So long, Samui

Probably last chance day - don't want to face wet, heavy gear at check-in again.

Start out on the 21 and the Slayer, doing fine in the light wind but I can see big black clouds behind me. I keep an eye on them but decide too late that I need to drop the kite. Get tea-bagged in the gusts and call it a day with the QR again, timing it right so the kite drops on the sand bar; honest, I meant to do that. I pack up the damp (but not sodden) tangle and leave it for another day to sort out, chase down the abandoned Sector and head back in for the XB and the Limited.

Boosting fun for a half hour until the wind drops off so I get back on the Slayer.

Slayer goes through chop fine, probably less bouncy than the Dialer but is harder work going edge to edge and carving gybes are like squating 400lbs, and holding it there.

Wind drops off again, so I haul the gear back to the beach and pack up. Sit around drinking and talking, then the wind picks up but I've got a date to get too. Moo thod samun prai and pad thai noodles, mojito and sex on the beach...

PS. In Japan, we loaded all our luggage on the scales at once so all my careful packing to get 23kg in each bag was pointless. Figured they'd do the same here, so I dumped all my kite gear in the kite bag for easy packing... 36kg on the scales, as they weighed them individually. We instantly agreed to pay the excess baggage and it went through without a hitch. Fnar!

Wedding photos photobomb

Sat around waiting for the wind, was supposed to be good so had the "small" kite pumped up on the beach, after abortive efforts to do... anything.

Wind came up close to sunset and Tim convinced me to try his 2012 Slayer 60.

Tide was up so I rode right off the beach. Very nice board, super stable and fast off the fins. Easy to ride and not so dead for such a large and well-finned board. Good upwind too... Fun!

Someone was taking wedding photos out on the spit, with the stormy skies in the background (uh?) and possibly a big fat farang too.

Back again after back blow-out

Pulled a muscle in my back bending over to change a nappy, and spent the day in bed with Voltaren and ice packs. The next day was a quite one too, although greatly improved. One more to be sure, then a tentative session in light wind today... No problems!

Not quite the same

Almost the same as last time, but slightly less wind... Took off and landed on the beach, so I can do that.

Light fun

Light wind la-la in the lagoon. Launched from the sand bar, noodled around having a nice time. Landed on the beach and got seaweed all up in the lines... ah yes, I remember that from last time too.

Way over the top welcome to Samui

Arrived on Samui on Monday, and some wind arrived today. I thought it'd be light, and contemplated putting up the 21, or going out on the XB16 and the Flydoor... Thank god I did neither!

As it was, I was overpowered, then out if control in gusts. Some nice boosts though. The wind picked up and the gusts got worse, and after about a half hour I got hit by one I couldn't hold onto and started rocketing off towards the pier...

So I threw the safety, splashed down then walked back to the beach, towing the kite. Shame, I was having such fun!

Sliced up my foot on reef remains in the shallows... forgot my reef shoes and my Kindle! More to come, no doubt...

Oh, and the force of the wind on the kite when I ejected caused the Amsteel to cut the bungy in the safety line. Huh!

Good last one

Forecast looked ok for the PM and as it was our last day here, thought we'd just relax at the beach anyway. Got there about 4pm to SFA from the SW . . . changed then slowly picked up to lookin' good from the NW.

Went out about 5pm and had a pretty nicely powered session! Good power to nicely over in the gusts, to just under in the lulls. Only came in cos the sun was setting.

Tried out the Xcaliber and Tronic for a good few minutes . . .
Xcaliber is awesome on flat water, feels really locked in but may be too stiff in the chop - tended to get bounced around if you weren't on the ball.
Tronic is too narrow at the tips - constant spray on the back leg (but none on the front and into the face?!) and tougher to go upwind. Wonder if I shouldn't just go for the XL size :( Tough call now . . .

Dawn patrol is the answer

Again, up early and out to Nathon. Best light wind session so far, riding upwind ok most of the time. A few silly jumps and stunts but I still want more wind!

Dawn and storm

Dawn patrol again, paid off with a just-powered session for a couple of hours.

Storm came through in the afternoon, and I arrived just in time to . . . miss it.

Dawn patrol

Been noticing that the wind comes in at dawn then dies off, so heading out bright n' early today... got some underpowered riding in from 7 to 8am. Flat water is still amazing!

The following few days looks better...

One mad minute

Spent all day humming and harring cos the wind didn't seem quite there. Mark assured me that it'd come in, in the late afternoon. So we went to Angela's for a late lunch then got back to Nathon about 4.

Waited some more, looks like it'll pick up, there's a storm cell out at sea. I decide to be the guinea pig and launch first. Tack out through the flat, 3 inch deep water... mmm, it's coming in but it's gnarly - canopy is twitching like a mad thing.

Get out past the sand bar and let rip. Good jumps, some almost make me go "woohoo" so it's good. I'm just getting used to being well over-powered and then Mark cuts by close and says "Watch out for that"; that, being a big black cloud bank.

Another what felt like 5 minutes of great fun then it started to drop. When I couldn't go upwind any more, I made my way back into the shallows. Landed my kite, then the wind fell right off.

Well, it was awesome for a while there!

Weather was reported as 15 to 20 knots.
Wind felt like 25-30... it was hairy.

What I learned today...
• Mark likes pies.
• Buzz is a wind god. Or whatever it is that when someone comes and sets their gear up, the wind dies.
• Jumping from flat water is tough. I like my kickers.

Nathon again

Early morning trip to the beach was a waste of time, but a storm whipped up some fun in the late afternoon, until dark. Thankfully, the tide had come in some so it was good.

---

Weather was reported as 15 knots.
Wind felt like 15 knots. Comfy powered to wanting more.

What I learned today...
• Don't leave your kite out in the sun! A non-painful lesson, I think.
• Pump that bugger up properly.
• Don't trust that your lines aren't tangled, even though you wrapped them up carefully...
• Tips can fold if you load the kite and haven't pumped it up enough.
• I'm sure there was something else too...

Back in Thailand!

The usual trepidation when heading out to a "new" spot... checked out Twin Peaks but there was no water - tide was wa-aaay out so I went up to Nathon. The KBA boys were there, so quickly caught up then headed out. Walked out through ankle deep water to the deeper part of the bay.

Well, there's enough wind to get up and plane downwind. Slowly picks up over the next two hours but still isn't epic. A few tiddler jumps and rotations but the crowd isn't going wild. Rated it "gravy" cos it was good enough to get me back into the groove.

---

Moment of the day was that first tack out on the perfectly flat water... OMG!
Mood of the session was bemused amused.

Weather was reported as 10-13 knots from the SE,  30˚C.
Wind felt like that. Underpowered but riding downwind to just riding upwind but unable to really do anything cool.

What I learned today...
• Flat water is so damned nice!
• Using a compressor to inflate your kite is so damned nice!
• Having a lawn to pack your kite up on is so damned nice!
• Having a cold beer right after you pack up is so damned nice! And no threat of getting caught by the cops is... so damned nice!

Thailand again, first attempt...

After being introduced to the spots that I'll be using by Robert aka Buzz yesterday (thanks again man!), we bit the bullet and hired a car... wind looked good in the morning, around lunch when we hired the car and... the wind died just as I carried my gear to The New Spot. Which is quite the coincidence because the car had just died too :-/ got a replacement car and headed up to Nathon. Had a snack and the wind's looking ok! Toddle over to the KBA hut... not much beach space! But Sam thinks the wind is rideable so I put up the XB 16...

Nah, not riding. Submarine downwind for a couple of tacks, then body drag (in knee deep water!) back to the spot. While I'm doing that the wind picks up some so I try again. Am riding! Downwind though...

By a combination of body drags and walking on the sand bar, I make my way up and downwind. Lovely flat water though! Nothing exciting happens... although the Samui Marine Police line up on the lawn outside the front of their HQ to watch :o

Back on shore, Sam is laughing at me falling over when I try to ride over the sand bar... but suggests I should make a short video of me riding and doing some safe jumps, as a promo for KBA to show old, fat guys that yes you old, fat guys CAN do kiteboarding! Thanks, Sam! I think...

Head home just after sunset...

Weather was reported as 10 knots. I dunno, maybe...

What I learned today...
• Flat water gives a couple of knots on the bottom end!
• The New Spot has a beach about the size of Locus at high tide. That'll work just fine!
• Nathon is going to be a VERY tight launch at high tide :( specially for the S3...