Sunday, January 10, 2010

Ripping at Inverloch in 22+ knots late in the day

Session 77, Sunday 10 January 2010

Kite: Switchblade 10m
Location: Inverloch - Anderson Inlet
Wind: 23+ knots E
Duration: 4:00 to 5:00 - 1 hour

The wind god smiled again. After a day around Cape Paterson, where the wind picked up around 1pm but didn't really get strong and was onshore onto a crowded beach, Chloe, Simon and I ended up in Inverloch eating fish and chips for dinner.

On arriving, kites were up and going in the inlet, and one was out in the surf with a windsurfer. After dinner Simon suggested I have a go as he thought I was looking restless, so we drove to the inlet launch site.

I feverishly rigged my 10m kite and got on the water pronto. No helmet, GPS or sunglasses today, but I did wear my vest.

A strong consistent easterly (weird but true) was ripping down the inlet. The 10m kite was ripping upwind and inlet was not too choppy. I did some good jumps on the left tack out in the middle near a sandbar, but was more tentative on the right tack near the shore and shallow water.

Another dude was cranking massive air on an 8m kite - around 5 meters or more - and landing them. According to Simon he was changing direction during the jump too. Advisable given the proximity to shore.

The wind direction meant that the tack took me across to a sandbank that was just covered by water. I ventured onto it a couple of times but there was very little water and potential to bottom out. It would have been good to get across and continue across the inlet; a couple of guys did this later after I landed my kite.

There was a kitesurfing school conducting lessons on location - but I didn't note their name. The student was out of the way and accompanied in the water by an instructor. They seemed to be doing a good job.

The 10m Switchblade flies and turns much quicker than the 14m kite, and seems to go upwind much better too. I was able to ride toe down on the right tack too. No kiteloops today! But a lot of speed, and good clean wind. I don't know where this wind came from, there was no sign of it in Melbourne when I got back to town.

My daughter Chloe on a "seaweed trampoline" at Cape Paterson



Building a sandcastle and a "rock pool pond seaweed garden
"
And a nice headband!

Post script


I checked the BOM website and found this warning - which appears to explain the easterly - but it has arrived early.


Coastal Waters Wind Warning
for Victorian waters between Lakes Entrance and 60nm east of Gabo Island.

Issued at 10:34 pm EDT on Sunday 10 January 2010.
Please be aware
Wind gusts can be 40 percent stronger than the averages given here, and maximum waves may be up to twice the height.

Weather Situation

A high pressure system just east of Tasmania will continue to move eastwards, reaching the Tasman Sea early Monday as a low pressure trough develops over the Bight.

Strong wind warning for Victorian waters between Lakes Entrance and 60nm east of Gabo Island
Winds: Northeasterly and increasing up to 30 knots Monday morning. Combined sea and swell: Increasing up to 4 metres.





2 comments:

Vivek said...

Hey Peter,

Love how you have set up this blog on the number of sessions that you've had. Wish I was in a warm windy place right about now :( ...

-Vivek

Peter Campbell said...

Thanks Vivek. Warm weather is nice but today is forecast for 43C im Melbourne which is a bit too warm!

At least we usually eventually get southerly changes to drop the temp and provide good kiting winds.