Showing off for the uninitiated

Off to the ocean. Good forecast didn't arrive, but I got some just-powered foiling. 10 knots in summer is only just enough.

Had a swim with mother, then tried the TT as the wind had picked up . . . under-powered. Oh well.

A new category!

Was actually looking forward to another foil session, with the big Speed and maybe switching to the XB13 as the wing picked up. . . .

Nope.

Got in maybe 20 minutes before the rain started, slowly enough at first that I thought I might be able to keep riding until it passed as it wasn't so heavy. . . .

Nope.

The wind dropped and the kite stalled, and I couldn't relaunch it even though I had feet on the bottom. The board had shot off, floating downwind towards the rock breakwater and I just couldn't be bothered replacing bashed up wings, so I wrapped up the bar and lines and left the kite, swimming for the board. Figured I could swim back for the kite and drag it in at my leisure. . . .

Nope.

The wind had dropped because it had shifted to off-shore. By the time I got the board, the kite was already moving away fast enough that I didn't want to risk swimming for it. So I went and got Miyachi and the boat . . . which was a good call, because it was hauling ass towards the opposite side of the lake :o

Luckily it missed all the nasty "No jet skis" signs and their sharp edges, and we got it on the board without much hassle, tangles or taking on a mountain of water. So it was easy to pack it, and the untangling took just a few moments. . . .

So, first time to be rescued. Kinda.

More mellow moves

Another light forecast, actual wind recorded was 4 to 8, gusts to 12.

Started on the 21, wind picked up a little and I wanted to try the 12.

Guess that was when it was 12 knots, but the kite was just too peaky on the power and required high-speed runs and aggressive carves, but really wasn't any fun. I switched the 21 bar with the 6m extensions, and it improved the length of the power pulse, but the wind had dropped and it sucked so I went back out on the 21.

Lovely mellow session, slightly overpowered on the 21 at times but nice riding. I should really start to try tacks . . .

Miyachi tried to go out on the Naish foil (identical to the LF) which he'd bolted to a TT but it was too light and he gave up. I left my LF board there for him, in case he can get out when I can't . . .

Was definitely better

Very light forecast, 6 to 8 on the hourly update...off to the lake!

15 is out of action but I could have gotten away with it, and would have had a good time down looping the transitions, but such is life.

Had a fab time with the 21 til 6, when the wind just picked up enough to make it uncomfortable: 8 to 10, gusts to 16 apparently. 

So I'm at the stage with the foil of gybing with almost 100% success...so long as I don't switch feet. And only if I don't try to ride goofy. If I do change feet, either before or after gybe, odds are better than even it's successful though, and even misplacing the feet there's still a good chance of success. I even managed to attempt a half-dozen foiling changes, best one slapping the water briefly. Huh, might just be possible...certainly easier when there's power in the kite.

Buddy who broke his Spotz and lost the fuse and wings now has an Access, and it NOSIY. I can hear it for miles, almost literally. Shame. 

Under and over

Light wind forecast, and it was very when I got to the lake just before 3. Out on the 21 and the foil board for some very light noodling. But after about an hour, it looked like it was picking up and so I packed up the 21 and stood lookin' and thinkin' . . . good call, me.

Hiro went out on his 10 and he looked powered, so I got the Limited and went out on the 15. Yeah, it was ok. Bit rusty I am, many almost-balls up but a good time was head.

Miyachi did well on the Cabrinha foil--strapless!--but wasn't getting on the foil . . . I had to leave before he went out again and I missed the fun.

Diet wind

It was lite. Geddit?

Website said 8 to 10 knots . . . summer is here, no cheating with 6 knots. Ho ho ho.

T-shirt and shorts, no wetsuit . . . so chilly balls! Wedgies without the filter of a couple of mm of neoprene . . . much fidelity! Rip in shorts allows thighs to rub . . . very bleeding!

But it was so-ooo satisfying . . . all but one or two foot changes didn't fail, only one downloop failed. Is Gud.

Only an hour, but as I said, it was satisfying. That's all, carry on.

More of the same but better

Another session at Tsu, forecast for 3 p.m. looked better than yesterday.

Got to the beach, and there's Jun and 3 other guys getting foils ready. Neat! Wind was super-light though, bit annoying. Set up the foil again, but gambling that the wind would pick up, I took the 15 to ride.

Flailed around in the water again, with no success and so I came in for the 21. As I launched, the wind dropped right off and the other guys kites started hitting the water. Jun couldn't relaunch and the other guys (Diablo, Chrono) just made it back to shore. I helped Jun untangle his lines and by that time, the wind had come up a little.

I reckoned I could cope with the 21, so I headed out as the guinea pig. Yep, riding ok. Nice cruise around . . . the wind picks up so I go back for the 15. More excellent cruising; nailed a lot of my foot changes . . . hmm.

Jun dropped his kite again for a longer swim, and it felt like it started to rain so I called it a day. Rain didn't appear so I could have gone longer but oh well.

Watch out for the fish

Well, damn my eyes. Not supposed to be any wind but I went anyway cos I had to get out of the house.

Absolutely nothing when I arrived at 1, so I went and did some shopping. Got back about 2 and it looked marginal, but I thought I'd have a shot.

Dodging the tow-launch paragliders, their boat, the SUPers and the kids swimming . . . and had a butter-smooth ride out there. Except for the time I hit the dead fish and fell off.

Fabulous. Dropped the kite once, but in the shallow end so got a relaunch ok. High success rate with changing feet and downloops . . . good fun!

Packed it in after about 2 hours. Excellent!

Swim, narrowly avoided

I knew it was going to be light, but it turned out lighter than Thursday and dropping. . . . I got some runs and some funs in before it just died right off. But this time, I managed to squeak back to the beach.

God I like riding on flat water.

Ride, swim, walk

Went to the lake to get out of the house and spent some time tuning up the Speeds. All the lines were in need of a tune. The mixer on the 12 had stretched a half dozen mm, the 15 had shrunk 3/4 of an inch (my Amsteel pulley lines made in NZ), and the 21 was perfect.

By then, the wind had picked up a little so I thought I'd give the foil a run. Took the 15 and the 21 to the lake, but thought I was even pushing it with the 21.

Hot-launched, but it needed serious pumping. I got out on the water and was up, riding, and going upwind fine so it was all good! Had a nice time just flying, playing with the load n' float of the foil, trying out the downloop transitions . . .

. . . all went well until I duffed a downloop and then noticed that the wind had dropped. How did I notice? Cos I couldn't relaunch the kite :-/ I did manage a half-successful attempt at a reverse launch, but there just wasn't enough wind to over-come the now soggy wing tips and it wrapped a bridle and I couldn't get air into the center to open it out. Total wind drop-out.

So I wrapped it up and started my swim in. Got the lines in easy then started the roll up. Much easier having a floating board to dump it on!

I was making my way in, when some fisherschmucks in a boat came past. I was sure they were just interested in having a gawp, which was confirmed when they asked the dumbest question, "Are you ok?" To which I of course replied, "Yes fine thanks" and finished my swim. Tossers, if you'd actually wanted to help perhaps offering it would have been a good idea . . .

Not so much water in the kite, but it still got terribly sandy as I laid it out on the south marina beach, reading for the hike up the road . . . which was actually the worst bit of the whole ordeal.

Oh well, such is life.

Pushing the envelope

Kid's in day care, forecast for the weekend looks naff, may as well try ride the very little we have today...

Went with the 21 cos I wanted more power to try tacks etc. Wind is SFA but the 21 stays up and I can body drag so here we go...a-and here we go! Up and riding...

Get about a half hour then a lull hits, kite luffs but I semi-catch it and keep it from bow-tying, but it touches down and takes water into a tip...makes a tough and trying couple of minutes, but a gust comes and I get it back up. Ride a little more then it drops a little again so I head back to the launch spot.

Stand around for a bit, then it comes back up so I relaunch and head back out. Wind is a little better, and it even approaches too much (14 knots) for a few minutes before settling back to good enough.

Manage a handful or successful foot changes, both post-heel-to-toe transition and pre-toe-to-heel, on my good side. Managed a single tack, but that's it. Figured how to ride with both feet forward so that'll come in handy, but I really want a voluminous 3-strap board...

Decide my time is up and ride right up to the beach just as the wind fails again. 4 to 8 knots :o

Foils foil Murphy

The forecast was for light wind but looked like it'd be consistent, so I went to the lake. What a surprise, I went with the foil.

Took the 21 and 12 to the lake, and I thought there'd be enough wind for a ride with the 12. Waddle out, try to ride...not happening. Back to the beach. As I'm setting up the 21 I'm betting Murphy will turn up the wind in a few minutes after I get out on the water...

Yup. Back to the beach, pack up the 21 and go back out on the 12. Very light, but I have a nice time for over an hour.

Still miles away from making a tack but I'm not sure I want to go strapless...

I am a practitioner of the dark arts!

Well, a novitiate anyway. Foil boards are the voodoo black magic of the kite world. 

The forecast looked weak, but was supposed to pick up from 3. It didn't, but I got onto the water anyway cos I wanted to push the bottom end of the foil board and see just how low you can go.

Well...

If the weather report is to be believed, it was 3.2 building to 8.2 knots, gusts to 12.4.  I think we got a lot more steady wind closer to sunset, as it picked up some and Hiro came to play.

So, pretty freakin' low.

When the 21 would sit at the zenith ok, and I could body drag slowly, that meant I would be up riding :o When the kite would luff and drop back in the window, I could get up on the board but had to work the kite (ho ho ho) to get moving, but usually meant it was tough getting up on a foil. It was the point when the kite wouldn't stall in a loop that it was all on like donkey kong...

Still, there wasn't a white cap in sight and I was going upwind a little more with each tack... Black magic, I tell you! Amazing feeling, gliding over the almost flat water.

So I'm guessing that 5 knots is the easy bottom end, and the apparent wind built up mad; easier riding the apparent wind than over-powered. I dunno if the 21 is necessary, as its slowness was troublesome and I got over-powered at 12 knots (!)--it was almost impossible to keep a constant height foil, power was on and off too much. By the time I packed up, I might have been ok on a TT...maybe.

In the middle of all that, I managed several times to do some total foiling gybes, ride toe-side the whole tack then carve back the other way! Woohoo! Didn't expect to be doing that for a while yet. Tried some jumps, but very half-assed due to fear of luffing the kite and totally crap timing...

Naturally, I had the camera, had it charged, but didn't think it worth putting on the lines. How wrong I was!

Abracadabra, bitches!

Riddle me this, Batman

Q. What's worse than a small beach crowded with Asian kiters?

A. A small beach crowded with Asian kiters... with foils.

FFS people. Kites landing left, right and center on too of people and gear; foil boards left standing all over the show, wrapping up lines; kites stalling everywhere; lines laid out to every point of the compass. What a mess. Self-centered people and foil-learners is not a good combo... at least I'm not the only one getting grumpy at the dickheads...

Leaving the show aside, there was no wind. In desperation, I took the Dialer and Limited back to the car and for the Flydoor and the 21.

Super light, flat water but going upwind -- amazing. Then, as I'd feared, the wind picked up and it was a bit much... should have gone with the 15, but it was good after all the waiting and watching the comedy....

Bah

No work today for a change so naturally, the wind chooses this weekend to not blow. Bah humbug.

Tried a few tacks on both boards, and while I could get upwind occasionally it wasn't fun. Gave up and test-flew the S3 12 to check for how much I need to resplice the FDS to take tension out of it...

This time, the cocks walk

Had some hours free this afternoon, so I fixed the 21 and went to the lake for a test flight...

Oh it's the "competition" today too. Goody, the beach is completely covered with kites nobody is using, and the only free space is down the far end. Tough launch with the long lines, between the pile of bamboo trash and all the weeds and twigs on the shore... had to wade out to get it up, but the job got done.

Me and a Lotus 18 were out, and the only ones going upwind. A couple of hours fooling around doing rotations... not bad.

Idiot me... rather than land at the YMCA beach, with plenty of space, I got Miyachi to land me in the only space free at our beach.

Sigh... the North rep, call sign "Cock One", was trying four his unhooked mad skills 2 inches from the shore and dumped his kite downwind with his lines right on top of me, wrapped around my neck and actually started trying to relaunch his kite, before someone grabbed it and landed it, and I could untangle. Naturally, he apologized to Miyachi -- who was 12 feet away -- and just ignored me. Nice one.

Enter "Cock Two". First, he drags his boards and fins over my lines, then proceeds to drag his lines out from under my kite, ignoring the horrible noises as it catches on the material, then just yanks them out of the bridle lines. Then, when I'm halfway into rolling up, he's got the nerve to ask me to launch him -- without using polite grammar, so it's like he said, "I want to start, so launch me." I suggested he should ask someone who wasn't busy...

Fuck I hate comp days, and the cocks from Tokyo.

And so it begins

Light wind, just enough to ride. Got a bit of practice in on the Dialer... There's a ripped cell in the right wing tip too, great. Going to fix it with Dacron tape and be done with it. Poor old girl...

Rode from about 5pm to past sunset. Temp dropped under 30 and so we get out first whining about the cold... Gotta wonder what is wrong with these people eh.

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!

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.