Big session

Kite run #8

Altona

Conditions:

Wind - 18 - 25 knots

Sunny 24 degrees & kited from 5pm to 8pm

No more long walks on the beach.

I no longer have to walk my kite back up to a starting point and surf downwind. After an exhausting 3 hour session today I have found the ability to go both directions with little effort to get me started. Before I needed to be quite a way up wind, set the kite in motion, sail a fair way downwind and then try my way to get upwind. Today I no longer need to do this, well to some degree that is. Its a pretty great feeling for the ability to sail both directions without the need to walk up and down the beach, not to mention more fun!

This was my great envy of other kiters. It looked so easy to be able to surf bidirectional and to be able to go 'kite exploring'. All I was managing to do in my first 5 sessions out of kite school was a few 'superman's', stalls in the water and the odd attempt that might look like I knew what I was doing. The thing that shocked me most of all this was when I was sailing either direction, just how fast I got to the other end of the beach. I'm aware it is much faster than walking; but I went up back, up and back in 20 minutes which two to three sessions ago would have taken me an hour. Once things start to 'click' one's progression in this sport is quite rapid. I cannot fathom being able to jump or launch off small waves yet but ask me 3-5 sessions ago if I thought I would be sailing bidirectional and not needing much room to launch I would have thought that not to be possible. I guess jumping isn't a real goal at the moment more that some kite exploring. I have noticed that further south of the Altona spot that I have been surfing that there has been some kites way out into the distance. I initially thought this was another spot and went home to investigate on google maps. It turns out that that area is inaccessible by car and the only way to get out there is by water. So the kites I have noticed out there probably started from where I launch. Peter's kiteblog demonstrates this here, also see below for image. Now one part of me thinks that in another couple of session's I'll have no worries being able to get over there; but the other side of me, the one with the issue is, that do I possess the skill if something goes wrong while over there to fix the problem and get me back to the safe beach? It's a long walk back to the beach and further more I would be doing it barefoot. These feet of mine don't like being bare, I guess that is from years of being a shoe lover and never hardening them up. Kinda sad really. But no one ever gets anywhere from being safe, and this sport in general isn't a dangerous one but neither does one describe it to be 'safe'. Maybe not the next session, but definitely within the next few.

I have added my a wallpaper I found from a US kiteboarding magazine I've started to subscribe to on the iPad for something like $20 per year. With the AUD doing so well at the moment it's too hard to resist. You can find the website here. I've also added them to my blog page. Plus I'm having issues saving the seabreeze images that indicate the wind for my sessions.

Bidirectional

Altona Labor Day, originally uploaded by Trackingtom.

Kite run #7

Altona

Conditions:

Wind - 16 - 22 knots

Sunny 22 degrees & kited from 5pm to 7.30pm

Bidirectional.

It has been a while since my last session. My only reason for such is I have been hitting the books trying to get over my last license test to become an electrician. I've done two of the three tests and only have the practical test left, meaning I don't need to spend as much time studying, leaving me some time to get back on the water.

I arrived in Altona at 5pm, the wind was consistent and there were plenty of 12Meter kites on the water, which all were good signs for good session. Pumped the kite up, received a hand to launch it and headed out into the water. The tide was further out than usual, might need to remember this when crossing the shallower sections. To start with I directed the nose of the board to my preferred side, left, and got strait up. No worries at all from the outset. Headed all the way up the left hand side of the water and was having a blast. There were no clouds in sight, the temperature was ideal, the water was a little choppy but all in all a great afternoon for Kiteboarding. Altona wasn't too busy, there were a few boarders out there and it seems to be a place where a lot of beginners/intermediate boarders surf. With 20 people on the water there is 10 or so that can ride, 5 that can get up on the board and surf but don't look as comfortable as the first 10 (intermediates, me) and the other 5 or so are pure beginners. Everyone seems to be friendly and cautious of each other.

Today was the first time Clint came out for a surf. He and I did the initial training with GoKite and since our finish in December hasn't been able to get out on the water with his new gear. Clint got there earlier than I and was having similar issues to mine at the first session. Dealing with the small waves, remembering how to stand (or not to stand) on the board, and controlling the kite while being conscious the first two. That I think is one of the harder things to kite boarding to master. Keeping the kite in a position where you are being pulled at a controllable speed and also the ability to go upwind. This is what messes with me at times. I have the kite in a too powerful position and I am unwillingly heading downwind at a fastened/uncontrollable pace, or I don't have enough power in the kite with the added direction of the board pointing upwind I'm finding myself stall. In so much of your training you spend your time looking at the kite and making sure your in the 'power zone' that when you are on the water with your own kite and heading along the water you still find yourself wanting to look at the kite but also realize that if you don't look ahead you could crash into someone else. Knowing where your kite is and the power its generating is the skill you need to master. Because I believe that if you can control your kite without looking at it and 'feeling' the force its giving you, all things will improve from this. Board control, stance, speed, negotiating waves and other boarders.

The big step forward for me today was my placement of my feet on the board. I had not paid much attention to this until I stumbled upon it today. The last session I had gave me cramps in my left foot for a week. My instructor kept telling me to ride with my heels. So I would place the front foot out, 80% of my weight on the back and pull my toes skyward. This is what was giving me the cramps, the strain of pulling my toes up continually. But for what I stumbled upon today was placing my feet on more of an angle in the feet holders to get the desired 'heel position' I knew I needed. It was amazing the difference this made, it made a HUGE difference. I was feeling more comfortable in the water and I could lean back and head upwind. This all leading into the heading of today's blog.... Bidirectional! Utilizing this new stance gave me the ability to head to the right. Now it wasn't as smooth as the preffered side but it sure beats the hell out of body dragging all the way up the right hand side of the beach to start again. My lauch is rusty, kite control rusty, stance ..... still getting used to, but I am surfing both ways now and feel the confidence that I will be able to do this sport well.

My aim is to do some downwind riding. Hopefully Clint sticks with it and we can do a St Kilda to Williamstown crossing. Riding with a destination instead of up and down the beach. Don't get me wrong, I am loving this at the moment, but I can see it becoming tiring.

Altona - UPWIND!!

Kite run #6

Altona
Conditions:
Wind 15-20 knots
Sunny 26 degrees kited from 12pm to 3pm.

What a session. With my natural stance (right foot behind) my progression is going great. I can launch without a hassle anymore, i can head downwind and as of today I managed to surf upwind! I put the excamation mark there as this I didn't think was going to be possible for a while. Its hard to know how your riding when its just you on the water, of course there are other riders there but alone in the sense of no kite buddy. So without someone saying "Your riding too upright, or put your front foot out more" its hard to know how you riding or even if your riding properly. Kite control, or more kite position is easier as its in front of you but my feet have still been the main issue.

So after watching a few people fly past me and seeing that they are almost "sitting" on the water I realized that my stance is no where near this. I still try to stand on the board rather than lean back on the kite and let it do all the work. So with watching this I water launched started to head downwind and gain some speed; then I leaned back, pushed my back foot out and started to ride upwind. Man its a good to be able to cruise and not fall off. That's what I have been wanting to do with this sport since I started my lessons.

There is one issue though, I can't get back on the other foot. For what ever reasons it is, and i presume its still my foot work, I can't go back on my left foot (goofy stance). I get up from a launch and fall. Or I over power and 'superman' through the air. So this is where my attention needs to be focused over the next few sessions. Plus it will give my left foot a chance to rest up using it pull the board, edge, so I was riding more on my heels has given me this aweful strain. No pain no gain hey?

My lesson buddy is going to come out with me today, Monday 10th, he bought a harness and is going to have a crack at riding without the instructors in Altona. Altona is DEFINETLY better to set up and pack down. The sand and crap from my last session at St Kilda has put me off it. As you can see by the pic below to the right of the path is a grass area protected from the Southerly wind to set up and pack down in. The guy with the yellow kite did exactly this. Its just a much better feeling having the kite clean and dry.

Hopefully both feet are feeling better by days end for another session.

Not there... Yet

Altona beach, originally uploaded by Trackingtom.

Kite run #3

Conditions:
Wind 18 knots
Sunny 22 degrees.


So my 3rd run wasn't what I expected. I first went to St Kilda to check the weather out, the wind was a little high and gustily for my 12 Rebel and after talking to the trainers down there I decided I should try another site. Plus there were no 12's, 11's or 10's on the water.
So i got back in the car, pointed the GPS to Altona and thought I'd try my luck down there.

Altona did look better. There were bigger kites in the air, more space to set up and more area on the water to practice. Altona is a much easier place to set up. There is a lot of grass just off the sand to set up/pack up and even near the road there is some grass sheltered by the raised walkway to make setting up a bit easier. Just got to watch out for twigs.
Looking out on the water the wind seemed a little less intense. If St Kilda was 20+ and gusting at 25+ knots, Altona was 15+ and gusting at 20 knots. There were lots of 12's and 11 kites out. Even a 14, a guy maybe an hour or two above my limited expertise.
I had a chat to some of the guys on the sand setting up their kites; asking their opinions about the wind, the size of my kite and my experience. The two that i spoke to reassured me that with the rebel and its 5th line that if anything were to go wrong pulling on the 5th line will cause the kite to flip over and fall to the water. There were 10 plus kiters there so if anything did go wrong there was always going to be someone who could help.
I pulled the kite out of the car, pumped it up and took a final look at the water also to 'pump' myself up for a session. I walked the kite onto the sand and within a minute i got a hand to launch my Rebel. I gave the thumbs up, the kite got some air and flew towards the road/trees. F#@K!.
I hit the deck, pushed the bar out, the kite dove and stopped at a post along the walkway.
F#@k again. "Is my kite damaged? Man I just did this in front of everyone! Shit, did i damage my kite."
"You have the bar the wrong way around!" Yelled out the guy who helped me launch.
"Shit, cheers mate." was my reply.
He went over to the pole, removed my kite from it and helped me launch again.
Success.
I had the bar in the right position this time and launched it without any dramas. I left the kite in the air for awhile to explore if I had done any damage to the kite.
None.... Sweet. Now to the water.

All in all it was a disappointment in the water today. I managed to get up out of the water without too much of an issue for the first half of the session but my problem at the time was staying up on the board. I wasn't working the kite enough and i think to some degree I am trying to surf upwind too much. Its something i can't help at the moment. It doesn't feel right yet to surf downwind. Both of these issues are causing me to sink into the water. I'll get up on the board, work the kite and then sink. Next time I'll get up on the board, aim the board downwind, forget about working the kite and sink.
I see that surfing in towards the left is my stronger side and if i continued at the spot I was in I would end up in the rocks. So I set the kite to 12, grabbed my board and walked up the beach to try again.
A this point it had been in the water for an hour. I could start to feel it in my arms and yet I had not really achieved what I wanted for the session. To ride for 20+ meters.
My second half of the session was worse than the first. More 'supermans's (flying head first with your feet out of the water), when up on the board more sinking and if I'm not sinking I'm face-planting.
All in all one could tell that I wasn't getting my front foot our far enough or straight enough. This is the cause to 2 of my 3 issues. Maybe even the 'superman' issue. But I think that's just because there is too much power when trying to water start.
I kept this up for another 45mins to an hour then I ran out of energy. I was disappointed with my session and knew I had a long night ahead of me packing for my trip to see my partners parents in NZ.
Reading another blog I can see that he was up and riding at my point of hours on the board but maybe I may be a little to harsh on myself. I haven't surfed before, wake boarded, snowboarded or in general sports that use a similar stance. Sure i skated as a kid, but that was 10 years ago now.
I've committed this far time and money wise so I'm just going to have to keep on trying. Keep my front foot strait and out, tuck my back foot under my ass and work the kite.