2015 10 11 - Downwind action

Recipe :
1 light forecast
1 impending storm
1 injured kiter (Pete) prepared to provide car shuffle
3 kiters - Eric, Stu S and I
1 poleman - Grant

After passing by Hampton, we headed to Beaumaris to grab the best of the light wind for a downwinder.  Arriving a Beaumaris there was enough wind around for a decent session - always a bonus.  Grant was able to call by too and get excited by the wind - enough to grab his sailboard.  Stu, Eric and I headed off into a beautiful warm day with a 17 knots breeze on our tail, keen to go downwind to Hampton.  
Eric lost his board around some fishing boats that needed a bit of assistance to tack back and get.  I wasn't landing my forward 360's - strange how the smallest change of settings (fully powered kite) can lead to timing being slightly off.  It was also due to not placing my leading hand far enough away from centre.
At some stage the sky turned pretty dark - I looked out to sea and saw some massive storm clouds.  Stu had already noticed so we started to make a run for Hampton.  Wind picked up to provide some good airtime, and some nice little waves at Hampton.  By an hour in I was cactus and started doing stupid things - letting go of the bar and trying to grab the other side. Pulled in and landed just in time to avoid the massive storm front and absolute bucket of rain.  Pete was a legend by giving us a lift back to Beaumaris
We joined Grant back in the carpark all stoked to have had a fantastic adventure on such a crazy weather day.

Photo courtesy of Peter Campbell, Pixie and Eric in the background.  Pixie is the dog.

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