Kitesurfing the last light at Mentone with light wind

Session 363. I got down to Mentone late on Friday after work.  One guy was landed a big 17m kite.  There was around 10 knots wind so I decided to have a go.

I could just get going on the Flite 14.5 and did a couple of runs toward the Beaumaris Motor Yacht Squadron and back. I stopped and flew my kite on the beach. A curious dog came up to me and barked.

I did one more run then packed up.

It was great to see the sun set and soak up the ambiance, Mentone is a nice part of the bay.

New Airush Union 10m kite and massive jumps kitesurfing at St Kilda

Session 362.  I picked up two new kites - Airush Union 10m and 8m - from Ivan at the The Zu Boardsports, and traded in my Lithium 12 and 9.

Ivan, happy to sell me the kites

Me, happy to buy them

Out with the old

In with the new

There was some good wind at St Kilda, I used the Union 10.  I pumped at The Zu with the handy compressor.

I reset the bridle to the "low bar pressure" attachments on the leading edge, and the rear line attachments to the "medium bar pressure" (middle) attachment point on the wingtips.

The new analogue bar is much lighter.

I setup and launched then headed out past the learners.  There was a good swell coming past the breakewater.  I rode it into the beach then continued along towards Albert Park.  The kite is very easy to control and parks well when riding waves.  

I toured across near to the Spirit of Tasmania then headed back.  The leading edge is much thinner than the Lithium 12 which helps the kite go upwind really well.

I then did some runs to the breakwater and back out, surfing the big swell in.  I did some jumps and got a real shock when the kite kept flying up!  It boosts much better than the Lithiums did and heads for the moon!  I didn't have any trouble landing them but the extra airtime takes some getting used to.

I tried one back roll and over rotated then crashed - the extra boost in the kite provides more airtime and therefore more rotation so I will go easier next time. 

The kite has more pull on downloop turns compared to the Lithium too.

I rate the Union 10 out of 10 - it does everything well and I couldn't find a fault.  It think it was definitely worth upgrading, particularly before my other kites (over 3 years old) lose too much value. 

A word of caution for beginners though - test fly a Union before buying one.  They turn and fly fast and could be a bit too responsive while learning.  If you are starting out an Lithium may be a better kite for your first year or two.

St Kilda Wind (not extreme!)

Fawkner wind

GPS Log

Kitesurfing backrolls in Hampton sea breeze

Session 361. I headed down to Hampton to catch the late sea breeze.  Heavy traffic now so it took a while to get there.  I considering using the foil board but there wasn't much time, so I used my Lithium 12 and trusty Nugget.

I resolved to work on my erratic back rolls. Given I often loop the kite I concentrated on keeping my hands together.  This worked.  I completed a roll in good control, but the kite ended up flying the other way, so I am still pulling on the back hand a bit.

I did about 6 on the left tack, landing one back roll kiteloop which feels really good when it works.  On the right tack I couldn't even get one to work.  About 4 other kiters were out and one windsurfer.  The breeze dropped right off when I finished.

Next time I will try some back rolls with my front hand pulling down and also try an agressive back roll kiteloop with the rear hand pulling down.

A nice way to finish the week.

GPS Log

Kitesurfing downwinder Aspendale to Mentone with some nice waves

Session 360.  Another great downwinder!  Aspendale to Mentone is a really good run with some great bay waves along the way.  Grant even did it on his windsurfer! Stu and Job were well ahead by the time I started so I kept catching waves following the beach along.

It was a warm day and the 15 knot wind was not deterring swimmers - there were a lot out most of the way along.  I did some nice jumps for variety using waves as kickers.

I had a go at kiting back and got up close to the pier when the wind dropped so I headed back to Mentone direct.  This downwind run was quite different as I had to keep my board speed and kite speed up to generate maximum power.

I caught the others just before they drove off then waited for Grant to take me back to my car.

Great fun was had by all, in my case for 21 km!  So good!

GPS Log

Fast runs kitesurfing gusty south easterly at Mentone

Session 359. Scored a strong late afternoon south easterly at Mentone with Stu Styles. The wind was very punchy about 200m out.  Some jumps were quite high.  One attempted back roll went pear shaped with a big stack.

The runs back in were really fast.  I almost beat my PB speed, clocking a maximum of 48.5 km/h.  There were a few other kites and some windsurfers out too.

My newly repaired Lithium 9 performed very well (thanks Ivan) and was ideal for the conditions.

Close to shore the wind dropped out a bit but I got yanked by some gusts downwind a couple of times.  Good fun, but some concentration was required to handle the gusts.

 

GPS log

Early evening kitesurfing in strong winds at Hampton

Session 358. The strong winds forecast came in during the afternoon. I got to Hampton late after attending to a chore.  About four kites were out and the wind was around 25 knots with a good swell.  I pumped up my Crossbow 7 (my Lithium 9 is not repaired yet) and headed out.

Plenty of power and some nice waves.  The bigger ones were breaking out past the end of the groynes at a reef. I was able to time it so I could a few there which was really nice.  

A few jumps then just riding as many waves as I could.  There were a couple of surfers close to the groynes too.  

25 knots or more generates some reasonable waves in the bay.  The wind dropped a little so I came in.  The sunset was dramatic with ships out in the bay including the Spirit of Tasmania heading out.

Shorebreak!

Nice swell

  

 
GPS Log