Damn, it was windy. Me like a number of very very new kitesurfers were only up to our waist in water, but out of our depth with the wind.

Saw multiple massive offs (yes, me included) and saw some great team spirit in catching people's lost/out of control kites...

I've never experienced vertical uplift before (i.e. 9metre kite completely depowered kite at 12, over my head) and lifting me straight out of the water... is that normal?

It was absolutely manic yesterday at St K. People all over the shop. Didnt help that the tide was quite low - hence bunched everybody up.

Wouldnt have thought it was a great day to be either; Teaching beginners or learning as a beginner. Particularly on the wrong kite (was forecast up to 30kts - Y would you rig a 12m).

What is the saying - What doesnt kill you makes you stronger?????

Peterc150 said...
I went past St Kilda on a tour from Hampton to Port Melbourne & return. www.peterskiteboarding.com/2012/10/kitesurfing-tour-from-hampton-to-port.html

Conditions were gusty with some big frontal spikes later in the afternoon. These were forecast, and hence avoidable. Not ideal conditions for beginners. Its better to wait for some steady sea breezes when learning. It is really dangerous to get lofted close to shore.

Nice one I went the opposite way Port Melb down to Brighton then back to Port.....
Headed off from Port Melb about 12:00 whilst it had a fair bit of west still in it,, played around in some small waves down at Brighton before heading back towards port (once it had a turned a bit more SW )
via Elwood and St Kilda (St Kilda looked chaotic( lots of muppets )
Ended up spending about 45 min playing on the southern side of Lagoon pier near port
All up a nice 4 hour session with a bit of everything....super sore today though

Absolute chaos; I was demoing a new airush kite for a bit of fun (cause mine are at the hospital for some R & R) and while i was rigging up I saw 5-6 people get lofted or dragged within 10 minutes. Not ideal to teach in such conditions, but overall I think everyone helped out each other which was good to see.
Was on a 2013 11m Airush Razor balls to the wall most of the time; but some good fun boosting and doing some long tacks.
Was plenty of room further up towards the Spirit of Tassie, and sometimes I felt like I was the only kiter round there in sight. When its crowded get the f$@& out of the school's way if you're worried about beginners and not confident in close waters= less congestion.
Wicked start to the sunny/silly season though- and look out for the fair weather friends ;)

Yes, I was one of said muppets, and concur, overall not good for confidence, or the balls of my feet (given the number of times I was lifted and dumped in shallow water... still, if I'm going to land on some sort of balls, I'm glad it was those).

I ended up going to the kiddies pool at St. K by the Pier... Seems no matter which way I turned, the breeze was direct on shore.

Here's to some more steady (and non-rectal) summer wind!

Peterc150 said...
I went past St Kilda on a tour from Hampton to Port Melbourne & return. www.peterskiteboarding.com/2012/10/kitesurfing-tour-from-hampton-to-port.html

Wind was def messy at st kilda but still fun session.
Crowd not an issue if u just head out deep (parallel to rocks or at least past the buoy and cross) I never understand why all kiters who can get upwind dont do that..

Peter really want to try something like that, prob bit shorter for my first time, any tips? can i just do it on my normal twin tip etc (ive kited for a year and am pretty confident, upwind, jump..)

cheers

Peter really want to try something like that, prob bit shorter for my first time, any tips? can i just do it on my normal twin tip etc (ive kited for a year and am pretty confident, upwind, jump..)

Kovi,

Start with a short downwinder where you can walk back - e.g. Hampton to Brighton.

You need some good wind to make it back upwind on a Twin Tip board.

Then try Hampton to St Kilda or Port Melbourne; you can catch the tram/train back (and get some odd looks walking through the CBD with your kiting gear).

Ricketts to Hampton is good too, but its a sketchy place to launch.

A Sector 60 board (or a good surfboard) will open up many more possibilities for longer & advanced tours, including out and back.

I was at Brighton 10-3.. was not that crowded until around 1:30. but went past St kilda and saw the mayhem :) i'm grad i avoided it.
anyway this is how i look at the wind forecast.
www.bom.gov.au/jsp/watl/wind/index.jsp
just gives me a better idea of when the wind actually picks up plus the direction.

I know what you mean Kovi, but I think the experienced kiters using the flat water creates less of an access issue than the 20 learners standing around with kites at 12...

I accept they have to learn somewhere... but I don't have to like it...

suniboy21 said...
To the bloke at brighton beach that had a bike rider smash into the back of his nissan pulsar and smash his back window, try contact the event organsier from "around the bay" and see if they will collect the bill.

That is really unlucky.

suniboy21 said...
To the bloke at brighton beach that had a bike rider smash into the back of his nissan pulsar and smash his back window, try contact the event organsier from "around the bay" and see if they will collect the bill.

Ahhh nope. They won't! I did part of the ATB from Altona into town and back and it was gusty as hell. Then I went for a kite at Altona and I was on my Fluid 10mtr ATV. The kite fell off the sky several times and I was lucky one chap helped me relaunch it twice with several goes on the de/power straps. Eventually I steadied it before it fell off the sky again, but it was scary seeing it fall and then a gust coming to punch it back up into the stratosphere again! First and only time I am going out on gusty crap like that again. Best to wait for truly ideal conditions and not listen to locals all the time - yeah you'll be right! *cough*

Altona in due west is cross shore. As Peter points out - not only gusty - but you will also be directly into the chop as you head out.

Certainly not the 1st/best choice of locations in anything with much west.......

Peterc150 said...
Kazan, it was a westerly, so Altona would have been cross offshore -with the wind coming from the land. Not good for kiting. You would have been much better off on the east side of the bay.

Like I said, '... should not rely on locals alone...'. Four locals and two unknowns where there and well... it was interesting. Only a couple of guys at Altona managed to control it and have a decent ride from the day. The rest of us were noobs! Oh hang on I am a noob! hehe

Oh well.. it was worth the experience and yeah... I live to tell the story another day.