The start of the kitesurfing weekend, and what a hell of a start it was. I headed down in Petes car with James, to meet up with Tarren, Amelia, Grant and Stu Styles at Paynesville. Pete managed to fit in a newspaper interview and a session on 774 on the way down - nothing like multitasking !
We arrived in Paynesville and after picking up the keys, checking out the amazing house (right on the waterway, fantastic setup) and chatting to a local guy, we got the lowdown that Newlands arm was the place to go. We headed out there and were treated to a steaming 30+ knot breeze.
The setup at Newlands arm is not quite ideal. It looks fantastic from the shore, nice grassed area to setup on, but it is very protected from the wind (hence very flukey) and the rocky shore - with associated oysters - not terribly inviting. Once on the water, all was amazing. I setup my 7 and the wind was steaming in - it must have been anywhere from 30 to 40 knots. Not quite the arse clenching power of Inverloch the 2 weeks before, but certainly enough to ring the "big air" bell.
We were able to go upwind with ease, enabling us to hit Raymond island, muck around looking for flat water, carve off waves, or do whatever the hell we liked. Pete managed to invert his kite, relaunch and reload, Tarren was getting big air and trying crazy shit and you couldn't wipe the smile of James' face. Stu and Grant were having bigger challenges, just too windy to hold down the windsurfers, so they were a bit limited. All up a magic session - I didn't try anything crazy, but what sane man does under conditions like that ? Luckily for all of us, Amelia was on the beach taking some amazing shots of us in action..gotta love that. One of the shots is absolutely incredible!
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| One of my all time favourite shots |
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| Not often you get the whole crew in one photo |
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| Pete on a mission |
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| James grinning away |
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| Tarren doing what he does best - crazy shit |
All photos courtesy of Amelia Maher
Damn that was a wild ride.
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