Kitesurfing tour from Hampton to Port Melbourne and return

Session 193. Hampton to Port Melbourne and return

A sea breeze - or at least some consistent wind - at last!  The forecast westerly came in on schedule during the late morning.  I headed down to Hampton after lunch and rigged up my Switchblade 10 and the Sector 60 board.  I put some clothes, money, phone and sandals in my waterproof backpack as I planned to go for a tour.

Good wind on the water.  I took off immediately heading north along the bay.  The Sector 60 cruises well. I was able to get all the way to Port Melbourne, right up to the Spirit of Tasmania, on a single tack.  The rolling swell was fun to ride but I was mostly travelling across it.  I left the other kiters at Hampton "moving the lawn" (going back and forth) and reveled in solitude about 700m offshore.

It was a long way on a single tack. I was conscious to rest my rear leg and straighten it, and I stopped twice briefly en route.

There were quite a few kiters at Brighton too, but less at St Kilda.  I de-powered the kite for the last 1km coming to Port Melbourne. The wind dropped a bit on the way back the wind so I toggled on full power.    I did one run into Brighton among the madding crowd, then back out, past Green Point and on to Hampton.

The wind strength increased again at Hampton and I was rather tired so I came in.  There were lots of kiters on the beach - the season is getting into full swing now.

GPS Log

Kitesurfing Port Melbourne in a late sea breeze

Session 192. Friday 20 October 2012

Stuart, Tarren and I had our gear ready for a kitesurfing session after work as Predictwind forecast showed a sea breeze during the afternoon.

We met at Port Melbourne in balmy conditions with no wind.  Tarren eventually left as he was going out. After thinking nothing would happen, the wind picked up, so Stuart and I headed out.  

I was flying on the Sector 60 with my 12m Noise kite, I made it to St Kilda on a single tack (!) then returned. I even depowered the kite.  I had plenty of power and speed, but doing a pre-turn gybe on the Sector 60 proved tricky.  Its been a while since I have been on this board.  No problems gybing left to right though.  

I came close to the Spirit of Tasmania a couple of times and could see people on the deck watching, as well as cars loading via the bow.

It was great to get this session in after work.  The advantages of the Sector 60 board are clear - I had a fast upwind session when Stuart was having trouble going upwind at all on his twin tip.

Kitesurfing Hampton in just enough wind

Session 191. Saturday 13 October 2012

A westerly came through on Saturday morning after an amazing cold snap of weather.  I suited up in my Ocean Rodeo Soul drysuit again.  Tarren and Stuart were first on the water and having a nice time.  Tarren came in and helped me launch my kite as I was having a bit of trouble self launching.

There was "just enough" wind to hold a line, but Stuart was going better upwind with his new Cabrinha Switchblade 12.  Kites just keep on getting better.

Its an amazing feeling kiting and staying dry. Well almost - I did get a little bit of water up one leg toward the end of the session.  

Here are some shots (linemount and kitecam) of me kiting with the drysuit. 

The wind was about 20 knots but dropped to 15 or less when we stopped.

Here is a gybe turn sequence

 

 

GPS log

Kitesurfing at Brighton before work

Session 190. Thursday 4 October 2012

What better way to is there to start the day than a kitesurfing session before work?

Stuart, Tarren and I met at Brighton at 7am and had a great session in the northerly.  The sun was shining, the wind consistent and the water relatively warm.

I used the surfboard and was able to make most of my gybes.

A quick change back at the car then we caught the train to work. 

Slideshow

First kitesurfing session with Ocean Rodeo Soul drysuit at Brighton

Session 189. Sunday 23 September 2012

More frontal wind was forecast for Sunday. I arrived at Brighton at about 8:30 to find some wind offshore but a curious lull closer to the beach.  Although it was not very cold I was keen to test out my new Ocean Rodeo Soul drysuit.

Suiting up was easy.  The ankle, wrist and neck seals were all simple to fit, and the large zip across the shoulders makes closing the suit simple.  I wore a thin thermal top and bottom under it.

I was immediately struck by the easy of movement compared to a wetsuit.  The wind had picked up down at the beach so I had a nice session on my S-Quad surfboard.  I did one long run up past the Brighton marina breakwater then rode some swells on the way back.

It was quite weird but nice being completely dry apart from a little water in my booties.  I was very warm too, even though my inner garments were quite light.  Dunking into the water a couple of times cooled me down a bit.  

My gybes are coming together well now. I made every one today.  Keeping balanced during foot moves is important - my feel for this is improving with practice.  Maintaining a bit of board speed really helps too.

I am sticking with a pre gybe turn from right tack to left and a post gybe turn from left tack to right.

The wind dropped out after about 40 minutes so I came in.

The Ocean Rodeo Soul drysuit is really nice to use.  It will be great when the water is really cold, which may be next Winter now.

"Sans instruments" today so no photos.  I will get a few shots of the drysuit in action next time.  Check out the wind graph at Fawkner Beacon - it was up and down all day.

Ocean Rodeo is offering a special discount to readers of my blog.  Details are here. 

Hampton to Black Rock kitesurfing tour

Session 188. Saturday 8 September 2012 

Stuart and I headed out from Hampton in a nice WSW wind of around 23 knots.  We headed out past the Sandringham breakwater then South towards Half Moon Bay at Black Rock.  I rode some swells in to the Cerberus wreck, which is now almost completely awash and will presumably collapse soon.

The water was noticeably clearer up towards Black Rock compared to Hampton.

Cruising back, the wind dropped out so we came to shore and walked a short distance along the beach.  A squall came through with some better wind so we headed back out and did several tacks to get back past the breakwater.

I completed several gybes successfully, but stuffed up a few, including right in front of the Sandringham Yacht Club.  

I finished with successive "slalom turns" on the swell to get back to Hampton Beach.

I really nice session.  It's great to go for a bit of a tour.  Frankston beckons . . . next time maybe.

GPS log