Winter fronts are not where noobs should practice their skills. If you do.. Please take your medicare card and a tag around your neck with your next of kin and personal details.


I'm guessing you have never experienced 30-40+ knot squalls come in before? Self land and launch when nobody is around??

***pic related to your interests.

I'll answer your points constructively..

Winter fronts are for experienced riders looking for big air, swell or conditions that excite them more than the summer normal seabreezes. Front riding is a lot of fun and is also quite dangerous if you are in not competent in all aspects of kiting.

The fact that that there isn't noobs mowing the lawn and cutting riders off is a big appeal to most, plus people who are out in the wild weather usually respect each other as they know what they're doing. Front riding is about having confidence in your gear, knowing how to use it in all conditions, being able to ride in crazy chop and big swell, being able to consistently go big and nail your jumps (not unusual on a 7 to go as big or bigger maybe a powerpole/powerlines). Main thing though is to do all the above and come home safe after your session.

But thing that is most important would be to understand fully weather, conditions and how to kite it without getting killed. Obviously you are going to get a nice 20 knots one second , then in come the fronts and turn it into 35-40 knots or more in the space of a few minutes and on the flipside down it goes to 12 knots after the rain. Kite size is the key to having fun.. Too big and your going to get skull dragged and not be able to hold it down when the storm rolls in.. Too small and you will not have enough to get out or in once the front has passed over.

7m and 9m kites work for me depending on the day. 9m up to 25-30, 7m 30 or more.

Knowing and instinctively using your safety systems if thing go sideways is paramount, as is being able to self land and launch. Most times there will be nobody around to assist you therefore you gotta be able to handle any situation that presents itself. Self preservation is the key as is being smart when it gets too sketchy. Lightning isn't a nice experience either so keep this in mind. Additionally onshore wind can be difficult to bodydrag through swell in. Especially Scarbs..

Winter fronts get all of the above so if your not competent enough you should sit it out and let others entertain you. NickT should back me on this as he likes the fronts as much as I do...

No probs.. Main thing I'm trying to say here is that don't put yourself in a situation you can't deal with when it goes pear shaped... When the gnarly ones come through take a hoodie and a camera down the beach and have a look for yourself.


You will know if those conditions your watching are out of your skill level. Use common sense and stay safe.

I'll add to what rpm has said.

You need to become an amature weather man to ride the winter storms.

Its all about picking the right time to ride and knowing which squall will punish you and which will not.

So... learn as much as you can about storms and in particular sqaull lines, micro bursts and how this can effect the wind.

Then you need to check the forecasts, cross reference them against current live readings and rain radar to come to a conclusion of a) whether you should kite at all B) what kite to use. Rain radar is particularily usefull as you can see the squall line approaching. you can then time your session for before or after it.

General rule of thumb. if a squall is heading your way and its black and angry. Land asap.

If in doubt rig a smaller kite.

If you are ****ting yourself and wondering if you shoudl go out or if its too dangerous. its too dangerous don't go out. listen to the guts.

lastly usually when the storms roll in so does the big seas. crazy wind is only half the risk. negotiating insane sea conditions is the other half. if you have a flat water spot then that would be a good trail for winter storms. to hit an open ocean wave spot yourl need at the very minimum beable direction change fast, relaunch your kite quick and be able to boost monster over white wash/waves.

PS when you do get to the stage of ripping in the storms its damn exilerating.

Winter can be real nasty, but can deliver some of the most exciting sessions of your season, you need to be able to read weather well, I remember last winter being caught by a squall, blinded by rain, fully depowered and edging for all it's worth, two minutes later wind steadied some of the biggest jumps of my life , multiple lifts landing 100m downwind at warp speed.
If your looking for more angle so you can kite off the beach, your not ready for winter. You can only read the weather so much and will get caught out eventually, so kite up suitably. Give yourself heaps of room downwind.

Truth is there are a lot of people who bang on about kiting 40 kts in winter but drive the coast these days and you might see ony a couple of kites Leighton - Pinnas. Know how your going out and coming in because it may be on your own. And try to kite with someone even randoms, secretly you'll look out for each other.

Looking forward to winter but still get butterflies anything over 35, a sense of caution and calculation is always a good thing. If your unsure of your abilities and limits sit winter out, but
bring a camera down not a mobile either Wishy!

Last winter we had a fair few North Westers in WA. They seem a bit more reliable and less dangerous than riding fronts. How do NW compare to the seabreeze or the gusty easterlies?

thanks for all the feedback. Sounds like I'll really have to watch what I'm doing. I've already decided I will not go out unless there are other people around and I'll keep a good eye out for the clouds. Also not confident enough to go out on winds any bigger than 24-25 knots since, at the moment, I only have a 9m so I'll probably have to sit most winter days out watching everyone else..

Thanks guys! enjoy winter

" I can go upwind and get some transitions in. Maybe even some jumps from time to time but I would not want to even attempt going out in 30 knot winds on my 9m kite. I'm also not too good with big chop just yet. "

To claim you can go upwind means you might not be ready for winter.

and transitions! I hope you can turn!!!!!

And chop, well winter has a fair bit. Monday at scabs was perfect example of what to expect (BTW it was ugly but about time we had some swell)

And if you see people out there, keep away! thats the worst thing you can do. remember its only a kite, you can bail it.

if your not comfortable swimming out in the waves why would you kite there!!!

also go pro it, I want to see this!

Winter fronts come in hard and nasty. Kiting around people when overpowered (common winter squalls range from 5 to 15 knots) in chop can or will result in collisions. When it's choppy it's alot harder to hold rail.
If your bouncing on chop (not to mention swell lines) and not holding rail you become massively overpowered and begin to "chase" the kite. Edging hard slows you down obviously?? But in chop an swell this is 10 times harder. I don't know about others but I don't want to be anywhere near this situation.
I assume waves as most beaches have them in winter. Or at least swell lines with chop. This also makes it harder to body drag to retrieve board. And simply swimming in these conditions can be challenging for some.
Look if you want to go out go for it!! But find a quiet beach and maybe have someone look out for you. But in reality you should have simple transitions and jumps nailed before kiting with people in these conditions.