Waiting for the Wind

Well of course we know that. Anyway in this tight session we started trying out Toe side riding. Proto's been watchin his kite DVD and got all buzzed up about that.

I was expecting it to take ages - but it was surprising easy. Though easy heading left but for some reason my brain couldn't work it out going right.

Sensible stuff, in difficult to go upwind conditions. Went only 2 groins down and walked back up...it was hard work to walk back and I suggested putting kite high to walk

Proto in vain tried again to find his wife's lost wedding rign in the sand!

Proto ended with a big reasonable downwinder.

b ut not before he injured himself. Jumped sort of and got thwacked in the shoulder by his board.

"my shoulder cracckkked...like an axe wound (non hairy).

if jump no leash"

ahh

Nutters. All three of the kiters out on Botany Bay on Sunday afternoon. Me & the Protocolette included.

But as someone said
"only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go"

so we discovered the beautiful Waroo 9m can survive 45knot gusts.
I'm glad I got out the water before we got into the '50s though!

Check that chart above!

And commentary from the co-case:
he and i went out yesterday- he was out in 30 knots gusting to 50. I tried to stop him but he was totally up for it. I worried loads and thought how can i let go of the kite that results in his destruction-his wife would kill me.....anyway as it turns out i couldnt hold the kite anyway and up it went and off he went across the bay like a total pro-he was awsome.We were the only 3 kites out in the bay- the only kite most of the time. The waroo 9m can handle anything.

the waves were massive for botany (normally flat water) - 6 feet the surfer amoungst us reckons.

we didn't kill ourselves.

no real disasters - though the kite did manage to wriggle from under mountains of sand after I'd landed and head off towards the road. we nipped it in the bud tho.

this kite malarley is just pure madness

Sunday worked well for an early session. We had perfect 15-20 knots down by the Novotel at Brighton-le-Sands.

No dramas for a change. Just beautiful speed on the water. My second time up was the best session ever, on the 16m bowkite. Doing some nice upwind, dropping my arm and working on my stance.

Much much much easier to go left foot first for some reason. Cuspy reckon's it's the direction of the waves, ie on our way out right first we're crossing the waves by a few degrees so its a bumpy ride. But on the way back in right foot first we're parallel with the waves. Maybe. Might also be that I'm, just no good one way. Cuspy had fun, first time out in a few mths given his recent addition.

Still p1ssing around doing alternate turns. Next time with Proto or Cuspy we must break that hurdle and go out at the same time. Will treble our water time for each visit to Botany at least. When we're losing ground just have to come back to the beach more regularly and walk back up. Just have to work on self-launching for the second guy up.

Wind was howling yesterday - first decent knots in ages - 15 gusting to 25. Me & Proto made it down to Dolls Point - wow what an awesome location on weekdays - just us and a handful of other kiters, stunning white sands, big beach (thx council for chucking all the extra sand on!). Beautiful, sunny and a bit of wind.

Went for the 16 depowered. Soon reaslised error of our ways and powered her up.

Proto got an awesome session in - not losing any ground for the first half. Then he came a cropper and lost a bit of ground he couldn't make up, so I had to meet him downwind (northerly) before he ended up o ff the edge of the beach.

Then I was up, wind of course dropping by now. Hey - I am up first next session. or maybe we go crazy and both go out together??!!

Had to really throw her around to get some decent momentum. Not long after getting out there the wind fell off a cliff, kite hit the decks, and I was left struggling in the middle of the Bay.

I stuck it out for 20min or so trying & trying to relaunch. Now the 16 crossbow is nrmally really easy to relaunch - even we've found when she's inside out. But in zero wind and upside down and inside out there was no chance.

I was remarkedly calm. Normally in these circusmstances I can't untangle knots for thiknking about sharks. And frightening myself everytime the board leash touches my legs under the water! Any way I went thru the process very calmly, blissfully unaware that I was drifting awy from Brighton toward the national park on the other side. The guys on the beach were far more worried than I. There was apparently talk of police and the current I was drifting into and the local woman who drowned in it last year. Tide wasn't moving though so wasn't really that bad.

Fortunately not long after I started getting cramp i spotted a small fishing boat heading roughly my way. I tryed a fdew more attempts at relaunch then gave in and asked for a ride.

They'd caught no fish so a bedraggled kitesurfer was probably not a bad result.

More soon.

Yesterday served the purpose of broadening our potential wind spectrum.

The airport telephone message was saying 10knots 40degs, the chart shows what 'breeze was saying. JK mocked me as I set out to Botany.

But there was a consistent 2hrs+ of 12 knots from 3pm. After pussyfooting around on the middle setting for the first few runs we saw the light and went to max. Then the 16 (Crossbow) came into its own giving me some awesome runs, I was screaming, getting the buzz again! Proto got out too - though we were both losing lots of ground downwind.

I made a few improvements with some onshore instructions, the wind being light I was able to hear!

But kiting not being kiting without some incident or other. Proto's beloved lost her wedding ring - maybe on the sand? What's the score Proto - did you call the ringfinder dude? Did you find it in the car?

Saturday's gustiness was interesting. I tried out Proto's new toy - his 9m Waroo, by the Novotel - awesome kite - it fared well in extremes of 10 to 35knots. Even better than the Cabrinha bows - just so simple, no clutter.

A late entry for what was another great great great day. One where we all rediscovered the joys of this great sport.

It was Sunday March the 12th 2006, the three muskateers down in Kurnell:

Proto summed it up:

dudes, that was one awsome session yesterday...thanks for use of the kit...
Still high from the rush....bring on more wind.

We had an awesome day with Cuspy's 12m Switchblade. What a perfect kite that is.

Most of the afternoon messing around. Proto left early, realising he was still a recent father. Cuspy has still got a few weeks before he will be facing the same dilemma. Me & him messed around into dusk...

And on the day and the Switchy, from Cuspy's deaf ears:

got one more go in - wind turned directly onshore which made it tricky to get pass the groins

awesome day in all though

FatChicken tried to get stuck in the nature reserve, made it with inches to spare.......

'like trading in a morris minor for a ferrari'
'great not to have the long walk home along the beach'
'protocole getting too big for his booties'
'sensational'
'one purchase from KP Steve I'll never regret'


nuff said

Saturday had been like last week - we got going early but by the time Cuspy & I had made the trip south, alas a beautiful calm had fallen over Sydney.

We got a treat in the evening though, the eagerly anticipated premiere of the stupendous N,G&A feature film of the main event of February: the Dangar Island, Peat's Bite wedding fest of me & my lovely new wife. A top production - even featuring some "early footage" of Capn Chaos in action. Thanks guys.

But what an amazing Sunday on the Bay.

The 5:58am text messages (early after the previous day's disappointment) said have a lie-in. I was full of flu so that was a blessing. But by 9ish, we were go. The arrows were lining themselves up for southwesterly. Me & the Proto legged it down to Brighton-le-Sands expecting to go to the Cap'n Cook bridge for the SW facing beach over there.

But the wind was 220 degrees, ie perfectly cross-shore on Brighton. And it was blowing. Weyhey. Proper bloody kitesurfing action.

Wind a bit off & on, but plenty for us to get going with the 16 Crossbow. Now officially out of its bag. And a bargainous purchase it was too. $1,150 second hand off the other Bay, the 2006 model, a bit of use, nothing wrong with it. It's $2,300 RRP ($1,900 new with discounts). Takes a bit of getting used to, flying very differently to the 12 Boxer that I've "grown-up" on. Slower, less easy to throw around (due to the size), but so much more control. Flies itself enough to be able to start messing around on board control. Love it.

The missus came down with us. The last time she saw us being about a year ago, so she was expecting a day of tangled lines, kites falling out of the sky, no wind, disappointment, cup of tea in the van, and losing something-or-other.

As it was she brought the camera, and it took pictures of me doing my magic upwind. Cuspy & Proto doing their magic too. She was mightily impressed!

[Me in front of the airport and city, Photo by KT]

Winter's here for sure. Yesterday the southwesterly morning forecast told us to get our arses out of bed and get down to Boat Harbour (Cronulla) before breakfast. We fannied around and tried the small (south-facing) beach by the George's River Sailing Club (by the Captain Cook Bridge). Not a bad spot actually, for a southwesterly. But only if its actually blowing.

Before heading back to the City with our tails between our legs, me & Cuspy thought we'd check out the Boat Harbour, where there might be more knots, it not being sheltered by anything. I was slightly nervous about the swell. Especially seeing it as we drove down the dunes to the shore. But round to the right behind sheltered by the reef, it was bearable.

A surprising amount of wind though, considering how poor it had been inside Botany Bay. We tried the 12m Switchblade first. But too hard with the swell, and the surf, in what was light wind. So we moved up to the 16m Crossbow - now a whole two weeks since we bought it. It was hard work.

The two other's kiters out there - a couple?, and later on a bigger posse of kitedudes and dudettes - had moved on from 11m's to 16m's. And then decided there was more value on standing around than being in the water.

We struggled on. Met one of the guys who was friendly and had some helpful tips.

Of course decent wind and smooth waters are very forgiving of lacking talent. Today's conditions were not!

It was my birthday on Sunday. So me & the wife, Proto & his & our
special guest from windy Perth, and Cuspy & his went down to Botany Bay.
We decided we'd hang out at Kurnell, at the National Park, so if the
wind didn't materialise then we had a nice picnic venue...somewhere nice
for the ladies!

So we hoped for a while for some wind to get the kites out. None came.
So we spent the afternoon scoffing muffins & chicken, and ogling people
and boats with our new 'noccers' (that's Binoculars!).

The kites didn't leave their bags, but there was still of course room
for things to go wrong. Of course there was. This was a kite-day-out.

First up was Cuspy's new car battery. Well it kept going flat. That was
a good start.

Then later in the afternoon we were graced with the company of Fish &
Jade. Fish only came to pick up his deck (the one that went camping)
from Cuspy. So we strung him along for a while that we'd left in it in
the garden in the mad rush out of the house. Would it rain?

But Proto came up trumps - winning a bottle of wine from Fish just as
darkness was falling. Jade had left the keys in Fish's car, half an hour
before the National Park gates would lock us in! No luck with the NRMA
(like the AA) or locksmiths. But while Fish had been on the phone, and
me and Cuspy were choosing our battering ram for the back window of the
Susie (Suzuki), Proto and Perth had been quietly utilising some innate
northern knowledge. He'd broken a bit of wire out of the fence and
managed to shove it down the side of the door and pop the lock up.
Screams of relief all round.

I'm s'posed to out on the water right now as I type. The arrows are
good. But the work situation isn't. Something has to be resolved here.

Since our last almost-festive wind week, I did get married to the
beautiful K, and honeymooned, and learnt to Hobycat in 5 knots, and my
grandpa died at 94 (he was a fan of this kiting tale:
http://waitingforthewind.blogspot.com/2004/01/kiting-5-sundays-outing-wa
s-frankton.html)

Went for a Friday evening, frantic drive & set up to squeeze some time in the water before nightfall. The arrows were green green green go go go. It was 12m wind...have a look at the chart:

I had some excellent goes - the wind close to overpowering the kite - I dropped the lines down two notches on the leading edge of the kite.

Proto was a star - four or five times he went out and returned to where he started. Looked f'in fantastic - though still bending those knees too much mate!

My antics were slightly less brilliant - but great progress all the same. I did loads of upwind action - but couldn't make it back to where I started. But that's for the next session.

It's amazing how you forget about the sharks when you're hooning along rather than spending your time in the water with legs dangling as bait.

Anyway I'm to be wed in two weeks time. And Kt is starting to worry that I've become obsessed. There's definitely something in that - but the arrows are green at the moment. Everyday - and that's a rare occurrence for Sydney. I know we've got a wedding to organise and I can kite for the next thirty years. But it's so exciting right now. On the cusp of greatness!

Very excited about the big day - loads of friends and family coming over. Some time to appreciate Sydney - and enjoy ourselves. And the honeymoon is to Fiji. I've been given very strict orders about not taking the kite!

Work to do...

Seabreeze forum

Oh my god. A top day out on the Botany Bay. I think me & the Proto
cracked it yesterday. "This is a different sport" I heard as the Proto
came in from his first session on the 16.

The ingredients for such a top day...were of course some green arrows;
and Cuspy's 16. We borrowed it last week and fortunately hadn't returned
it yet. We flogged the trusty 12 for a while first - having some fun on
a few Brighton-le-Sands downwinders - the kitevan following along the
beach. Anyway we then braved the 16. And kitesurfed.

Proto went up first. I got in the van to fetch him at the end of a
downwinder again - but no. Flippin 'eck, the boy was coming back to
where he started from. Some real, genuine, relaxed upwind action from
the master. Great to watch. I was gagging for a go. Once out there - the
kite was flying perfectly. It's a Boxer - just like my 12 - but with
short lines and no dog-dick. So we put my bar & lines on here. It was a
dream.

I just couldn't believe how easy it was - no need to aggressively
figure-8 just to stay up and keep going. And plenty of time to
appreciate, and to think about the board and my feet and going upwind.
Yes - going upwind. Unbelievable. I'd been out on Thursday (6am,
before-work!) for my second ever wakeboard session with some guys from
work. That I think was good just to get some confidence with the board
crashing over the wake at a good speed. So I put all that to the test
with some pretty good speed over the waves in Botany.

Australia Day 2006. February 26th. To be renamed Kite Day. The day we
cracked it. Our chief groupie was there again - I think she was slightly
more impressed than our antics at The Entrance a few days ago. Though
there was possibly less amusement and giggle-some behaviour!

This is the place we start off from in Brighton

The amazing thing in all of this is that it's essentially taken the pair of us two years to work out that to kitesurf, you need wind, and you need the right sized kite. Astounding. There we've been there last few months flogging a dead horse with the 12 in all sorts of wind. And even a few days back flogging a dead one with the 16 in no wind at all. Then yesterday it all came together. Now we just have to buy a 16. Sell the 21. No we'll keep it for amusement value. Maybe it will even fly ok on a sub-12 knot day?

Bring it on.

http://waitingforthewind.blogspot.com

Best wind we've seen in ages. Sydney's a sht place for wind. Except
this weekend. Green arrows green arrows galore.

But 4:30pm Friday I was still stuck in the office. Green arrows tempting
me out though. So it was a quick word and a promise to finish things off
on Sunday, a call to ProtoCole, himself ready and waiting at home. I was
in the lift by 4:38 and - having risked life & limb biking through
rush-hour across the city - to the flat, load the van, to Proto's place
- we were on the road, kitted up, the 12 pumped, the lines untangled and
helmets adorned - in the water by 6pm.

Wow. Perfect wind conditions, if anything a tad too windy. No: rubbish,
no such thing? We'd bought a 2nd hand 21m Best Nemesis earlier in the
week - hence the decent wind. I'm hoping we never have to pump here up.
My 12m Boxer - workhorse she is - flew like a dream. Proto kitesurfed.
Yes - kitesurfed - no messing around with lost boards or any other
Chaotic behaviour. The Cap'n himself even got out there. Loved. Loved
it. Loved it.

Wow - what a rush and amazing feeling once you get going, out in the
middle of Botany Bay. Some air; not intentionally of course. But
controlled once up there. And time for a nanosecond of reflection,
realisation, and a crash landing into the water. And controlled
kitesurfing. Best session ever. I even dabbled in upwind action? Not
100% conclusive - I was sure I upwinded, as was the dude on a 16m we
were sharing the beach with. Proto's a tougher judge of angles. Either
which way. I was out there with enough control to even contemplate
working out upwind.

Two sessions each. In the bag. Quit while we're ahead. 7:50pm. Stopped.
Packed. In the van, wind drops. Buzzing. And it was still only Friday!

Kitesurfing rocks

----------------

Then there was Saturday. The big adventure up-north. Been biggin it up
all week. Getting excited. Up early, picnic packed, Westfield, Bondi
Junction bit o' shopping, get a car radio installed. Checking out new,
uncharted territory, at The Entrance and the lakes nearby. Virgin
kitesurfing soil, just waiting for two mavericks to discover, to tame,
to make their own.

Well it was a stunning day - the weather. We had guests - some of
honour, having flown all the way from India to experience this momentous
day in the history of Australian kitesurfing.

Here's Tuggerah Lake 1.5hrs north of Sydney Town

E & G were queens of patience, G by now clearly learnt the art of
humouring the ridiculous antics of her worse half, whilst simultaneously
dealing with the relatively well behaved 6mth year-old.

1st up was that penis-shaped intrusion into the lake from the Western
bank (Chittaway Point).

Beautiful on first inspection. However deemed unusable after we heard
the squelching sound of my lower leg struggling out of the stinking mud.
Don't kitesurf at Chittaway Point. Wind was up though - so off, keen
adventurers to find a better spot. No worry, still early, and the wind
should last all afternoon?

Rocky Point? Less mud and more rocks for sure - but no decent landing
spots for us downwind wonders.

Baby fed. Muffins inside of us.

The Entrance it is then. Off to the Eastern side of the lake. Much
scoping out of mud, jetties, wind (now slightly offshore), toilets,
where can the ladies buy an ice-cream, bike hire, mud, picnic tables,
shade, picnickers, domestics, litter, bright sun, some wind, Long Jetty,
Picnic Point, Long Jetty Picnic Point Jetty Long Point Picnicky. And
after much indecision we settled on Long Jetty. Actually, the slightly
less long jetty with all the people on it rather than the longer-one
with no people on it.

Mud. Wind dropping. Kites up. 16 and 12. No 21? Too scary. Too much mud
to navigate. Jetties to negotiate. Nails to tangle in. Seaweed to tangle
in. Our special observer from India was in hysterics.

The kite flew - the 16, sort of not really. We were using the lines from
the 12 and it just wasn't working. Back to the trusty 12. The workhorse,
the star. But even she couldn't fly in these offshore-ish, sub 12
knot-ish conditions. Don't panic we weren't really kitesurfing in
offshore winds. More wading around in the mud in the shallows of the
anyway-shallow Lake Tuggerah.

So after much struggle, and patiences tested, to the soundtrack of
chuckles from the jetty, Proto actually got up on the board. For a good
minute. Maybe two even. I collected him in the car - I drove the few
hundred yards to the next jetty. The pain of it all.

Well there we are. We did get some decent chips and fishing
entertainment in the town of The Entrance before the quiet drive back to
ol'Sydney.

Next time we'll be hiring one of those tourist boats with outboards and
shade to do a serious downwinder across our Lake Tuggerah. If we can
ever persuade ourselves to do it to ourselves again.

Thanks Cuspy for the lend of the 16. Thanks E&G for the shoulders to cry
on, the patience. Thanks the bub for giving the day meaning & purpose.
And Kt for the greencard! x