Will be closer to 4 but will keep eye out for you.

Good to meet everyone this arvo.
Lesson learned for today, 25knt winds is the top of my wind range (BOM recorded Botany as having 25 gusting to 30+ winds). Had the trim fully depowered, bar right out and was still struggling to keep myself on the ground etc. Anything over 20-25knts and I should be looking at using a smaller kite. Was crazy gusty out there after 5-6pm. Kite was back stalling a few meters then going full power to 12 o'clock and trying to take me with it lol.

Might be heading down again on Sunday midday-arvo before winds pick up too much, taking the family down cause the kids are dying to see daddy go splat haha.

It was getting rather gusty by the time we left at 6ish. Not ideal is it.

Manlykiter - must have just missed you.
Tobias, did u end going?

Anthony,

Yes, I was out with my work mate (he's a windsurfer and has a car) ... however we went to Dolls Point (cause of free parking). We arrived at 4:30 ish but there was almost no wind (3-6 Knots). Seabreeze and BOM showed 25knots. So, everybody was leaving for Brighton cause they expected to have more wind over there. Approx. 20min later, the wind picked up and reached around 22-25 knots .... but nobody was there (except of Kitepower) and yeah it was great! I went out with my new 8m kite and did some body draggin, jumping, sliding across the beach. Unfortunately, I did not bring my board which was a big mistake.

If the wind prediction stays as it is I will be at Brighton beach on sunday!

Cheers Tobias

So looks like I am going to be down at BB on Sunday around midday, then probably trot down to Dolls to check out KP's demo day

I'm out for two weeks - double infection of left ear. Probably dodgy BB water quality combined with an immune system flattened by kids. Happy kiting.

Hi everyone, you'll all be wondering what the fuss was about very soon. The best advice I got when I started was to use a big TT.. I improved faster once I got a 150x48 still use it in medium conditions when my 170x50 becomes a handful. For all the northern side people I just had a great session off Manly this afternoon, 10/12 knots with the big board and a 21m Flysurfer Speed 3,don't hesitate to ask better riders for advice, most people are more than happy to help. Hope to see a few people tomorrow at the demo. Zeke

Ok slightly random and off topic but I am bored at work and daydreaming of the big kiting adventures I am going to be having in 25 days time when I head to Yamba.

I was going to post this in the newbies section but figured a bit of local knowledge/experiences might be useful. What I was wondering was how far out/how deep do you guys go before you start getting your board on for water starting?

My problem is that I am body dragging out to where I can barely touch bottom before I start putting the board on my feet so that if I screw up the start and go head first I am not in shallow enough water that I am going to hit bottom. The problem I am finding however is that at BB, the swell (despite being near nothing) and the current (which is often going the other direction to the wind) is either turning me around so that my feet and board are not pointing the right way or wind drags one way, current grabs board and drags the other leaving me on my stomach feet behind me, either way I now have to flounder around like a moron trying to turn around while trying to control my kite. Which usually ends in my kite in the water and me having to start all over again and it ends in me getting very frustrated.

I watched the more experienced guys the other day and noticed that those that weren't starting out completely on the sand and either boosting into the water or just dragging across the bit of sand to the water were at the most starting out no further than they could comfortably sit still. Generally they would sit just inside the water's edge no more than waist deep, kite just off 12 over the water, slip the board on their feet, wait for a little wave to come in then dive the kite and off they'd go. It reminded me very much of the stand up exercise you do with a trainer kite to get use to water starting (makes sense now why they say to practice that haha), only difference is they stood up onto their board and into the water.

My main reason for asking is that when I am kiting in Yamba it is a surf beach, generally small waves but if the swell and current at BB is giving me grief, water starting in the surf is going to be hectic.

Hey Warehouse

Where in Botany Bay are you riding? If you are at Dolls, that is the narrowest part of BB and suffers from more current than further down where the rock groynes are. The channel is only 50m from the beach at Dolls, and all the water running in and out with the tide has to pass that point of the bay. The groynes are designed to slow or stop the current, or cross shore drift. Riding there is much easier for a newb. I know as I am one as well.

Cheers

Anyone looking at going down for a Friday arvo kite tomorrow?
If the wind stays the way it's forecast I will be heading straight from work and getting to 1st carpark around 4:30ish

I am going to try to get out tomorrow arvo.

Looks like a good Northeaster day. The Seabreeze forecast chart always seems to have the Northeasters building late in the day (even into the night) when the reality is they build much earlier (depending on how hot it is out west). Look at the forecast and actual windspeed graphs for today as a good example (the breeze was 15knts at 1pm even though forecast said it would not build till 7pm). It is very rare for a NE'ster to keep building after sunset. At this time of year if its NE in the morning and you dont get a front or a thunderstorm then its a pretty good bet it will be good in the afternoon.

Cheers

Pat

Hope you are right and we gonna have some wind this afternoon. BOM forecast has changed a bit. Its more 10-13knots for the arvo!

Ok man
See you there then
THERE WILL BE WIND

I'm busy selling the bike and buying a car today/thisweekend - really looking forward to actually bringing the board with me! I'll be out as soon as my wheels are sorted.

Bike sold, not looking at a car until Monday though. Frustrating!!

Yeah, I'm hoping experience waterstarting with my windsurfer back in the day will help, but I remember in the brief go I had, I had similar issues to you. Kept getting pulled over/past the board even while the kite was high up, having to mess about body dragging back up, then as soon as I get it on my feet get pulled downwind of it again.