Fast runs at Hampton made for excellent kitesurfing

Session 390. There were terrifying winds and storms yesterday but the wind on Sunday was more benign.

Stuart and I got down to Hampton early and were rewarded with good wind and some very fast runs. Storms were coming down the middle of the bay but were mostly missing Hampton, although we did get a bit of hail at one point.

I did some jumps and dropped the kite a couple of times (Hindenbergs) in the lighter winds.

On one occasion I felt the wind pick up then SMACK I was down, struck by a savage but very brief micro gust!

The rest of the crew showed up about an hour later and headed out, for a short while it was almost crowded.

The speed runs were sensational - cranking up the power and going for it - without being too overpowered.

Afterwards we stopped for coffee and chat in at Sebastion Cafe in Hampton where they have a great Breakfast Board and the coffee is excellent.

GPS Log

Kitesurfing ripping 35+ knot northerly at Seaford

Session 389.  The storm force northerly blew all night and was still going in the morning so James, Stu S, Stu W, Tarren and I met at Seaford for a cracking session with winds 35+ knots.

We weren't disappointed, the wind was howling!  I pumped up my Union 8 and lent Tarren my Crossbow 7.  I used the second knot on the outer line attachments to get more depower and was glad that I did - the kite was fully depowered for most of this session.  The Union kites have a great depower range and perform well in strong conditions - there are no surprises.

Strong winds means big waves so the surfing was good too, a big boosts were too easy and sometimes scary.

Overall a very solid session.  Great fun, but always watching out for another big gust!

GPS log

Great white shark spotted off Brighton!

This picture was doing the rounds on FB recently.  It appears to be a Great White Shark in Port Phillip Bay and was apparently taken by some fishermen off Brighton in late February 2015.

Royal Brighton Yacht Club has apparently advised all members  (and especially their Iceberger swimmers) to exercise caution and to take all possible precautions.

I don't worry about sharks while kitesurfing.  There have been very few shark attacks in Port Phillip Bay, with the most recent fatal attacks cited in 1956 (Portsea Back Beach), 1954 (Pont Lonsdale) and 1949 (no specific location) [Source: List of fatal shark attacks in Australia, Wikipedia]

The chances of being killed driving to a kitesurfing location are orders of magnitude higher than the chance of a shark attack.

While Great Whites do enter Port Phillip Bay occasionally, they obviously don't seek out humans as food.

However, shark attacks are still possible, with the last recorded one being 19 October 2011 (non-fatal) off Elwood [Source: Shark attack at Elwood Beach in Victoria, Australia]

So it is worth keeping an eye out. It is just good practice to be aware of your surroundings for swimmer, obstacles (e.g. floating logs), whales, sharks, dophins, seals and other water craft.