Sunday, August 28, 2011

A perfect winter session - upwind at Brighton.


Session 143, Sunday 28 August 2011

Kite: Noise 12
Wind: 25-3- knots, N
Location: Brighton
Time: 3:30 to 5:00
Board: Naish Haize twin tip

GPS log
Max speed: 41.4 km/h
Time: 1h30m
Distance: 29.14

Great session today - one of the best.  Good wind at Brighton, consistent and strong.

After getting a few rigging photos for our Kitesurfing Handbook, Stuart and I headed upwind as it was a bit crowded off the beach.  It was fresh and invigorating.  We headed upwind past the Brighton Marina all the way up the Elwood.

I dropped the kite once while setting the depower.  It came overhead and fluttered to the water.  Thankfully I relaunched it without much hassle.

The downwind run back was superb.  Heaps of speed, powered up, and time for some good jumps, carved slalom turns and toeside riding.

I rigged the kitecam pointing to far back to get yours truly in the frame, but I got some good shots around Brighton and a few of Stuart in the distance.

Back on the beach I was chatting to Stuart and Franz when to kites got tangled just offshore.  Franz towed me out, I grabbed one and dragged it back to the shore.  It all ended well.

Tired but very content.








All photos




A perfect winter session - upwind at Brighton.

Session 143, Sunday 28 August 2011

Kite: Noise 12
Wind: 25-3- knots, N
Location: Brighton
Time: 3:30 to 5:00
Board: Naish Haize twin tip

GPS log
Max speed: 41.4 km/h
Time: 1h 30m
Distance: 29.14

Great session today - one of the best.  Good wind at Brighton, consistent and strong.

After getting a few rigging photos for our Kitesurfing Handbook, Stuart and I headed upwind as it was a bit crowded off the beach.  It was fresh and invigorating.  We headed upwind past the Brighton Marina all the way up the Elwood.

I dropped the kite once while setting the depower.  It came overhead and fluttered to the water.  Thankfully I relaunched it without much hassle.

The downwind run back was superb.  Heaps of speed, powered up, and time for some good jumps, carved slalom turns and toeside riding.

I rigged the kitecam pointing to far back to get yours truly in the frame, but I got some good shots around Brighton and a few of Stuart in the distance.

Back on the beach I was chatting to Stuart and Franz when to kites got tangled just offshore.  Franz towed me out, I grabbed one and dragged it back to the shore.  It all ended well.

Tired but very content.








All photos





Friday, August 19, 2011

Kitesurfing handbook

I have written this Kitesurfing Handbook with Stuart Webb as a coauthor, capturing a lot of the information on this blog in a handbook format so it can be easily found.  I have also provided links to additional information sources.

The focus is on equipment, tips, safety and travel.  Introductory and intermediate skills and techniques are also covered, along with suggested skills progression.

Feel free to leave any comments or suggestions about the Handbook below.

Wednesday, August 03, 2011

Grabbing a tiger by the tail at Brighton

Session 142, Monday 3 August 2011


Kite: Switchblade 10
Wind: 25-3- knots, N
Location: Brighton
Time: 2:pm to 3:30
Board: Naish Haize twin tip

Franz, and fellow kiter I have just met, called me today around noon to suggest a kiting session at Brighton in the good northerly that was blowing.  I checked Predictwind, and it looked like the northerly would be there for the afternoon, so I headed down after a hasty lunch and met Franz at Brighton beach.

It was blowing well.  Some whitecaps were visible and several kiters already on the water were zinging along.  I decided to take out my 10m kite as it looked like the wind would remain strong.  This was the right decision!

After recent "cool northerlies" of around 15-20 knots, this was a different beast.  It was like grabbing a tiger by the tail.  The bar was yanked hard, even with full depower on, and the kite was jerked and tugged all over the place.  Speed was the order of the day.  I kept a slow tack out into the bay swell, but come back in fast.  Going upwind was a cinch too.

This was the hottest 3rd of August day in Melbourne since 1834 with 23.2C at 3:06pm !  It was almost a touch of summer.

Franz was on the water for a lesser time as he had a commitment mid afternoon.  I made my way back up to the marina and even further up.  There was a curious small wind shadow (about 15knots) behind the marina, but every else it was going off.

I did a few small jumps, wary of getting hoiked towards the heavens, and actually succeeded in a couple of small jump transitions.  The key is to get the board oriented while in the air and fly the kite fairly hard in the new direction.  Its not perfected yet though.

Coming back downwind was a hoot.  Lots of speed and some nice slalom turns.  I did a bit of toeside riding but stacked once.  The kite was so powered I had some trouble getting the board back on my feet with one foot in it and getting dragged.

Back on the shore, another kiter landed my kite.  Self-landing would have been a real hassle today, so that was nice.

A great session, but a testing one.  20km total and a maximum speed of 41.3 km/h.



Looking across the bay towards Altona

Melbourne CBD on the right horizon


Brighton Baths and pier

Fanging

Fanging downwind

Woot Woot!


Photo Album