Kiteventure

Great wind at St Kilda and another great progression.  Went down with James and we were greeted with 20 knots of joy. Sorted the backroll to toeside on both sides, and forward transition 360 on both sides.  Forward 720s landed also but both ended with a loop of the kite, which wasnt really planned.  I'm going to have to do some research on the toeside backroll - tried one of these and I was miles off.  Amazing progression the last two days - my body is absolutely wasted now though so I'm going to have to have a break. One of the attachments to the safety on my bar has worn quite a lot - time to fix it now before disaster strikes.

Fantastic day at South Melbourne, managed to land very nicely a couple of forward 720s and backroll to toeside, all on my stronger side.  Worked on the other side as well but no joy.  Amazing conditions, had a blast.  Great surf at South Melbourne - as always !

Stu Styles, Anthony and I dropped a car at Mentone then headed down to Aspendale.  Aside from being a glorious trip, it was a good opportunity for Stu to get some kiting in without worrying about staying upwind.  Wind was fantastic, I had decided to try out the surfboard again as the rest of the week will be on the twintip. We planned it out pretty well, and Stu was doing really well but didn't manage to get past the pier.  We turned in and landed the kite, and I headed on to Mentone to get the car. The surfboard is pretty good in chop and jumps pretty well, landings were super smooth.  Gybing is still a pain, I'm definitely getting better but I'm not sure that it is something I want to do a lot of.  The twintip is so nice just to be able to chop and change and get air whenever you want, the surfboard still requires a lot of forward planning.

Went down to Hampton for a session while the kids are away.  Had a big session - tried most of the tricks in my trick bag - some went well, others didn't. James, Eric, Stu, Peter and Tony joined me down there - Stu was getting his sea legs with Peter's help and managed to do very well - competent going out on the standard side and even got some goofy launches too.  James' buddy Alwyn had a shocker - some kite loops and then crashed the kite into some shrubs - not a good start.  James managed to sort out his technique for jumps and had a fantastic session. I had a go at most of the faves - landed about half of the backroll to toeside, tried riding blind with no success, but landed some great back 720's.  Landed a board off, indy glide and front grab. Still having trouble with back 720's on the goofy side.  Did some darkslides, but didn't try the goofy side. Was fantastic to have time on my side !

Great news today - finally landed a backroll to toeside quite easily on my preferred side, and came close on my non preferred.  Hampton turned on some nice consistent, if a little light, wind.  I was the only one out for quite some time, and had to go a way out to get enough wind to make it interesting. I was joined about 30 minutes in by a guy on an Ozone kite that suddenly got upwind of me.  He was on a hydrofoil board - it looked amazing.  Standing well about the water and cruising along - I'll have to have a go of one of these as they become cheaper.  Looks very tricky to gybe. Really fun summer session - nice and warm in the water and clear skies.  I was amazed that there wasn't many people about.

Tarren lent me his surfboard before following his heart to Italy so I thought it would be a good time to give it a go. Mentone was a little light on - probably around 16 knots - perfect for trying out the surfboard. In summary - riding is fairly easy, but puts all different strains on your legs than the twin tip.  Gybing - that is tricky.  It seems to be equally difficult if you switch before a turn or after, and I reckon just a lot of practice required to get it right.  It makes me appreciate the twin tip so much more, you don't even have to think about that at all.  I did manage to get 2 or 3 gybes in on each side, a good return, but there is obviously a lot more to do before becoming proficient. Stu Styles came down and had another go - he is getting very close to getting up and going consistently.  He's giving it a real good crack which is fantastic. Unfortunately the Garmin is giving me some grief - it didn't get reception the entire session.  L...

James and I dropped a car at Hampton and met up with Eric at Beaumaris.  The wind was honking - definitely little kite weather.  The tide was high at Beaumaris, making for a great flat water arena.  By the time Eric had launched, my arms were already tired from scooting back and forward in high winds. The trip down the coast was fantastic, tucked in behind the Cerberus, then hit the fantastic surf at Sandringham.  There were proper waves coming through, it was one of the best bay surfs I've seen on the kite.   We all had a fantastic time going through the line up, trying to surf waves and getting some good boosts.  James got his first real big jump - great to see. We hit Hampton and I came in soon after - magnificent session - can't wait for the next one.

Pete and I hit Hampton early and were rewarded with some decent wind and good waves.  I managed to try out some of the tricks on the to do list - finally managed the front grab with backhand.  In order to pull it off, you really have to push forward with a fully extended rear foot.  Also managed a back 360 on my weaker side - but still have to work to get it smooth.  Still struggling with the backroll to toeside, I'll just keep trying I guess.  Even pulled off a darkslide to finish the session - stoked to have a good one.

Rubbish session in no wind. Aspendale looked great as ever though.