Kiteventure

Location : Port Melbourne  Kite : 10m Switchblade Conditions : 16 to 20 knot easterly It doesn't really work in an easterly. The wind strength was ok, but it is generally pushing you in the direction of the ship- which is definitely not where you want to be if things go wrong. Plus the wind kept cutting out when I was a fair way out into the middle of the bay- so I was happy with 1 hour in the water and no misadventure.

Location : Hampton Kite : 10m Switchblade Conditions : 18 to 25 knot westerly First day since it started warming up that I have abandoned the wetsuit.  It was glorious to be out on a sunny day, water 18C, consistent wind and back on the progression trail.  Managed to really consolidated forward 360s in both directions, and the backroll transition was working a treat in the stronger winds.  Tried a raley or two but must work on those a bit more.  Kiting in summer is such a different proposition - better winds and more opportunities to try new stuff.

Location : Sandy point Kite : 10m Switchblade Conditions : 25 to 16 knot south westerly I was a bit scared.  The forecast was not disimilar to my biggest kitemare ever at exactly this location - a front was going to hit with about 35 knots of pain at some stage during the day.  After setting up and seeing the wind pick up I thought I was in for a big adventure.   Headed out and it was all over the shop at the north of the inlet.  Gusting from 15 to about 25 knots, really damn nasty.  I headed to the south of the inlet as the wind seemed to be more consistent there - but it was blowing pretty hard.  I thought I'd have to go in and get the 7m - but everything scaled back and I had a fun time doing some transitions. Photos courtesy Peter Campbell at  http://www.peterskiteboarding.com/

Location : Sandy point surf beach Kite : 10m Switchblade Conditions : 14 knot southerly The surf beach was so inviting - beautiful day, perfect water - that I just had to give it a crack.  Not quite enough wind, but kind of fun still buzzing back and forth for a little while.  Hardly counts as a session - but the mammoth morning session would probably count as two.

Location : Sandy point Kite : 10m Switchblade Conditions : 17 knot south westerly Rushed down to Sandy point for our planned sailing weekend with Peter, Stu Styles and Grant.  All keen to get on the water - when we arrived it was a fairly light 15 knots or so.  I headed down the inlet a long way as I couldn't stay upwind - further down the inlet towards the ocean there was a fair bit more wind.  I was out for ages just keeping the same tack - about 1 hour in the wind picked up and I was able to go and meet Stu and Grant.  Great fun mixing up with those guys.  No progress with my hit list of tricks - its a sketchy place when you ditch a kite so I put them on the back burner - but was great to just buzz around and race Stu and Grant. Photos courtesy Peter Campbell at  http://www.peterskiteboarding.com/

Location : Hampton Kite : 10m Switchblade Conditions : 16 knot south westerly Just to cap off a magic kiting week I thought I'd push the envelope this morning - so after dropping the kids at school and kinder I gave Pete a call and headed down to Hampton beach.  It looked promising upon arrival, we even discussed doing an upwind tour but once on the water, there was just enough wind to keep going.  We headed downwind past Green point to Brighton, staying a fair way offshore.  Good to be back on home turf, I feel very comfortable cruising around the bay. Tried riding blind again with the same result, crashed kite.  I've got to sort out the steering !

Location : Inverloch Kite : 10m Switchblade Conditions : 16 knot south westerly The wind was teasing most of the day but ended up coming in quite late.  Just enough to hold a line at first, but it got better later on so got to have some fun - but generally feeling pretty tired after a solid couple of days.  I seem to be fighting off some kind of cold too which is saping my energy a bit.  Great to get the session in.

Location : Inverloch Kite : 10m Switchblade Conditions : 20-25 knot south westerly After the epic downwinder in the morning, Pete, Tarren and I hit the surf beach in the afternoon - as that was the best part of our downwinder.  Conditions were a perfect 20+ knots - having being underpowered in the morning I put the 10 up and it was fantastic.  Great to have a little more power in the surf to be able to put on the gas if you are in trouble.  I had a fantastic time getting onto waves and backing the kite off to surf them in - its an absolute blast. Did a couple of standard jumps and rotations but didn't want to try anything radical in surf as ditching the kite or board is kind of bad.  Absolutely stoked after this session - and tired !

Location : Inverloch Kite : 7m Crossbow Conditions : 20-25 knot south westerly What a perfect day for kiting ! Good wind on - initial thoughts were that it was going to spike out about 25 knots so I rigged the 7m crossbow just in case.  We kicked off a downwinder at the surf beach, the surf was fantastic fun and the flat sections in between waves was fantasic.  PredictWind had indicated that the wind would drop out so we headed down the beach towards the mouth of the inlet.  This was unpleasant last time - and was again this time.  Waves and currents are going in all directions here so its real bumpy and not that much fun.  We got into the inlet and ran up and down in the flat water.  Unfortunately the wind backed off to around 20 knots, and I only had my 7 up so there wasn't much airtime to be had.  Wish I had my 10 !   All the same, it was a great session in fantastic conditions. Photos courtesy of Peter Campbell from  Peters kiteboar...

Location : Inverloch Kite : 10m Switchblade Conditions : 17 knot southerly Inverloch can be a little bit hit and miss - we've been going down there for a couple of years now for the cup day weekend and haven't really nailed it in terms of kiting conditions.  All that was about to change. Its a great start when you can get a kite in on the first day - it takes the pressure off a little.  We'd got the band back together - Tarren had finally recovered from his ankle injury so it was an absolutely joy to launch at the surf beach, get out in the swell and look across and see the lineup of Tarren, Pete and I and some nice little waves to muck about in.   Not fantastic surf, but inbetween waves it was beautifully flat so a good chance to warm up.  The wind was perfect for about 1 hour - after which it dropped out completely and we headed back to shore.  Happy campers !