quote:
Originally posted by Juddy
So, last saturday night @ Safety Bay...what happened? did anyone end up with kites in trees or colliding with the ferry? Did anyone bother with green & red glow sticks on their lines? Did anyone actually go out on the night?
Please explain...
After a very leisurely downwinder from Floreat to Brighton during the day I went home, picked up the glow sticks I'd purchased in the morning, another board and kite and headed down to Rockingham as the sun set. I got to the Cafe carpark at about 8pm as the last colours were fading from the sky and carted all my gear down to the beach (except the beer in the cooler bag).
You know what would seem obvious in retrospect would be a torch, but perhaps I'm as stupid as Sandgroper makes me out to be. Anyway, thankfully the moon was full and the sky was clear (funny that, who would have thought), and I was able to tie a green glow stick to my starboard wingtip, a red one to my port, an orange one to my board and a blue one (to emulate white) to the back of my harness. Not quite boating regulations, my bad, but close. Thankfully there was no boat traffic in that spot (imagine that, who would have thought).
By about 8.30-9.00 it was properly dark and I performed a self launch, there being no-one nearby to assist. This I did at about the mid-point between the two walkways to the carpark, just downwind of the Penguin Island ferry, with my safety leash connected to the appropriate attachment point on one back line.
Nicely powered, I went out and kited back and forth for a while with the last song I'd listened to in the car on the way down still running through my head. Funky Planet, off the Ministry of Sound 2004 Annual. 'On my planet....'.
The wind was a steady 18-20 knots, nothing special, but I had enough power with the 13 on the flat water. Now kooks and noobs beware, since it seems I am not allowed to promote anything that might be remotely dangerous, do not think that a 13m is necessarily the right kite for 18-20 knots. For me it is, weighing in at 112kg and riding a 130cm board, but for the 80kg punter it might be a bit much.
Ergh, that bit of pandering left a bitter taste. Anyway, I was cruising nicely for a bit and headed upwind to the jetty to use it as a benchmark and at the same time see if any more kiters were on their way to the beach. This put me upwind of the ferry at it's mooring point. I even crossed within three line lengths at one point (but never within two). Scary stuff. Good thing I could see it clearly in the full moon.
I tacked back and forth for a while, it was quite pleasant really, and considered the meaning of life and the nature of the universe. The kite looked the picture of serenity framed by the background of stars, and the two glow sticks like some crazy big fireflies performing some weird mating dance. The orange glow stick between my feet was also kinda neat, though distracting. The bluey white light of the one on my back was pretty cool though, reflected off the water below when I turned to watch it, and not as in my face as the orange. I imagined it attracting fish like the denizens of the deep which use the same technique. I also imagined it attracting sharks, but I was having too much fun to let that bother me.
After about 45 minutes on the water Gav and his mrs. showed up so I went and said g'day. The wind was starting to drop off then and another half a dozen tacks saw me losing ground, so I gave up by about 2200hrs. Gav helped me land it (though a self landing is also within my abilities) and we had a cold beer and a bit of a yarn. I then wandered up and said g'day to the fishos to see if I hadn't been riding too close to where they'd been fishing, but they said they hadn't seen me, a couple of older guys had been there before while I was out and they'd gotten a good dozen. Reckoned there was one massive seagull out earlier...
Sandgroper does have a point, similar to those who have freely admitted they are not yet ready to try it. If you don't think it's within your abilities, it probably isn't. Kite within your abilities, and put saftey first. I am not fearless, but I do know what I can do and what I can't, and this is something I can. What I didn't do is push my boundaries (apart from the whole low light thing), I didn't try any new tricks or difficult old ones. I didn't go out as far as I would have during the day and I paid a lot of attention to what I was doing (as well as the crazy multicoloured firefly dance).
So that's what happened, in a nutshell. Kids, don't try this at home, whatever whatever. That's the first beer finished now, I think I should get another.
C'mon Seabreezers show some support for your sport and CONDEMN this practice (night kiting) as DANGEROUS and its practitioners as DANGEROUS FOOLS.
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Check weather forecast before every session.
Before rigging and launching, kiteboarders must evaluate the force of the wind and use an appropriate kite size.
Use functional safety systems.
Never over estimate your skill level.
Always wear a helmet, life jacket, harness and a wet suit.
