Sea breeze at Hampton with some back rolls

Session 348.  Scored a good sea breeze after work. Not enough time to rig up the foil board so I took my Nugget out with the Lithium 9.  The breeze was steady and not too strong.  I did a back roll kiteloop on me left tack and landed it well and repeated this on a right tack too.  Yay! Full commitment is the secret.

Passed close by a yacht - the only other craft on the water.  

There were a few sea urchins on the beach so I was wary about stepping on one.

I can't wait to try out the Double Agent foil board.

GPS Log

Kitesurfing in a rainstorm at Aspendale

Session 347. Some welcome rain after the heatwave and some frontal wind.  I arrived at Aspendale with a stiff 25 knots+ blowing then setup. The wind dropped so I had a go with my Lithium 9 but could only just get going. I did a run close to shore then walked back.  A friendly lifeguard pointed out I had kited through the flags.  Oops, I apologised for my total brain fade.

The wind picked up briefly and I got another run it but that was it.  All my gear got very wet in the rain.  Not much kiting but it was great to be in the water in cooler weather.

I stopped for a great coffee at Mordialloc on the way home.

Kitesurfing gusty northerly at Brighton in 40C heat

Session 346. Scorching 42C+ in Melbourne and across Victoria today - this heat was blown from inland by a strong northerly.  I put some shade cloth over my beehive in the morning then decided to head for Brighton for some kitesurfing in the afternoon.

It was too hot to wear even my shorty wetsuit so I dug out some boardshorts and a rash vest.  I headed out after a quick dunk into the water to cool off.  The wind was strong but not super gusty.  

I left my new foil board at home as I didn't think a northerly at Brighton would be good for learning. My trusty Nugget performed flawlessly.  One guy jellyfished his kite off shore so I stopped and towed it around to help him relaunch it.

I did some nice high jumps and landed most of them.

I headed upwind past the marina then close into shore.  At time I estimated the wind to be 25 knots so I was well powered.

I returned with a sequence of slalom turns. Graeme Simpson went past on his foil board who on a fast tour.  

I tried one back roll but was too tentative and crashed the kite - commitment is required.

Back on the beach after landing the wind picked up again. I landed a couple of kites for people that were overpowered on an 11 and a 12.    Its always worth going down a kite size when kiting a northerly at Brighton.

The thunderstorms visible out on the bay didn't make to Brighton while I was there but the clouds looked dramatic.

GPS Log

Hampton sea breeze - first ride on the Double Agent

Session 345.  Scored a nice sea breeze after work at Hampton for my first ride on my new Cabrinha Double Agent board.  I used the board without the hydro foil to get test it out and get familiar with it before I attempt "foiling".

The skinny board gets up and going very easily - its like a twin tip on steroids.  It goes upwind well with the four fins providing good tracking.  The front bobs around on the chop more than my Nugget but its easy to manage.

I only had the front straps fitted and felt that I didn't need the rear one.  My rear foot was placed well back on the board.

It carves a good turn, but again, not as nicely as the Nugget.  I missed a few gybe turns until I got used to the lower flotation.  Keeping the board speed up with more power in the kite stops it bogging into the water during turns.  Once I got the hang of that it provided a nice stable platform for stepping around during gybes.

The Double Agent surfed and carved the swells well too; more power in the kite helped there too.

Overall, its a fun board to use in the bay swell and chop without the foil, but I think it wouldn't be well suited for bigger surf.

Next step is to try it with the foil.  I can't wait.

GPS Log

Danny MacAskill - amazing bike riding in Gran Canaria

Danny MacAskill has done it again - another amazing bike death-defying riding video  - Cascadia

Hampton to Green Point early kitesurfing session

Session 344.  Early wind forecast so we were onto it.  Stu S, Stuart W, James, Tarren and I converged on Hampton with a nice westerly blowing.  I headed straight for Green Point and got some nice waves just off the reef.   The surf keeps going down along the point towards Brighton for a while.

Green Point

A tack off Brighton enjoying the view, then back toward Hampton.  Riding the swells back into the beach with downloops was great, followed by some surf on the Hampton reefs.

Coffee and a muffin afterwards, then off to SHQ for an interesting new board - more on that to come!

Green Point

 

Green Point

Green Point

Green Point

Shore break!

Cylists on Beach Road

Stu Styles in action

GPS Log

Killer whales in Port Phillip Bay!

Three killer whales have just been sighted cruising around southern regions of Port Phillip Bay!  Kitesurfing past them would be an interesting experience, but they visited when there was very little wind.

Port Phillip Sea Pilots coxswain James Grinter snapped this photo of an orca sighted near the Queenscliff Ferry terminal.

It was reported that they travelled up South Channel to Mornington then returned back down the channel close to shore stopping for a look at Sorrento pier.  It would have been fantastic to see them.

Links

• Orcas in Port Phillip Bay have whale of a time | GeelongAdvertiser
• Australian Orca Database, Facebook

Gusty and gale force winds can make kitesurfing dangerous

It seems obvious doesn't it?  A forecast of gusty and gale force winds indicates you should very carefully consider whether to kitesurfing or not.

Check out this wind graph for Wednesday 25th November.  The forecast was for gale force winds. Some kitesurfers were at Brighton when one of the massive gusts came in, one with a large kite up close to shore.  They were very lucky to avoid a serious injury.  The maximum gust was 54 knots!

On Monday 30 November you might have been tempted to go out with a small kite around 4 p.m. but look at the 40 knot gust the ripped through after 7 p.m!

Today it was gusty again but manageable with a small kite (e.g. 7 metres)

Be careful, check forecasts carefully, and if in doubt don't go out!

This article has more advice on this topic: Kitesurfing storm fronts (Kitesurfing Handbook)