1 Nov 2014 - Crazy conditions at Inverloch

Pete and I were greeted at the start of the annual Inverloch kite safari with a 30 knot base gusting up to around 42 knots.  Blowing a gale.  We both launched 7 m kites, I fully depowered mine (thank goodness).  It was absolute chaos.  We tacked up the inlet to the surf break towards Venus bay, then across to the surf beach.   The water in the inlet was running in all sorts of directions, in one section I had waves hitting me from all sides - bizarre.   The wind was nuking, easy to go upwind, but every now and again it was hold on for your life kind of stuff.  Got some big air and rode some big waves, before looking off into the distance and seeing one hell of a front coming through.  The one previous had delivered something like hail and about 42 knots worth of fun, so I hightailed it back into the inlet.  One of the last jumps I did, the kite somehow jellyfished and looked a little inverted....it just couldn't handle the wind strength.  I was very happy to get an assisted landing, and thank the stars that I'd made it through the session alive.


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