Strong wind and big jumps at Inverloch

Session 107, 31 October 2010

Kite: Switchblade 10

Wind: 25 - 35 knots, SW

Location: Inverloch - Andersons Inlet

Time: 3:30pm to 5:00pm (1.5 hours)

Strong wind at Inverloch on the first day of our long weekend family and kiting trip, we headed for the launch site near the Anglers Club on the inlet.  I rigged my 7m Crossbow while Stuart rigged his 10m Switchblade, then we swapped kites as I am heavier.  

The wind was coming in strong and there was heaps of power.   I did a few jumps; the strong wind provided plenty of  boost.

Some other kiters came in overpowered on 12s and packed up.  Some gusts were reaching 35 knots.   I depowered the 10 for a while, then rode it fully powered, before finishing with it depowered again.  

Stuart liked the 7, and commented on how fast it turns.  It is amazing how much wind funnels into the inlet.

A broken pulley at Brighton in a good northerly

Session 106, 22 October 2010 

Kite: Switchblade 14

Wind: 20 knots, N

Location: Brighton

Time 2:30 to 3pm (but not much kiting!)

After attending to some chores and carefully watching the wind, I headed down to Brighton in the early afternoon as the northerly looked like it would stick around.

There were several kiters on the water. I rigged up, mounted the kite cam, self launched then took off for a great run.  Good wind and not too gusty, and warm and sunny too.   I flew the kite low to get some shots of other kiters and looking north to Brighton.

I headed back to shore, executed a turn, then "pop" a pulley on the left bridle broke.  I thought it was my left wingtip (power) line broke, but later inspection revealed that one of the pulleys failed.  The kite looped before I got it onto the water.  I was still over 200m off the beach and the wind was blowing me along and even out; I was not keen on the prospect of drifting across the bay to Mount Martha.

I release the IDS and started winding in the lines around the bar.  It was hard work as there was still a lot of line tension.  Another kiter stopped to offer assistance and took my board to the shore.  Thanks dude!

As I got to the kite a friendly boat showed up.  Peter on the boat offered me a tow to shore which I gratefully accepted.

I had some difficultly turning the kite upside down, so I grabbed the leading edge on the water with my right arm and the tow rope with my left.  They then towed my slowly towards the beach, watching out for the reefs.  It was hard work hanging onto the kite which generated a bit of resistance going along the water.  It would have been better upside down I think.

Even with the lines wound up I was still getting a bit tangled in them and the bridle as I swam, so when they left my I immediately extricated myself from the small tangle.  The wind had a bit of west in it so I had no difficulty reaching the shore, which was a relief.

Pulley failure
The pulleys on earlier Switchblades tend to fail after a couple of years.  Contact your Cabrinha dealer to get free replacements if yours are the older ones.  The newer pulleys have a larger diameter spindle shaft and two ring sliders replace the pulleys for the outer lines.

From left: Failed pulley, old pulley, new pulley, slider for rear lines

Lessons learned:

• Check my gear for any weak points
• Possibly replace the pulleys and or some lines
• Keep the line knife handy and practice retrieving it from harness
• Practice self rescue
• Use a surfboard in northerlies - at least you can paddle it to shore and tow the kite in

Getting ready

Having a ball, looking back to Brighton

The run back in.

Kite down, not limp left hand tip

Kite wallowing

WARNING: Use at your own risk!

Kiters at Brighton, You Yangs on the horizon

Kites on the beach

Ripping it up

A PFD is now mandatory for kitesurfing

It's happened folks.  We are now legally required to use a Type 1, 2 or 3 Personal Flotation Device (PFD) for kitesurfing [link].

Type 1s are a full lifejacket - but you can get inflatable versions that are slim until inflated (but make sure you don't get a water activated version!)  Using a manually inflatable Type 1 is of no benefit if you crash and end up unconscious, as you won't be able to inflate it.

Type 2s (buoyancy vest) and Type 3s (buoyancy garment) are not lifejackets and are less restrictive to use.  They won't keep an unconscious persons  head out of water, but they do provide ample buoyancy for floating if conscious.


Note that some wetsuits are inherently buoyant to the same standard as a PFD 3.

Virtually no kitesurfer around Melbourne (or elsewhere for that matter) seems to be using a PFD.  I wonder when the Water Police will starting issuing infringements?


I am still using this vest, mainly for impact protection.  It adds some warmth over the cold winter months too.



See also:  Marine Safety - Wear the right gear to prevent injury

Storm fronts and flukey wind at Brighton

Session 105, 17 October 2010 

Kite Switchblade 14
Wind 20 knots, W
Time 12 noon to 2pm, but less than an hour on the water

Weird wind.  Frontal gusts came through which provided 10 to 20 minutes of good kitesurfing, following by extended lulls.  The water is getting warmer and the sunshine was nice.

Bring on the regular sea breezes please - they seem to be delayed this year.

Alex Caiziergues sets new kitesurfing world speed record at Luderitz Speed Event in Namibia

Alex Caiziergues has set a new world speed record for kitesurfing a the Luderitz Speed Event 2010 in Namibia.  He clocked an average of 54.1 knots (100.2kmh) over the 500 meter course, which makes him the fastest naturally powered person on water ever.

Alex Caiziergues at 2010 Luderitz Speed Event. Photo credit: The Future Flow

Here is a video of the event.  This location is not for beginners!  Heaps of speed in narrow water.  And the dude (sunbathing?) gets wet too.



Alex used a stock standard F-one Bandit4 kite.

See also:

• World's fastest waterman is a kiter
• 100.2 kmh well done alex and f-onekites

Clean water and cool temperatures at Gnotuk with kitecam

Session 104, 18 September 2010 

Kite Switchblade 10
Wind 20 knots, W
Time 10:00 am to 12 noon

Stuart and I headed to Gnotuk and arrived at 10am with a good cold SW wind blowing.  Tarren arrived soon after.  Stuart rigged up in world record time after a week in the office looking at wind charts!

We got some good kiting in for the first hour and had the place to ourselves.  A couple of local kiters showed up, then the wind dropped, so I headed to the beach and walked a short distance back to the car.  There were a few

I swapped the Optio W90 for the new Kodak Playsport ZX3 waterproof video camera to try it out for the first time, then headed back out on the directional board.  The wind was a bit light however so I played in the small surf and ended up downwind at the Edithvale Lifesaving Club which has a nice small cafe right on the beach.

The wind backed right off so we packed up around noon and headed home.

Editing the video from the ZX3 proved to be a challenge.  It records in MOV file (Apple Quicktime) which my version of Adobe Premiere Elements (4.0) doesn't support.  Converting it to AVI or MP2 is not easy.  One option is to upgrade to Adobe Premiere Elements v8.0, or maybe I will just sell the camera.

Aspendale and Ricketts Point in the background 

A squall out in Port Phillip Bay

Surf at Hampton in cold strong wind, wo hoo!

Session 103,  16 September 2010 

Kite Switchblade 10
Wind 20-30 knots, SW
Duration 3:00 pm to 4:00pm


A large high pressure system over the Great Australian Bight is combining with an intense low pressure system over Tasmania to funnel strong cold winds across Victoria.  In Tasmania they reported 16m waves along the west coast today!

Some squalls were coming as I rigged up and headed out.  The shore break was a bit tricky but I got out OK.  Lots of speed, and only another windsurfer about.

The wind had whipped up a 0.5 to 1m swell which was fun to surf.  Who would of thought a few years ago we would be surfing (albiet with a kite) literally on our doorstep?  There is immense variety and challenge in kitesurfing.

I popped a few jumps and did some nice speed runs as well as mixing it in the surf and shorebreak.  Eventually two other kiters came out, about the time the wind picked up to around 30 knots.  I was nearly overpowered and having trouble depowering the kite, with the depower adjustments dangling too far away just out of reach.

I can never remember which is depower (black or red?); I think Cabrinha has changed their colour coding between my original Crossbow and the later Switchblades.  Tip: either burn the depower colour/knob in your mind or add a bit of cord to identify it!

Here are my kitecam shots; some zoomed by editing.

Another gusty northerly at Brighton late in the day

Session 102,  12 September 2010 

Kite Switchblade 14
Wind 15-25 knots, N
Duration 4:30 pm to 5:30pm

It's getting warmer.  I was late on the water and headed out just after three other kiters came in.  I depowered the kite to better handle the gusts.   A few jumps but I was careful to keep to avoid crashing.  It wouldn't be fun if the kite got blown across to Portarlington!

Nice session.

A gusty northerly at Brighton, fun but no sun

Session 101,  31 August 2010 

Kite Switchblade 10
Wind 20 knots, NW
Duration 12:30 pm to 2:30pm

A good northerly was blowing today so I headed down to Brighton Beach on the last official day of winter.  There were a couple of windsurfers off Green Point, but no kiters at the beach.  I wore my canoeing vest and took the GPS, strobe and phone, just in case I got blown out into the bay or the wind stranded me out there.

I decided to use my twin tip board (the Naish Haze) to minimise the likelihood of crashes.  The wind was great when I headed out.  Another couple of kiters showed up and came out too.  Sam (from Bali) was one of them, using one of the prototype Ben Wilson kites.

It was nice to crank up some speed.  Slicing through the water and small waves made me feel like an accomplished kitesurfer again, after my time spent on the directional board.  I did a few jumps but was careful to avoid any mishaps.  

I had a rest on the beach when the wind backed off, then headed out again when the wind picked up.  It was stronger the second time; I was able to get some good speed coming back in and crank some turns on the swell.  

I was off the water by about 2:30, so I missed the big 35 knot wind that came in about then.  I would have been a bit overpowered on the 10 I think.

I nice session to blow away the cobwebs.  Thank goodness for kitesurfing. 

Self launching

Fanging

Toeside, Brighton Beach

Offshore, city on horizon

A small jump.  No place for a big stack.

Bali kitesurfing wave camp video

Here is a video I made of the Bali kitesurfing wave camp with Ben Wilson, including some tips from Ben on kite position in the surf and some scenery and kitecam footage.

Back in black - Ben Wilson to launch his own brand

Ben Wilson has set 1 September 2010 as the date for launching his new brand - which will focus on kites and boards for the surf.  Register on his website to get the announcement.

Strapless in a cold onshore wind at Hampton

Session 100, 15 August 2010 

Kite Switchblade 10
Wind 20 knots, SW
Waves Bay swell with shorebreak
Duration 5pm to 6:15pm (dark)

My 100th session!  I am deferring a bottle for champagne for a night by a warm fire.

Stuart and I headed down to Hampton late in the afternoon to catch some winter wind.  I got on the water just after 5pm with some showers coming through and a fairly strong SW wind blowing.  Stuart and another kiter were already out.

I decided to be brave and try going strapless on my S-Quad board as I have not yet refitted the footstraps after Bali.   The shorebreak gets a bit savage at Hampton in a westerly or south westerly and today was no exception.

I got going on the board after a bit of difficulty doing a water start.  The straps definitely help water starts as they locate your feet on the board and keep them there when you power up.  With no straps, you need to get your feet up onto the deck of the board and get some pressure on them with the kite.  This is more difficult than you would think.

When I did get going on a right tack I was goofy footed, so I had some trouble riding toeside on the reverse tack.  I got up after switching feet but was not heading upwind.  I ended up on the beach and walked back.

Stuart was finishing his session so I borrowed his twin tip.  I still had some trouble getting out through the shore break but I eventually got going.  The board is shorter than mind and the whole feel of a twin tip seemed very different.  You need much more power to plane and carve.

I got a few good runs in the moderate swell right up until it got dark.  Its the first time I have kited into sunset; it seemed a bit wierd kiting looking at the lights of the marina and yacht club.

Back at the car, it took me a while to open the combination key lock as I couldn't see the numbers.

It was certainly a lot colder than Bali, but the booties, gloves and wetsuit all work well to keep me warm.

Summary of 2010 Ben Wilson Wave Camp at Bali

I strongly recommend the Ben Wilson Wave Camp at Bali for competent kitesurfers who are keen on riding in the big surf.  The camp provides excellent coaching and feedback - including video footage - to all riders.  The venue in Bali has good surf, and we got wind and kited on all days.  The camp the previous week did have a few days of no wind however.

I had logged over 90 sessions before I attended the camp, yet I felt like a beginner again.  Surf conditions are quite different from flatwater and some big wipeouts are possible.

If you are going to attend this camp I recommend you read the course information carefully, and that before you go you:

• Ride a directional board for at least 10 sessions - in some small to medium waves if possible
• Be able to ride toeside upwind on the board - this is important for both getting into position for waves and setting up for them.
• Get your hold luggage down to 20kg to avoid punitive excess baggage charges.

These skills will allow to concentrate on kite and board techniques for riding waves.

The accommodation and food were excellent, and I really enjoyed morning walks in the quiet countryside and along the beaches.  

Here all my photos from the wave camp:

2010-08-02 Wave camp day 1

2010-08-03 Wave camp day 2

2010-08-04 Wave camp day 3

2010-08-05 Wave camp day 4

2010-08-06 Wavecamp day 5 kitecam and kite video

2010-08-08 Wave camp day 7 return to Seminyak

I really learnt a lot from the camp and I enjoyed the coaching style of both Ben and Bruce.  I now have a range of basic kitesurfing skills to practice and build a solid foundation for wave riding in big surf. This opens a whole new dimension of this incredible sport to me.

Getting a kite tow in to a huge wave then surfing it just like a surfer offers great appeal - and you don't have to spend all that effort paddling out then waiting in a lineup to catch it.