Kitesurfing at Seaford in Winter sun

Session 547. A good northerly at Seaford made for some good kitesurfing. Mike and I got on the water just after 11am. 

The wind was around 20 knots so I used my Union 8m kite. It's been a while since I kited so I took it easy.

There was small but enjoyable bay surf in the Winter sun. Nice to crank out some turns.

The wind dropped for a bit then came back in with gusto.

James, Stu S and Stu W rolled up and joined us on the water.

I was glad I was wearing booties to keep my feet warm.

We had a good coffee at the Beach Cafe Seaford near the pier.

Great kitesurfing in classic Hampton sea breeze with a tour to Green Point #519

Session 519. A classic Hampton sea breeze and tour to Green Point made for a great session. After a few tacks in nice bay waves between the rock groynes Anthony and I headed across to Green Point for some good wave action. There was plenty of water so the reefs were well covered.

I was well powered on my Union 8 so it was easy to tack back to Hampton where more kiters were on the water.  Nice sunny warm weather, warm water and a good stiff sea breeze - summer is here! 

Bay city rollers - Albert Park to Williamstown and St Kilda

Session 167, 25 January 2012

Another great sea breeze came in.  I started kiting at about 4:30pm from Albert Park beach.  There was a windsurfer out having fun.  After a short tack I followed him all the way over towards Sandridge Beach.  He went into the beach.

I did a couple of tacks then crossed the channel to Williamstown.  There were no big ships about.  I got a little bit of flat water near the Newport power station, then tacked in towards the Strand, wary of running out of wind.

The wind got a bit fickle so I scooted back across the channel, only to be greeted by a large Toll ANL Bass Strait ship departing from its dock.  Rather than cut across the bow, I tacked a couple of times and crossed behind it, finding a big windshadow in its lee.  I only just kept the kite flying, then got going again as the sea breeze kicked in again.

I did a very long tack to St Kilda and got into the kiddies pool.  From the open bay to Bourke St!  It was quite busy.  After a couple of runs I headed back towards Port Melbourne in search of Stuart and Tarren.  There were some big "Bay city rollers" to cruise down, and enough wind for a few jumps.

I came right into to Port Melbourne beach next to the Spirit of Tasmania and did few runs in the surf before heading back to Albert Park.  I mis judged the distance from the fishermen on the pier and snagged a line.  I stopped and kicked off my board to free it - with an irate fisherman yelling at me.  Lesson: go TWICE as far out as you think you need to when passing fishing lines in the water.

There was a better surf off Albert Park so I did several runs there and found Stuart and Tarren having a ball too.  I stopped after about 2 hours, feeling rather tired, but very happy.

The GPS log worked well, but the Contour Roam camera again malfunctioned - it was turned on in the case then apparently turned off when I went kiting - then back on when I returned.  The magnetic switch seems to be very erratic.  Bugger!  No photos of my tour!  Must double check the record light in future.

Kitesurfing off Albert Park

Stuart and the Spirit of Tasmania

Broken pulley - tangled lines

Tarren

GPS log

Session stats

Summary

Distance:	41.46 km
Time:	2:07:44
Avg Speed:	19.5 km/h
Elevation Gain:	4,291 m
Calories:	2,045 C

Details

Timing

Time:	2:07:44
Moving Time:	1:51:11
Elapsed Time:	2:07:44

Avg Speed:	19.5 km/h
Avg Moving Speed:	22.4 km/h
Max Speed:	33.3 km/h