Kitesurfing Port Melbourne in a late sea breeze

Session 192. Friday 20 October 2012

Stuart, Tarren and I had our gear ready for a kitesurfing session after work as Predictwind forecast showed a sea breeze during the afternoon.

We met at Port Melbourne in balmy conditions with no wind.  Tarren eventually left as he was going out. After thinking nothing would happen, the wind picked up, so Stuart and I headed out.  

I was flying on the Sector 60 with my 12m Noise kite, I made it to St Kilda on a single tack (!) then returned. I even depowered the kite.  I had plenty of power and speed, but doing a pre-turn gybe on the Sector 60 proved tricky.  Its been a while since I have been on this board.  No problems gybing left to right though.  

I came close to the Spirit of Tasmania a couple of times and could see people on the deck watching, as well as cars loading via the bow.

It was great to get this session in after work.  The advantages of the Sector 60 board are clear - I had a fast upwind session when Stuart was having trouble going upwind at all on his twin tip.

Kitesurfing Hampton in just enough wind

Session 191. Saturday 13 October 2012

A westerly came through on Saturday morning after an amazing cold snap of weather.  I suited up in my Ocean Rodeo Soul drysuit again.  Tarren and Stuart were first on the water and having a nice time.  Tarren came in and helped me launch my kite as I was having a bit of trouble self launching.

There was "just enough" wind to hold a line, but Stuart was going better upwind with his new Cabrinha Switchblade 12.  Kites just keep on getting better.

Its an amazing feeling kiting and staying dry. Well almost - I did get a little bit of water up one leg toward the end of the session.  

Here are some shots (linemount and kitecam) of me kiting with the drysuit. 

The wind was about 20 knots but dropped to 15 or less when we stopped.

Here is a gybe turn sequence

 

 

GPS log

Kitesurfing at Brighton before work

Session 190. Thursday 4 October 2012

What better way to is there to start the day than a kitesurfing session before work?

Stuart, Tarren and I met at Brighton at 7am and had a great session in the northerly.  The sun was shining, the wind consistent and the water relatively warm.

I used the surfboard and was able to make most of my gybes.

A quick change back at the car then we caught the train to work. 

Slideshow

Cool kitesurfing at Frankston

Session 184. Sunday 15 July 2012

Kitesurfing is a great way to recover from jetlag.  I returned from a 2 week trip to the U.S.A. on Saturday, so with a nice north-westerly on at Frankston I headed down with Stuart to blow away some cobwebs.

The water was cold and clear.  Its amazing that we had the entire beach to ourselves and a couple of dog walkers.  Staying in Los Angeles for a week and Occoquan, Virginia for a few days further reinforced my view that Melbourne is one the best kitesurfing locations in the world!

It took a while to get in the groove.  I was getting lots of speed and crashing while turning left from toeside to heelside until I concentrated on turning the board (after the kite) more aggressively.   Heelside to toeside turns were going well, but the Noise 12 turns slower that my Switchblade 10 so I had to adjust to that too.  

The small bay surf was nice and the wind was a steady 18-20 knots.  Yee ha!

Franz and Wayne arrived at the beach for the next shift just as we were finishing so we handed them the baton.

  

Kitesurfing at Hampton in frontal winds

Session 183. Sunday 17 June 2012.

The forecast Westerly wind came in, but it was up and down.  A series of squalls came through during the day, with lulls in between.

I arrived at Hampton in the early afternoon.  Several kites were setup on the beach, with kiters waiting.  A squall came through and everyone sprang into action.  I had a couple of runs on my surfboard using the Noise 12m, then the wind dropped.

I setup the Sector 60 and got going on that for a few runs. I found it a bit tricky to use wearing booties.  Eventually, the wind dropped further so I came in and packed up.

It may have been better during the morning when the wind was more consistent, but it was nice to get wet again.  Frankston looked like it was getting stronger wind too.

This time of year you have to take what you can get, and some wind is much better than none!

Fawkner wind

Frankston wind

Cold winter conditions and not enough wind

Session 181.  Sunday 27 May 2012.

Back from my adventures in France and Switzerland, it looked like there could be some wind at Parkdale. Stuart and I headed down late in the afternoon.  It was blowing a bit over 12 knots so we decided to have a go.  It was cold, overcast and gloomy, but once in the wetsuits we were warm enough.

There was just enough wind to get going, which was nice, but not quite enough to stay upwind.  The shorebreak was quite heavy too.

I think I could have got going on my Sector 60, but there wasn't quite enough wind to power up the surfboard. It was nice to fly the kite though.

Epic kitesurfing day at Inverloch - speed course on flat water, session 2

Session 176 - 24 March 2012

We headed to the inlet later in the afternoon.  A 10 knot breeze was blowing and one kiter was struggling to stay up wind on a 14m kite and twin tip board.  I got the Sector 60 out and rigged my Noise 12m kite.

I was able to cruise upwind with ease across to a sand bank, then head down wind following it to flatter water where I could crank the speed up.  Coming back, I was able to do a fast leg past the sandbar, very wary of hitting the bottom with the 24cm fins, then crank back upwind to get back to the Angling Club.  

I ended up overpowered!  The Sector 60 board turns what would be an ordinary session in light wind into an exhilarating one.  By the end of the session I was wall and truly stuffed though.

The tendons on the back of my right wrist were sore and legs, torso and arms were all fatigued. 

This is the biggest and physically hardest day kiting I have ever done and was immensely satisfying.

We all had a nice pub meal and got to bed for a good rest.


Session Details

Distance:	10.75 km
Time:	47:06
Max Speed:	42.7 km/h

Epic kitesurfing day at Inverloch - big surf and downwinder, session 1

Session 175 - 24 March 2012

Stuart and I organised a "blokes kitesurfing weekend" at Inverloch for 24-25 March.  My big fear was getting 9 super keen kitesurfers together and not getting good wind.

Here is the crew, and their arsenal.

Stu, Stuart, Tarren, Hutcho, Rod, Grant, Franz, Peter + arsenal

 

The weather forecast via Predictwind during the week looked good. We got an early start on Saturday and got to the Inverloch surf beach and were on the water at 8am, with a good wind blowing. 

It picked up just as we headed out; I was overpowered on my Noise 12, so I came in to swap it for my Switchblade 10m.  Everybody else went down a kite size too.  The surf was big.  I got rinsed a couple of times but managed to keep my kite flying.  I used my twin tip as I knew I could handle it well in the "full conditions", and I haven't used the directional board for a while.  Tarren and Stuart were on twin tip boards too.

Franz and Rod are very keen wave kiters and only use directional boards.  They demonstrated consummate skills in the big surf, along with another two kiters who were down for the day.

 

A few kites got dunked, and Stuart killed his Crossbow 7 after it got ripped by a wave and the bladder burst with a loud bang.

After a couple of hours we came in for rest.  Franz and Rod did a car shuffle to the Angling Club in the inlet then we all headed off on a downwinder.  I used the Noise 12m to ensure enough power, and had an epic battle adjusting the below the bar depower with the line jamming in the cleat.

It was nice to go for a cruise, until I dropped my kite.  It got munched by a wave close to the inlet mouth, but I somehow managed to relaunch it and keep going.  There was a strong current crossing the mouth, then a succession of smaller surf zones and sandbars going across to the opposite point.  

I did a jump and dropped my kite again (sh*!) but was outside of the major surf zone and relaunched it (phew!).  Heading into flatter water of the inlet I was feeling like a good kitesurfer again and got some nice speed runs it. 

Franz

Hutcho

Closer to the beach I raced briefly with Stu Styles who was ripping on his windsurfer; he won.  

Then coming to the beach, I passed Hutch who was kiting with my original (first) Crossbow 12m that I sold him a couple of years ago.  

Back on the beach, we were all tired but very happy.  Big smiles all around.  We hit the bakery for a large lunch after this great session.  But the day was not yet over . . . 

Session stats

Distance:	44.09 km
Time:	5:33:20
Max Speed:	37.4 km/h

Photo albums

Kitecam shots


Helmet mount and line mount shots


Hanging out, the resident Koala and the arsenal