Kiteventure

Location : St Kilda Kite : 10m Switchblade Conditions : 17-35 knot westerly Headed down to St Kilda for a quick session whilst my parents looked after the boys.  Always tricky to get out at St Kilda now - lots of beginners doing unusual things with their kites.  The first 45 minutes was fantastic - did a couple of the standard tricks and had a lot of fun - then everything changed.  It blew up to around 35 knots and got crazy. Knowing that the prediction from predictwind was a little unusual I had headed a long way out just in case a big gust hit.  It was still a bit of a surprise not being able to back off the kite enough - it was blowing very hard and I had to use all my nous just to keep from being blown away.   Managed to head back in to kite another day.   Bit surprised there wasn't more carnage - a lot of folks were seriously overpowered.  Its always good to know your limits and pull the pin if things are looking shady.

Location : Hampton Kite : 7m Crossbow Conditions : 17 to 25 knots south westerly In the kitesurfing handbook ( https://sites.google.com/a/peterskiteboarding.com/kitesurfing-handbook/gear/gear-maintenance ) we've recommended cleaning your kite with fresh water a couple of times each season.  Imagine my joy when I had the opportunity today to both have a fun kite and also cleanse my kite - all at the same time. Wind was very strong when I hit Hampton so I went with the 7m - just in case.  There were a lot of fronts around, it was hitting 25 knots and there was noone else around - so safety first.  Quite a decent bay surf on too ! Once out, the 7m was a bit of a pain - it took me a little while to get used to it again - it flits around so fast - and the wind was at times a little light so I had to work it quite a bit. The water was very brown - so not quite as picturesque as the last couple of sessions.  No real progression but always good to get out and play in ...

Location : Mentone Kite : 10m Switchblade Conditions : 17 knot south easterly Perfect spring day with the perfect wind.  Fantastic to get out and roll out some of the old favourite tricks - pulled off a couple of 720's, backrolls, backroll transitions, forward loops, inverts.  It's all happening again ! Had another wardrobe malfunction - I don't know what I did but the safety fired off and I had to go in and reset the kite.  Twice in a row - hope this is not going to happen again.  I think I must have stuffed up the donkey dick or the valcro on the safety gave or something.  I kept a good eye on it during the session for any clues but didn't see anything after resetting.  Thanks goodness that has never happened in a tricky situation.  It did give me a chance to practice self rescue, I still have to work on reeling the kite in on the lines.  Bring on summer !

Location : Mentone Kite : 10m Switchblade Conditions : 20 knot south easterly Last minute run after an important birthday party for sonny and a fun afternoon with Alexander - an alexander party. Got there at 530 to see grant and stu styles on sailboards. Setup quickly and was glorious to be out in a consistent onshore breeze with little kicker waves. Wasted no time in getting back into bankrolls and rotations, managed a 720 and had some fun in the waves. Unluckily e loop slid out of my harness, kite crashed and inverted so I had to go in and untangle, when I got back out there was no one else there and it was slowly getting dark. Great to get out, here comes summer !

Location : Brighton Kite : 7m Crossbow Conditions : 25-35 knots north westerly 25 C - fantastic.   Pete and I had a great run - wind was a bit gusty close in but pretty consistent further out.  We went upwind from the very congested area and were able to cruise, jump and muck around in freedom.  I don't understand why so many people choose to stay in such a congested area at Brighton - the beauty of the kite is to be able to go and explore the surrounds under your own power - having to avoid traffic jams at high speed is no fun ! No real progression today - I'm still waiting for some onshore winds.   The water has warmed up a lot though - the time to ditch the wetsuit is nigh.

Location : Hotham Board : White Conditions : 50 cm snow, softening Fantastic to get on the board.  Snow was suprisingly good given the warm conditions over the last couple of months.  The kids loved learning to ski - I was even able to ski down 2 runs with Alexander - which made me very proud. No real kickers for snowboarding, but it was good to do some fast runs.

Location : Brighton Kite : 10m Switchblade Conditions : 20 knots north westerly After yesterday's harrowing experience, it was great to get out at Brighton in normal conditions again.  Was out fairly early - got down there by 8:20 am.  So much nicer when the wind is a little bit stable - I was able to do the normal repertoire without going too crazy.  The water has warmed up though markedly, next week I should be good to pull out the trick bag again.