Wind about 21 knots
Fine and sunny
My first outing at Hampton Beach. It is nowhere near as crowded as St Kilda, although there were several kiteboarders about. I was able to inflate the kite on the grass at the top of the small hill next to the beach then take it down. Parking is also easier.
In the water I felt under control, and was able to get partially up and going to the left, then head back in to the right. My focus was on maintaining control and "throttling the power". I was able to get up and going to the left fairly well. The tack took me towards a rock groine, which I was mindful of. It would not be good to get dragged into it. So I headed back in before I went past it and did the "walk of shame" back up the beach.
The other kiters here keep well out of the way - they turn around when they come close rather than "sneaking past" as they do at St Kilda. This is a lot better for learning as it removes the additional worry about other kiters and crossed lines and potential collisions etc.
I was able to fly the kite well, but had some difficultly "locking it in" at a fixed height during my attempts to go upwind. The kite seems to want to adopt the sine-wave pattern.
I landed the kite solo by bringing it down to the beach, then yanking on the front lines to get it to tip leading edge down onto the beach.
Summary
A confidence boosting session, and a much better venue. I felt more in control and comfortable with the kite.
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