Kitesurfing Log from Mid March 2000 to 31st October 2002
31st October - Had a quick session at Pt Chev in the evening, quite gusty, with my 12m I still stayed upwind, but only did a few jumps and tricks, can pull my fronts at will now, takes more thinking about for the other direction though. Sold my directional, real cheap, pity no-one I know wanted it, a steal at $250! I will make myself a mutant that's real easy to ride toeside. Would buy a bigger directional, but time is running short. Will look for a 8m Aero or similar as a high wind/learners kite.
Labour Weekend( I didn't
go out, so I'm putting Lance's report in instead ;-) - Friday evening,
1st time at Meola Reef, and it goes off! Bit of a long walk out and tricky
launching/landing, but wicked flat water, No fast flowing tide, and steadier
wind than round the corner at Pt Chev. Big floaty airtime in 15-20knts. Sweeeet.
Saturday, nasty day, 30 knt+ squalls, but I launched anyway at Meola, pretty
over-powered and scared for 15 minutes, then it settled to a steady 20-25
knots, went hard for over 2 hours, scoring huge air on my little pinky!
Sunday, late morning at Pt Chev, full tide, full power and going even bigger,
I was just spinning like a madman, doubles and triples, with mega-float and
hang time, shame I can't land them yet. Got chased out the water by a nasty
30 knot+ squall, glad there were other kiters on the beach to catch me and
my kite!
Monday, lots of rain, looking crappy, so me and Enid decided to drive down
Muriwai to check out the South head area. As we came down the hill, the sun
was out, and 5 kites were in the sky. So of course I just had to check it
out, it was Perrin, Kent, Peter, Andy, and Johnny, so I went in for an epic
2hr onshore wave sesh. Found out early on to play it safe, after dropping
my kite in the water, and getting the kite collapsed by waves. But back to
the beach, sorted out, and back into some serious wave riding action.
So, I just had to brag about my weekend, hope all went well with you guys,
wherever you were.
24th October - (to
be filled in.. hoping for a NNE tomorrow for Eastern beach...) Yep we scored!
Just Hamish, Susan and I were out, 10-12 knots NE to start with but within
20 mins it was picking up, we both used our big kites, and I was using my
wavetray with my 18 as I didn't bring my big tray, but 10-12 is sweet on the
WT.
On this day Susan turned up this evening for a kiting session too! She said
the wind was perfect for her, but she was struggling with keeping the board
near her with no leash on it!
The wind keep picking up till we had 16-18 knots, and man was that fun! (Susan came in cause it was too windy) I was getting (according to Hamish) over 4m airs, with super long hangtime, absolute blast, I was doing floaty little backspins with a little signature hand drag, got some of my transitions going ok, and nailed a few fronts in both directions. The jumping performance form such a big kite was impressive! The wind was a bit gusty (for eastern beach, bit like Pt chev in a SW), but still super fun. hamish was getting a few 1-2m jumps, and trying some tail grabs! Some windsurfers came out, but didn't have much success, we were making it look a lot windier than is was, maybe they were expecting 25 knots? They had wave boards?
22nd October - Quick session at Pt Chev with Lance, it was SW but not really gusty, just some defined wind shadows, which if you stay between them, its fine. 15-25 knots (sounds gusty doesn't it) , but I don't notice it too much with the X2, still boosting pretty sweet. Lance was on his little pinky as when he went out it was still very fresh (like 20-27 knots!). Lance is really going off these days, got some nice style happening.
20th October -
Went out to Muriwai in the afternoon, Hamish, Alan, and Susan and I, along
with the dude with the new challenger kites. We had NW - N 23 -25 knots blowing
straight down the beach to start off with, and 4-5ft of surf.
Hamish put up his 8.4 and was sweet as charging thru the surf, and doing floaty
as jumps. After Alan and Susan arrived I put up my 12m X2, very well powered
but still depower to spare. Walked out and used my wavetray, and went off,
got some ballistic huge jumps (lets just say they were all over 4m, I can't
call how big one was, but 6m would have been close, all tweaked of course,
and all landed sweetly, managed to do a few very powered carves of the tops
of the waves and whitewash with huge speed. Lost my board a few times but
just dragged back to it.
Hamish broke a footstrap, and came in, Alan went out, powered on his 8.4 and
Manolo board, prejumping the whitewash without moving his kite! He did a few
jumps, but found landing impossible in the choppy water. After a while the
wind picked up to closer to 30 knots, (must have been a little under, as Alan
was still hanging on to his kite,
I had to come back in and bring my kite down as it was too much, I could only
take steps back in the small lulls, and then brought my kite down, full depower
was still dragging me as Hamish grabbed the kite as it went past! so around
27 knots must be the limit for my weight with the X2! Alan came in about 10
mins later after having a good go on my wavetray (he likes it!) after he had
the same problem, no depower left, and still getting dragged.
The wind had picked up
to 30 knots now. Alan offered me his 6.3, I gladly accepted, and set it up
on the X2 lines. Alan had a go on a 7.1 Challenger kite, (seem to jellyfish
a lot ?) and was going well, but dropped it in the surf!! Was getting good
2-3m jumps floating over the surf.. I went out on the 6.3 and was powered!!
jumps weren't as high as with the X2, nor as floaty, but was plenty fast enough
to carve up some whitewater!! End of session?...hell no!
Hamish went out again, on his 8.4, very powered, hell I was powered on the
6.3! he lost his board after a while (he borrowed Johnnies board) , and drifted
downwind. I tried to get it for Hamish, but it was too difficult in the rip
out there, and then the worst thing that could happen happened! I was coming
back into the shore, and Hamish was moving his kite around, then it luffed,
and my kite flew straight into Hamish's lines, and then both kites did a death
spiral. We both pulled our safety, and luckily we weren't too far from shore,
and got washed in to the beach.
As we packed up we noticed Alan sprawled out in the shallows on his back,
kite down on the beach. Alan had jumped and landed in very shallow water and
hit the bottom jarring his back. Susan ran out into the surf to see if he
was ok. He could walk, so walked over to where Johnnie was waiting for us
with his 4wd and trailer, so we just loaded our soggy gear up on the trailer
on got a ride back up to our launch place. Very extreme session.
Wednesday 16th October
- The weather forecast looked bad, but first thing in the morning turned
out to be the best time, 12-15 knots Northerly blowing in to Eastern beach,
and no-one else out! (no suprise as it was starting to rain!) I set up anyway,
and half tide at Eastern is very flat water so great conditions. After half
an hour, it picked up to 15-20 knots and the rain stopped, I was starting to
be well powered on my 12, and boosting some medium 2-3m jumps consistently,
and practising front spins, and backs(which seem to have got worse since I started
doing forward rotations!! Tried some transitions, but not much luck. after 1
1/2 hours it was gusting 25 knots, and I was all out of depower, but edging
to hold it ok, back loops dragging my back hand in the water! So much lift I
was doing them 2 feet off the water and still landing them!! Now when I was
jumping I was really jumping.. if I loaded the lines properly( ie not just whip
the kite with some speed (Which still gives you 3m jumps easy every time) ,
I was boosting 5m or so, hard to tell exactly, but level with the palm tree
tops!! Huge hang time, and landing them too... (The X2 is really a aggressive
jumping machine!!)..Was doing huge carves from toeside to heelside, with no
loss of speed in the flat water, sending a huge wall of spray thru the curve!!
Tried timing a few carves of the wavetops that were rolling in to the beach
too, the wind was causing quite a bit of chop, loads of fun.. Also got my jumps
in my weak direction sussed, boosting huge and tweaking nicely...
Unfortunately, as always
I can't prove any of these wild claims, as there was nobody else watching
me at the time :-) . Bluey turned up after I had already packed up, and said
he was going for a session after 1pm, so I joined him later, but the wind
has swung very Northerly, really NW, but he was just coming in as I was going
to set up again. The wind swung offshore, and a cold front with rain and storms
was on the way.v...
Monday 14th October - I was out last night too, it was blowing it's ass off, I was very very well powered on my 12m and wavetray, boosting nicely, but all alone ;-), apparently no-one else saw that wind, it was perfect SSE blowing in to west tamaki drive, 18-25 knots! Unfortunately, my depower line knot was slowly slipping, so I ended up with a super long depower rope, so I came in around 6.45pm even though the wind was showing no signs of dropping! The tide was pretty good too, high was 2.45, so mid tide was perfect, a lot of flat water...
Saturday 12th October - My birthday! , went out to Pine harbour for the NW 10-15 knot wind, had an hour out there before the wind turned northerly, then NE, which is offshore there! Hamish was stuck way down the end next to the cliff, and couldn't get back in easily, but after 1/2 hour of battling got back in. We relocated to Bramley at 1pm. Bramley was westerly !! Alan turned up too, and was first out, keen to get wet in the 0-15 knot conditions! He dropped his kite within 5 mins, but got it up again, and after a while the wind got steadier, but we were all on the 16m kites. Hamish on his 11.8, me on the 18, Alan on a 11.8, another unknown dude on a 16m Aero. Mark from Easterlies kitesurf school came by and came out for a session with us too. Underpowered mostly, but then the wind completely smoothed out by 2pm after swinging to the perfect northerly direction, and built from 10 knots to a consistent 15 knots. Now we were having fun! The tide was perfect too so having a blast. So rain cloud came in, looking threatening, so most of us came in and packed up, just as the wind was picking up to 20 knots, then it started raining. All packed up, we called it quits for the day.
Thursday 10th October - Hamish, Lance and I all wanted a evening session, but super low tide meant that all our normal spots had no water for the SW wind. Shoal bay had no water, so Lance bailed, but Hamish and I drove up separately and got to shakespeare around 6pm. 10-12 knots was the call for the big kites, and had a bit of fun, my front loops are getting more consistent, but I can only do them in one direction. Hamish seemed to do ok, and I had very little more power than him. We compared my 18m X2 with Hamishes 11.8, and they are exactly the same size, even the wingtips! The aspect ratio is identical too. No wonder everyone thinks the big X2's aren't powerful, the 18 is more like 16m!! (Explaining why Mark's 20m Aero must be more powerful!) The 12m is closer to 11.5m and the 16m X2 must be closer to 14.5 or 15m !
Monday 7th - After work session, at West Tamaki drive. First for the spring, pretty poor showing by the wind, my wind meter was reading 6-10 knots, and very small white caps, but by the time I'd set up the whitecaps had disappeared. I was first out, and Mark set up his 12m and went on his directional. Flat water, and a little gusty as it was shifting from SSW to SSE. I was getting going with my 18m, and cruising out to the channel and back with my wide tray board, losing a bit of ground each time I did that. Not enough power, but Mark was having a harder time, having to almost powerloop his kite and work it really hard to get anywhere, but the occasional gust had him planing, and me going upwind. Not much else to say really, wasn't worth the effort getting out there! And now I have sore forearms!
Sunday 6th September - Shakespeare bay southerly 15 knots, we're there.. the wind didn't show up when we were there, cruised back to Orewa for lunch, saw a few whitecaps there, but only 8 knots, more than shakspeare!. Wind dropped again, so we gave up and went home. Watched the Americas cup on TV for 5 mins, the wind was up to 16-17 knots, damn it, so Ali and I went up to Shakespeare, but I saw Shoal bay was good, so tried there. The tide was low incoming, but coming in quick. Good 45 mins of kiting, practised some front spins, landing them mostly now, but all my back loops are shocking now ! 4 or 5 guys ended up downwind and in the mud and mangroves at the end there, the tide was pushing hard, so you'd be powered in one direction, and sinking in the other. I almost suffered the same fate, but got far enough over towards the little sand bar sticking up that I could touch the bottom, and then a puff of wind came in, and I was up and away and back to land...Don't know what happened to Lance or anyone else, maybe they ended up at Shakespeare bay again, but I don't know if the wind made it up there. Very flukey day..(Actually, Lace reported that he nipped back up to Shakespeare and scored 15 knots of uncrowded perfection (3 people out!!) in the late afternoon, so everyone got a bit of kiting in..)
Saturday 5th September - Was going to Shakespeare, but it turned WSW arrghh, so we turned round and went to Pine harbour. Me and Lance had a session battling with gusty wind, gusting 25 knots and lulling to 10. Called it quits after 45 mins of boosting big airs, but no fun, cause we couldn't trick..
Saturday 28 Spetember - Early start 9am, keen to get out, Mark had just finished his night shift and we went to Pine harbour for a session! The wind was 10-15 when we got there, and set up our 12m x2's. Bit underpowered, but the wind was up to 18 knots at one point, but dropped to 12 knots by 11am, around the time Bluey turned up! Hamish turned up late too, and Lance rolled in soon after. Excellent session, had great fun, I practised a few front spins, and landed a couple cleanly. Played around doing a few toeside jumps too. MAr was on his directional mostly, and stayed upwind better than me, and was boosting a few controlled 2-3m jumps and nice jibes. Lance was going well, took a few spills but going well.. Andrew was going off as usual, multiple spins and front roll transitionswith a good 2-3m height on most!. Hamish was well powered (better than me) and was getting upwind well, still getting to grips with his new big kite. I tried my 18 as the wind was dying, got a few runs in with 6-8 knots, but only holding my ground with my wide tray, (going upwind with the directional though), 10 knots and I'd be rocking, holding on to it till 16? (My kite was only staying in te sky if I kept it moving) My kite fell out of the sky after a while, in the shallows, and I scrapped it badly on the sharp stuff on the shore. Bit annoyed at that, had to patch a couple of ones that went right through, Andrew did the same thing, horrible grinding noises before he rescued it. Nasty 4cm gash in Andrews 16 x2, definitely needs patching. We packed up around 1.45, long time on the water...wind dropped to 3-4 knots.
Sunday 22nd September
- Today was the day! Rolled up to Pine harbour at around 9.30am, but there
was only 6 knots with 8 knot puffs. Bluey and Arron were already there, but
waiting for wind. Mark turned up 15 mins later, and within another 15mins,
the wind picked up to 10 knots, so we all set up, Bluey on his 20m X2, me
and Mark on 12m X2's and Hamish on his 11.8 and Arron on a 16m Rhino. The
funny thing was that we all got going, and having fun, in 12 knots despite
having radically different kite sizes. Me and Mark used our directionals,
and everyone else was on wakeboards. Andrew was going off, really impressive
transitions, front loops, and very smooth riding. I kept swapping to my wavetray
when the wind picked up a knot or two, but ended up downwind of everyone after
a few jumps. Hamish looked happy and powered on his 11.8, no problem staying
upwind!
A couple of squalls came through (with 25 mins warning), we had 20 knots for
half an hour, and Andrew lost his board, and was getting dragged downwind,
I grabbed it and dropped it downwind for him, and the squall passed quite
quickly.
Another one came throught later which was stronger, and I had my kite set
for max power, and it didn't depower well, I had trouble holding it even though
it was only 25 knots, ditched my kite. Mark had the sense to drop his kite
and get it in control before the squall, and Hamish had dropped his earlier
and was unable to relaunch it. Bluey and Maccas were way-the-hell out between
cockle bay and pine harbour, and sitting it out, ploughing their boards. The
wind lasted for half an hour after this with 20 knots, and I set up again
and went out.
Charged around for a while, then we all went in. Second half : Now dead low
tide, me and Mark hung around till Lance turned up, and we decided the tide
was way too far out (couldn't see the water!) , so we had lunch at the Cafe
at the Marina, and then set up very slowly, and went out at around 2.30, on
the incoming tide.
The wind ended up being 12-14 knots all the time, no more squalls or lulls(sun
out), I went out for another session with Lance!! Just enough wind to have
some fun, and stay upwind, practised a few front spins, sort of sucessful
but I didn't land planing, few judo airs, backloops etc, even tried an unhooked
jump! Lance was getting some really big jumps!! and looking real cool. Stayed
out till around 5.30pm, left at 6!! (got a bit sunburnt though.) My back was
sweet, I just got sore legs and cramp in my toes..!!
20th September - Plan on getting out on the water this weekend for the first time in months! Meanwhile, since everyone has been out very little over the winter, except for Mark. Mark scored himself a 12m X2, and now has blueys 'big red' , the 20m Aero, so he will no longer be underpowered! In fact if he can get up wind in 7 knots, I think we'll all be watching from the beach! Still planning on the 18m X2 for a big kite, unless a 16m North turns up at a reasonable price. Also, I've organised my leave, so from the 16th October - Jan, I have every 2nd Wednesday off work!!
7th August - Put my back out lifting my bike into my car. Why is this in my kiting log? Well it was the big stack trying a front loop that I suspect put my back out, but lifting something was the last straw for my back. It's been spasming for the last 3 days, can just walk (in pain) so no extreme activities for me for at least a month, probably more - my lower back has swelled up, as I slipped a disc :-(
Saturday 3rd August - Went out to secret spot 3, we had 20-25 knots initially,the tide was a bit low, but I was well powered on my wavetray, and rocking upwind, really good fun, haven't tried anything new for a while, but I was doing judo airs ok, even without getting a heap of height! Alan was here for this session too, on his 8.4, and my wide tray style board. He was going alright, and he likes my board, o suprises there, cause I know it's good! (good for his ankle too, nice and soft thru chop!). I tried a front loop, and got it really wrong, and stacked my kite into the water, and hit the water so hard I winded myself. The wind was good for about 45mins then dropped back to 10 knots, and then 5 knots. At this point Hamish rolled up, (jeeze he's got bad timing!!), by this stage we had put our kites down on the grass and waiting for wind. The wind came back up in half an hour, (announced by me hooking a huge air on my directional!) to 15-18 knots, enough to have fun. I was favouring my directional, as I could rip way upwind, and jump when everyone else was struggling to stay upwind. Graham also showed up, just testflying his 840 arc as usual. Mark also came along to check things out. Hamish was doing alright, but a little underpowered, needed his directional!!!
July 28th - Went to sandspit in the morning with Hamish, but the wind was 8-10 knots. Put up my kite anyway(kite barely flying in the lulls of 7 knots, found I could get planing on my 5'6" directional fine, working the kite, but going downwind. I disappeared downwind into the channel, but soo lucky, the wind picked up to 12 knots and I was able to make it make upwind to the sandspit again. Decided to go up to shakespeare, as the tide was going out too much, so Hamish and I drove off, then about half way to my flat I remembered I had left my bar and lines out on the end of frigging sandpit, drove back walked out along there and back, retrieved them ok.. Then drove to Shakespeare bay, to meet Hamish and Lance up there. Got there, couldn't see Hamish anywhere, although there was a black and white kite in the bay next to us along with a few others. 15 knots dropping to 10 or 12 southerly. Everyone else was using 16m Farcs, and 16m Aeros, 11.8 AB, and Lance was going upwind sweet on his 13.5, so I set up and went out, got upwind ok(on my 147cm wavetray), was able to do small boosts, but underpowered a bit, but still managed to get upwind quicker and at the same angle as people on 16m kites! Go figure.. I must be really good ;-) ! Good little session, I was really tired, so wasn' performing my best, Lance was going off, doing tweaked jumps, and landing toside going the other way, full transitions.. Lance is the real shaker and mover at the moment, getting better every session!
July 27th - Went out to Eastern beach on a SE, everyone was already out there, Alan, Lance, Bluey, and other guys!. The wind was dropping as I got there, and everyone including Alan came in, underpowered. Lance was still out there on his 13.5, so I set up and went out. The wind wasn't too big, so I could handle it ok, going upwind, and jumping, but terrible chop.. then the wind picked up again to 25 + knots gusting more, and was having serious issues staying in the water, losing my edge occasionally, and bouncing.. Lance was fully maxed out too, going downwind at quite a rate.. turned really gusty as the wind shifted more blowing over the cliffs. All bad, came into the shallows, wanted to lose my kite in a big way, pulled my shackle release, but it didn't work under load (ie with my kite on full depower), had to drop the kite on the water briefly, then I could pull it. The safety didn't hold, and my kite disappeared downwind at quite a rate, then stuck to the water. Ran after it and recovered it before it blew into the nasty reef at the northern end of Eastern beach. End of crappy session.
20th July - Went out to Pine harbour today, high tide was as 4pm, so perfect.. Mark was already there, but he had come in cause it was too windy for his 11.5 Arx..we had 12 - 25 knots, periods of 25 knots, minutes of 15 knots.. tried out my new X2 12m, and man does that thing have some power! I was using my new wavetray, and honestly needed a smaller board! After playing around for a while, I got it sorted. Mark left, too much wind, so I was left to frolick in the fresh westerly all by myself! I was able to do small boosts, and get some hangtime, then I experimented a bit more, hooking the kite more, and man I got some of the longest hangtimes!! I practised my backloops, (managed a triple backloop!) , and adjusted my timing for my transitions (man that kite is quick!), and pulled off a few cleanly planing the opposite direction! New for this session was judo airs!! I had so much height and hangtime, I had enough time to grab, pull the foot out of one foot strap, kick out, then put it back in and land planing!!! So stoked.. The lift and pull from this kite is soo solid despite the slighty gusty westerly! Amazing good session 3 hours!! The wind dropped off to 12 knots or so (still enough to boost jumps, but not enough to stay upwind..)..so I ended it for the day.
14th July - Went to sandspit, initially at 11am it was 8-10 knots, but picked up to 12-14 knots after a while, so we got out, Lance was doing some nice tweaked jumps, and I was backlooping and testing my new 147 wavetray, which rides very well! Doesn't need as much power as I thought. Ended up being out there for 3 hours.
7 July - No kitesurfing, just tested out my new X2 12m. Awesome kite!
23rd June - Went out to our new secret spot on a westerly, and it was great, we had 10-15 knots to start with, then a squall came through, and we had 18-20 knots for a good hour!! Made things interesting with my 11.8! I was boosting big one handed jumps, did one mucked up launch, and spun through the air for over 100m, before landing in the water, 10 sec hangtime!! Really very powered up, using my new homemade 146x43 tray. Hamish couldn' get going much as his kite was too small for the lulls, and Mark spent the whole time on the beach trying to sort out his C-quads, and missed all the action. Lance was doing some good jumps but still holding back a little, but is riding toeside and carving really well. On Sunday we went to the same spot, just Lance and I this time, and we had 10-12 knots, but despite the lack of wind we tried some nice stuff, experimenting. I was able to jump, but had to do a downwind run to get speed before popping the jump, and doing inverts...anyway it was a good day.
19th June - Feeling the need for some new equipment, so I am looking at getting a 147cm Underground Wavetray for my main board, and buying a new kite.
17th June - well got back from Rarotonga yesterday, me and my girlfriend had a great time. I wasn't expecting the kitesurfing to be great, as I had been checking the weather for Raotonga, and there had barely been 10 knots for almost a month.
On the first day we had
wind SW 15-18 knots, but the next 5 days we had not a breath of wind, lots
of sun, and 26 degrees.
After the first 6 days we stayed at The Palm Grove, which is right next to
the beach, on the southern side of Rarotonga, a SE was cross onshore, and
a easterly was direct cross-shore to slightly cross offshore. The beach was
big enough right there to setup my kite on the sand, lines out. towards the
water. It was safely kitesurfable 2 hours either side of high tide, and longer
if a big swell washes waves over the outer reef. Muri beach faces east, and
is the most popular beach as it is quite pretty, and the lagoon is more sand
and less coral, and the outer reef is 600m out from shore. It was deeper than
at the Palm grove, but only once you got 100m offshore. close in to the beach
the reef was only 3ft under the surface. Muri lagoon was quite nice to kitesurf
at, the wind kept picking up every hour or so, to around 18 knots, then would
back off to 10, and then crank again, but with my new board I was never underpowered!
Just had lots of fun, I didn't try anything new, (except at one point where
I backlooped 3 times, then luffed my kite right into one of the palm trees
on the beach!!)
The rest of the days went something like this..Day seven - 6 knots SE, Day
eight - 18 knots SE, Day nine - 15 knots, Day ten - 15-18 knots E, day eleven
- 15 knots E, day twelve - 20-25 knots, day thirteen - 25 knots + SE, day
fourteen - 20 knots NE...
One one day, we had a big SW swell come through, causing the odd wave to wash
right over the reef, reform then break in the lagoon. Once I was out there,
I found with the perfect sidehore wind I could actually wave ride properly,
ie ride up to the wave toeside, then carve off the top heelside, then charge
back down the wave, then toeside bottom turn, then carve up the wave again!
the waves kept going for almost 100m inshore, so despite using my 11.8, I
could actually get about 3 carves off the top before the wave would die.
I really needed my small kite (8.4 AB) for the last 3 days! the last day,
I was really becoming familiar with my new board, and had my 11.8 dialed in
well, (It's been 2 months since I last used it!) , and I was able to just
handle 20 knots,( on the beach, measured!) and go huge on my jumps, mostly
one handed, I was landing all of them and I was getting between 5 and 8m of
air, floating for quite a way before coming down. I was landing my aerial
transitions great in the powered up conditions, unfortunately, I lost my board
on one jump, and I couldn't body drag upwind again, because the wind was just
too strong, I was being lifted out of the water too much.
I wouldn't recommend Rarotonga for beginners, or entirely for kitesurfing,
but if you want to escape the rest of civilisation and crowded beaches, this
is the place! I didn't see any other kitesurfers, and only a couple of windsurfers.
very relaxing, it was great to be able to walk across the road with all my
gear under one arm, and setup on the beach, and if you needed to go to another
beach, you just hop on the bus with your gear, and get off where it looks
good. Only SW-S-SE-E are good directions in Rarotonga, as beaches on the west
and north side of the island are rocky, with lumps of coral and short shallow
lagoons.
My new wakeboard, we'll call it the Hamster (design inspired by Hamish) , has turned out to be a brilliant board, great for jumping, tricks, and going fast, easy to ride, good low wind board...
May 31st - No kitesurfing, but I have finished building my lightwind special wakeboard (well it's pretty close to a UG Fridgedoor ), it's 42.5cm x 146cm, 3.5cm rocker.
Sunday 19th May - Really good 2 1/2 hr session with 25 knots, smooth easterly wind, the rain held off all day. Bluey was out charging on his 12m Aero ,heard a rumour (turns out it was true) that he put his 16m Aero into the powerlines at Eastern, melting his kite! Lance and I were going hard, having a ball, Lance was trying backloops, and landing them, just not planing! I was doing double loops, and did one triple loop!(that's 1080 degrees!) landed it but luffed my kite! Did some big one handed slow rotation backloops, really fun. The wind dropped off to 15 knots after 5pm, so I switched to my directional, and practised gybing. I managed to gybe 4 times in one direction (out of 15 attempts!!) and managed twice in the other direction, out of 6 or 7 attempts. All quite wobbly slow jibes but still good. Hardest part was getting my back foot in the back footstrap after the jibe! Lots of water flowing past the back footstrap!
Saturday 18th - Did an early session at 8am with Alan, 25 knot easterly, very choopy water, hard going. Ended prematurely, when Alan attempted a air raley or '911'(not sure which it was!) and landed badly, and in serious pain. Went to the A & E and got x rayed but no breakage, so he was lucky, but may have damaged a tendon, he was still in huge pain on Sunday. I went out again in the afternoon with Hamish, and we had a good flat water session, well powered, good fun. Mark said he was coming out with us, but it must have been too windy for him? ;-)
Thursday 9th May - Mark couldn't keep away from kiting, he's back into it, those withdrawal symptoms must be fierce!! And he's had two good sessions already this week, the bastard..
Wednesday 8th May - Sad new guys, one of the first local kitesurfers, Mark T, has quit kiting to pursue landbased activities, and potter around on a windsurfer. Will be a greatly missed sight around the Eastern beaches. It is now one and a bit years since kitesurfing hit our beaches, and Mark was an inspiration to us all.
Sunday 5th May - 25-30 knots SW at our secret little spot, just Lance and I, and Hamish on camera duty, as it was too windy for his 11m. Today was much smoother wind than yesterday, so much fun, I was landing big jumps today with my 8.4, and was cleanly consistently landing cleanly planing :one handed tail grab things, I also nailed one handed backloops, 720 backspins, and one handed back loops with a tail grab!! I nailed a couple of backloop to transition moves today as well, stoked! After we packed up for the day, the wind dropped off to 10-15 knots, so we got the best of the weekend. All in all a primo weekend!!
Saturday 4th May - 20-30+ knots SW, at the secret spot, Alan, me, Lance, with Susan and Hamish on camera duty. Very gusty wind, but do-able, totally maxed out on my 8.4 and 136cm wakeboard, Alan tried 40m lines on his 8.4 which turned out to be a bad idea, way too much power and easy to luff. I was going for some of the biggest jumps I have ever done!! I decided to have a go at the sandspit too, I jumped over the sandspit, and landed in the water on the other side, managed it twice!! The third time I lost my edge and came out of my footstraps, and into a spin, and still cleared the spit, board swinging underneath me!! (Got one jump on video!!)
Sunday 28th - Went out for a quick mission, had 15-20 knot westerlies, and I decided to go out to *new secret spot* which turns out to be not at all gusty, flatish water, plenty of beach on low tide, and enough to land assisted on high tide,no oysters (not like Pt Chev) not too far to drive, and parking right next to the beach... excellent.. had a good little sess..
23rd April - Tuesday
wasn't too windy!! after a forecast of 30-40 knots it was heaps less than
that. I went out last night with Hamish, we were slightly underpowered - just
enough powered, I was going on my directional, man can I go up wind on that
thing!! I was doing 500m runs out, and coming back 150m upwind!! lots of jumps
to get back to where I was!! Can go so fast in control with my directional
!!! The water out there was very flat, excellent for speed runs. Bramley was
not as windy as Eastern beach, and a little more gusty, but once you are out
in the channel it smooths out, (probably wasn't more than 18-20 knots though...
primo session, I swapped back to my wakeboard a couple of times, but I couldn't
go upwind as well, and jumps were quite lame compared to the 3-4m I could
get with my directional!! I've mastered the toeside ridng on my directional,
along with turning around and going back the other way without stopping, just
a clean carve, but no jibes completed sucessfully. Did one front
loop without even thinking about it, and landed it clean, but not quite fully
planing!! Suprised myself!! Hamish was doing well too, a few jumps, and was
staying upwind ok too! Got a couple of hours in before it got dark and my
black kite was blending in with the sky. I lost my board a few times, I am
using it without a legrope, so had to do a few bodydrags upwind...dropped
my kite four times, due to over flying it with my directional... excellent
session overall.
.
21st April - Well Saturday had no wind so I when surfing at North Piha, nice 2 ft waves, really fun session. We reasoned we'd better find some wind on Sunday, rather than go without getting wet for another week, so we all headed up to Orewa, the wind was looking promising, with 8-10 knots already by 10am. When we got to Orewa, there was 6-8 knots. Apparently a guy Andrew was getting going on Saturday ok too, with a 12.2 Airush and 50m lines and 7ft long board!! So anyway, we kept driving all the way up to Mangawhai heads, to the estuary, but found it was still only 6-8 knots, but flat water. Susan set up and was able to have a go on her new board, but needed more power with her non-floaty 159TT board, but dropped her kite in the water a couple of times, and couldn't get it up again. I set up, and thought what the hell I'll just ride with no wetsuit, rashshirt or booties, and launched, and did a bit of grovelling on my 11.8, and my 5'6" Underground directional, not too bad considering I'm now 74kg, and normally I can't go in as light winds as Susan can, and I practised turning around and cruising the other way at the end of each run across the estuary, riding toeside coming back each time, harder than it sounds, because every time you turned down wind to go the other way, the kite luffs and you get the sinking feeling before powering up and off in the other direction.
7th April - Another crap session at Bramley, 10-30 knots, boosted some big jumps, riding my directional, but got ripped out of my footstraps by a gust, and my board hit me in the back of my head. Rather painful. End of session. Alan and Lance were doing ok, Alan was reportadly doing some huge jumps.. Lance was hooking some good ones too. 7cm long gash needing 3 Stitches to my head at the A&E.
6th April - Not really worth mentioning, short session at Bramley beach in the morning, wind was coming straight across the estuary, there was rain, squalls, 10-30 knots, realy amazed my kite handled the crap conditions so well, and I only dropped it when trying spins, or when the wind dropped to nothing after one squall. Got some good height off some jumps, and fluffed others due to gusts or lulls. The water out there is only 2ft deep everywhere 2 hours after low tide!! No one else was keen to test their luck out here today. Hopefully it'll be a bit better tomorrow.
1st April - The weather was playing April fools, and we had 15- 35 knots on and off throughout the day, got there around 1pm, and everyone out was on 7.5m kites except Kent was dealing on a 8.4 AB. Looking very squally, every half hour or so one would come through...Kent went big on one jump(25-28 knots), and landed downwind a long way, then was going at warp speed into the corner of Shakespeare bay, by the cliffs, and couldn't slow down, he had his kite vertical, but he was unable to get his board to dig in and then he ran out of water!.. It was low tide, so there was plenty of beach, but apparently not enough! He ran out of water, and kept going across the rock shelf, then all the way up the beach, (one foot still in his footstrap) and managed to pull the safety just as he hit the grass bank, and the kite headed for the trees.By the time I got over there someone had got his kite and he was removing his wetsuit from his ass, cause he got wedgied so bad his wetsuit legs were under his harness!! Bloody lucky!! I did eventually go out after we had a huge squal of 35 knots for half an hour, but I borrowed Alan's 6.3, but was underpowered, and no more squalls came through, it looked very settled damn it!!
30th March - Went to Pt Chev, um'ed and arr'ed for a hor or so, and the tide dropped, but I set up my 8.4 and went out, and had a pretty good session! couple of hours of 18-25 knots, doing backloops and getting some reasonable height from my jumps considering how choppy the water was..fluffed a couple of front loop attempts. The other guy out there, Chris (who just bought a quiver of North kites) was going off with nice tabletops, and grabs, and even some judo airs !!! haven't seen anyone do those before..very classy! .and then nipped back in and dropped my kite down in the reserve when the wind lulled to 12 knots or so. Good timing as it happened, a squall came through half an hour later, and sheets of rain, and lots of wind.. everyone else out handled it for a while then dropped their kites down on the safety lines and walked in..
23rd March - Went out to our secret location expecting not loads of wind, but there was 20 knots+, so we all set up, Alan used his 11.8, I used my 8.4 and Lance was already out on his 9m Naish. He was struggling to stay upwind, and used his 13.5 instead. Had an absolute ball, charging around, and doing lots of spins and heelside to toeside transitions. Getting crazy hang time from some jumps, I was doing inverts coming out of them expecting to touch down on water, and swinging 3 or 4 m off the water waiting to come back down!! Tried my directional out, and it works really well, goes upwind better than my wakeboards, and jumps fine... Bit harder landing jumps but backlooping is really sweet. Managed to hold it fine with 20-25 knots, since I moved the footstraps further foward. Lance was jumping very controlled, and landing everything, despite the wind increasing during the 3 hours we were out!! By 4pm the wind was maxing at 28 knots or so, and I was attempting backloops and ending up with 3 rotations by accident. (well 3 1/2, thats why I couldn't land them!!)). Also made several front loop attempts, but I think I'm putting too much weight on my leading hand, resulting in a spin, followed by a crash, followed by a teabagging!! Alan did some big jumps 6-8 metres..right up by the beach...Susan had to sit this one out, cause it was too windy...
17th March - Went
with Kiteworks to Secret location 3 today, and had a good session, very gusty,
but more filled in the further you went out.. absolutely maxxed out on my
8.4 no depower left but still going at warp speed with my ass dragging in
the water!! (30 knots) Jumps were crazy big, getting 5-6m + on most, Alan
was on his 11.8 till lunch time (20+ knots in the sheltered area) , Eugene
and Andre were also out, Kent was on his 11.8 and he needed it for that slingshot
147 board cause it needs a shit load of power. I tried my new 5'6" underground
directional, and was having some fun, very easy to hold launch pressure, and
the board felt quite light for jumping.. toeside was cool, cause I could get
speed and go upwind better than most people to on twin tips ( but still with
more speed)!! Had a nasty warp speed wipeout, I couldn't get the kite up high,
and exploded on impact (the sort of hit that leaves your internal organs complaining),
and Alan was heading for me, didn't know what I was doing, hooked his kite
underflew the kite and dropped it...
Now I bet everyone is thinking why would you want a directional? when everyone
is going the twin tip or wakeboard route? Well I'm from a surfing background
and for kitesurfing, you can squeeze more performance out of a directional
than a twin tip, jumps are easier, and higher, and you can go faster, and
the windrange of the board is really good, you can ride underpowered or over
powered! I won't say they ride better through chop because my current crop
of plywood boards rein supreme in that department..They are more technical
to ride to get the best out of them (jibing/landing backwards), but I'll do
it..!
Awesome spot.. flatish water, superflat behind the sandbar, 2km across the bay...
13th March - Yesterday was the same as Monday, windy but very gusty easterlies due to rain. Today was good, quite high tide, and 12-15 knots at Eastern beach, all to myself. A couple of guys were leaving as I arrived, and they reckoned it was crap, and dropping off, but I had a blast on my Airblast (11.8)! My new board handles chop so well, the board autopilots itself along, tracking beautifully... I don't think I could ever get a production bard this good, as I designed this one for my style, size and conditions we get out at our local beaches.. and it is lighter than my previous boards, so you don't feel like the board is weighing you down.. it's not superlight, but very very useable. Alan didn't go out, he had to play cheuffer to Susan, and so missed a good session.
Monday 11th March - Didn't go out today, really gusty 15-25 knot Easterlies, I wasn't too keen, so I watched Alan, and Lance. Lance trucked upwind, then started experimenting with jumps, toeside runs, and heelside to toeside carves, he just needed more lift from the kite, and smoother water to edge better. The guys on the Airush kites were out again, and were going big, backlooping, the guy with the small airush wake and bindings did a 720 spin and landed it... Alan did some completely warped jumps, and got hammered on most, did a crazy 360 and landed it backwards, and did some painful looking crashes..
Sunday 10th March - Out at Eastern beach for a couple of hours, the wind was a little inconsistent, with 10-15 knots.. good big kite material.. I tried my new wakeboard (150cm ply) and it works really well, holding a good edge, and goes through chop well. I lost count of how many backloops I did that day, most I landed planing fast. Jumping was hard cause the wind was inconsistent, and the chop made it hard to edge.. Mark was out too, but underpowered on his 11.5ARX, and directional board..Alan was doing tail grabs galore (I think he likes those ;-) and riding toeside..
Saturday 9th March
- Eastern beach, the wind was looking like 10 knots but dropped to nothing,
then picked up after a hour to 8-10 knots... really hard work, but I got to
try my new wakeboard for the first time... need to be a bit more powered on
this board, as it has more rocker than my last one. Susan got out too, and
got going well on Alans Manolo board.
Spent the whole day hanging around for wind, then on high tide, relocated
to Secret location 2, and the wind ended up being 14-15 knots by 7pm, so we
were well powered.. My new wakeboard is so smooth and holds a rock solid edge,
it makes everything easier. It is very stable at high speed, not like my last
one, and feels just right..Susan got a few good 10-15m runs in there on Alans
board, and tried Grahams 'lengendary' wipika orly 175. (She didn't like it!!)
. Alan however loved it, cause he could get going underpowered, and ride toeside,
jump well with it..overall excellent (if exhausting) session had by all..no
sign of Lance all weekend..
No wind
No wind.
Tuesday 5th March - Eastern beach after work session, the wind was just 10 knots, no-one else could stay upwind, but Lance was realy doing well on his 13.5, but loosing ground, not much fun.. I managed a few backloops in the underpowered conditions, by sending the kite like I would for a jump..
1st March - Went out to Eastern beach, lowish tide, and Lance and the guys who run Airush kites were there, and Andrew Blewitt was on the beach, recovering from too many good sessions, resulting in some nasty sores from his bindings. The wind was northerly, up to around 25 knots. Lance went out on his 9m, and was rocking, jumping well..
I used my 8.4 and was having a good time, well powered, using my 136cm board, the wind was gusty but ok, managing backloops ok, a few turned into floaty backspins, and one of my jumps (which was supposed to be a normal jump) ended up with a rotation, and I pulled the kite the wrong way resulting in a big slam into the water...
Good sess!, when Alan went in he tried to catch the Airush guys kite, and got tangled, then powerlooped his kite onto the road, the airush kite went on the road, and Alans wrapped itself onto the nearest palmtree.. Alan lost his key as well, (it's normally tied into his wetsuit, on a carabrinha), but it came undone. I drove Alan back to the flat, to get his spare remote, and once there he found his key ... in his underpants!!! hehe, yes folks it's easy to lose a key with a carabinha on it down there!! anyway... good sess, no injuries, and all kites and keys accounted for....:-)
28th February - Another late session at Eastern beach. When I got there everyone was packing up, except Lance, who had also just arrived. wind was 8 -12 knots. Stayed upwind ok, and did a backloop after each run. Stayed out till almost 8pm. Tried Hamish's board (Johnny's old board) , and it was alot smoother through chop, and had a similar speed to my wakeboard, but easier to stay upwind on. Lance came in early as it was marginal for him on his 13.5.
27th February - Almost didn't go out tonight, cause I left work late, and mucked around for a while, almost couldn't be bothered, and didn't leave the flat till 6pm. Was heading for Eastern beach, but then detoured to secret location 2 to check it out.. Wooohoo it was 10-12 knots and a perfect northerly!! Better still, the tide was perfect and ther was no-one out!! Lance had already set up at Eastern beach..Alan had expected no wind so he didn't bring his gear, and so when Susan came out, he did a bit of a lesson with her (she got up again!!) The wind picked up after 7pm, a solid 14-15 knots, and I was having a good sess on the 11.8. Managed 4 or so backloops, and started adding tweaks to my jumps...
25th February - secret location 1, high tide, nice S-SW wind 12-17 knots, Alan and I had a good session on the 8.4's. Smooth water, Alan was getting really good speed up, and hooking jumps onto the secret location 1, hovering over dry sand then landing back in water on the same side. I was trying a extra fin setup on my little ol' wakeboard. More directionally stable but slow (extra fin was the same size as other fins.) makes no difference in smooth water. Changed to the 11.8's later because the wind dropped to 6-10 knots..
22nd February - Friday - Turned out to be epic! What started with 5-15 knots, and gusty changed to 20-25 knots solid by 7.30, just after everyone else had left!! Alan was holding his 11.8 till it got to 22 knots, and we went big on the 8.4's, super hang time, big jumps, and I nailed lots of backloops, 15+ attempts, 5 I lost my board on, 5 I landed clean and planing, and 5 I stuffed up and caught my front edge...the wind was gusting to 27 knots when we came in..nuf said
21st February - Good
wind at Eastern beach, Thursday night saw the entire crew of Eastern beach,
along with the crew from Kiteworks, and Mark, and Lance (we can't count him
as crew yet cause he hasn't put his kite in the trees there yet...;-)_) ,
primo session 15 knots, flat water, no amazing stuff, but good fun racing
each other!! Lance managed to snap his depower loop, more breakages..!! Tried
the Naish mutant again, with foot straps n a better place...but really don't
like it, it's too extreme.. (smaller to ride than Alans board...) and very
stiff (full carbon construction). Quite crowded with 8 or so kiters out...!
Susan had a good go of her kite, and tried my wakeboard, and she got up! (She'll
tell you that)!
20th February - secret location 1, low tide. bad idea.. long walk, and close to the channel. The wind was SW which wasn't the best. Lance was going well, as usual, and trying some bigger jumps.. the wind dropped back from 15 knots to 3-4 after 45 mins. I was trying the new Naish Mutant 4'11". Very different board, you can sort of ride it backwards, but obviously not very fast (but still upwind), I had the footstraps a bit too far forward.. need to try it again on a less gusty day.. Toeside is very easy on it, and it gets some real speed, and it's easy to do jumps...Alan tried it, and thought it wasn't too bad.. Then Lance got caught over the other side of the channel, and had the Subritsky Ferry trying to run him down! He went to the bucklands beach side, ran our of wind, then dropped his kite in the drink(no wind) then had to roll everything up and swim back across the channel!! :-( crap session. Susan did get to fly her kite, which was good..
13th February - Went out to secret location 1 with Lance, 15-20 knots southerly, very smooth wind on my 8.4, Lance on his 13.5. Glassy water, lots of speed, and I did some huge jumps, 15m! which I didn't quite land, due to not quite landing straight, nasty wipeout from that height. Did quite a few smaller 3-5m jumps, and the wind was dropping off. Lance was jumping unhooked and getting some really good jumps! Alan turned up and put his 8.4 up then changed to his 11.8. The wind dropped to 10-12 knots, so I could go upwind much, but I could still do 2m jumps fine!! The 8.4 is an amazing jump kite... Alan managed a complete jibe along with many failed attempts, very hard to do on his board..... Unbelievably flat water, the only chop was from your wake when you went back in the other direction!!
8-9-10 February - This weekend was the best ever for wind! We had 15-20 knots on Friday and Saturday, Alan on his 11.8 and me on my 8.4, Lance on his 13.5. We were out till dusk(5-7.30pm on Friday, hooking smallish jumps, well Alan was going pretty big, Lance was loving his 13.5, he was going faster than me, more upwind.. the bastard! I was underpowered, even on my 150cm board.
Saturday had much better wind till 2 or 3pm, I was getting some floaty jumps(Managed to impress Andrew with a few jumps that had be hanging for a while with secondary lift!!), trying loops etc, and tried (and suceeded) some toeside arial jumps to heelside..I tried the micro bar (28cm long) and 30m lines, and it was perfect!! slowed the turning down nicely..5 hour session! Sunday? well Sunday was the most fun ever! We had pretty smooth 25-30 knots! Alan took his 8.4 out, Lance on his 9m, who disappeared to the horizon he had so much upwind capability! (he broke a leader line soon after) and I tried my 8.4 but it was too lifty , couldn't edge for jumps even with my 136cm board...) so Alan offered me his 6.3... and so I used the microbar on it! I was still well powered even on this kite!! I used my 136cm x 36cm wakeboard so I would be able to hold the power, especially later on in the large chop we had.. The kite behaved nicely, and I hooked some consistently large floaty jumps, and landed a lot of them, not the biggest ever jumps but pretty close...I managed a few good tail grabs too, but for some reason those jumps tend to be smaller, maybe because I am trying to do them one handed....!! Alan got 10m on some jumps(averaged 5m, landed 2m ones), and managed at least a couple of successful backloops (that I saw)!! We gave the locals a real show!! Quite good really, the winsdurfers we probably pissed off, cause we can point higher upwind, go faster, and go huge jumping, tweak jumps like only the best windsurfers in the world could even dream about!!
6th February(Waitangi day) - We went out to ******, and explored the secret location 1, looks like it'll work in a northerly or a southerly. We had wind (12-29 knots), very gusty, but it was sunny, and me, Alan, and Lance (and susan with the video) were all there for our first session out at the secret location 1. Flat water, lots of speed (Alan left his board at work so he borrowed my 150cm wakeboard) and I was waiting for the wind to drop, because it was too windy for my 8.4 (+ I had a leak in one strut bladder. Lance was fine on his 9m Naish, and Andrew Blewitt and co. were coming across from ********* beach, and surfing the secret location 1.(Andrew tried to jump the secret location 1, and landed about a metre away from the water, on his ass, quite funny!) I borrowed Lances kite for a while when he came in, I was well powered, and jumping 3m+ in front of the secret location 1.. Alan jumped over it quite a few times!! I ran right over it a couple of times too.. (love those wakeboards..! Lance was trying some small 1-2 ft jumps, which were nice and floaty.. but was holding back really hooking the kite.. good session had by all, we were there for 5 hours!!( Low tide to high!
31st January - Rocked up to Eastern beach after work, to find 15 knots out at Eastern beach, Mr Blewitt was already out on his 16m Aero, so I got my stuff together and went out with my 11.8 (with Mark's assistance, cause for some odd reason my kite wouldn't stay on the beach, even sanded up!!;-)) Good session, I was riding my 136cm board but the chop was hard work... did some nice one handed jumps, even managed a rail grab due to the ridiculous amount of time I was in the air... no really high jumps, which was disappointing, but I just couldn't load up my jumps due to that chop..got tea bagged a couple of times, by now the wind was maybe 18 knots, well Lance(85kg) turned up and was going upwind on his 9m R3 Naish, to give you an indication of how windy it was! The wind was gusty though, (not a tipical NE) and dropped back soon after...
25th January - It's the Lion Ice Nationals this weekend, so we drove down to Mt Maunganui on Friday night,(Kiteworks fixed my lines in time) and Saturday morning had 10 knots or so, and they ran the heats... I sucked cause I was late into my heat, (line tangles) and was mid jump (off the front of a 4 ft Mount wave) when the end of heat buzzer went. Alan did better than me, managing to get to his heat in time, and do a backloop too. Nobody was really going big, everyone was underpowered, and big kites and waves suck. he wind died an hour later..the bar-b-que was good that night, free drinks, and food, and spot prizes. Sunday had no wind (except in the middle of the night) , so not much action.. a day on the beach. (we had brilliant sunshine all weekend..).
22nd January - Session at secret location 1 6.30pm - 8, awesome setup, with S-SW, lots of fun with 15 knots and the 11.8, Alan was loving it too, but I was a long way upwind so didn't see his antics, I boosted a huge air, in the region of 10-15m, super floaty, drift for 40m or so, landed it, but snapped a front line... game over..
19-20th January - Sessions at Shakespeare bay, 15-20 knots squalls of 25 knots, gusty WSW, but good fun, tried a few backloops, landed one... (got that on video!) Alan was backlooping, and doing tail grabs and indy grabs nicely... approx 15 kiters out that weekend...
17th January - Had a bit of kiting at Eastern beach, Mark had just come in, due to a lack of wind, and I set up my 11.8. There was just enough wind, it was between 7 and 13 knots. My jump timing was all wrong today, maybe the wind was lulling during my jumps, I found I was jumping better to the left, when normally I jump best to the right?! Susan is getting better, she is getting more control of her kite, and even had a go on the board, after a couple of attempts she was up and away! The wind kept dropping back to 3-4 knots, but came up later to 8-10 knots again after approx 7.30pm, So I had another go. Got some nice heelside to toeside transistion carves going, fullspeed carves leaning over and touching the water with one hand while turning around...
15th January -
We had some squalls of 25 knots and then it settled down to 15, and Mark finally
got out, (after a bungled launch sent his kite spiralling into the carpark!)
he was getting upwind (no doubt due to his change from C-quads to a inflatable)
I saw him do some good 2m jumps followed by big splashes. Lance turned up
around 5pm and got in a bit of surfing, but underpowered as usual :-( . The
day finished with the wind droping to 10 knots, and then some heavy rain...
8th January - Not much to talk about, the wind has been bad, we had 30 mins of good NE wind up at Orewa on Saturday, 10-12 knots, then it turned Westerly, and everyone's kite fell out of the sky, including the ARCs! I made it back to the beach and put my kite down, but some people had to swim... Alan went 2km offshore, then came back in just before the wind dropped.. he was well powered on his 11.8. I have just got my hands on a 8.4 Airblast, to cover my windrange better, there was a big gap between my 11.8 and my LF 8.5, it really needed 20 knots to haul my carcass around, so the 8.4 (actually 11m) will suit better... I've tried it once, just a test flight really, at Piha, and it is quite fast, and not impossible to relaunch, well easier than my 11.8.
29th December - Crap wind, and more crap wind, it's been raining, sunny and not windy...
28th December - Long session out at Piha, 3-4 ft of surf, and 15-25 knot NW, loads of fun, I was on my LF 8.5, and Alan was on his 8.4 AB.. we were both doing super floaty jumps, and had a bit of a comp to see who could jump highest, we took turns, romping straight out through the surf, and boosting... Alan won by at least a couple of feet, his good jumps were 8-10 ft high....
16th December - Extended long play session at Orewa, 10-12 knots at 1pm, big kite, lots of fun, my biggest jump was approx 3m high on my 11.8, in 10 knots, once the wind picked up I couldn't edge against the 'monster'! Later on took my LF 8.5 out, and now the wind was getting to 16-20 knots, and I was getting upwind, parking the kite, riding toeside and popping some small jumps, and landing them :-)! Tried some toeside wave riding, but it's really hard.. Lance was out on his new homemade 155cm wake, I tried it and it is realy good... funny part was racing a guy with a 8.4 Airblast, I caught up with him, and he tried to go faster but lost it, I just kept going, then boosted!! great fun.. lots of ollying over whitewash... spent 5 1/2 hours non stop kiting..Alan also turned up, on his new 11.8 was going big until he snapped a line in the middle of a 360... it was kite city out at Orewa, at least 20 kiters all day...
13th December - Short 1 hour session at Pt Chev in SW 15-25 knots, very powered up mostly, some jumps, but had to got to my folks place or dinner..still very happy with new wakeboard, ....12th December Well this month has been a mixed bag, Pt Chev has been good the last few days, lowish tide giving flat water and good boosting conditions! Broke my harness 2 weeks ago, and finally have a replacement new one, thanks to Pt Chev Sailboards, and Robby Naish and a few others from the Red Bull Comp turned up a Pt Chev on Monday and went out in NW 25 knots, Robby pulled off the biggest airs, and tricks your needed a video camera to play back in slow motion! He was only using a 9.5 ARX and was getting at least 15 m airs, when his mate was on a wakeboard with a 11.5ARX and was doing small floaty airs.... very fun to watch. I did go out just as all the guys were leaving (a squall came through and 28 knots!! Eventually it settled down to 15 knots later and me and Lance has a good session, if slightly underpowered, but I was still boosting long airs!! on my 8.5 ??!
5th December Been out plenty of times in the last 2 weeks, too many too mention, as we've had good NE 15-25 knots for the last 19 days straight. We're all kitesurfed out! I have been have a lot of fun on my new board, yet another creation, a wakeboard with 41cm x 150 length, and little rocker, very fun board.. and it handles quite a lot of power, and is very smooth through chop.... notable events recently include Alan's board attacking him from behind, giving him bruised 2 and 3rd vertabrae, very sore... and Lance having a skull versus board edge contest, (the board won) resulting in a short stay in the hospital and 5 stitches!!... Oh and Mark dislocated his shoulder last month too... I haven't had any injuries (touch wood) apart from severe wedgees from my harness while using my 11.8 in 15 knots..
22nd November - Went out to Mission bay, 8-15 knots, more 8 than 15, had a fun time on my 165cm board, toeside a bit.. lost a fin after hitting the reef out there.
19 November - Mission to shakespeare after work, 10 knots, gusty, real battle to stay upwind, did a few good jumps..
15th November - session out at Shakespeare bay, after work.. had some fun, but it was a bit gusty and only 10 knots... but still got going ok on my 165cm, and did some 2-3 metre jumps, one which I got just right, cause I kept edging and then as the kite pulled me up, I oliied the board too, and got some extra height.. did'nt land any today though, just kept hitting the water, and falling back.. the Kiteworks crew was out too.14th November - Murawai beach after work, 15-30 knots, evil wind, and an equally evil 4-5 foot of surf with current running across the beach... Kent was the guinipig and he launched first, and was having trouble staying on the ground... Perrin helped him out, and soon Kent cruised out through the waves, and hit some whitewash and went big.. he nailed some jumps a bit further out and got about 15m in the air, and very floaty long jumps.... going big! I had a nasty launch with my small kite and got dragged a bit, but then it was too much for me. Later the wind dropped a fraction, and I had a go in the surf, but hard work, and nasty wipeouts.. Lance got going nicely, but lost 2 fins pretty quickly...
9th -13th November - Crap wind this month, we have had no wind for 2 days, then a cyclone with 50 knots last night, and thunderstorms and rain for other days..
5th November - Session out at Pt Chev, not enough wind for my small kite(10-16 knots Westerly), but heaps for my 11.8! tried some jumps, about 50/50 sucess rate landing them, and pretty random height, although I did get almost 3m high on one I didn't land! my 165cm board I haven't used for ages was really good with the big kite. Really good fun. Lance was just managing to get going, but I forgot to bring the 10m line extensions for him. Lots of kiters out today, 10+, on a variety of kites/boards, although there were lots more directionals than anythng else...
30th October - been out evrey night this week, went out last night (Thursday) and had a go out at Mission bay (5pm), best session this week, the wind didn't drop!, and it was not too bad, stayed out till it got dark (10-20 knots NW), tried both my small boards, tried my 165cm, haven't used it for a couple of months, it's really fun. Did my first sweet jump, and nailed the landing too, and kept planing..would have been about 1.5 m no more probably, as I was underpowered, (Windsurfers were barely going) and on the 8.5 which is not the best, but I was on 25m lines...
1st November - No eventful sessions just a few crap sessions in NW wind. Practised relaunching 11.8, not the easiest to do.
11th October - Went up to Shakespeare bay on Thursday night, S-SW 15 knots, I tried my 11.8 AB, I was so ridiculously overpowered to start with! I could only slide sideways! Every time I set an edge, I went too fast as lost it big time.. I needed a 140cm wakeboard last night! I still managed to end way too far upwind! I had to do lots of downwind cruises to get back to the beach! Every time I edged the power came on too strong even on full depower... My board is definitely for light wind.. Once the wind dropped to 10 knots after you left, the wind was perfect for me, I was able to wind up some good speed on the water, and do another couple of attempts at jumps.. Gave Alan a go too on my board and my kite, and he was flying up and down, and jumping too! The only difference was I could park it where he had to work the kite a little to get up to speed! Awesome session.. It seems that depowering my big kite increases the amount of power it produces, whereas powering it up (pull bar towards you) reduces power and makes it fly slower.. this is the exact opposite to a small kite in higher wind! So in 15 knots I should have been powering the kite up, and therefore heading downwind a bit more, but with a slower flying kite.... I was depowering it, and it just kept pulling more and more...
7th October - Yah daylight saving this weekend! Saturday didn't look great, very squally and 30 knots? but me and Alan and Lance went out to North Piha and found 25 knots, and 2-4 foot of swell! Awesome session! I was out on my wakeboard, charging out through the waves, and Alan was underpowered but still going on his small 140cm wakeboard. lance was having a ball, experiencing being properly powered up, going upwind, and I was having to do downwind runs to stop going too far out into the big waves out the back( I was going out at 45 degrees quickly! (I got too much speed on a reach!) ( the nice smooth water was closer inshore... Attempted a few jumps, landed none, my board kept coming off my feet. Alan landed a sweet jump on my wakeboard, but crunched part of the top deck (minor) and ripped out a footstrap! I knew it wouldn't hold! Very intense session was had by all! lost sunglasses out in surf despite having a strap! Alan suffered yet another legrope injury, this time the whole screw came out of his board complete with legrope, catapulted back, and lodged itself in Alans leg owww. Need a helmet, it was seriously dangerous with my board flying round, and the surf washing over the top of me, and board behind me....
6th October - Another after work session, this time we had 15 knots, and I had ben expecting 25, so I only brought my 8.5 LF and my new wakeboard! I was cranking along on the 8.5, my new wakeboard is so fast, and I could hold my position really well in the light wind! very smooth bard through chop! Kept going till it got dark!
5th October - yet another after work session! arrived at 5pm, there wasn't a lot of wind, Johnny was on his 8.4 Airblast? and was able to just get going (although downwind) and apparently the wind had been much stronger earlier in the day (Mark had been cruising with his 4.2 C-Quad!). Got some new bolts from Kiteworks, so I was able to use my 11.8 AB sweet as, just enough wind to get going once the apparent wind kicked in, I was able to go upwind or at least hold my position. I kept going till about 6.50pm ( street lights!) and the wind kept picking up! . Gave Mark a go of my kite, but he's a little heavier than me, and using an unfamiliar kite for the first time in light conditions isn't easy. It took part of this session to find the best way to get going in light wind, I found sheeting out just a bit too much, then diving the kite while sheeting in (depowering) gave a good pull, then once going, depower slightly to park the kite and cruise along.
4th October - My first ever after work kitesurf, success! I arrived at 5pm at Eastern beach, there was 8-10 knots, and there was a guy on a 15.5 AR5 going well, and Lance with his AR3 9 Naish, just getting going, so I quickly set up my 11.8 and got out there! I tried my new wakeboard, but the wind was kind of puffy so I needed by 'School bus' 188cm twin tip to get going to get the apparent wind speed effect going. Scary amount of power once I was up and planing, this kite gets more apparent wind speed effect than my Stamos ever did! In fact I think all inflatables get more from apparent wind speed than foils.. I was just about overpowered on my 188 once going! I did a couple of boardless jumps, (didn't ollie or 'pop' the board) and did one too close to the beach when doing a jibe and got launched, board on my feet, and landed again, a bit on my bum, cause there was only 3 inches of water (my fins survived!) .. The wind kind of dropped and I came in after my depower locking system fell off my wipi bar! Had to do a temporary fix...
23rd September - When out to Farm cove again to try the nw location, but again on a NW it is really gusty 5-15 knots, a with a nasty current. Alan went out but I arrived later and he siad it was no good... The wind was flukey all day. Went up to Shakespeare bay on Sunday, stopped off at Shoal bay to have a look, there were 4 kitesurfers out, all on different sized kites! The beach was miniscule on high tide, and covered with windsurfing gear.. no room, plus lots of kid running around.. Shakespeare bay had five people out, and the wind must have been 14 knots gusting 16. Someone was out on a Wipika Airblast 11.8, having a ball, but I didn't want to try my new 11.8 in this wind first time! I was able to get going on my 8.5, but not go upwind apart from the gusts. A couple of guys on 13.5 Naishes were doing well, looking quite powered up.. one guy had a cut down surfboard (he'd cut the back off it!) and was scooting! Anyway the wind dropped a bit, so I thought I'd set up my 11.8AB , Alan arrived and the wind totally disappeared. I could still jump well on land despite the wind being 4-5 knots, but there wasn't any more wind that day.
15 September - Eastern beach at 16-20 knots, out on my Liquidforce and having a ball! once the wind came up to 20 + knots I was cruising upwind and managing 1 jump per reach without losing ground! Best session ever, I was landing jumps, but my footstraps aren't tight enough for the big landings, and on a couple of jumps I was landing with too much speed, and wiping out! One of the other guys (can't remember his name) one of Grants mates was out on his Naish R3 9.0 which he has 4 lined, and he has improved heaps since I last saw him a month or two ago... Great day overall, was out for 3 hours! Later a couple of guys with 11m Naish Arx kites went out and were just powered enough to jump, good fun to watch, they must have been heavier riders cause I was jumping just fine with my 8.5 (5.4 projected)!! but one of the guys was losing a lot of ground downwind, looked like he was riding a really small board (Starboard 5'10"). Well today is Sunday (16th) and there's 0 that 000 knots of wind... soo lucky yesterday!!)
1st, 2nd September - Been out at Eastern beach 20 knots, rain and chop, real nasty conditions and the wind kept dropping to 15 knots, then getting up again.. Orewa on Sunday was good fun trying to get out through waves (10knots) but the wind dropped to under 5 knots after half an hour. Lots of guys out, a mixture of guys on Arcs, Naishes, Wipika 11.8, 16.4 , 8.4's and even a couple of large Cahbrina kites! The best show was the guy with the 11.8 Wipika AB, and a mutant wakeboard!
18th August - Went out at Eastern beach, had some fun out there with 14-20 knots with my Liquidforce 8.5, and my 165cm wakestyle board, really comfortable... no jumps but I wasn't really trying, I needed just a good clean session with no disasters! Alan was out soon after with his 13.5 Naish and charging! Really good session, NE despite a NW forecast! Sunday was good too, but I was helping my g/f look for cars..
1st August - Last session with Grant before he went back to the UK, we had 6-20 knots all day, constantly changing, but I was able to go upwind on my big board all the time, interesting session as me and Mark took off from the same position on the beach, he with his 6.3m C -Quad and me with my Stamos, he (and everyone else including a guy with a 11m Freeair and a guy with a 17.5 ARX ended up downwind but I was making it back to the same spot. I didn't do any walking at all that day! 18 knots is getting scary on my big board and the 8m kite... The depower system was sorted, just need a different pulley. I tried Grants new wakeboard (No.2) and it planed almost as well as my 188cm big twintip! He was getting the same speed, but losing a bit of ground due to the fins being a bit small.
27th July - The weather has been crap for kitesurfing recently so haven't been out much, Grant and I went out to Pt Chev on last Sunday, I forgot my wetsuit and sent Grant out on his new wakeboard and my liquidforce kite. Unfortunately the wind was really gusty, up to 20-25 knots and directly cross-shore so the water was flat! Within 20 seconds of getting going, he lost his edge and jumped 10-15m downwind then got teabagged and his board submarined under the water! The kite then went out of control when Grant let go of the bar, and he couldn't relaunch it. It then dragged his out from Pt Chev, and eventually he managed to reel in the lines and kite and swim in, arriving at Pt Chev boat ramp, 1km downwind! He lost his wakeboard.
24th June - WHEN KITES
GO BAD!....Went out to Pt Chev beach around 9.30am, around high tide, tried
out my new 8m Stamos.. initially there wasn't enough wind, it was really puffy,
but the sun was shining and the day was young... the wind did pick up to a
steady 10 knots, so I was able to cruise back and forth and head up wind,
and do some jumps. There was a guy with a 15.5 Naish ARX with a 6-7 ft directional
board out too, and after a while Grant joined me with Shauns Stamos! I was
trying out my new bungy loop setup, for automatic depowering, it seemed to
work well, but kept falling out of it, or getting the wrong loop sometimes,
so hooked it in with my straight loop. BIG Mistake. the wind got gusty (15
knots) and then the kite dragged me into the shore. I hoped the gust would
pass but it didn't. I did a few hops towards the cliff, and Shaun ran over
to grab me, and pulled on the depower loop with me, but a huge gust (41 knots
I'm told) came through and lifted me up the cliff (bit of an updraft) , and
smashed me against the cliff ( I was now unconscious) and then I fell down
the cliff and my kite caught in the trees. I was left suspended from the ground
by my harness. I sustained a broken nose, fractured sternum, a ripped ear,
requiring plastic surgery, and a great deal of pain, needles, and headaches.
( And a now shredded wetsuit). Always check your depower/release system will
work in an emergency!. Grant had the same type of kite but was not hooked
in, and was only dragged a little way. No reflection on Windtools kites, just
my own fault for not checking my setup and trusting the wind....(Damn Pt Chev,
it's evil..) ... Have had plenty of nasty experiences there... yet Eastern
beach with freakin powerlines, houses, trees, cars, park benches?! have never
caused a problem... always sweet there....
Last but not least, always go out with some mates!, (you need someone to call
the ambulance after all..), they can help launch and land your kite and help
WHEN KITES GO BAD...
?
16th June - Awesome session at Eastern Beach, with a gusty 10 - 17 knots from the NNE, was able to cruise out from the beach and back to the same position afterwards, stoked, hardly did any walking this session... did my first jump! only 1m high but hey it's a start! A couple of times I went out on one tack and came back 50m further out than where I started, so I guess that means I was going up wind... but many more times I lost my rail and got dragged downwind.... Grant was doing really well too, he has become very attached to my 188cm twin tip, and since he's sold his 6'7" Bic board, he's going to do a homemade kiteboard....
30th May - Went out on a southerly(SSE) at Eastern beach to try my 10m lines... much easier to set up(and I got the right lengths), and on a highish tide 10m is sweet for launching. The wind was only 12-13 knots though so I was whizzing my kite all over the sky but the powerstrokes are so short it's hard. With more wind (the idea of 10m lines) it'll be good. I managed to get about 150m out from the beach, by sining the kite, and made it back too. The wind died soon after..
27th May - Been out to
Pt Chev, the wind was already up at 9am, gusting 20 knots(directly onshore).
It was high tide so there wasn't much beach. Grant was already setup and disappeared
before I had launched my kite. Today it was a case of head upwind or hit the
breakwater or trees. I went backwards and forwards several times but couldn't
get out far enough to clear the trees. Really hard... the wind keep gusting
then dropping so I could only go upwind for 10 seconds then I'd have to point
lower again. Gave up after a while and went to find Grant. He was nowhere
to be found! I guessed he must have got blown into shore somewhere. Jumped
in my car and drove back towards the Pt Chev boat ramp, and there he was,
walking back with a soggy kite and his board! Anyway he made it out then got
blwon by a gust and ditched his kite!
We waited in the car till the tide dropped a bit, but the wind dropped also.
by 12pm the wind came up again, so we went out. One guy with a 15.5AR5 Naish
came out and was cruising (slowly) on a twin tip, and doing low jumps... and
a guy on a 8.0 Stamos was cruising quite fast on a 5'6" board, riding toeside
and jumping.The Stamos looked really stable and fast. I was barely able to
plane going downwind.. Grant was having a similar amount of success. The wind
was only 8 - 12 knots, 12 knots being the absolute low limit for my kite,
and I could just get planing. I would have done a bit better on my floaty
7' surfboard.(I was on my 6'2" twin tip). I managed to crash my kite into
Grant's flexifoil and my lines got caught up in his kite! Managed to sort
that one without downing the kites though. Fustrating day. That was the first
time I had seen a Windtools Stamos in the flesh. They are nice kites.
20th May - Went out to Pt Chev 7.00am, and met Grant there. expecting the wind to be 15 knots, getting up to a gusty 30 knots, but we had to wait 3 hours for the wind to come up, it came up suddenly and off we went, only to have it die and I was left 150m from shore with my kite in the water (after heading up wind for a while...) absolutely slutted, real hard work swimming back with my kite as an anchor.. but after that the wind became a constant 16-17 gusting 20 knots, and we were flying! My new twin tip board was awesome,up wind good bite. Once the wind started gusting 25 knots we came in (2pm) as I was just getting blown downwind when I lost my edge..( but going hell upwind when I did have an edge!). I was trying hard not to get lifted out of the water too much, but several times just got lifted out of my footstraps... Gusts of 25 knots were lifting me of the water(not on my board) and carrying me 10 metres downwind...) Would have been very hard on land!)
14th May - Went out to Shakespeare bay with Mark, found perfect 12-15 knot winds, not quite enough to go upwind fast but good fun, after working out the beach (it was quite narrow on high tide...) Tried out my new board! it's interesting and goes quite well, but hard on the back leg... I chopped the fins too short, so it was sliding a bit and couldn't make up it's mind which way to go sometimes..but with a bit of tuning on fins and footstrap placement, I'll be away...!ood long session, and Mark was going on his 4.2 C-quad (very impressive!) "that kite's got puppies" - as Mark would say... My kite is really for high wind 15 knots plus, so it was borderline going , oncce you were up to speed you could park it almost....
10th May - Bought supplies to build my own kiteboard! I'm making a twin tip asymmetrical 6ft 2 by 18 inches, 5 fin setup..started this afternoon.
28th April - spent 4 hours kiteboarding today WOOHOO! out at Eastern beach, stoked... got my setup sussed, I used a harness clip to attach my depower loop firmly onto my waist harness, and the kite was adjusted sweet. in 10-12 knots I was up and ripping across the water at 90 degrees to the wind, not enough wind to head up wind though....tried my big (6'10 ) board and got up some real speed, and started to sine the kite..
14th April? - Went to Orewa with Mark, to find some 18-20 knot Northeast winds hitting the beach, FULLY powered up! depower loop came in handy today, had some success getting up and going on Marks proper kiteboard, followed by some faceplants! Depower loop kept coming out of my harness loop, so it was stuck in full power mode .. arrrghh!6th April - Converted
my kite to 4 lines, and it does turn faster, it turns almost on one point
but not quite. Sorted out my bar, I used a stainess steel clamp (like used
on hosepipes) and a stainess U bolt from a boat shop, along with a thick piece
of dyneema and some clear flexible plastic pipe to stop chaffing. Did a test
flight, and I still need to asjust the length of the front lines. The lines
I got were a bit short (3m) so I have a long leader!
2nd April - Tried my kite
in gusting 30 knot SW winds at Eastern beach, and at first there wasn't enough
wind to launch it, but within a couple of minutes the wind switched around,
and launched my kite into the power zone, and dragged me 70m downwind till
I hit the water..scary! After getting it in an overhead position there was
heaps more wind up there, compared to close to the water, and every gust lifted
me off my feet and carried me downwind... No chance of getting my surfboard
near my feet, as my kite keeps pulling me off the ground...
have decided I need 4 lines, beacuse the wind range and control is too limited,
I would have been screaming along if I could have controlled it.
31st March - Tried out my kite several times this week, and Saturday was 10-12 knots and just enough to tow me along on my board lying down! My board isn't floaty enough for light wind underpowered conditions!
27th March - Tried my kite in 15 knots with 20 knot gusts and it's fully powered up and trying to lift me in the overhead position... scary! I think I need 4 lines to control the power. I think a floatier board would make it easier too... 14th March - Went and watched some kitsurfing today, damn it looks like fun, it was just over 15 knots and my mate was going well! Annoying that I have to sit at the sideline till my ear heals... I made my first kitesurfing gear purchase today, had to buy new (gasp expensive) as no secondhand gear is available yet, the sport is too young. I settled on a Liquid Force(Wipika copy) 8.5m 2 line kite, which should be good in most conditions.
The amount of kiting equipment not following a standard is getting really confusing! I worked out this much though :
- C Quads are the most
powerful, and fastest (high projected area almost equal to the flat area.
- A Wipika Classic has a much greater projected area than a Naish AR5. ( a
9.5m Naish AR3 is equal to a 8.5m Wipika)
- A Naish 'AR5' has a much lower projected area than a Naish AR3.3(which is
slighter lower than a Wipika). A 15.5m AR5 has a projected area of only 8.9m,
a Wipika 12m has the same projected area!. The performance improvement? comes
from it being more manouvrable...
- 4 lines enables sheeting and pointing higher upwind, but are harder to water
launch because there is no bridle.
- Foils are lighter weight and better in light winds
- Big (15.5m +) inflatables are not as good in very light winds due to the
weight. In very light winds no inflatable launches very well whatever the
size.
- Peter Lynn Arcs are similar in aspect ratio to Wipika classics, but may
have a more aerodynamic shape/ and be lighter
- You still need a big board in underpowered conditions
?
I watched 2 guys out at
Eastern beach the other day, both with 7.5m Naish kites in 20-25 knot winds,
they were popping some air quite easily. I've looked at some of the kiteboards,
and most are very much like minimal type designs typical of surfboards.
A shortboard used for surfing could be classified as a stunt board for kiting.
Changes include :
- less boxy rails, sharper edges going further than the middle of the board
- flatter overall shape, less rocker
- heavy duty construction (also very heavy weight compared to a surfboard
- straight fins, rather than angled thruster side fins
- some had a larger centre fin
- larger tail area or exaggerated swallow tail
- they did have approximately the same volume
Modifications to a shortboard for better kite use would be:
- Narrow width of board by 1-2 inches
- modified rail section from the front foot placement to back of board
- shape tail section to swallow type
- add two more fins just behind front foot placement, or one larger centre fin
How?
You'd need a jigsaw and a powersander, approx 1 litre of resin and a metre of 6.0 oz cloth. Resin is cheaper the more you buy, HardCore Surfboards quoted me $60 for 4 litres of resin. You can get it from Hardware House I think for around $30 for a litre.
Savings?
1 Old surfboard 100-$200?
1 litre of resin $30
glass fibre 5-$8 /metre
foot-straps - either make yourself or buy for about $30 each (need at least 2
$298 or $1000 for a flash kiteboard. You choose!
I think this is a great
new cross over sport which overseas has really taken off!
The option of carving huge arcs or getting big air, along with radical corkscrew
manouvers make this sport awesome. Add to that you can do it anywhere there's
water, and preferably waves, it should be great fun.
For some real fun, or how bout huge rail grabs, or imagine to rail-slides along the break water out at Mission bay, Auckland?!!
I've seen a few people out around the beaches kitesurfing, one or two people venturing into this new sport, I suspect the cost of equipment is holding most people back. From the videos I have seen so far, it looks like you can adopt a style closer to surfing rather than windsurfing. My mate has a 6.3m C-Quad, a non inflatable kite with spars and it seems to have a fair bit of pull, I saw a guy out with a 15.5m AR5 Naish Kite on the same day and he was going well, but I reckon he was probably overpowered. Hopefully the 8.5m Liquidforce I bought will be big enough to do jumps with once I master the basics. Just gotta put some strap mountings on my surfboards and I'll be away !
I can see that when the surf isn't great you can just whip out your kite and go out anyway!
?
