Kiteventure

Location : St Kilda Kite : 10m Switchblade Conditions : 17-35 knot westerly Headed down to St Kilda for a quick session whilst my parents looked after the boys.  Always tricky to get out at St Kilda now - lots of beginners doing unusual things with their kites.  The first 45 minutes was fantastic - did a couple of the standard tricks and had a lot of fun - then everything changed.  It blew up to around 35 knots and got crazy. Knowing that the prediction from predictwind was a little unusual I had headed a long way out just in case a big gust hit.  It was still a bit of a surprise not being able to back off the kite enough - it was blowing very hard and I had to use all my nous just to keep from being blown away.   Managed to head back in to kite another day.   Bit surprised there wasn't more carnage - a lot of folks were seriously overpowered.  Its always good to know your limits and pull the pin if things are looking shady.

Location : Hampton Kite : 7m Crossbow Conditions : 17 to 25 knots south westerly In the kitesurfing handbook ( https://sites.google.com/a/peterskiteboarding.com/kitesurfing-handbook/gear/gear-maintenance ) we've recommended cleaning your kite with fresh water a couple of times each season.  Imagine my joy when I had the opportunity today to both have a fun kite and also cleanse my kite - all at the same time. Wind was very strong when I hit Hampton so I went with the 7m - just in case.  There were a lot of fronts around, it was hitting 25 knots and there was noone else around - so safety first.  Quite a decent bay surf on too ! Once out, the 7m was a bit of a pain - it took me a little while to get used to it again - it flits around so fast - and the wind was at times a little light so I had to work it quite a bit. The water was very brown - so not quite as picturesque as the last couple of sessions.  No real progression but always good to get out and play in ...

Location : Mentone Kite : 10m Switchblade Conditions : 17 knot south easterly Perfect spring day with the perfect wind.  Fantastic to get out and roll out some of the old favourite tricks - pulled off a couple of 720's, backrolls, backroll transitions, forward loops, inverts.  It's all happening again ! Had another wardrobe malfunction - I don't know what I did but the safety fired off and I had to go in and reset the kite.  Twice in a row - hope this is not going to happen again.  I think I must have stuffed up the donkey dick or the valcro on the safety gave or something.  I kept a good eye on it during the session for any clues but didn't see anything after resetting.  Thanks goodness that has never happened in a tricky situation.  It did give me a chance to practice self rescue, I still have to work on reeling the kite in on the lines.  Bring on summer !