Monday, August 22, 2005
#15 - All the stars were aligned on Saturday
Been a long time since I've been out with the kites. But I got rudely awoken by ProtoCole early morning Saturday with a "get up the wind's blowing". Within seconds I was regretting the 3am triple-gin tonics. Though a few hours later I was not regretting the wake-up call.
Had a FANTASTIC session. Totally rekindled my excitement for this emotional rollercoaster of a sport.
All the stars were aligned on Saturday...
...we had great wind, perfect knottage for me
...a low tide
...the clouds were hiding the blinding sun
...a Westerly so we could go to Kurnell for cross-shore. I like Kurnell
...so no dogs or children or canoes or bathers or fishing boats with loudspeakers...
Perfect
The gin wasn't doing me much good though so I was keen for ProtoCole take the first few runs. My stomach settled though and I had the best session ever - zipping across the water at great speed and some control as well! Back forth - all downwind - but it wasn't the day for learning the hardway. We were keen to have some fun. So there was plenty of walking back up the beach!
Proto was good and did two great recoveries relaunching in the water. I also managed one.
Obvious - but having good wind makes all the bloody difference. As the afternoon drifted by I went out again towards the end in dodgy gusty wind. And it was a crap sess. Obvious really.
Anyway. Back into it. Can't wait to get out there again and start properly trying for some upwind action.
one bit of advice i could give you is, and it sucks not having known this sooner myself, buy yourself a peter lynn kite, you will never regret it. the bomba, which is PLK's (peter lynn kiteboarding) beginner, and surf/wake style kite, has helped people i know get up and going with confidence in a fraction of the time as others of the same skill level on their LEI's.
the bomba will soon be replaced by the vortex, their newest kite, but you may want to pick up a used one as your second kite, and see how you like it. they re-sell very well, in case you don't like it (which i doubt) or for when you want to sell it eventually. perhaps a venom may be more appropriate, but if you're still not 100% there yet, or want to ride waves and such, don't rule out the bomba.
all plk's kites are extremely stable, but the lower aspect ratio kites, deliver steadier smoother power. a girlfried of mine, read a lot, bought her kite and board, etc., and taught herself how to ride, upwind and all, by the second day, on the bomba. she was catching air by the 5th or 6th time out. the kite relaunches fast, but rarely falls in the water, it absorbs gusts like mad, and when she falls in, all she does is let go of the bar for the kite to "auto zenith". when i self launch my phantoms at the beach, i calmly walk into the water with board in hand, and completely off the bar, as my kite just hovers overhead, with practically no pull. it's really great and inspiring to fly them kites. they are very easy to self launch and land, much more so than any LEI out there. if you had had one all along, i'm sure you would be much further along in your riding abilities.
i'm glad you persisted and are having fun. PLK is based out of NZ, and as far as i know, PLK kites are far more popular there (AU) than they are here (US), see if you can get a demo fly on one, you will grin from ear to ear, and start thinking of selling your current kite, and/or saving up to buy one. since i started flying them myself, i rarely fly my other like new, quality brand name kites.
the only downside being they are not good in low wind, but a door type board will give you back enough low end to be competitive with the large LEI's in low wind.
good luck with your progress, i look forward to more kiting tales.
sierra
: October 05, 2005 4:55 PM
