Kitesurfing Cocos Islands - kitebeach, blue holes and the reef

Session 477. First day kitesurfing on the Cocos Islands. We headed to kitebeach at the southern end of the West Island after a relaxing breakfast at our accommodation at Cocos Seaview.

What a location!  Palm trees lead to a white sandy beach facing into the huge lagoon.   Islands are visible in the distance.  Nice 20 knot wind blowing along the beach.  Crystal clear water.  This is a kitesurfing paradise!

The lagoon is shallow for a quite a distance from the shore.  There are small coral lumps in sections then clear white sand.  I did a run further out to the spectacular blue holes - blue water in deep holes fringed by sharp reef.

I then tacked upwind across close to East Cay island, got a bit too close to the wind shadow and dropped my kite.  I continued out towards the surf break after relaunching it.

Approaching the surf is dramatic.  Kitesurfing over fairly shallow reef, its difficult to judge the depth in the clear water.  There are a few bollard visible in the waves, which get bigger and more savage as you approach.  The big waves crash right onto the coral, I had no desire to head further out into them.

The tide was lower on the way back, caution was necessary when kiting over shallower sections with coral bommies.  Its good to have reef booties in the event you come off and need to relaunch.

Back in safety and stoked!

Kitesurfing downwinder from Aspendale to Frankston

Session 476. Always stoked to do a downwinder!  Another sunny day and 20 knots of NNW wind so the downwinder from Aspendale to Frankston was a great option.  Good waves all the way down, then a coffee and the train back.

Video

Leaving Aspendale

Patterson River

Seaford Pier

Note: GPS was paused for most of this trip!

Kitesurfing at Frankston after the storm

Session 475. Sunny kitesurfing session at Frankston after the storm passed. It was gloomy, raining and windy when I arrived. What a difference 20 minutes makes!

Coffee and pastry afterwards at Cafe Moto is always great.

Kitesurfing in cooler weather at Seaford, mishap while launching

Session 474. Headed to Seaford with a forecast of good NW wind.  There was plenty when we got there and not much beach.  I rushed setting up then got a  launch from James with me in the water and the kite on the beach.  The sun was directly behind the kite so I couldn't see the lines or the rigging.  Big mistake.  When James let the kite go the kite looped and dragged me onto the beach then crashed into the dunes. I pulled the safety. There was a tangle in bridle that caused this.

Here is a video of the mishap then some nice bay kitesurfing

Luckily the kite was not damaged.

Contributing factors to this mishap were:

• Haven't kited for a while (rusty)
• In a hurry to launch
• Didn't double check the lines and rigging
• Launching with the kite towards land (much safer to launch towards the water)
• Launching into the sun (couldn't see the lines)
• Narrow beach, not much room (may beaches along the Bay are eroding due to sea level changes).

It was a relief to get onto the water and offshore.  I settled down and did a few runs and caught some waves.  Coming back in the kite felt odd.  On the shore it back stalled so I attempted to land it.  It was out of control again so I crash landed it a second time.  The bladder was deflated, which eventually means you can't control the kite.

I assumed that there was a small hole in the bladder from the first crash, but I pumped up the kite later at home and it was fine.  So I didn't tighten the valve properly (In a hurry to launch).

The wind dropped a bit so I switched to my 10m kite and had an enjoyable session in the waves and was feeling much better for it.

I used a chest harness for the Gopro.  It works well and the camera is easy to adjust and turn on and off.

Kitesurfing tour at Elwood

Session 473.  A solo session off Elwood in fresh conditions.  The launch at the beach is tight, there are power lines close by. 

I cruised up past St Kilda Marina up towards St Kilda pier then back.  I don't often kite close to shore in this areas so it was a good opportunity for some sightseeing.  There were a few small reefs to watch out for.

On the return tack I cruised up to Brighton Marina then did a fast run back to Elwood.

Nice to do some touring and have a look around.

Kitesurfing Hampton to Green Point

Session 472. On the water about 3 p.m, there wind was strong enough to go upwind so I headed for Green Point.  There were no good waves there however so I head back surfing the swells.  Paul and Greg were out on their foil boards having a good time. We were the only three kiters out.

Its getting colder now. I am looking forward to some bigger waves.

Afterwards I visited James and Heather and Sandringham Yacht Club, they are nearly ready to head off for some more adventure sailing after doing some repairs.

Kitesurfing weekend with howling wind and giant surf at Sandy Point

Session 471. Eight keen kitesurfers converged at Sandy Point for another kitesurfing weekend.  Stu W, Stu S, Tarren, James, Dobbo, Adam, Anthony and myself.

Very strong 30+ knot wind on Saturday provided epic surf conditions. I did a couple of  sessions on my 8m Union kite.  It was good having plenty of power as the waves were huge, so big that I didn't make it right out the back.

I swapped to my 6m Wave for the third session, it had plenty of power and was better for riding the waves.  Definitely a small kite day!

The wind was around 23 knots on Sunday and the surf a bit more manageable, I got out the back and rode some big waves several times.  Traversing out the back I thought I was past the break, then a monster loomed up.  There was no way I could over or behind it so I rode it in.  Massive power in the wave then I got munched but I kept my kite flying.

Lots of tired and happy faces over lunch, then I headed home.

In my estimation Sandy Point is the best kitesurfing beach in Victoria.  Its wide and has nice shallow flat sections before the surf and you can pick your way out in big surf then catch some big waves.

More video footage to follow . . .

Saturday Session 1

Saturday Session 2

Saturday Session 3

Sunday Session 1

Sunday Session 2

Kitesurfing a northerly on a hot summer day at Frankston

Session 470. Kitesurfing again after a long break, feeling better after a protracted chest cough.  A nice session in a northerly at Frankston. Rode some big swells and tested out my GoPro with the Quark stabiliser.  Check out the video.

 So nice to be on the water again!

Kitesurfing scary big waves at Gunnamatta

Session 469. Gunnamatta has been on my go to list for ages.  Jeff Steele advised that late afternoon the wind should be good to a group of four headed there.  The waves were very big but the wind was light at 15 knots when I arrived at 4:30.  The wind improved around 5:15, Jeff decided to try it out. 

I got my gear and walked onto the beach watching Jeff heading down a big wave that closed out. He got munched and his kite went down. His lines tangled around another guy (surfer) who was in the water but he swam in OK. Jeff later said he hit something (weed?) and his board stopped dead.

I was cautious heading out and picked a gap. Even so, climbing up a couple of big waves was exciting, then past some surfers to clean deep water out the back.  I did a couple of runs in to check it out and get back upwind, then I headed in.  The swell steadily built as I got in a scary big wave which was a great ride.  

I got in ahead of a big wave on my second ride in.  The wind was dropping a bit so I headed in, not wanting to have a long swim in.  The others came in not long after struggling with the strong rip heading west along the beach.

Its been a while since my last session. I got a bad cough early in January and saw the doctor.  One round of antibiotics didn't fix it so I took a second course.  The cough was still persisting though.  I am now now on a third course of antibiotics and taking it easy.  Great to be on the water again after several weeks of feeling terrible.

The combination of big waves, deep water, very strong rips and ocean frontage makes Gunnamatta a very serious location - its not a place for beginners or even intermediates.