Friday 3rd July (15m / 2h) SE 13-16Kn Elliott Heads. Another day with wind for Mattias. Setup the 10m and did a couple of tacks early with a few minor boosts. Pretty light though and had to pump the kite to get going. Swapped over to Mattias and he spent the time in the bottom bend at 1/2 tide going back and forth. He is getting upwind on the final part of the tack but loses a lot on the turn and restarts. Just about there though. Unfortunately the bottom bend was also the most downwind of everyone and other beginner kiters ended up down there eventually to make it a little congested. Mattias got tangled up in another kiter and somehow the kites went between the lines. at least both came down without incident and we were able to get Mattias going pretty quick. Wind died off so that after Mattias had finished there wan't much out there for me. Took the board and kite back to the heads by barely cutting upwind.
Monday 13th July (1h) SW 10-14Kn Elliott Heads. Met a Spaniard traveller down at Elliott. He'd already been out but the tide was running low and there wasn't much water left. Launched and went over to the channel, but was pretty blustery. Right at the mouth looked the best but covered pretty heavily be a wind shadow. Tried between some sand banks in the river but hard to make headway on the run-out tide. Popped back into the pond on the way back in and it was Ok, but super shallow.
Sunday 19th July (1.5h) ESE 15-18Kn Archie's. I'd thought Ben would be here by the Sunday afternoon and the wind looked good for a session down the beach. He'd missed the connecting flight to Bundy, so I went down at about 2pm for a kite. Wind started pretty SE but swung slowly around to ESE. Some nice boosts on the 14m into the breakers, then runs down the line with the wind change. Fun little session.
Monday 20th July (2h / 15m) SE 15-18Kn Elliott Heads. Started the day with a session down at archies with the trainer kite, but the wind was coming more south over the trees to be a bit of a nuisance. Took a quick go of the 14m to see how strong it was and felt good enough for a few jumps. Came in ad took Ben through flying the big kite from behind me, but he occasionally got the direction wrong to steer the kite, enough for both him and me to decide not to strap him in solo. Went back out for another quick spurt, then another session as they went for lunch. Good runs up to the middle sandbar going out the front with turns around the rocky stick. Good boosts out into the channel.
Tuesday 28th July (5h) SSE 15-20Kn Elliott Heads. Day looked good on the weather maps for a while and I'd been keen to get down for a big session. Forgot about the tides and was a little disappointed in the lack of water, so I took all my gear over to the south channel and set up over there. The wind angle made an awesome smooth run on the steep southern banks leading to the fallen tree, and I spent most of the first hour cruising with a couple of boost attempts over the channel buoy.
Wardy joined my after the tide had turned and spent another 1/2 hr or so with a bit more courage to try some tricks.
Wardy headed back for some food through the north channel, and I thought it must have meant that the northern mouth was opening up too. I walked the kite and gear back, but was disappointed that it still hadn't filled in. Went out in the shallow northern channel, but it was too shallow to do anything meaningful so I kept going out into the ocean. There was a nice little pocket out the front of the rock bar that wasn't sweeping down the beach as far that made a nice little wave run. I'd built up a bit more confidence in boosting going right, so using that on the waves with a building 18-20Kn wind was pretty fun.
Parked the 14m and contemplated lunch, but since it was 2:45pm I decided to hang around until Ben got there. Took my time putting up the 10m and packing down the 14m aa the wind was get a constant 20Kn. I'd launched Ian and had talked about his ocean rodeo board, so I joined him over at Coonarr for another little session. After he had a break on the beach, I tacked up over the top of the island to work the little pocket I'd found earlier to see the difference in kites. Fell off again going around the point as I was heading downwind. It seems that going downwind in open water has little holes that I'm digging into so I tried riding more on my back foot to slow down and make it safer. Still not a fan of going downwind. Kite performed better on the waves, but not as much as I'd imagined. Happy that I did that test.
I met Ian back at the Heads and had a go on the ocean rodeo board. Super smooth through the chop and really comfy on my ankles that had been getting sorer as the day progressed. Out on the waves it felt a bit hard to lift over incoming waves, but had super soft landings on the other side. Quite impressed. Boosts were achievable but I could notice the weight in the board. Once again landings were really easy. Would be an excellent cruising board.
Finished with another hour boosting and backrolling with Ben in the before calling it a day at about 5pm.
Wednesday 29th July (1h) SE 15-18Kn Kelly's Beach. Another strong day, but an afternoon meeting meant I'd need to be brief. Decided to go down the front (since it was pretty much low tide) and kite down near the basin rocks. Set up at money's creek and worked my way downwind looking for a good spot to catch the swell lines into shore. The pick was off the exposed rocks / reef just down from the basin rocks and blasting into the shallows near the moon rocks. Hit a couple of nice kickers on the way out going right to go even higher than yesterday. The swell didn't really form up into surfable waves, but was an Ok angle. Would have been nice to see a GPS plot of that session. Hopefully watch arrives back soon ...
Showing posts with label Kelly's Beach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kelly's Beach. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Thursday, December 04, 2014
Guy Leech Gear
Archie's & Lelly's ENE 14-17Kn (1.25h)
Went shopping for some gloves on Tuesday after losing a lot of skin layers over the big weekend. Picked up a pair from BCF, but the construction looked shoddy. Limited options though. Went around to BigW to look for another rashie and found some Guy Leech cycling cloves for 1/2 the price! Picked up some more Guy Leech apparel while I was there including a set of 2-in-1 shorts with an elastic (spandex?) insert. Thought they might work well to stop the chafing.
Enough on Wednesday to get out at Archie's. Wind felt more NE but was almost flush onto the beach by the time I was done. Looong reaches parallel to the beach to get down to Kellie's again in 3 tacks. Toyed with a couple of boosts but the wind just wasn't up to it. Didn't get in too shallow as I wanted to keep clean air. With the wind dropping slightly I broad reached back to Archie's for a little more play. Fully sheeted out by then but couldn't get near the wave zone due to surfers / swimmers.
Still undecided on the gloves. I think they helped but my forearms were now getting tired on the long stretches more than my legs. Fingers were still sore at the end, but it feels like they may have been saved a layer or 2. Bit cumbersome getting them off and carrying yet another piece of soggy equipment home, but at least they didn't get in the way when out on the water.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
North Easters
Archie's & Kelly's NE 14-18 Kn (2 Hours)
Saturday was looking good. Went out for a quick go before Scott had a session in the water. Went out again with the wind building but packed up after 45 mins as Scott was heading back and I was happy with the session. Ben showed up as we were packing up so I pumped up and headed out again. With both of us out in 16+ winds we tacked right up to Kelly's and stayed out for another hour tacking and using the waves. A fair bit more blustery and I didn't get as much air into the kite that exacerbated the surging. Not really much extra learned but the first time in a while that we were both out in the open ocean. Ben stayed out further on his 12m while I worked into the beach and back to the shark buoys. Came back happy but sunburnt across my lower back where the rash shirt rode up underneath the harness.
Archie's NE ~13-15 Kn (45min)
Quick go after work on Tuesday. Consistent North Easters have moved a lot of the sand southward and have kept me focused on Archie's as a kiting destination. Another Solo run.
Archie's NNE ~12-13Kn (15m)
Felt Ok, but not really enough to get going on Thursday. Bit of a disappointing session.
Archie's NNE ~13-15Kn (30m)
More wind for me, but Ben struggled to get going as Deo looked on.Scott ended the session with a couple of good upwind body drags as I headed off for the St John's Christmas party.
Archie's NE ~14-16Kn (1.5h)
Everything looked almost perfect for a day out on the water. Turned out to be a great session with Ben and Scott joining in too. Sandy managed to video parts of the session and I was a little diisappointed in the height I was getting off the waves in the video. I know I had done larger jumps than the recorded section but it feels bigger out on the water. I may have to revise my 2m+ jump ideas.
Scott went out for a body drag with the board. Although the last session he made some upwind progress, we ended up way downwind after a couple of uncontrolled boosts. A little more kite control needed when using one hand. More time in the water though, and a lot harder learning in the waves.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Pumping the Board
Archie's NNE ~12-14Kn (20m)
Enough wind to get out for a quick solo session. First couple of tacks felt like there was enough there to go upwind, but eventually pulled out at the bottom of Archie's. Walked right up to the middle beach between the rock that was almost exposed on the outgoing tide to get a bit more of a run at it as well as clearing some kids out in the surf. I knew that there would be sand out there, so even though there were a few more rocks than normal on entry, it turned out Ok. Couple of good tacks with more pace out the back (surprising since I was expecting the NNE to make the air cleaner even on the beach), but I didn't really make too much headway. The wind dropped off 1-2 knots to make it a task even getting up on the board, so I brought it in to the beach just as Ben had arrived to set up. Ben's not having too much luck at Archie's.
I was trying to explain a technique to Ben that I'd been using in light winds to generate pace on start. I was releasing the edge and pushing out on the board to carve into a new line with more speed. It was hard to explain, but I knew I'd used the technique somewhere else. Skating? Tried to equate it to tic-tacking, but the forces applied weren't right. Surfing? Pumping a wave for speed? YES! Unfortunately Ben hadn't surfed either, but the parallels are really close.
On a wave you push down with the board while extending out your body, then compress as the board floats back up to the top of the wave before pushing hard again driving the board down. The extending and compressing keeps your head height (and body weight) about the same on the wave, but generates speed by applying more power on the down stroke to "raise" your weight (in relative terms compared to the board), then using that stored potential by dropping the weight (in relative terms compared to the board by crouching) to allow the board to float back up to the top of the wave without much power used.
In kitesurfing, the kite pulls at an angle that, when combined with gravity, makes the flat water surface act like the angled part of a wave. Pumping then works in the same way, but you don't need to keep positioning yourself back to the top of the wave as any part of the water surface will be "angled" as long as there is enough kite pull. Hmm. I wonder if this means that pumping is better with the kite lower?
It seems as I was too hasty to ditch the skate reference as it's more or less the same when pumping a halfpipe or when pumping over long distances (rather than just tic-tacking).
Archie's & Kelly's NE ~13-16Kn (1h)
All fired up about pumping, I went out on Thursday to check out what I'd learnt. It seems that the initial pump when combined with a relatively backward kite position leads to a lot of acceleration, but continued pumps didn't feel worthwhile. I tried a couple of other techniques but didn't really achieve much past the first pump off a turn. It interesting that going over waves also forced me into a pump, but there were only a couple of times when it also resulted in acceleration.
I gave up on pumps for a bit and tacked hard upwind to up above the Kelly's flags for a little bit more practice on wave jumping. The mid-tide and moon rock positioning meant I kept out from the real shallow water, but there were still enough ramps on offer to boost off. No floaters this time, but one 2m+ jump again that I landed with speed.
Enough wind to get out for a quick solo session. First couple of tacks felt like there was enough there to go upwind, but eventually pulled out at the bottom of Archie's. Walked right up to the middle beach between the rock that was almost exposed on the outgoing tide to get a bit more of a run at it as well as clearing some kids out in the surf. I knew that there would be sand out there, so even though there were a few more rocks than normal on entry, it turned out Ok. Couple of good tacks with more pace out the back (surprising since I was expecting the NNE to make the air cleaner even on the beach), but I didn't really make too much headway. The wind dropped off 1-2 knots to make it a task even getting up on the board, so I brought it in to the beach just as Ben had arrived to set up. Ben's not having too much luck at Archie's.
I was trying to explain a technique to Ben that I'd been using in light winds to generate pace on start. I was releasing the edge and pushing out on the board to carve into a new line with more speed. It was hard to explain, but I knew I'd used the technique somewhere else. Skating? Tried to equate it to tic-tacking, but the forces applied weren't right. Surfing? Pumping a wave for speed? YES! Unfortunately Ben hadn't surfed either, but the parallels are really close.
On a wave you push down with the board while extending out your body, then compress as the board floats back up to the top of the wave before pushing hard again driving the board down. The extending and compressing keeps your head height (and body weight) about the same on the wave, but generates speed by applying more power on the down stroke to "raise" your weight (in relative terms compared to the board), then using that stored potential by dropping the weight (in relative terms compared to the board by crouching) to allow the board to float back up to the top of the wave without much power used.
In kitesurfing, the kite pulls at an angle that, when combined with gravity, makes the flat water surface act like the angled part of a wave. Pumping then works in the same way, but you don't need to keep positioning yourself back to the top of the wave as any part of the water surface will be "angled" as long as there is enough kite pull. Hmm. I wonder if this means that pumping is better with the kite lower?
It seems as I was too hasty to ditch the skate reference as it's more or less the same when pumping a halfpipe or when pumping over long distances (rather than just tic-tacking).Archie's & Kelly's NE ~13-16Kn (1h)
All fired up about pumping, I went out on Thursday to check out what I'd learnt. It seems that the initial pump when combined with a relatively backward kite position leads to a lot of acceleration, but continued pumps didn't feel worthwhile. I tried a couple of other techniques but didn't really achieve much past the first pump off a turn. It interesting that going over waves also forced me into a pump, but there were only a couple of times when it also resulted in acceleration.
I gave up on pumps for a bit and tacked hard upwind to up above the Kelly's flags for a little bit more practice on wave jumping. The mid-tide and moon rock positioning meant I kept out from the real shallow water, but there were still enough ramps on offer to boost off. No floaters this time, but one 2m+ jump again that I landed with speed.
Friday, October 17, 2014
Lonely Day
Archie's NE ~12-14Kn (45mins)
Both forecasts had today as a bit of a lull but it seems there's nothing like looking at the beach yourself. Seemed good enough. Kids were tied up with homework so I snuck down for a solo run. Launched by putting the kite out and attaching the lines to the back side, then then pulling the kite to an offset upwind position with tight back line (red), then hurrying back to hook in and launch. Flopped a little, but didn't go completely downwind like last week's failed launch.
Board-dragged out past some swimmers and was able to get up pretty easily. After 2 runs it felt like I had enough upwind to go almost directly parallel to the beach, and with no real reason to stay out from Archie's, I headed north to the swimming flags at Kelly's. Next run was right out to the first shark buoy off Archie's, then another long run right up to the far end of Kelly's. Kept heading upwind until I made it out the front of the basin.
One thing I noticed was that aiming for a buoy when going south was pretty easy, but once I'd run out of buoys it was a bit hard to keep a tack with no sight marker.
Pretty tiring session, and most tacks toward the end were to just give my back leg and arms a little rest. Pulled the line adjustment in to 1/2 to see if it had less bar pressure, but still the same upwind. Yep, less pressure, but not the same upwind. In fact the kite was struggling to get me up on turns, but it could keep an even tack or slightly better once going.
Headed back to Archie's before the wind died and I was completely knackered. With no-one to help land and a pretty short beach, I decided to dump the kite into the ocean. Still not happy with flagging out the kite, but it took on enough water over the sail the that it was going nowhere. Kite was now drenched and made for a wet, sandy pack up.
There happened to be a photographer from Gladstone on the headland while I was out over Kelly's, and he'd come over while I was packing up to offer the shots.
First successful solo day. Feels good to just get out and have fun. Hope there's more to come. Big weekend on the way though, so it's most likely a return to Elliott heads.
Both forecasts had today as a bit of a lull but it seems there's nothing like looking at the beach yourself. Seemed good enough. Kids were tied up with homework so I snuck down for a solo run. Launched by putting the kite out and attaching the lines to the back side, then then pulling the kite to an offset upwind position with tight back line (red), then hurrying back to hook in and launch. Flopped a little, but didn't go completely downwind like last week's failed launch.
Board-dragged out past some swimmers and was able to get up pretty easily. After 2 runs it felt like I had enough upwind to go almost directly parallel to the beach, and with no real reason to stay out from Archie's, I headed north to the swimming flags at Kelly's. Next run was right out to the first shark buoy off Archie's, then another long run right up to the far end of Kelly's. Kept heading upwind until I made it out the front of the basin.
One thing I noticed was that aiming for a buoy when going south was pretty easy, but once I'd run out of buoys it was a bit hard to keep a tack with no sight marker.
Pretty tiring session, and most tacks toward the end were to just give my back leg and arms a little rest. Pulled the line adjustment in to 1/2 to see if it had less bar pressure, but still the same upwind. Yep, less pressure, but not the same upwind. In fact the kite was struggling to get me up on turns, but it could keep an even tack or slightly better once going.
Headed back to Archie's before the wind died and I was completely knackered. With no-one to help land and a pretty short beach, I decided to dump the kite into the ocean. Still not happy with flagging out the kite, but it took on enough water over the sail the that it was going nowhere. Kite was now drenched and made for a wet, sandy pack up.
There happened to be a photographer from Gladstone on the headland while I was out over Kelly's, and he'd come over while I was packing up to offer the shots.
First successful solo day. Feels good to just get out and have fun. Hope there's more to come. Big weekend on the way though, so it's most likely a return to Elliott heads.
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