Upwind on the raceboard at Brighton in a northerly

Session 233.  I headed down to Brighton at 8am to meet Cesar and catch the forecast northerly.   Cesar is organising a "Across the Bay to Conquer Cancer - reverse" so we are doing some training for that.

There was about 5 knots of wind so Cesar headed back home while Stuart, James and I had a coffee at the Brighton Baths.

When we got back to the beach we could see some wind coming across the Bay from the north so we rigged up and headed out.  The wind was consistent offshore but not so good closer to the beach.  The Sector 60 was moving along quite nicely.

Its been a while since I have used the Sector 60 so I had to re-acquaint myself with turning it and swapping my feet in gybe turns.

When Cesar came out we headed off for an upwind tour, making up past Elwood.  We passed a few small catamarans racing.  The race boats were nice to see to, in case we got stranded with no wind.

I was a bit concerned about losing the wind so we headed back with some fast runs.  I had a few high speed stacks that were quite exciting, then starting doing fast turns at speed down-looping the kite.  The Lithium 12 provides nice smooth power with the down-loop turns.

Back at Brighton quite a few more kiters were out.  One person dunked their kite and then started a self rescue.  I headed out to offer some help but by the time I went past they were close to th reef and headed for shore.  I did a few jumps on the Sector 60.  Once I got used to the extra weight of the board I was able to get a bit of height.

My fastest speed was 41.7 km/h and I logged 41 km distance .  The water was fairly warm and the weather was warm and sunny.  This was a really good session after 2 weeks off the water.

GPS log

Kitesurfing Frankston with a tour and a strong northerly

Session 232.  A great northerly was on so we headed for Frankston and setup on the beach. One other kiter was there so it certainly wasn't crowded. Stuart took out his Crossbow 7 while I used my Lithium 9. The waves were great fun. There was a nice swell rolling in. The wind was strong and not too gusty.

We spend some time enjoying the waves, then took off on a tour down towards Mornington. It was great to go for an explore.  We cruised out past Mount Eliza, about half way to Mornington.  There were some big swell rolling past and the coastal scenery here is nice.  Lot of bluffs and cliffs with very few beaches.

We turned and headed back then did some tacks to get around the Frankston pier and back to our start point.  The picked up in strength to around 30 knots as we finished.  Four other kiters were out at Seaford.

Overall, a really nice session.

That's my kite!  Photo: Stuart Webb

See also: Kiteventure: 27 April - Perfect northerly at Frankston - glorious day 

Kitesurfing a nice northerly at Seaford

Session 231.  A very consistent,  punchy and warm northerly was on at Seaford.  Tarren and I had the entire beach to ourselves, apart from a couple of football teams that briefly dipped in the water.  The water was lovely clean water and still warm.  Initially I was nicely powered on the 12 and had some nice runs in the small bay surf and some of the rollers further out.  The wind picked up toward the end of our session so I de-powered the 12.  Towards the end there was enough for me to use the 9.

My gybes were good, but I am focusing on making them snappier rather than doing a little foxtrot each time I swap my feet.  Still thinking about a duck tack but its seemingly impossible to visualise how to do it.  I must practice more off the water.

I did a few jumps, one of them massive, and landed them O.K.  No backrolls with the surfboard yet though. I hit the shallow sandbar on one run in and took a nice tumble near the pier but I landed well.    Fast slalom turns and some downloops were nice to do.

A downwinder to Rosebud would have been well possible today, but getting a lift back could have been a problem.

My left elbow (tennis or golfers elbow) held up ok.  It is fine when flexed but I get twinges when it is straight and loaded, so I am avoiding that position where possible.  It is certainly lingering on, despite some acupuncture and physio sessions.

I wonder how Rosebud was today - crowded I suspect. We only saw one other kite in this entire expanse of bay.  We called in at Gnotuk Ave on the way back and there were only two kiters there - but the wind was gusty and sideshore so it was not so good.

Cesar is organising another Across the Bay to Conquer Cancer in July - this time in the other direction with a winter northerly.  I am keen to give it a go.

Here are some shots from a Contour ROAM mounted on my surfboard.

GPS Log

Kitesurfing Altona with no stingrays or sea urchins

Session 230.  Returning from a trip to Lara and the You Yangs I called by at Altona late in the afternoon.  There was a steady wind blowing and some kitesurfers out.  Peter Winter was just finishing a session so I said hello.

I rigged up my Lithium 12 and headed out on the surfboard.  The tide was high so all the offshore sandbanks were covered.  I did a few tacks out to towards the pier and back working my way out. The wind seemed like a steady 16-18 knots so I was able to go upwind without much effort.

I was wary of standing in the water though due to some recent reports of people getting stung by stingrays while standing in the water (during kitesurfing) and there are also sea urchins about.  This was added motivation to complete my gybes successfully. 

Once out past the pier I was able to get some longer runs along the length of the foreshore. The small surf was nice to ride in and jump off on the way out.  I did a longer run past the pier on my last run out, then came all the way back to the foreshore, and did some speed runs back towards the beach along with some slalom turns.

There was only about 6 other kiters out so it was really nice to cruise around and enjoy the ambiance.

GPS log

Short kitesurfing session on the Sector 60 at Hampton

Session 229.  I got down to Hampton at around 8 a.m. to catch the forecast westerly. It was cold and wintry. Stu Styles met me there but elected not to go out in the light onshore wind of around 15 knots, which was the right decision for him.

I setup the Lithium 12 and had a go with the Sector 60.  I struggled initially to get going, the wind seemed to have dropped further, but once up with some fast kite flying I was able to get going and go upwind.  There wasn't enough wind to do gybes however so I stopped and switched.

I got back in to the beach and did few more tacks, eventually getting some longer runs back to the breakwater.  There was less wind in close to shore however. On my last run it had dropped further so I cranked up maximum speed and headed back in.  I made it without too much trouble, but right at the end the wind must have been less than 8 knots.

It was nice have a run on the Sector 60 with no other kiters about and lots of joggers, cyclists and walkers along the foreshore.  My elbow is still sore on the "top of the bony bit" (ligament / sheath?) but the muscles and tendons feel better now.

The wind picked up briefly to around 20 knots when I was driving home but it didn't stay there for long.  The equinox was on 20 March so we are now headed into some more usual Autumn weather after all the recent hot days.

GPS Log

Kitesurfing with the masses at Rosebud with a wind change

Session 228.  I had a great morning bike ride with Richard at sunrise along the marvellous Cape Patterson-Inverloch road with great views across the ocean.  We discussed where to go during  a nice breakfast at the Beach Box cafe.  Sandy Point was further to go and there was a south-west wind change forecast.  Anderson Inlet was no good with the northerly.  Cowes was too much extra distance.  We decided to head for Rosebud, while Stuart and Tarren ended up going to Seaford (dodging the Iron Man event that was in progress at Frankston.

There were a lot of kites on the grass and the water when we arrived at Rosebud - it looked like St Kilda on a  busy day!  There were about 3 people having lessons right the beach entry point too.

The wind was NW and around 20 knots so I took out the Lithium 12 and my twin tip.  I had to concentrate on edging it and did a few jumps.  Once away from the beach there was plenty of room.  I did a few jumps, then depowered the kite.  The wind picked up more (over 25 knots) so I came in and switched over to the Lithium 9 and my surfboard.

Just as I got to the water the wind dropped then switched to SW (offshore).  I dodged a mess of kites on the beach as I headed out.  Once out I was able to get going well.  It was nice to be on the surfboard again and to fly the smaller nimble kite.


Hutcho, James and Richard all noticed the increase in wind too.

Stuart and Grant scored a couple of runs on their sailboards.

On the way back we stopped at Safety Beach - the SW wind was onshore there and 25+ knots, but there was not a kite in sight.

Stuart and Tarren had Seaford to themselves and also scored to good sessions there.

We headed home, with everyone happy to get some kiting on both days of the Blokes Kitesurfing Weekend.

Kitesurfing with James

Kitesurfing with Richard

Kitesurfing with James

Kitesurfing with Richard

Peter kitesurfing, Stu windsurfing

Rosebud!

GPS Log