Kiteboarding: Journey begins

14th
Kite arrived, went with a new Fuse 12m from Kiteline. Because then I knew it would arrive and even if I do bust it the first time I use it the lines should last for ages. I’ve also got the green North harness which is probably the right size.





15th
Went to Elliot heads, the tide was out and coming in and the wind was ~5knotts so nobody else was there. Cameron asked me what everything was for, whilst I was asking myself the same question. This day with the help of Tony I figured out how to unpack the bag and activate the safety catch. Flying was rather unsuccessful, due to the light winds. So this was a great opportunity to setup and pack up without chaos.


16th
After church had another bash, this time the unicorns were in the ocean so ~12knots of wind. Pumped up the kite a bit more and actually flew it in a controlled manner, didn’t crash at all this day.


22nd
Back at the Bowes beach, this time I launched the kite and had took the lay of the lines while Tony started off. He was a lot more confidant from practicing with his stint kites and almost immediately got a bit of air time. The larger jump would have been ~2m above the surf and ~15 in length. On the other hand I wanted to try kiting upwind with my arm out. I think I did Ok but moving along the beach it was a bit hard to tell. It started to get a bit gusty and I crashed the kite into the water a few times.


Re-launching was a doosey I moved rather fast downwind on my belly and the sand took a few layers of skin off the last knuckle of my long toe on my left foot. All in all a successful day. Also I can now get the kite into the bag on the first go.



30th September
Back to the Bowes beach near Crawford Park, I didnt know that is what it is called, still doesdnt fit right either. Pretty confident in setting up and packing up mow. Also met a bloke that knew what he was doing and decided to try surfing with one of Tony's old surfboards next time. I'd also decided to buy a board to help hold the kite down whilst packing it up.


See Also:
Finally a Decision