Got lucky and scored a nice downwinder from Hampton to Port Melbourne at last. The water is definitely better at Hampton and Brighton compared to the top of the bay.

www.peterskiteboarding.com/2011/12/downwinder-from-hampton-to-port.html

kanister said...

Wow. That's amazing. Have to try it one day!

Are you going to dress up like robocop aswell?

Why didn't you turn around and ride back again?

The wind dropped out at St Kilda, so going back was out of the question and around 20km is a long way to go upwind.

I find downwinders great fun as I can relax, go for a tour and not worry about holding ground and going upwind. Its a bit like ski touring compared to downhill skiing.

Peterc150 said...

Why didn't you turn around and ride back again?

The wind dropped out at St Kilda, so going back was out of the question and around 20km is a long way to go upwind.

I find downwinders great fun as I can relax, go for a tour and not worry about holding ground and going upwind. Its a bit like ski touring compared to downhill skiing.

I agree, downwinders are great! ski touring=staying upwind,downhill=downwinder.

If you're into ski touring then get into upwinders. It's the equivalent of starting off at the base station, shuffling to the summit, playing around on the summit, then taking the long down trail back.

On a TT you can make easily 6kph distance going upwind. Get the right surfboard or raceboard and you can more than double that pace. Saves all the dicking around with car shuffles or public transport.

The second half of an upwinder is a downwinder. I get to do a downwinder on almost every session I do.

Try it. The more you ride upwind the better you get at it and the faster you can ride. Once it's easy and fun to blast upwind you can have a downwind session any time you want.

cool vid mate thanks for sharing.
looks like fun.
You could try Rye to your neck of the woods st kilda??
on a southerly.
not sure how long that one would take

Is there such a thing as kite touring? like they do on jetskis and sail boats?
eg
go from one place to another have lunch and a drink and head back??
cheers cam

Wow this sounds great! I would love to do it one day as well ...

Where the wind is offshore and trees/hills/buildings block the wind from the surface of the water making conditions ultra-gusty and launching difficult/impossible.

Some guys did a downwinder from Rosebud a few years ago. They drifted out until they could launch then off they went.

I have ridden upwind to Brighton-St Kilda and back in a due N and the wind is not too bad 800m off the beach at St Kilda. Others have ridden Brighton-Port Melbourne return in a NW.

For a pure downwinder in S-SW wind Frankston to St Kilda would be the go. You could stay within 500m of the shore the whole way. Lots of beach activity to look at and self rescue is easy. You generally want to go fast downwind (out to sea) then carve crosswind back towards the beach, or slightly upwind. You get to ride faster, hit the waves at a better angle, rest your back leg, and get a closer look at the beach and the reef waves.

My plan is to do Hampton-Frankston and return in a S anything. My longest trip is Hampton-Mentone-Brighton-Hampton for a 20km circuit. I got a bit chicken/sensible as I passed Ricketts and found myself having to ride far from shore or cut back a couple km into the coast. The Brighton-Hampton leg was a blast because there was no risk or urgency and I could hit the waves upwind the whole way.

BTW For kite touring, we've done Hampton-Ricketts return numerous times. We often stop at Ricketts for a chat and a drink. I usually get toey and want to keep riding. It feels wrong to be wasting time sitting on the beach when there's wind and waves to be bashed. On a recent trip I stopped several times and changed knots on the kite when the wind lulled a couple of times.

The upwind then downwind option is a good one - we have done this at Brighton in northerlies, and from Hampton up the Half Moon Bay and back.

The Torquay to St Kilda trip was epic, especially negotiating the rip. Big eddies and currents there. It was an incoming tide presumably, which would effectively have reduced the apparent wind speed.

If you are interested in doing some long downwinders in and around Port Phillip Bay - and possibly the 90 mile beach - PM me and advise your email & mobile. Or you can contact me via here: www.peterskiteboarding.com/

started to watch the video but after 5 seconds the poo stance, helmet, purple wetsuit and unstable yawn-pro footage made me hit stop .


the robocop comment made me laugh . Unsure why you would need to dress up in combat gear to handle the conditions in the video but whatever floats your boat in vic

Hey Dusta, I don't normally feed trolls, but for the benefit of other readers:

I wear the 1mm suit mainly for sun protection, but its handy when there are jelly fish about too.

I like wearing a helmet. I figure my brain is worth a fraction more than $140. I sometime mount a camera on it too.

The NPX vest is great for reducing impacts from jumps gone wrong.

And sunglasses are nice for reducing spray and glare.

And yes, my tongue is sticking out.