For all you out there who don't know the pleasure of cruising in light winds under a big Flysurfer, read on...
I've had magic light wind sessions at Wello on each of the last two afternoons - about 2 hours each. I had to go back and read this thread: "Gotta love lightwind days" (
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=16108) - it was a large part of the reason for me getting a 17m Speed. Apparently that topic is too old for replies...hence this new one.
Now, I didn't have "glassy right handers" to pick off or waves to surf back on ...but the shallows south of Wello at mid tide in light winds with at least some east in them....very special. Hardly ever see anyone else there. And in light wind there is no one else anywhere. On Friday there was one other kite (Troy?) doing the walk of shame back from King Island. Yesterday there wasn't a kite or kiter to be seen ...sunny, 28C Saturday afternoon at Wello and no kites really means there is no wind.
So, south of the Wello jetty there are miles of shallow water. Most of the area I was riding would have been between 10 and 50cm deep while I was out. Although there is a long fetch from Straddie for chop to develop, the large area of shallows attenuates this to just about nothing. Gee that kite can move. I still pendulum under on jumps, my little hops weren't too good and, in that depth, back rolls with my successful completion rate are really not on ... but for the pleasure of just doing a long clean fast run leaving a 200m wash while listening to the fizz of a clean rooster tail with the setting sun glistening through it - bliss.
One weird experience. I really did go too shallow at one point so had to stop and walk to find more water. So there I am, in about 5cm of water, 400m from shore with this zeppelin hanging above me and it's really quiet - no wind noise because there's hardly any wind. How am I going to get going again??? Dive to right, just point down wind a little and the Speed lives up to it's name, develops heaps of apparent wind, and that hiss from the rooster is back again - fantastic.
For the record, here are the wind speeds from BoM at Banana Bank (knots, mean then gust -
www.bom.gov.au/qld/observations/coastalmap.shtml#brisbane). It was obviously different from that at Wello....but that gives some idea. I'd say yesterday looks representative, but I doubt it was as windy at Wello as indicated at Banana bank for the 23rd.
24/3:
24 18:00 NE 08 11
24 17:30 NE 10 12
24 17:00 ENE 09 11
24 16:30 ENE 11 14
24 16:00 E 10 14
23/3
23 17:30 SE 14 17
23 17:00 ESE 14 17
23 16:30 ESE 13 16
23 16:00 ESE 12 15
23 15:30 SE 14 17
23 15:00 SE 13 16
Board: Cardboard 137 x 46, flat rocker, single concave.
Quads: Absolutely knackered.
Jeff, When are we going to put the Speed and Psycho III next to each other?
Graeme, if, as you say, you have riparian rights way out where I was kiting, I think that implies that if I hit that single large rock which is about 400m from your back door, you'll be the person my lawyers should contact about compensation? Perhaps you'd better get out there at low tide and either move it or dig it in a bit?
To Ian, Tobes and Andreas who encouraged me to try a big Flysurfer (which meant buy one since there were none up here in Brisbane), thanks very much.
