Kitesurfing Point Leo to Honeysuckle

Session 496. Great to be kiting again at Point Leo. The wind was around 20 knots blew away the heavy smoke from recent bushfires across Victoria, but there was no swell.

Several tacks got us up to the Pines with some flat water behind the reef. Enjoyed some nice small waves at Honeysuckle on the way back. The waves at Suicides at Point Leo were crashing onto the reef.

The channel behind Suicides.

Looking across to Phillip Island - a tour to there would be nice, but a serious undertaking with boat support required.

The wind was mostly good but there were a few holes in it. Some caution is indicated for shallow reefs close to shore.

A solid and very enjoyable 2 hour session covering 44km with Stu S, Stu W, James and Mike.

Kitesurfing Sandy Point surf in light wind

Session 493. November 2019 kitesurfing weekend. There wasn't much wind at Sandy Point surf beach. I need to fix the lines on my Ocean Rodeo Flite 14.5 - it might have been big enough to get going. The Wave 12 didn't have enough grunt.

We headed to our accommodation at Walkerville North for some great Indian food provided by Dobbo and fantastic views across Waratah Bay to Wilsons Prom.

Kitesurfing Woodside beach, deep water and small waves

Session 492. November 2019 kitesurfing weekend. First location for our kiting wind trip was Woodside on the Ninety Mile beach. Its the first time I have kited there.

Video

The waves were small and the water gets deep offshore quickly.  The Ninety Mile Beach is a lovely wild location to kite but I wouldn't fancy going for a long swim.

I have often thought about doing a long downwinder along the Ninety Mile.  A tour down to Seaspray our Loch Sport would be nice.

The wind was a bit lite though. It picked up after a stop for lunch but was cross shore so we headed to Sandy Point for an afternoon session.

First sea breeze for Spring 2019 at Hampton

Session 491.  First sea breeze of late Spring (nearly Summer) at Hampton.  Nice consistent wind, cool water, and lots of Blue Blubber jellyfish about. 

I did some jumps and carved turns on the rollers.

There were lots of small yachts racing off Hampton.  I tacked past them as they were rounding a buoy near the marina. 

A few other kiters were on the water but it certainly wasn't crowded.  Summer is coming . . .

Kitesurfing downwinder Aspendale to Frankston in a raging north westerly

Session 490. Got to Aspendale around 9 a.m. with Stu S and Stu W already out.  The wind was strong, around 25 knots. I setup my 8m Union, rear lines on the low power knots, and my downwinder backpack then got on the water. Wow, plenty of power.  I did a couple of tacks and the kite was fully lit on full depower. 

I headed downwind and saw the two Stu's walking up the beach with their kites in hand.  The wave were a good size but the wind made catching them difficult.  I got the hauled downwind with the kite high and stacked on a few waves so I stopped trying to catch them out the back and moved behind the first sandbar to get some smoother water.

It became an exercise in survival.  My 6m kite would have been perfect, but I was committed.  I saw one windsurfer out crashing over waves.  I more or less straight lined and kept my speed low, going fast meant rapid acceleration and a big stack.  It was a relief to get around Seaford pier then down Frankston.  I pulled the safety with the kite in the shore break and was able to secure it.

I packed the kite and untangled the lines up on the grass in a blissfully sheltered location.  Another squall came it, the weather was seriously gnarly.  

Great coffee and muffin at the Coffee Club then the train back to Aspendale.

The wind chart at Fawkner shows the wind got to 30 knots, gusting to 40, which explains why I was overpowered for the trip.