Good forecast today, better than yesterday's was ... I take an hour off work and head to the lake early.
Wind is up ... dunno what to use. Not the 21 that's for sure and not the 12. 13 &16m Xbow, Flydoor and Rip Plus go over to the lake. Soh put up his 14m Havoc and looks happy ... I decide on the 16.
A good enough choice ... but as the evening draws on and the difference in average wind speed between the gusts drops and the time the wind is off increases, it's getting sucky. I pack up before sunset in disgust but not before ...
I forget how, but I've dropped the kite right in the middle of the underwater weed garden. Usually it's not a problem but today the 'bow refuses to relaunch and - joy of joys! - flops onto its trailing edge. A wave washes a bunch of water over the kite and now it's stuck to the surface ... this is something the LEI-whores don't mention when they compare the "ease" of relaunch of LEIs versus foils! >:( struggle struggle swear swear ... after all sorts of retarded behavior (flying upsidedown, TE towards me - really?) I finally get the kite into the air - but now there's a bunch (literally) of weeds wrapped around the Y and the RH steering line. I fly the kite to shore, land, swear, pull the weeds off ...
I'm trying to get back onto the water ... working the kite to get moving but heading right at me and obviously intending to go between the shore and me - about 3m - is Taki :o
I park the kite at the zenith and try to avoid his - we're mere millimeters away from a very big mess and he obviously thinks it's no problem! He moves off to my right then drops it in the water. Now I got Uncle Pyro coming at me from the left and I'm sandwiched between the 2 worst kite-handlers on the beach. Uncle just stands in the water waiting for the wind so I can't move my kite left. Taki is trying to relaunch but he's so close if he loses control (like he usually does) he's going to wrap me up in the hurt-locker. Praise the lord! nothing happens as I walk backwards out into the lake and get riding again. Thinking back, I thought I was just being paranoid but Soh comes up to me later and is like "Dude WTF were those two thinking?" and so, I rename Taki as "Dennis the Menace."
Keep flying but there's no joy in it - no jumps, no rotations ... no power in the wind. And so I give up ...
Moments of the Day was the monster jump that started off as a regular jump but the gust yoinked me good ... I even rode away ;) the pendulum backrolls were pretty cool too.
Wind speed was recorded as 12 to 14 knots (ho ho ho!) with gusts to 24. Obvious to me now that that is average wind speed ... there were times when I was worried the 'bow was going to fall out of the sky. Oh wait - it did.
What I learned today ...
• The intersection of the seasons produces gusty shit wind.
• October & November are the best wind months at Biwako. According to Soh ...
• Bar pressure on the 16m 'bow is killing me ... I need a different mid-wind kite.
• And to that end, including the gusts, I'm putting the arcs back in the boot of the car!
• Oh yeah tried the Rip Plus again ... not my cup of tea. I like the Flyradical better so it's up for sale ... and sold!
Showing posts with label rip plus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rip plus. Show all posts
Monday, October 3, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
1 step back, 2 forwards? - The Movie!
Forecast looked crankin' for today but you never can tell, so I loaded the car up with the Flydoor, Rip Plus and my 16, 13 and 10m Crossbows. Got to Locus and the wind was good so I hauled the 13 and 10 'bow and the 2 boards over the road ...
... tough decision. Dithered around for a bit and decided to go with the 13 and the Rip Plus cos I need to get used to a small board. Started off with ol' Faithful though and was muy powered! Boosted some MONSTER jumps - seriously, they were massive and I just hung around under them for ages - but it was clear that the 13 was too much kite.
Pumped up the 10 and got back on the water ... weird being under such a small kite but I was easily powered, as the locals swapped down to the 7, 6, and 5m kites :o the big board had to go, so I jumped on the Rip Plus.
I'm determined to get used to a small board cos there'll be a Flyradical L in the mail soon hopefully - thanks Ricardo again! - so I persisted through the first few? many? minutes of nose dives and wipe-outs then I was riding and moaning to myself about the footpads not being as nice as the FS ones then I was just riding! I guess it's pretty easy to do when you're overpowered on a 10m kite :D
Spent a lot of the tack just standing on the fins, cos any edging at all sent me rocketing upwind miles away from the beach. Had a good amount of space to myself so busted some more monster jumps ... until I fucked them up several times in a row, looping the kite and slammed but myself good, at which point I came in for a break.
As I was sitting down having a drink, the Mistress of Disaster decided to launch her kite - this time, without checking that someone else hadn't laid their lines across hers. So up goes her kite with a bar wrapped around them and the kite attached to it starts to head skyward ... thankfully she got yanked into a nose dive and let go the bar and her kite depowered.
Seriously, what is wrong with people? If you're not flying the kite, wrap your line up don't leave them strung out over the beach! Common fucking sense and the only people who do it seem to be me, So and Hironobu ...
When I went to launch at the start of the day, I had to untangle the Master of Disaster's lines from mine first - he SAW me laying out my lines but landed his kite and just left his lines there, right over the top of mine. Wanker. He blew the LE on his brand new 8m Park so that'll learn him.
Anyway. I packed up my 13m before something happened to it.
Back out onto the water with the 10m and the Rip. Trying to control my jumps and land them rather than crashing or splashing down. Apparently the wife turned up for a while and she got some video, which I'll trim and upload. Not really exciting though cos like I said, was trying to do controlled jumps - not "how high can you fly?". Did a lot of jumps from the flat water behind the waves, rather than boosting off the face of the wave (although I still did them too) in the search for the elevator jumps. Did a lot of toe-side riding too ... for what that was worth :D
Sun was touching the hills, daylight is running out and I was spent. Great day, epic gusting to stupid but was muy bien! When I got back to the car, wife had left a choccie bar and drink for me too - lovely!
Finally edited the movie. After spending hours making it nicely sync with the audio track, fuckin' YouTube disabled it. Lame. Music from the '70's gets the ban-hammer but more recent tunes don't? That's a bit mad! So this is a place-holder until I get home and can upload to Vimeo ...
One step back, two forwards? from Kevin Henry on Vimeo.
What I learned today ...
• I might even need a 7m :o
• Riding a small board - possible! Starting needs more aggressive power strokes but I can cope with the short nose if I adjust my brain.
• 10m kite is crazy fast. Accidental kiteloops ... hurt.
• Small jumps I'm okay with - can redirect at the right time and ride away but going big results in splashdowns :( I still think it's timing of the redirection.
• Failed jump? Keep the kite behind you for a soft splash down.
• AERIAL TRANSITIONS! Little more than clearing the fins from the water, but I did a whole bunch in a row WOO HOO!!! At first they were lucky accidents but I did a number on purpose :)
• Don't need wetsuit boots anymore.
... tough decision. Dithered around for a bit and decided to go with the 13 and the Rip Plus cos I need to get used to a small board. Started off with ol' Faithful though and was muy powered! Boosted some MONSTER jumps - seriously, they were massive and I just hung around under them for ages - but it was clear that the 13 was too much kite.
Pumped up the 10 and got back on the water ... weird being under such a small kite but I was easily powered, as the locals swapped down to the 7, 6, and 5m kites :o the big board had to go, so I jumped on the Rip Plus.
I'm determined to get used to a small board cos there'll be a Flyradical L in the mail soon hopefully - thanks Ricardo again! - so I persisted through the first few? many? minutes of nose dives and wipe-outs then I was riding and moaning to myself about the footpads not being as nice as the FS ones then I was just riding! I guess it's pretty easy to do when you're overpowered on a 10m kite :D
Spent a lot of the tack just standing on the fins, cos any edging at all sent me rocketing upwind miles away from the beach. Had a good amount of space to myself so busted some more monster jumps ... until I fucked them up several times in a row, looping the kite and slammed but myself good, at which point I came in for a break.
As I was sitting down having a drink, the Mistress of Disaster decided to launch her kite - this time, without checking that someone else hadn't laid their lines across hers. So up goes her kite with a bar wrapped around them and the kite attached to it starts to head skyward ... thankfully she got yanked into a nose dive and let go the bar and her kite depowered.
Seriously, what is wrong with people? If you're not flying the kite, wrap your line up don't leave them strung out over the beach! Common fucking sense and the only people who do it seem to be me, So and Hironobu ...
When I went to launch at the start of the day, I had to untangle the Master of Disaster's lines from mine first - he SAW me laying out my lines but landed his kite and just left his lines there, right over the top of mine. Wanker. He blew the LE on his brand new 8m Park so that'll learn him.
Anyway. I packed up my 13m before something happened to it.
Back out onto the water with the 10m and the Rip. Trying to control my jumps and land them rather than crashing or splashing down. Apparently the wife turned up for a while and she got some video, which I'll trim and upload. Not really exciting though cos like I said, was trying to do controlled jumps - not "how high can you fly?". Did a lot of jumps from the flat water behind the waves, rather than boosting off the face of the wave (although I still did them too) in the search for the elevator jumps. Did a lot of toe-side riding too ... for what that was worth :D
Sun was touching the hills, daylight is running out and I was spent. Great day, epic gusting to stupid but was muy bien! When I got back to the car, wife had left a choccie bar and drink for me too - lovely!
Finally edited the movie. After spending hours making it nicely sync with the audio track, fuckin' YouTube disabled it. Lame. Music from the '70's gets the ban-hammer but more recent tunes don't? That's a bit mad! So this is a place-holder until I get home and can upload to Vimeo ...
One step back, two forwards? from Kevin Henry on Vimeo.
What I learned today ...
• I might even need a 7m :o
• Riding a small board - possible! Starting needs more aggressive power strokes but I can cope with the short nose if I adjust my brain.
• 10m kite is crazy fast. Accidental kiteloops ... hurt.
• Small jumps I'm okay with - can redirect at the right time and ride away but going big results in splashdowns :( I still think it's timing of the redirection.
• Failed jump? Keep the kite behind you for a soft splash down.
• AERIAL TRANSITIONS! Little more than clearing the fins from the water, but I did a whole bunch in a row WOO HOO!!! At first they were lucky accidents but I did a number on purpose :)
• Don't need wetsuit boots anymore.
Monday, April 4, 2011
"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.
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.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Catch a typhoon by its tail
Big blow forecast for the P.M. Nothing in the morning so I kept checking the live cam ... nothing ... nothing ... kites! Jump in car! Rush to lake! Take anemometer to the shore! Crikey! 20 knots solid, gusting to 30 ... probably better not unpack the Crossbow 16 then :( and can't use my arcs cos I have no bars!
Waited for Miyachi of Locus to get back to shore then asked to borrow a small kite off him. He lent me an F-One Bandit 11 ... bit rough going from arcs to FSers to one-pump Crossbow then to separate strut inflation on the Bandit! Got my brain around it, set up and launched.
So started an epic session. Lots of fun. Lots of wind. Lots of crap in the water and what suspiciously looked like a couple of fencing posts! Wind was cool, water near the river mouth was full of soil and cold, the rest of the lake was still warm.
Impressed with the 11m - had it trimmed for almost 100% depower and didn't really give it any more until about 3pm when the wind dropped a bit. I must have stumpy arms cos I end up trimming all my bars so I can lean back and sheet it without over-powering ... and there was certainly plenty of wind! And the kite made good power, hardly had to be worked at all! The Bandit was a bit twitchy in the gusts and later on, it started to distort the leading edge after I got used to the power and started throwing it around. Had some good fun with jumps and stuff and did what I feel to be my biggest, longest jumps to date ... on an 11m kite!
Started out on the Flydoor with my GoPro on the Kitehero fin mount but the battery died (forgot to charge it) after 20 minutes. Had fun on that then decided there was enough wind to make the effort of carrying the Rip Plus to the shore ... bit of a difference to the 'door but got up and riding and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon on the Plus.
That was, until about 4:30pm. Had just fallen over, got the board back on my feet and dived the kite when there was a crack and the bar flew away ... uh? Pulled the bar back in and discovered the hardware on the chicken loop had snapped!!! Somehow got back to shore and packed up. Miyachi said not to worry about it but I'll slip him some money when I get a price for it ...
What I learned today ...
• If your harness is giving you a wedgie, you don't need to stop kiting to adjust it! Just fall over head-first downwind with the kite powered ... the water pulls the harness out of your ass.
• Kitehero fin mount probably isn't designed for heelside fins - knocks the camera around A LOT ... pity, cos the Flydoor only has heelside fins. I have about 10 minutes video of my board's top deck.
• Rip Plus is a fun board, stiffer than the door so it pops better. Needs so much wind though. Don't like the footpads and the stance feels funny after the 'door.
• Everything is easier with more power :) jumps are easier to do too!
• I need my arcs!
• Needed my rashgaurd for the extra warmth too - the water (in spots) felt cold and the wind chill is noticeable.
• Miyachi is a great guy!
Waited for Miyachi of Locus to get back to shore then asked to borrow a small kite off him. He lent me an F-One Bandit 11 ... bit rough going from arcs to FSers to one-pump Crossbow then to separate strut inflation on the Bandit! Got my brain around it, set up and launched.
So started an epic session. Lots of fun. Lots of wind. Lots of crap in the water and what suspiciously looked like a couple of fencing posts! Wind was cool, water near the river mouth was full of soil and cold, the rest of the lake was still warm.
Impressed with the 11m - had it trimmed for almost 100% depower and didn't really give it any more until about 3pm when the wind dropped a bit. I must have stumpy arms cos I end up trimming all my bars so I can lean back and sheet it without over-powering ... and there was certainly plenty of wind! And the kite made good power, hardly had to be worked at all! The Bandit was a bit twitchy in the gusts and later on, it started to distort the leading edge after I got used to the power and started throwing it around. Had some good fun with jumps and stuff and did what I feel to be my biggest, longest jumps to date ... on an 11m kite!
Started out on the Flydoor with my GoPro on the Kitehero fin mount but the battery died (forgot to charge it) after 20 minutes. Had fun on that then decided there was enough wind to make the effort of carrying the Rip Plus to the shore ... bit of a difference to the 'door but got up and riding and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon on the Plus.
That was, until about 4:30pm. Had just fallen over, got the board back on my feet and dived the kite when there was a crack and the bar flew away ... uh? Pulled the bar back in and discovered the hardware on the chicken loop had snapped!!! Somehow got back to shore and packed up. Miyachi said not to worry about it but I'll slip him some money when I get a price for it ...
What I learned today ...
• If your harness is giving you a wedgie, you don't need to stop kiting to adjust it! Just fall over head-first downwind with the kite powered ... the water pulls the harness out of your ass.
• Kitehero fin mount probably isn't designed for heelside fins - knocks the camera around A LOT ... pity, cos the Flydoor only has heelside fins. I have about 10 minutes video of my board's top deck.
• Rip Plus is a fun board, stiffer than the door so it pops better. Needs so much wind though. Don't like the footpads and the stance feels funny after the 'door.
• Everything is easier with more power :) jumps are easier to do too!
• I need my arcs!
• Needed my rashgaurd for the extra warmth too - the water (in spots) felt cold and the wind chill is noticeable.
• Miyachi is a great guy!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Just a taste
Hit the lake at 5pm, but although the wind seemed to be blowing good it had no push ... well not enough for me anyway :(
Tried to get a ride out of the Rip Plus but not enough wind for anything more than a scoot and sink. Back on the Square One, cross-wind runs and the waves push me onto the shore so I'm walkin' again with just a taste of riding until the lightning shut us down again.
Also had a taste of a real jump too, trying to get over a wave as I was running out of a steam on a tack ... more of a hover on top of the water actually :D
Supposed to be good tomorrow ...!
Tried to get a ride out of the Rip Plus but not enough wind for anything more than a scoot and sink. Back on the Square One, cross-wind runs and the waves push me onto the shore so I'm walkin' again with just a taste of riding until the lightning shut us down again.
Also had a taste of a real jump too, trying to get over a wave as I was running out of a steam on a tack ... more of a hover on top of the water actually :D
Supposed to be good tomorrow ...!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
A new toy!
Ziz.
Got a tip through the grapevine of some kiteboards up for sale in Japan ... could be a good deal cos I wouldn't have to pay retarded shipping to get some from overseas. Long story short, thanks to a weak Great British Pound and not having to pay ANY shipping, I now own two perfect condition 2007 Spleene boards, the Door 154x42 and the Rip Plus 138x44 which cost me the princely sum of $130 each!
And I even like the colours! Considering what I paid for the ancient boards I have now ... they were a bloody good deal!
Also, my Flysurfer Speed 1.5 17m arrived today too! Looks lovely and was also very very cheap - a good way to find out if I'll actually enjoy what was a US$2,500 kite and whether it's worth considering a Speed 3. If it proves to be a low-wind session saver, should be good.
Whee! I love toyziz!
Got a tip through the grapevine of some kiteboards up for sale in Japan ... could be a good deal cos I wouldn't have to pay retarded shipping to get some from overseas. Long story short, thanks to a weak Great British Pound and not having to pay ANY shipping, I now own two perfect condition 2007 Spleene boards, the Door 154x42 and the Rip Plus 138x44 which cost me the princely sum of $130 each!
And I even like the colours! Considering what I paid for the ancient boards I have now ... they were a bloody good deal!
Also, my Flysurfer Speed 1.5 17m arrived today too! Looks lovely and was also very very cheap - a good way to find out if I'll actually enjoy what was a US$2,500 kite and whether it's worth considering a Speed 3. If it proves to be a low-wind session saver, should be good.
Whee! I love toyziz!
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