Kiteventure

Got a late afternoon session in about 17 knots at St Kilda.  Had to work it a bit and go out a fair way to get decent wind.  Cut back into the kiddy pool to watch Ewan Jaspan pulling all his latest moves.  Damn impressive - not that I want to do wakestyle anytime soon - but good to watch close up.

After Sandy point,everything was going to be a dissapointment.  The wind was patchy, the water was kinda brown and it was choppy as hell.  Its like a totally different sport !

And more of the same - had a go on the sector 60, my surfboard, the x ride, James' kite, Tarren's kite.  Just enough to stay upwind but a fair bit of work.

The forecast for the Saturday looked like it would be consistent all day at around 15 knots - so we took our time in the morning.  We hit the beach around lunchtime, but the 15 knots was exactly that.  We had to rely on the motion of the water to stay upwind most of the time.  We had some good runs over multiple sessions - but it was impossible to beat the day before.

After another break it was time for the main event.  We debated about what we should do and came up with a down winder into the inlet.  With everyone being very capable kiters we were confident we could handle anything that conditions would throw at us.  Plus - if anything went wrong we could just go for a bit of a hike. We dropped a car at the inlet, then setup and headed off.  We still had 25 knots or so wind - although in the inlet it was mostly offshore and a bit dodgy - but isn't it always ! Heading off we knew we were in for a treat.  The sea had turned angry - it was very hard to get out the back - but the flat water sections and the smaller waves rolling through were providing fantastic rides.  There were a stack of smiling faces all the way down. After about 40 minutes I thought we needed to get a wiggle on - I still couldn't spot the entry to the inlet and it looked like it was miles away at what I later found out was W...

The great people at the Sandy point shop sold us sausages that we cooked up on the barbie for a great lunch.  Fully recharged, we headed back down to the surf beach - the wind was still 25 knots or so, for the second session.  I took the surfboard out for a while, which was fun in the surf, but I find I actually get more and better waves with my xride. This is mostly due to the fact I can turn it quicker and jump on any wave I see. I got totally crunched at one stage and lost my glasses - just part of the kiting tax! I watched Stu Styles for some of this session - he looked like he was in heaven - finally into the waves and surfing "without the sh!t parts".

It had finally arrived !  We rejigged the kiting weekend this year to give us maximum opportunity of good wind - we didn't book anything until the final week to allow us to move location.  As it turned out, from the whole of eastern Aus to choose from - the best wind was virtually on our doorstop in Sandy point.  Having said that, fantastic wind was on Friday - so we all managed to take the day off and head down at 7am - aiming to be on the beach by 10 or so when the rain was forecast to stop. James and I arrived at around 10 to honking wind and a touch of rain.  Soon after, Tarren and Stu Styles arrived - great to see Tarren back in Aus after his latest adventures in Greece.  It was a little overcast, but that didn't matter a thing - wind was the main thing and that was available in spades.  Sandy point surf beach is spectacular for many factors 1. the wind is strong and consistent 2. the waves are fantastic 3. the gradual slope of the beach provides...