if in doubt dont go out?

With kitesurfing its very hard to get perfect conditions especially with winter winds as they arent like a summer seabreeze.

thanks guys, but I guess if I always doubted myself and didn't test my ability I wouldn't ever progress. Maybe I shouldn't have gone out, I was calm and double checked everything, self launched and self landed with no problems. My mind was thinking survival tactics the whole time and what to do in case something went pear shaped.
I do understand your point though.

So Col, if the wind drops on your 7 and you have it trimmed to about half the gust variation, say 28 or so knots, are you able to keep moving when the wind swings back on the lowest range of the day without sinking? Or are you signing the kite and headed downwind and back to land?

Been a hell of an experience the last few days of this storm. Best bay swell we have had in ages....
df

You can do a lot with a 7m in light wind when you have to to stay out of trouble, working the kite & heading down wind.
Just looked at your profile- Jervis Bay, that's a bit different, the wind swell is not going to kill you. In the end you were the one there, you assessed the dangers down wind. Without dangerous waves the water is safe, the danger is on land. The fact that you self launched/landed OK is a good sign.
When you can see it's OTT you have to be prepared before hand to just release your kite if you need to, it's just an object.
cheers
Col
BTW it was Wed I was out not Fri.

Just to add to the above....

In my opinion, if your out in crazy gusty Nukeing crap - then a "Below the bar depower is better so you have a huge amount to play with.

Normally when the above bar depower is no longer effective, you can get more range from the other....

It may not be in the perfect flying position but still gives you a reasonable amount of control to keep having fun

Having said that, I would not bother going out if my bar at full depower, was full powered on the front lines, common sense should kick in before that point ....Hopefully

Jedibrad said...

If there is waves to ride use a fish surfboard

They increase the fun/gustyness ratio

Not sure why you say that, in extreme conditions control is everything, I'd say the opposite, a pin tail is preferrable. But conditions have been beyond that anyway, when you're just trying to stay in 1 piece TT's the go.
Col

ps relax into it and ride what makes you feel energised. if you are ****ting yourself outback with monster waves ride inside the white wash if that makes you feel better. slowly push the barrier.

last year those insane sessions terrified me! this year they energise me.

Yeah Wellingtron is a hard core spot for sure.

Here's a couple of things to work on for the storm sessions.

Learn to edge hard to control and overpowered kite. Good hard edging will keep you and your speed under control.

You need fast transitions to escape monster white wash. Practice changing directions as fast as you can.

Jumping. You need a good confident jump. Then you can simply jump over any white wash thats going to eat you up!!! but you need to be able to land it and time it well! Miss timing a jump and smashing into a peaking face is not an option!! Its good if you can build jumping skill to change your flight path mid jump. IE come in hot and fast or float down and at a stand still or transition back the other way.

Infact now i think about it controlled jumping is probably the key.

Here's a couple of examples from my 20-35 knot cross on with 5m swell and well over head height waves session a couple of weeks back.

I'm hooning into shore a massive gust hits and its like turbo boost kicking in. i'm doing about 50kph and starting to loose my edge and will hit rocks in about 100m if i don't slow down. I send it for a jump! rocket into the sky but i'm too close to the beach. maybe 40meters down wind. As i'm floating through the sky i realise i might land on the beach so i let the bar out to come down sooner, leave the redirect later than usual and time it to have the kite at the zenith when i'm about to land. I land softly in the shore dump at a stand still. Crissis averted!.

On the way out i'm doubling up the waves. Taking off one face and landing behind the next. Timed ride its like doing a massive motorcross jump. landing on the downface on the back of the wave is super smooth!! Awesome feeling. But one jump i time it wrong and a head height wave is peaking and i'm going to hit the face hard if i don't slowdown. So i re-send the kite for a transition downloop and land on the wave face and ride it out back to the beach like some highly skilled pro!!! SWeeeeeeeeeet!... not sure i can pull that one off twice!!!

ahhhh good times.

Its not the kiting or gusts that the problem, it's the swimming.

Its when it goes pair shaped, your kite gets eaten by a wave and you can't relaunch

This happened to me at Narrowneck Gold Coast gusting from 15 to 33kts and a resonable swell .

I was a long loong way out with a bad crash, winded confused, ended washed up at Seaworld 50 mins later and 3 Kms downwind.

Luckily surf lifesavers noticed and followed me down the beach in their vehicle.

It was a long walk of shame, but thankful to be back on the beach in one piece.