Red eye paddle to Fawkner Beacon

Paddle out to Fawkner Beacon from Sandringham Harbour with the Victorian Sea Kayak Club. 

Calm conditions made for pleasant paddling. It took a while to get Fawkner Beacon, chatting along the way.  We stopped for a snack at the beacon and watched a container ship coming up the channel.

It was fun surfing the bow waves from the ship after it passed.

I am happy with my Mirage 580 sea kayak, it is fast in the water, stable and easy to paddle. 

We had a coffee and chat afterwards in the Sandy Kiosk.  

Fawkner Beacon crosswinder and first good session on the foil board (at last)

Session 406.  Got down to Hampton in the late afternoon chasing the sea breeze.  I rigged feverishly and headed out. Stu Styles came in soon after I started.  I was keen for an adventure and could see a large cruise ship heading out from Port Melbourne along the shipping channel so I headed out for a look.  

I was nicely powered and making good progress on a tack towards Fawkner Beacon with the big ship making fast progress along the channel.  The wind softened a bit and my tack veered to the north a bit.  The ship was disappearing in the distance, I didn't get close to it, but it was a buzz being out there.  

The return tack was good and the wind held up as I returned then it dropped after a couple of runs close to the shore.  I landed my kite and started packing up then Stuart Webb arrived and headed out. 

I decided to have a go on the Cabrinha Double Agent foil board in the lighter wind so I set it up and walked out next to the southern groyn.  I was again having difficulty controlling the board while drying to board/body drag out.  It spins and twists.  I was then concerned about the reefs in the middle of the windsports section but avoided them.

Then I finally had some deep water and was able to power up the kite and keep the board under my feet but pushed out with the foil and mast almost horizontal.  It was great to get that amount of control. Then I had a go and standing up.  Its a really weird feeling when the board you stand on is not the "main board" - the foil is!  I got going a little but without much control.  

I think I should have been leaning forward more to keep the foil under, but at least I had no big stacks and kept control of the kite.

Tacking back in to the right I repeated the same technique with similar control, standing up a few times but feeling very tentative about the foil lurking under the water.  

I got back to the beach very happy to have succeeded in short session without a big stack or crashing my kite hard.   I was also able to sail the board back in flat on the water with one hand on it.

Don't let anyone tell you foil board are easy - learning is like being a rank beginner again!

Some tips:

• Don't power the kite up too much - keep good control
• Watch out you don't get pulled over your toes - the foil can act like a sea anchor under the board
• Practice controlling the board when body dragging - its harder than it looks
• Keep weight forward on the front foot when you are up.

The wind picked up a lot to around 25 knots which didn't make it any easier.

I took the Nugget out for some more runs and bigger jumps, relishing the surplus power.

GPS log

Breakwater to Beacon kitesurfing run, my first "race"

Session 324. I entered the Breakwater to Beacon kitesurfing run today, my first ever "race".  The event is organised by SHQ and Sandringham Yacht Club and is an informal race that intermediate kiters can enter on any board - twintip, surfboard, race board or foil board.


I was keen to have a go at something different.

Immediately I noticed my mindset was different - more like getting ready for a bicycle race.  Attend the briefing, get the bib, choose the gear.  Sector 60 or surfboard, 12m kite or 9?

I chatted with Graeme Simpson and Natalie Clark about the best gear to take.  I decided on the Sector 60 as it looked like the reach out would be upwind a bit, and my Lithium 12.

I was glad l had the 12 getting off the Sandringham beach (watch the reefs!) then puttering around waiting for the start.  I practiced a few gybes as it has been a while since I have used the Sector 60.  It is not easy to figure out when the start actually is.  The flags are only visible up close.  When the horns went I was towards the rear of the field so I started from a bit behind.

I had the Lithium on the rear knots and depowered as I tacked towards Fawkner Beacon in the distance.  I could see the foils and raceboards ahead of me but wasn't making any ground on them.

I gradually drew ahead of kiters downwind a bit on twintips and surboards.  I was also slowly gaining on one kiter on a surfboard just upwind of me and nearly passed him at the turning buoy just north of Fawkner beacon.  I turned slowly, determined not to stack, and had a little trouble getting going on the reverse tack.

Once I increased my speed the other kiter was away and I wasn't able to catch him.  The kite was nicely powered but the board was skipping over the waves and I really didn't feel comfortable going faster then I was.

My rear leg was burning about halfway so I straightened out a bit to rest it.  Getting close to finish I put on a bit more speed.  I crossed just ahead of the finish boat rather than behind it.  A fast skiff was whizzing in front of me so I slowed down a bit.

Looking around, I stacked and had to recover my board before heading into the beach.

It was a good experience - certainly different from kitesurfing waves and doing a downwinder.

We finished up with a great lunch on the deck of the Sandringham Yacht Club.

My GPS battery was flat so no track log.

 I finished 6th behind David Trewern, Graeme Simpson and Natalie Clark. My times were:

• Out: 11:33
• Back: 10:49
• Total: 22:22

David did the course in 17 minutes on his foil board, quite a bit quicker than me.

The start

Heading out to Fawkner Beacon

Turning around the marker

Return tack to Sandringham

The finish

A cross wind tour to Fawkner Beacon across the shipping channell

Session 74, Thursday 7 January 2010

Kite: Switchblade 14m
Location: Hampton to Fawkner Beacon
Wind: 15 knots SE
Duration: 6:15 to 7:15pm - 1 hour

GPS stats
Max speed: 37.4 km/h
Trip odo: 22.6 km
Mov'n avg 19.3 km/h
Mov'n time 1:10

I was feeling adventurous today, so when a reasonable South Easterly arrived late in the afternoon I headed for Hampton in lieu of bike racing at Sandown (don't tell my racing buddies!). It was a lovely sunny afternoon and the wind seemed stronger than the 15 knots indicated at Fawkner Beacon.

I rigged the 14m Switchblade, donned my impact vest & GPS caddy and took off heading towards Fawkner Beacon in the far distance to see if I could get there. The swell was fairly small so I was able to make reasonable progress a little upwind.

My right arm soon felt a little tired again, so I held the power in the bar in the middle with my left hand and used the right to adjust the kite up and down when required. I also varied my stance by leaning right back, extending my arms and varying the bend in my knees and the power in my legs.

I stayed on the left tack marvelling at the distance covered and was again struck by a "wilderness experience" far out in the Bay with nobody else around, apart from one large yacht that sailed by close early on.

Eventually I came to a large channel bouy, then a two wooden channel marker poles. I cross the channel to reach another buoy on the other side and slowed down to appreciate the view. The bayside suburbs were spread out in the distance, the Dandenongs clearly visible out East, and the city skyline to the North. Cool, very cool.

I turned and got a good look at the Fawkner beacon not far to the South - about 200m away. It has solar panels on it, and is the data source for the wind charts I post on this blog. There is some meteo gear on it too - it is essentially a pole festooned with equipment.

It would have been a very long way to swim in so I headed straight back to Hampton, surfing down and around the small waves. For a while I was headed upwind slightly to the Sandringham Marina bout harbour and club house, but about two thirds of the long tack in the wind dropped a little so I headed towards the beach. Track log showing context is below.


Zooming you can see the approximate location of Fawkner beacon, the shipping channel is clearly marked on the map. There were no big ships about when I was out there.


There were a few other kites about close to shore. I zoomed straight in to the beach next to the first groyne, pleased as punch to have made it. I then did a few tacks out and back until I was able to reach the main beach, by which time the wind had dropped further so I landed the kite and had a chat with Hamish on the beach.

It seems I was lucky to make it back in with no dramas as the wind dropped right off by about 7:30. (graph below). It is really good to mix up the kiting with some tours and adventures.

Getting ready for the big Bay crossing . . .