Saturday, April 27, 2013

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





Saturday, April 13, 2013

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

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

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