Kiteventure

Location : Hampton Kite : 10m Switchblade Wind : 15-20 knot S   Another perfect day, blue skies, clean water, good consistent wind and no people.  Melbourne is fantastic for a kiting holiday between Christmas and New year ! Managed a board off - but didn't get it back on.

Location : Hampton Kite : 10m Switchblade Wind : 15-20 knot S Epic day - tree adventure in the morning, then hit the beach at around 4:30.  The wind was marginal - but I thought I'd head out into the middle of the bay to see if anything comes through.  During the first 30 minutes I was just able to hold a line, after that I had 2 hours of 18-20 knot joy.  Beautiful water, blue skies, great wind.  Did all the standard tricks and tried a few variations, nothing really new but what a blast.  Exhausted now.

Location : St Kilda Kite : 10m Switchblade Wind : 18 knot S First post Christmas kite.  Water is still brown at St Kilda, but it doesn't seem to bother the penguins - saw one duck dive right in front of me near the rock wall.  Spent most of the time in the flat "kiddie pool" section - there is no-one around so it was a joy not to have to fight for position there.  Discovered a pinhole in my kite - must grab the sailtape.

Location : Mentone Kite : 10m Switchblade Wind : 18-28 knots SE Headed down with Pete for a quick session in the afternoon once the wind kicked up.  Thought it would be only just enough - we got down there and it was howling.  Wind was up and down - from 18 knots gusting up to 28 and dropping out at times to 10 knots, direction was a bit all over the place from E to SE.  Got a big boost and travelled a large distance.  Did a few nice backroll transitions, otherwise it was a bit dicey for anything else new.

Location : Hampton Kite : 10 m Switchblade Conditions : 18 knot southerly Kiting is a joy when you have a perfectly consistent sea breeze, beautiful blue skies and 22c. What a day! Got to try all my standard tricks, plus attempt everything else in the book. Tried the dead man whilst holding on to the handle, fully inverted sure messes with your head. You are looking down on the ocean and it gets real confusing. Nailed a very nice raley, some good spins. Working on the board off, vertical transition and forward 360 transition. Did some forward Hand holds - got to get it sorted On both sides. Can't wait for tomorrow.

Location : St Kilda Kite : 10 m Switchblade Conditions : 17 knot southerly at the best of times It took a while to come in but by 6:30 there was around 17 knots blowing so I headed out to sea.  Not quite enough to jump in - did a few transitions but there was enough wind to go upwind so I had a bit of a look around.  Not an epic session at all, but always good to get out after checking out the wind all day.

Location : Port Melbourne Kite : 10 m Switchblade Conditions : 20 to 17 knot southerly A magnificent day all up - things are winding down at work for Christmas, a long lunch then off kiting at 5pm on a beautiful sunny day.  Perfect 20 knots when I headed out so I took the opportunity to try some new tricks.  Hence the title.  No real pain but I fell from height several times.  Among the tricks I have now mastered are the following: Single foot board off to faceplant Horizontal rotation to stall backwards 720 to unintentional kiteloop Riding blind to lame Yep - no progress but beautiful to be out in great conditions where there is a chance of relying on consistent wind.  Pete and Tarren were down the beach too - gotta love summer.

Location : Hampton Kite : 7m Crossbow Conditions : 25 to 20 knot southerly Christmas is almost here and the weekends are increasingly packed.  After a stormy Saturday night, we had to book in an early session to be back home by 9:30 to help Tina prepare for the next lot of visitors.  Peter and I got down to Hampton at around 7:30 and it was howling.  Went safe with the 7m, but had a feeling that the 10 would have been a better fit - and that proved to be right.  It really needs to be baseline 25 knots for the 7 to come into its own - I was going along easily enough and the thing moves real fast - but couldn't really get any air or do anything spectacular.  Good swell and waves so had a bit of fun, but the wind dropped 5 knots and I had to battle to get back upwind from Green Point.

Location : St Kilda Kite : 10m Switchblade Conditions : 20 knot southerly Thank goodness I was able to get out after having lots of Christmas engagements the last four days - during that time it has been near perfect wind pretty much every day. Quite an early session so not many out - kicked off around 830. Mucked around in the section near the pier - fun in the little waves but the wind was a bit stronger in the middle of the bay so when tarren turned up we headed out there. Very consistent wind but I was not really nailing many landings today. Even managed to jellyfish the kite so had to go back in and untangle the lines. No progression. One thing is for sure though - an early morning session takes the pressure off and leaves you very content for the rest of the day.