Mo' riding mo' video

Ugh, so sick but...must...ride...foil...must...be competent...before...summer...

Take the 15 and the 12 to the beach, but opt for the 12 as it's supposed to be pick up...it does, and it also dies right off, but in between and after I have a good time riding and hamming it up for the ROAM2. Expect video after the .dmg for Final Cut takes 6 months to mount and install.

Weather report said 5 to 15 knots, gusts to 20. But that was 20km north in Hikone; I think we had 8 to 16, dropping to 3 or 4 in that big lull...

Pride Goeth

Good forecast in the morning, dying off in the p.m... I bum-rushed the ocean beach at Tsu when the wife finished her horsing around in the morning. Got there about 1, set the board up as the other guys were leaving. Decided on the 12m Speed3 because...well, James inspired me and I wanted to check it's range.

Mmm, might be a bit much. Whee! boing test has a lot of pop...suck it up bitch!

Turns out to be good, but oh my! the turbulence in the ocean is more aggressive than the lake swell; I get bounced around and have a hard time foiling out.

Struggle out, get away from the waves and have a nice time for about an hour. I make barely any gybes though, and I feel very out of sorts...

Decide on a break to mount the camera (says GoPro in the tags, but is actually the ROAM2), as I figure I've gathered all the mojo I'm going to.

Oh shit, the wind has dropped and continues to drop until I'm floundering and swearing...not a good look. Give up in disgust.

Weather report says 15 falling to 8 knots; the station at the yacht club was saying 14 when I arrived and SFA when I left. Range on the 12 is good, but it needs extensions.

Enjoy the vid... No audio because iMovie iSucks.

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Yesterday's epic is today's gravy

 Good forecast that delivered for a change. The FSer crew was in town, but I didn't get to snarf any gear :(

Instead, I got some riding with my 10m Crossbow... Works fine on Dialer. I think. Even got some ju,oing in, but it was gusty enough for me to chicken out and resort to straight jackin'!

10m weather used to be epic, but now it's just a good day. I must be getting spoilt.

Got some footage too... 6 months later, you might see it.

Punch-drunk like a short dude

When I was writing yesterday's blog, I happened to spot the forecast for today - holy epic goodness, Batman! Much anticipation...

In the morning, checked the hourly data - WTF 12 knots? Locus webcam looks great though. Pack the car with the Xbow's and add the S3 15 just in case. Seems unnecessary on arrival, as it looks like we got the goods when I get to the lake! Hump the 13 and 10 and both Flyboards over to the beach...

Pump up the 10 so it can dry out and contemplate using it. Mmm, seems like the wind has dropped... rig the 13 instead. Self-launch with the anchor, too easy - the wind has gone? Oh well, try the 'radical anyway.

Off and riding but just holding ground for a while. The wind is up'n'down - mostly down - then REALLY picks up and gusts like a mother. Punchy like a drunken short guy who thinks you're hitting on his ex-wife. I really should be on the 10... but am too lazy to change. Play with the trim a lot.

Have the GoPro on the kite so do some showing off... and get slammed a lot :D once the wind has picked up, it gets too risky to try anything cos I'm getting dumped or yoinked or just pulled of my edge :-/ so I go back to playing with waves and trying to boost big.

Keep trying to spot if the camera is still recording - can't see the red light. Tone it down a bit cos I'm getting tired and there's no point in getting worked over if it's not on film. Enjoy some cruising carving rides - when the wind isn't trying to jerk me into the beach - and the flat water areas.

Wondering what the time is, feeling tired... I head into pack up. Self-land with the anchor but the wind is so gusty that it just won't sit in one spot. Le sigh... at least the GoPro is still recording. Although there's a spot of goddamn fog on it!

Called the weather "crappy" cos it was just ridiculous, trying to ride out the gusts and all the punchy shit in between. Would have been "epic" if it was smoother...

---

Moment of the day was realizing the camera had actually recorded the whole thing!
Mood of the session was puzzled battered annoyed.
It sucks when you're trying to show off for the camera but just get slammed instead.

Weather was reported as 14-15 knots (BULLSHIT) with gusts to 28; 19°C at 55%.
Wind felt like it was fucking retarded. Underpowered to stupidly overpowered.

What I learned today...
• The height you get from jumps when stupidly overpowered isn't that much more than powered. On the XB, at least. The Speed3s are more rewarding of your boneheaded courage.
• Maybe I just need to work on my technique? ... still!
• Really need to work on back-rolls in the other direction.
• And front-rolls. In both directions.
• Footouts need work - getting knees up high enough is difficult with the wetsuit, harness, and stomach in the way :-/
• Seems I'm out of sorts with the 13 XB or may be just the LEIs - first time I've used them since Thailand!
• Fucking fogging up GoPro - there's a whole sheet of desiccant in the case!!! It's viewable, but not crystal clear.
• But the battery lasted for 120 minutes - not bad!
• Kite below 45º to edge against it, above for lift. Very easy to feel with the LEI...
• But you don't get to go upwind so well as the Speeds when fighting against the overpower.
• Self-land with an anchor - if the kite won't behave, hold the nearest-the-ground steering line and walk to the kite - it should sit in place.

In the Morning ...

You can sail the seven seas!

Took 3 hours off this morning cos it was supposed to be crankin', yo! Well it wasn't. But it was punchy as hell instead 0_o started off trying to ride the S3 15 but it was lulling below its capabilities. So I ran back across the road and got out the 21 but it ended up gusting above its capabilities; so it was survival kiteboarding mode. Me versus the Norwester. Came out as a draw ... and I have a horrible feeling that the moment of the day was NOT captured by the GoPro :-/
Yep, confirmed ... damned battery!

So started off underpowered, but fighting gusts, trying to get away from the beach on the Flyradical. The wind came and went and came back with a vengeance; by which time I'd swapped to the Flydoor then back to the 'radical again ...

The Master of Disaster has arrived and will be raceboarding ... after he figures out how to relaunch his kite.

The jumps get better ... then, I got on the elevator - from hell! Up, up some more, then again and - oh wow I can see INTO the carpark that's behind the 20m-tall trees! Now I'm finally going down but wait what - I'm flying backwards?!?! I can actively feel the kite flying into the wind :o Try to redirect the kite on the way down but leave it too late so sorta dunk my bum then ride off ... does that count? +1 for me!

That was fun so I keep riding, but the gusts are nasty - the next big one shoots me off across the lake at Warp Factor 5 and I end up pulled forwards spinning around, miles downwind from my board. +1 for the wind :(

Keep riding for a while more but it's getting a bit mad, and I think it might be close to pack-up time ... I land the kite just as Miyachi comes over the road and he lands me - nice!

Pack up the 21, go to pack up the 15 but it's put a wingtip through a bridle while I left it laid out on the beach, so I untangle that then head on home. Hmm, I think I should come back after work and see if I can get some satisfaction ... wind is supposed to be more stable in the PM.

UPDATE 20/05/2012
I stand corrected! Good ol' GoPro! It was the whacky file-naming convention that threw me off ... I DID get the massive jump, all fogged up though it is. Looks like nothing special on the video :( nuts!




Mood of the Session was frustrated psyched shell-shocked.

Moment of the Day was the elevator ride from hell ... then flying backwards. Now I know what the gliding guys do ... and I think I can handle it - over nice soft water, anyway!

Weather was reported as 9 to 12 knots (LOL what-evah!) at 18°C 61% with gusts no more than 20knots. I think Hikone was a bit sheltered today ...
Wind felt like it was trying to kill me or make me pack up in disgust.

What I learned today ...
• Make sure you have ALL the bridles around the right way before you unattach lines and manually loop the end of the bridles through other bits of the bridle :-/
• Face-first into the water at speed ... doesn't matter if you close your eyes, the water is getting in anyway :o but you can still tell which way is up and keep the kite under control at the zenith :D use the force, Luke!
• When you're flying backwards, redirect sooner so the kite has time to pull you forwards.

Summer 2011 - The Movie!

And just in case YouTube screws my awesome soundtrack, here's the Vimeo link - http://vimeo.com/31545138

This one's for Marco

Noticed yesterday the forecast looked good so I thought I'd skip Mie and hold out for Locus today. Worked out fine! Wind was supposed to arrive at 3pm and it obliged for a change.

Took the 12 and 21 Speed3's across to the beach and started out with the 12 up ... wind was up and down right on the bottom end, so I could get up for a bit but couldn't get riding. I wasn't alone. Then it started raining so I kept the kite up to dry it out once it stopped raining but it didn't happen. I pulled out the 21 instead.

For about 15 minutes I'll nicely powered with the Flyradical then the wind picks up and I just have to depower the monster foil. I've done something to the tip bridle on the LHS (knot) so it looks a bit odd. I play with the trim a bit today but basically, I'm consistently over-powered :D not a bad thing!

Make out with some jumps and rotations, all easy and fine. Get comfy, try some big jumps ... leaving the kite behind me works better - you can feel the rotation around the kite and feel when you need to redirect better. I reckon. Still got dunked a lot though!

Repeat ad infinitum. Rode on till dark. Had to hang around waiting for Miyachi to land me cos the beach was full of kites (two of 'em) and the wind was well up - sheeting-in meant I'd go for a hover :o

Moment of the Day was boosting that "big" jump and feeling what's going on up there and doing the right thing at the right time.

Wind strength was recorded as only 10 to 12 knots. That's ain't right!

What I learned today ...
• You can't carry your Speed3 down the beach by a wing tip - now I have to untangle it :(
• Don't listen to anybody else - decide on your kite size on your own.
• Speed3 21 has fantastic wind range. For me, anyway.
• The 12 is very fast across the window and makes some easy jumps ... it's going to be a monster!
• I need a 15 :D

Better 'n nowt

Bah humbug. Back to work ... waste of my kiting time, that is. Had an early start though and got to the lake at 4pm. Wind looked good, but Miyachi said it was up and down. I took the 16 and 13m Crossbow over the road, as well as my Flydoor and the Flyradical with the adjusted footpads and straps.

Measured the wind at the shore line and it was good (see below) and had me second-guessing my choice of kite. I ended up putting my trust in GPV and going with the 16, trusting that the wind would drop off - it did and it was a good decision.

Added the GoPro to the line mount ...

Just-powered on launch, riding crosswind only cos the wind had dropped by the time I'd finished setup. Tried to do 3 back rolls in the light wind - only just possible on the 3rd attempt! Wind picks up after a couple of tacks though and we're off! Comfy for a while then we get some more and it's good fun - big jumps! Try some front rolls ... no joy. Splash down, lose the board ... not working today! And alas, the GoPro seems to have turned itself off  :(  in the end I only got 13 minutes of footage and missed some really good bits ... damn it!

Wind is up and down ... gusty as hell! Have to walk a few times in the lulls and in between got battered a bit.
Got onto the Flyradical for a bit at the end of the session - the moved footpads are better, much less spray to the face although I can still feel it hitting my back leg. Also like the feel of the footpads further up my foot better too. Board still feels skittish underfoot ... I need more time on it :( problem is, I can only ride it when I'm over-powered on the kite I have up! Feels too light under foot too - like it's not there :D

Wind was dropping again and had a fight to keep the kite in the air and get back to shore ... so I decided to call it a day. Must have been just after 6pm ...

Moment of the Day was throwing a good sized back-loop, pulling with my back hand and not getting spanked :D

Wind speed was recorded as 5m/s falling to 4m/s at 7pm with gusts of 12m/s. My trusty $10 eBay anemometer recorded 6 to 10m/s when I arrived at the beach and it went up and down from there. There was one point when I was like "Oh crap I might have to land the 16" but that lasted on a few minutes ... so I feel it was averaging 7-8m/s.

What I learned today ...
• The water is starting to cool off ... I'm still fine in shorts'n't-shirt though.
• Back-rolls are mastered :D well, riding up a wave/chop versions are - I need to move on to flat-water boosts.
• Front-rolls ... need work!

Southerlies at Mie again

Good looking forecast so we loaded up the car and the wife and I went to Mie - southerlies and salt-water!

Slather myself in sunblock before we leave in the hope that the extra time soaking in will protect me :D load up the car - 2 Flyboards, 1 Silbpfeil and 2 Crossbows. Onward!

Arrive about 1:30pm and the wind looks good! HUGE turn-out! I count 22 kites in the air, on the water and more setting up! The tide is right out and towards the university, a sand bar has created a second beach ... never seen that before. Mind you, I've never seen twenty kites at one spot before either :o

Measured the wind ... 6-ish, gusting regular to 9m/s - 12 to 18 knots. Hmm, tough call - I decide to go with the 16m Crossbow and damn my girly fingers! Lots of sizes out, from 15 to 9 ... TT's and directionals ...

Set up, struggle to find space on the beach. Hook up the GoPro for a change. In the air, into the water! No worries. Nicely powered, good choice ... so far. The big 'bow is slow though and I blow jumps non-stop. Chop seems bad but I get used to it after a couple of hours. There's a nice calm patch of water down one end of the beach - good for proper flat-water load'n'pop to jumps but watch out for the Surf Life Saving swimmer festival thingy.

Have some fun with transitions, 'wave riding' ho ho ho, jumping and water starts - finally getting the "board-is-behind-me-but-I-send-the-kite-and-pop-out-and-ride-away" nailed and the wife got one on video! I'm showing off for the camera - or trying to - so there's good entertainment value in the wipe-outs. After about 90 minutes, I slam a good one and the GoPro comes off the lines. Ride in and try to sort it out on the beach but my lines get tangled around boards that people have dumped all over the beach >:( decide to give the GoPro to the wife, have a drink then go back out.

Wind has steadily picked up during the day and I'm starting to feel over-powered. I'm also getting tired, so my pops are weak and I'm getting spanked cos I can't put the effort into controlling things. Then the wind picks up more and I'm getting lofted from just sheeting in ... I decide to call it a day. I'm one of the last on the water anyway ;) pity, cos I was finally getting in the groove dealing with the chop - either that or the wind was blowing it flat.

Come in, pack up and a local goes out on a 2011 Crossbow 13 ... I get my anemometer from the car - constant 10m/s gusting to 15! No wonder I was over-powered! Glad I made the effort to go, even though I felt a bit wrecked and burned from the day or so before.

Moment of the Day was losing my hat then finding it a half hour later ... only to lose it again!

Wind speed was recorded as 7.0 to 9.9 m/s, with a peak gust of 13.4m/s at 5pm, just after I packed it in. I was recording up to 15.4 at that time ...

What I learned today ...
• Rubbing sunblock into your hair WILL protect your scalp - I lost my hat but didn't get burned. Best to lay down a nice thick base before you head out too ...
• 'Drying' out the GoPro in the car's air con is the recipe for fog-free recording - at least on the line mount.
• No matter how steady, secure and free-moving the tripod, Cameraman O can still make it look like it was operated by a palsied drunk in an earthquake. Crikey.
• It's time to try rotations. Body made some attempts but brain aborted before the launch.
• 16m isn't as bad as I thought it was - maybe I was just out of shape. Hands hurt and have callouses though ...!
• Sharks - still awesome!
• Jumps go better if you're facing the direction you're going ... just be aware of the kite position, don't let it get too far behind you.

Whee!BoingVer2.0

Forecast was looking like 10 to 15 knots so it was all go for the lake. Thinking it'd be a 16m Crossbow kind of day, with the Flyradical and the GoPro on the new KiteHero board mount. Checked the webcam at 4pm and Grandpa was out on his 9m ... crikey!

Got to the lake about 4:30 after spending 120 seconds screaming at the unnecessary roadworks that drive up my blood pressure and fuel taxes and peaked through the trees ... people were coming in on their 11's and 10's and going on 7's :o all I have in the boot is my 16 & 13m Crossbow ... this could be fun.

Put the 13 on my back, the Flyradical under one arm and the Flydoor under the other - options, you know. Head over the road, pump up, gaze with deer-in-the-headlight eyes at the wind ... crikey! Good turn out today, pretty busy out on the water. Lot of kites on the beach too. The Slingshots seem to have been breeding too - there like 3 RPM's now. The Master of Disaster is boosting huge airs and "woohoo!"ing - it's the one thing he does half-good, aside from taking people out.

Auntie tries to talk me out of launching the 13 but I convince her that I am NOT going home for my 10 - and anyway, I've cheated and rigged the kite on the last knots of the rear-lines' bridle :D yes I know I know ... thank you Plummet & Peter. Forecast was supposed to peak at 4pm then drop off at sunset - which it did so I feel vindicated.

It's a very odd thing ... there's a heap of wind, the kite pulls hard but also depowers at a twitch of the wrist. Hmm, should have gone for the regular knots cos I'm constantly pulling the bar in. Oh well, too late - get riding while the riding is good.

Big jumps both directions, I got my mojo on and am having mad fun going as hard as I can, landing what feels like most of them and riding the waves. The small board is still giving me trouble though, it's so not the 'door :D Wind is gusty and the water is choppy but it's great fun!

Get spanked once or twice, can't remember why now but I do remember getting slapped by the water and thinking "Hey that felt just like falling off the 3m diving board!". Get some nice toeside riding in and smack a few wave-faces with accompanying cackles. Got a few really good aerial transitions in too, starting off as a 2m jump then sending it back ...

Damned GoPro lens has a fog spot in the center grr seriously annoying. I leave it and it seems to be clearing so I forget about it. Then a bit later I notice the camera is showing "999" files. Have a fiddle, get an SOS so a corrupt file is jacking it up. Bah! bet I need to put a bit of high-density foam under the mount for the shocks ... hope I can recover some film from it!

Wind is dropping now, been cracking-on for about 90 minutes ... people are starting to pack up - Wha-aaat! I head into the shore to reset my attachment points. Still too weak, so I jump on the Flydoor. Ah, that's better! Get another hour or so in; initially, some nice big air but the wind's still dropping. At sunset, it's only me and Soh out but I'm pretty hammered so I bring it in, self-land cos it's just me on the beach. Soh keeps trying but he's only down-winding it.

What a kick-ass evening! Much more wind than forecast but I'm kinda glad I didn't have the 10m after all ...

Windspeed was reported at 25 knots at 4pm falling to 10 knots around 8pm but it felt like more than that :D

Moment of the Day was discovering that sending the kite across the zenith fast, sheeting in hard generates a new style of water start - pop up and out like a champagne cork :D well it was a tie between that and "ollie"ing up the face of a 'breaker' and sorta blasting through the white-wash at the top ...

Shot from the upcoming theatrical release ...



What I learned today ...
• When using the board mount for the GoPro - point it away from the sun you dumbass :(
• Still need to put desiccant thingies in the case ...! FFS
• If you mess up the take-off and feel yourself starting to rotate, you can choke it off by not sending the kite back so far.
• When sending the kite back for a change of direction, send it AGGRESSIVELY or it just won't work.
• Pop-up water starts ...!
• Needed my Sharks :(

"My business is slammin', dawg!" - The Movie!

Another great forecast ... and it panned out this time!

Got to Locus about 1pm, looked at the wind and was like "Meh!" but Hironobu said it was going to pick up so I set up the 13m Crossbow & crossed my fingers.

By the time I got on the water at 2pm, it had picked up so I was riding just-powered and feeling fine ... for about 30 minutes.

The wind continued to pick up and I had to totally depower the kite - as Drewculous would say "Epic, gusting to Stupid" and I went into survival mode for several parts of the session! Actually had the lake all to myself for most of the duration cos I got on the lake early ... and ended up far enough upwind to avoid everyone else.

So naturally, with that much wind blowing and a 13m 'bow up, I tried to jump as big as I could. I think I landed maybe one decent jump, all the little ones but the rest I splashed-down and occasionally got slammed good :) hence the title.

Had the GoPro on the helmet so got it all on film but despite the chamois in the case, the Rain-X on the outside of the lens and the defog spray inside, something went wrong so a lot of it is blurry :( a pox on it all!

Once I knew I was powered-up, I tried to ride the Spleene Rip + but it just wasn't happening - I briefly got up on a plane for a few tacks but it seems there just wasn't enough wind (or talent!) for it do really ring my bell. Gave up and went back to ol' Faithful.

Had a great time, except for when a gust came through and lobbed me and another time I landed on the side of my face* after a good yoinking and spin. Legs were starting to give out so I came off the water after what the GoPro tells me is nearly 2 hours of solid riding!

Video on the way!

What I learned today ...
• I need a smaller kite. Switchblade 10 sounds like the business.
• I need a slightly bigger small board. FlyRadical XL sounds etc etc.
• The Pro-Tec helmet - if your head goes underwater, when you pop up again it dumps the water right down into your eyes which sucks. Especially when it takes longer to clear cos of sunglasses damming it up.
• Mount on the helmet for the GoPro - where I got in now, it's basically in the center of my forehead - which, when jumping, captures great shots of ... my gloves. Gonna move it up to the top of the helmet. Pity, cos it gives a great view of what I actually see although I don't remember staring at my gloves during jumps :(
• Rain-X is a total waste of time on the GoPro - probably the number 1 culprit for smeared gunk on the lens. Defog spray on the inside probably is a waste of time too. Gotta put in the pads to make sure cos what got recorded is mega-suck.
• I think I know what I'm going wrong with jumps - redirecting the kite too early and it's twisting me downwind before I can edge against it eg. I'm still in the air. Still - it's fuckin' fun!

* 5/4 update - my face still feels like the wife slapped me upside the head 0_o I might have brain-damage.

Boxing Day Bimble - The Movie!

Hit the lake beach this afternoon to try to get the Synergy to bow-tie and film a recovery and test out the Ozone Access SB harness and finally fly the Flysurfer Outlaw 10m I've had for AGES but have yet to take out of the bag.

Partial success with the Synergy bow-tie thing - try as I might, it wouldn't bow tie or even misbehave too much, despite the iffy wind ... gusty norwester and turbulent near the trees but the Synergy was stable. Got one bow-tie, but as it propellered down, it bounced of the ground and straight back into the air :D

Set a jump and sent the kite across much faster than I intended and went soaring - thoughts of the tragedy in NZ recently flashed through my mind and as I hovered over the safety release, I started going down and relaxed - foot slide to bum landing ...

Had a nightmare with a line tangle as I packed up, dunno WTF that was about. Set up the Outlaw and had a play with that ...

What I learned today ...
• The Ozone harness is nice, feel the pull fairly equally between waist and leg straps unlike the Fusion - the leg straps only seem to be there on the Dakine to stop the harness riding up ... ha!
• One size fits all only just fits :( over ski-pants it'll be tight. Back on the diet!
• The Outlaw feels like a fixed bridle flying on the Ozone Turbo bar - not so much depower effect through the bar.
• Not as lifty as I thought it would be, but it is a small kite. Will be good for landboarding.
• Likes to collapse like a F.B. as I guess it has much less internal pressure when it's not flying.
• I'm a chronic mouth breather :( you can hear "huh-huh-huh" on the video and it's not like I can even blame having a cold ...!

Christmas Quickee - The Movie!

A short blast with the Synergy 19 in over-powered conditions :D
I went to the lake with the intention of filming my de-bowtie technique (should I have managed to pull it off again) but the wind was just too full on. I also didn't have the right shoes on for scudding so I just played around a bit ...
Didn't get the camera angle right either :(

Rebble, Rebble! - The Movie!

Old movie I thought I'd uploaded from March, 2010.

End of winter ride in the park on the ol' landboard, earlier this year, filmed with a helmet mounted GoPro.
You'll notice around 3:28 the very, very good reason for wearing kite killers! Also note that the back strap in no way affected my ability to ditch the kite when the gust hit ...

Learning to Fly - The Movie!

a.k.a. 37 going on 13. Usually it's years old, not degrees Celsius although the parallel is striking! Between summer and today. Ok not so interesting, shutting up ...

Forecast looked kickin' and it coincided with a holiday! Awesome :) so despite it being 13°C I headed out to the lake at 10-ish with my Crossbows and Synergy 19 in the boot.

Pumped up the new 2011 13 cos I wanted to get some GoPro of big jumps before the end of this season :D on reflection, I probably would have had more fun on the Synergy. Oh well.

Got on the water about 11 and while it was a bit of a cold shock to the body, it wasn't that bad. I started out the Rip Plus but I just wasn't feeling it in the chop (waves!) so went and got my trusty Flydoor from the beach. Much better!

The 13 'bow is a bit twitchy ... really gotta keep the speed in it and the board to get a constant pull - not as tractor-tastic as the 16, strangely enough. Took a bit to get used to but I got it after a while. So with the camera rolling I got stuck in ...

Wind was muy gusty ... was a touch over-powered in the gusts, just powered in the lulls (didn't lose much ground downwind) and generally was just about right. Had a great time trying to go as big as I could and got slammed good many times - obviously I'm trying then according to Law of Carl :D

Had a great 3 hours or so on the water but my thighs were started to give up - literally - so I headed back into shore in the next lull. My emergence from the water was greeted with guffaws from those standing watching - they're all in full length wetsuits and I'm in t-shirt (and rash guard) and shorts; but I wasn't cold until I got off the water and was just standing around trying to pack up!

What I learned today ...
• Don't spit into the wind.
• Miyachi said, point your board downwind more when you land the big jumps!
• Still got a few degrees C more to go until it's too cold :D
• The line mount on the GoPro - don't push the camera back against the base, it points too far down. And I really need a 16Gb-er. The Rain-Xing worked good though.
• I need more time on the Rip Plus but it's hard to invest that time when the Flydoor is so much easier to ride!
• Don't breathe out on the way down, underwater ... sometimes, you don't float back up so good.
• You can (and should) direct your body by turning and looking where you want to go - you can drive your body around much easier.
• When in doubt - stomp on the rear foot!

And here's the footage ...

Probably the only one worth watching so far. Artist merit - zero. Skillful tricks - zero. Big splashes - many. I like making the big splashes.


Learning to Fly from Kevin Henry on Vimeo.

I'm the man! - The Movie!

At long bloody last! OMG I'm not wasting any more time meddling with that damned Sony Vegas again, trying to straighten out horizons frame by frame!

This was one of my first sessions of actually riding around, doing stuff and having fun like a REAL kiteboarder ... instead of just trying to stay on the board or battling to go upwind.
I was feeling rather impressed with myself so yes I'm trying to be tongue-in-cheek with the title ...!



Get more details of the original event here ...

Catch a typhoon by its tail - The Movie!

Then Shang Tsung says - The Movie!

Forecast looked iffy but thought I'd try anyway. Went to the lake and pumped up the kite, waited around, talked to So, launched the kite, fought to keep it in the air, tried to ride a few times to test the board mount for the GoPro, waited around a lot ... no joy today.

What I learned today ...
• The self-land technique - the one that doesn't involve pulling the safety. I might have it sussed ...
• I really need that Speed 2 19m ...!
• Need to red Loctite the bolts on the board :(

Feast, Day 2 - The Movie!

After much meddling with Vegas, Avidemux etc this is the best I could do ... nothing exciting in the riding but the joy of actually riding!

One hot minute - The Movie!

After hours of editing, this is what it all came down to. Sometimes, I wonder why I bother ...! Editing video that is - kiteboarding is like pizza ... even when it's bad, you can just pick the anchovies out and it's still pretty good!

I split it up into 4 parts because I have like ADD or something and tend to skip through movies on YouTube that are over like 2 minutes so I figured others are the same and perhaps I can suck people in to watching the whole thing ... mwa-ha-HA!