll up the kite and lines... amazingly, I can't see any tears. We walk back to Locus and I lay the kite out and untangle the lines (about 2 minutes!) and give the kite a once over - I can't see any tears or holes!
So, missed the road and cars, missed all the buildings and trees... woo and hoo!
Moment of the day was boosting out of the speed run :D
Mood of the session was ooh ahh eek.
It sucks when your safety line breaks.
Weather was reported as 12 to 18 knots, with gusts to 30 :o 4 °C at 50%.
Wind felt like 10% blarg, 40% ooh, 30% yeah and 20% OMFG!
What I learned today...
• NeoWork gloves work just fine and don't stress my fingers/forearms. 5mm and sort of lined and warm enough!
• They've got holes in the side though that let the water in. Not a huge issue cos I'm a heater in my spare time - check out the sweat in my boots!
• Tip-clapping on landings - diving the kite then riding at it is the cause... either edging harder on landing, jumping more vertical and landing slower, or just leaving the kite 'up' when you finish the jump is the solution.
• Think I need to research the mixer... kite is back-stally on full trim and doesn't want to drive upwind unless it's trimmed out some.
• DEFINITELY need to fix the FDS... that'll learn me for being lazy and not adding the 5th line from my old Switch bar.
Take the Psycho4 19 and Speed3 15 over to the beach with both the Flyboards... thinking the 19 should be good. So I rig up the ol' girl and launch without a hassle.
Out onto the water, with the Flyradical. Mess around trimming the kite and getting the hang of a Flysurfer again - been a while. Struggle for a bit to get upwind much... then the wind drops. I blame Miyachi, cos he just turned up on the beach with his kite.
Switch to the Flydoor and get into a groove, working upwind and throwing some jumps... then the wind kicks it up a notch! Swap back to the 'radical.
Now we're starting to have some fun! Jumps are fun but the kite is fully depowered and I'm fighting hard to go upwind... thinking maybe I should go the 15 but don't want to stop.
Have fun for an hour then the gusts start getting uncontrollable... this one time, I'm heading out way past our beach and the marina and get hit by a good gust. I start rocketing off towards Otsu and it doesn't look like it'll quit - so I boost :D ooh, it's a good 'un too! Shame I didn't land it...
So it goes, for a while. Fighting the gusts, jumping when I can... get pulled off my edge a lot.
Miyachi has landed his kite and I'm thinking I might be due to give it up too... when a gust hits again. I jump, get elevatored but bork the landing... then the gusts REALLY hits! My head is underwater and I feel the kite pulling like crazy and it's heading into the eye of the power zone - so I pull the safety.
Well.
I come up out of the water to see the kite goes to safety fine - then the line breaks (twice as it turns out) and the kite goes sailing!
I'm over 2 line lengths from the beach, the beach is about 100m from the trees, the trees line the road, the road is in front of a YMCA camping grounds with cabins, and that's in front of a paddy field - in front of some guys house...
The kite (completely folded in half) clears the trees, the road (thank god!), the trees and cabins in the camping ground, and comes to rest in the paddy field - just in front of the guys house. Ho-lee-shee-it!
Miyachi bolts after it and I fight my way out of the water and follow him... down the road, into the camping ground... then I lose Miyachi. He hollers from the field and I make a right turn to find him.
Roll up the kite and lines... amazingly, I can't see any tears. We walk back to Locus and I lay the kite out and untangle the lines (about 2 minutes!) and give the kite a once over - I can't see any tears or holes!
So, missed the road and cars, missed all the buildings and trees... woo and hoo!
 |
| Me on the 19, pre its trip over the trees |
 |
| To give you an idea of how tall the trees are! |
 |
| Flight path from lake to paddy field... |
Moment of the day was boosting out of the speed run :D
Mood of the session was ooh ahh eek.
It sucks when your safety line breaks.
Weather was reported as 12 to 18 knots, with gusts to 30 :o 4 °C at 50%.
Wind felt like 10% blarg, 40% ooh, 30% yeah and 20% OMFG!
What I learned today...
• NeoWork gloves work just fine and don't stress my fingers/forearms. 5mm and sort of lined and warm enough!
• They've got holes in the side though that let the water in. Not a huge issue cos I'm a heater in my spare time - check out the sweat in my boots!
• Tip-clapping on landings - diving the kite then riding at it is the cause... either edging harder on landing, jumping more vertical and landing slower, or just leaving the kite 'up' when you finish the jump is the solution.
• Think I need to research the mixer... kite is back-stally on full trim and doesn't want to drive upwind unless it's trimmed out some.
• DEFINITELY need to fix the FDS... that'll learn me for being lazy and not adding the 5th line from my old Switch bar.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Long way back home
Went to Hamamatsu for the long weekend and took the gear, but once again I got let down by off-shore wind. Water was lovely and flat though...
Headed home early today hoping to catch an afternoon session on the lake. Snow over the hills into Shiga gave way to blue skies - kinda - so I ditched the wife as fast as possible and flew off to the lake in the new K-wagon; probably arriving about 2:30pm.
I see kites up but they're big ones - GlovesGuy has his 15 up... doesn't bode well for the forecast which should have seen us big guys on 10m kites :(
Gear up and drag my XB16 and boards over to the lake. Yeah, this should be ok... pump it up and jump onto the water with the Flyradical.
Back'n'forth... hmm, need more. Swap to the Flydoor then the wind drops a little and then some more. I struggle back'n'forth again for a while cos hey I'm desperate.
By the time the wind picks up a bit later, I'm ready for it but my hands are starting to fail... f**kin' gloves! Do what I can but by the time everyone else is packing up I can barely hold the bar :(
As we're packing up, the snow that had been constantly falling picks up and makes all my gear soggy. Nice.
Moment of the day was firstly getting out on the water and then still riding (barely) when the others were packing up - I got the light wind skills? Maybe.
Mood of the session was satisfied, puzzled, joyful exhaustion.
It sucks when the spirit is willing but the flesh is a big girl's blouse.
Weather was reported as 9 to 15 knots, 1˚C at 85%. Gusts to 24 knots at 4:30...
Wind felt like it should have had more power.
What I learned today...
• The 5mm fleece-lined gloves have to go... surely they're unnecessary? I took them off to pack up and although my hands were really cold, they weren't that bad - I'm guessing cos the rest of me was so hot.
• XB and loops... not much point, really. Except when you get that magic point and it does the business.
• Could have gotten away with a Flysurfer today - wind was up'n'down but not punchy at all.
Headed home early today hoping to catch an afternoon session on the lake. Snow over the hills into Shiga gave way to blue skies - kinda - so I ditched the wife as fast as possible and flew off to the lake in the new K-wagon; probably arriving about 2:30pm.
I see kites up but they're big ones - GlovesGuy has his 15 up... doesn't bode well for the forecast which should have seen us big guys on 10m kites :(
Gear up and drag my XB16 and boards over to the lake. Yeah, this should be ok... pump it up and jump onto the water with the Flyradical.
Back'n'forth... hmm, need more. Swap to the Flydoor then the wind drops a little and then some more. I struggle back'n'forth again for a while cos hey I'm desperate.
By the time the wind picks up a bit later, I'm ready for it but my hands are starting to fail... f**kin' gloves! Do what I can but by the time everyone else is packing up I can barely hold the bar :(
As we're packing up, the snow that had been constantly falling picks up and makes all my gear soggy. Nice.
Moment of the day was firstly getting out on the water and then still riding (barely) when the others were packing up - I got the light wind skills? Maybe.
Mood of the session was satisfied, puzzled, joyful exhaustion.
It sucks when the spirit is willing but the flesh is a big girl's blouse.
Weather was reported as 9 to 15 knots, 1˚C at 85%. Gusts to 24 knots at 4:30...
Wind felt like it should have had more power.
What I learned today...
• The 5mm fleece-lined gloves have to go... surely they're unnecessary? I took them off to pack up and although my hands were really cold, they weren't that bad - I'm guessing cos the rest of me was so hot.
• XB and loops... not much point, really. Except when you get that magic point and it does the business.
• Could have gotten away with a Flysurfer today - wind was up'n'down but not punchy at all.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Lunch time loony toons
A good forecast today, but NW so it'll be interesting to see if the nasty gusty season is over...
Trot down the lake about 11:30 with a plan to get set up at a very relaxed pace. Turkey is there, going for a run?!?! He has to work at 1 so he's leaving... I've got the place to myself.
Wind looks good. 13 should be ok, wondering if I'd need the 10. By the time I've geared up (12 o'clock annoying neighborhood chimes go off as I leave the carpark) and gotten to the beach, the wind is definitely 13m weather. Should be ok with the small board.
Rig up and launch with my new Contour Roam2 on the line mount... but when I dragged it across the ground to self-launch, it got knocked around and the front loops have come off the mount - it's stuck halfway up the lines. Hook into the landing anchor and sort it out...
Into the water with the Flyradical. Wind is cross to just cross-on and not actually that strong. I ride, but go downwind a little if I jump.
Then it ramps up... holy crap! It's still up'n'down some so I elect to ride out the insane gusts with the 13 and cross my fingers. And battle upwind so I can try my jumps out... Mmm, well they're ok. Not very controlled cos the wind is so jerky. I pootle around for a while, then the wind drops right off again... a short walk up the beach and I land the kite.
Stand around for a bit but it doesn't look like it's coming back and my arms and legs start aching. I got paperwork to do anyway... pack up and head back home.
Back in the car by 2:15pm so probably had about 90 minutes on the water... can't decide if it felt longer or shorter! It was a bit mad!
Moment of the day was trying to do a beach jump-start. Didn't work but I was amused.
Mood of the session was confident suddenly-not-so-sure oh-crap.
It sucks when the wind is gusting from sinking to being yanked off the board.
Song stuck in my head was "Two outa three ain't bad" by Meatloaf.
Weather was reported as 16 to 22 knots, gusts to 38 :o 3.5˚C at 50% from the NW. Cross to cross on-shore...
Wind felt like I was under-powered and over-powered in equal parts, with small mixes of totally insane.
What I learned today...
• Dust does get under the Contour button and lens seal :( will buy a spray can of air cleaner..
• Lens seems to be easily scratched too! We'll see what the footage is like.
• Might have had more fun on the 10m. Except for the silly lulls.
• Still nasty gusty season :( but at least I'm warm!
Trot down the lake about 11:30 with a plan to get set up at a very relaxed pace. Turkey is there, going for a run?!?! He has to work at 1 so he's leaving... I've got the place to myself.
Wind looks good. 13 should be ok, wondering if I'd need the 10. By the time I've geared up (12 o'clock annoying neighborhood chimes go off as I leave the carpark) and gotten to the beach, the wind is definitely 13m weather. Should be ok with the small board.
Rig up and launch with my new Contour Roam2 on the line mount... but when I dragged it across the ground to self-launch, it got knocked around and the front loops have come off the mount - it's stuck halfway up the lines. Hook into the landing anchor and sort it out...
Into the water with the Flyradical. Wind is cross to just cross-on and not actually that strong. I ride, but go downwind a little if I jump.
Then it ramps up... holy crap! It's still up'n'down some so I elect to ride out the insane gusts with the 13 and cross my fingers. And battle upwind so I can try my jumps out... Mmm, well they're ok. Not very controlled cos the wind is so jerky. I pootle around for a while, then the wind drops right off again... a short walk up the beach and I land the kite.
Stand around for a bit but it doesn't look like it's coming back and my arms and legs start aching. I got paperwork to do anyway... pack up and head back home.
Back in the car by 2:15pm so probably had about 90 minutes on the water... can't decide if it felt longer or shorter! It was a bit mad!
Moment of the day was trying to do a beach jump-start. Didn't work but I was amused.
Mood of the session was confident suddenly-not-so-sure oh-crap.
It sucks when the wind is gusting from sinking to being yanked off the board.
Song stuck in my head was "Two outa three ain't bad" by Meatloaf.
Weather was reported as 16 to 22 knots, gusts to 38 :o 3.5˚C at 50% from the NW. Cross to cross on-shore...
Wind felt like I was under-powered and over-powered in equal parts, with small mixes of totally insane.
What I learned today...
• Dust does get under the Contour button and lens seal :( will buy a spray can of air cleaner..
• Lens seems to be easily scratched too! We'll see what the footage is like.
• Might have had more fun on the 10m. Except for the silly lulls.
• Still nasty gusty season :( but at least I'm warm!
Sunday, January 20, 2013
It got better as time went on
Supposed to be a good forecast yesterday, they downgraded it to meh today... but the trees were twitching so after lunch out (had smaller potiorns this time!) went to the lake. Probably got there about 1:30pm, eyed the weather and took the 16 to the lake and pumped it up... based on the forecast. I was worrying that I'd actually need my 13 but by the time I got changed, it had dropped and by the time I got on the water, it dropped again.
And so it continued for the afternoon. We all (Gloves Man, Surf-Skater Dude, Turkey, Lexus Stud) struggled to get out and ride when the gusts came then splashed around when they left. Surf-Skater Dude gave up and went home... Junkie Sensei turned up and set up his 12. I thought he was mad. But he might know something...
Stood around on the beach looking at the horizon, thinking I might pack it in... the wind came back so I gave it another shot. Rode well for a bit then it dropped again and I thought I might pack it in... the wind came back so I gave it another shot. No that's not a typo :(
It stuck around this time, so we rode on for what felt like 90 minutes or so. It were gooder :D but I was already tired and now my forearms are killing me so my efforts are limited.
A few good jumps, some good back-rolls, even some front-rolls. Loop transitions too. Crikey! I enjoyed the face-plants cos the water was cool and refreshing. I didn't enjoying missing my footing on the board and being dragged at a giant log and into rocks underwater in front of it - got a boo-boo on my toe.
Wind was shifting from NNW to NNE but was reasonably gentle in its gusts; ie. not punchy. Might be time for the Speeds again... cos I'm not loving the XB16 today :( especially not all the bar pressure and limited range of usefulness.
Was the last off the water though, got changed then packed up in the dark... about 5:45. God I'm knackered!
Moment of the day was getting my mojo back on big phat backrolls.
Mood of the session mellow annoyed happy.
Song stuck in my head was "Cherry Pie" by Warrant (WT actual F?!?!) cos that line "cool drink of water" got jammed in my head. Thanks 93.1FM you assholes.
It sucks when you're so thirsty you have to force yourself to spit out the lake water :o
Weather was reported as 10-16 knots from 1 to 5pm, gusts to 26 at 3; 70% at 5˚C.
Wind felt like 10-15 knots with gusts to 20. It was shit til after 3 though...
What I learned today...
• XB16 didn't want to work with the 'radical, even when I was over-powered slightly on the 'door. Maybe it was just the up'n'down nature of the wind... maybe it's just too big and slow.
• Bar pressure was horrid with the 5mm gloves.
• I think I would have had more fun with the S3 15 or the P4 19.
• MUST put drain holes on big suit! The only thing nastier than elephant legs, rolling your boots off and having lukewarm water trickle out, is rolling your boots off and having buckets of sweat gush out... Oh god I'll never piss in wetsuit again :-/
• Lace straps on the Flydoor are a bit of a fail too. Tough to adjust with the gloves on...
And so it continued for the afternoon. We all (Gloves Man, Surf-Skater Dude, Turkey, Lexus Stud) struggled to get out and ride when the gusts came then splashed around when they left. Surf-Skater Dude gave up and went home... Junkie Sensei turned up and set up his 12. I thought he was mad. But he might know something...
Stood around on the beach looking at the horizon, thinking I might pack it in... the wind came back so I gave it another shot. Rode well for a bit then it dropped again and I thought I might pack it in... the wind came back so I gave it another shot. No that's not a typo :(
It stuck around this time, so we rode on for what felt like 90 minutes or so. It were gooder :D but I was already tired and now my forearms are killing me so my efforts are limited.
A few good jumps, some good back-rolls, even some front-rolls. Loop transitions too. Crikey! I enjoyed the face-plants cos the water was cool and refreshing. I didn't enjoying missing my footing on the board and being dragged at a giant log and into rocks underwater in front of it - got a boo-boo on my toe.
Wind was shifting from NNW to NNE but was reasonably gentle in its gusts; ie. not punchy. Might be time for the Speeds again... cos I'm not loving the XB16 today :( especially not all the bar pressure and limited range of usefulness.
Was the last off the water though, got changed then packed up in the dark... about 5:45. God I'm knackered!
Moment of the day was getting my mojo back on big phat backrolls.
Mood of the session mellow annoyed happy.
Song stuck in my head was "Cherry Pie" by Warrant (WT actual F?!?!) cos that line "cool drink of water" got jammed in my head. Thanks 93.1FM you assholes.
It sucks when you're so thirsty you have to force yourself to spit out the lake water :o
Weather was reported as 10-16 knots from 1 to 5pm, gusts to 26 at 3; 70% at 5˚C.
Wind felt like 10-15 knots with gusts to 20. It was shit til after 3 though...
What I learned today...
• XB16 didn't want to work with the 'radical, even when I was over-powered slightly on the 'door. Maybe it was just the up'n'down nature of the wind... maybe it's just too big and slow.
• Bar pressure was horrid with the 5mm gloves.
• I think I would have had more fun with the S3 15 or the P4 19.
• MUST put drain holes on big suit! The only thing nastier than elephant legs, rolling your boots off and having lukewarm water trickle out, is rolling your boots off and having buckets of sweat gush out... Oh god I'll never piss in wetsuit again :-/
• Lace straps on the Flydoor are a bit of a fail too. Tough to adjust with the gloves on...
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