Hi all,

I have been kite boarding since 2007 and to me this seems like the worst season ever. We had some really good kiting in November/December and early January but have had basically nothing in over six weeks.

Has anyone else been riding?

I agree Feb has been ****, but it has allowed me to indulge in my other favourite hobby.

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CalShave said...
Hi all,

I have been kite boarding since 2007 and to me this seems like the worst season ever. We had some really good kiting in November/December and early January but have had basically nothing in over six weeks.

Has anyone else been riding?

Agreed

Agree the last week or so has been ordinary but 2nd week of Feb was non-stop winds, here are my kites just in Feb

17th Feb 8m kite 22-24kn
16th Feb 8m kite 24-31kn (gusty)
14th Feb 10m kite 18-24kn
13th Feb 8m 22-26kn
9th Feb 10m 16-20kn
8th Feb 10m 20kn
7th Feb 10m 18-22kn
4th Feb 10m 19-22kn
3rd Feb 9m 27kn

Prob same amount of sessions in Jan, but there was a couple of Easterly days I was overpowered on an 8 and on one day was fully powered up on a 5m!!

Maybe the north of the bay has not been delivering as much??

The weekend sessions have been poor due to poor wind conditions.

I haven't had much of a chance to get out this summer, every time I've been out its been on my 11m... very unsatisfying to say the least!

Hopefully some winterly westerly's aren't too far away!!!

Real mixed bag this year but only the last 2 weeks that have been crap. Some of the best days have been when no wind was predicted or late afternoon sessions. One advantage of living by the water...

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HighzaKite said..
Agree the last week or so has been ordinary but 2nd week of Feb was non-stop winds, here are my kites just in Feb

17th Feb 8m kite 22-24kn
16th Feb 8m kite 24-31kn (gusty)
14th Feb 10m kite 18-24kn
13th Feb 8m 22-26kn
9th Feb 10m 16-20kn
8th Feb 10m 20kn
7th Feb 10m 18-22kn
4th Feb 10m 19-22kn
3rd Feb 9m 27kn

Prob same amount of sessions in Jan, but there was a couple of Easterly days I was overpowered on an 8 and on one day was fully powered up on a 5m!!

Maybe the north of the bay has not been delivering as much??

Where do you normally get out Highza?

I'm in Rye, only had 2 good SW back beach sessions in 2016 i think, sea breeze just hasn't kicked enough down here.

Also, next to no northerlies all summer to kite in the bay. Christmas day was the last decent day I think.

I've had some good sessions in Point Leo during February though

I can't remember the last time a good SW came through on the weekend so I could go down to the waves, I think the last one was late Jan maybe.....

I mainly ride at Inverloch and Rosebud(there have obviously been very few if any opportunities at both). For people like myself working traditional Monday to Friday hours weekends have been very poor and frustrating. It feels pretty ordinary to know winter is coming and the season is basically done. Hopefully we get a few good days at Rosebud over coming months

Only my second season, but managed to get average 1-2 days a week Oct-Nov, 2-3 days Dec-Jan and 1-2 Feb. I think it's been good.

I've actually done more kiting this season than I have done any other year.

Been to loads of new locations this year too. Inverloch, Sandy Point, Shallow Inlet, Altona, Balnarring and Phillip Island were all new to me this year as I normally kite south of Mordialloc and stick to the bay.

The one big factor though has been the after work sessions. Mostly since daylight savings kicked in.

I'm not looking forward to the clocks changing back again. I am however looking forward to the Autumn and Winter winds. Bring it on.....

Kitesurfing.........



Yeah.................




......I remember that.........

Worst summer in the last 3 years for me. Maybe it will be a good winter. Not looking forward to the cold but

It has been a bit hit and miss, especially on weekends, lucky enough to live on the peninsular so can get a session in any day the wind blows. 19 so far this year and that's with the first two weeks of Jan overseas snowboarding

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deanrobi said..
It has been a bit hit and miss, especially on weekends, lucky enough to live on the peninsular so can get a session in any day the wind blows. 19 so far this year and that's with the first two weeks of Jan overseas snowboarding

its a bit insular on the peninsular

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junglist said..
Kitesurfing.........



Yeah.................




......I remember that.........

Spot on.
I think if you are to judge a season, you have to take into consideration several factors... wind frequency, strength, quality, direction, gusty, updraft intensity, tides and combination of the above.

For me a good quality wind is a very steady on-shore, 19-21 knots, . This is where you can progress if you are into that sort of thing.

This season definitely the worst winds in 9 years of kiting... (it doesn't mean there was no wind, it just means the wind quality has been absolute sh1t on average).

I have logged:

* 8 sessions in Feb
* 6 in Jan (but was away for 2 weeks)
* 12 in Dec.

Wind has dropped out in a few of them, but all in all I think the season is OK. A bit down an previous years though.

If It's good it's while I'm working. Need to retire asap Blows for 1 hour on the weekend then it's over
Check merrimbula forecast 30 degrees and green all week.

So what's your record here in Vic? several years back I managed 17 days in a row... Never come close again..

coffs harbour,east coast has been crap too........whats going on????

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HighzaKite said..
Agree the last week or so has been ordinary but 2nd week of Feb was non-stop winds, here are my kites just in Feb

17th Feb 8m kite 22-24kn
16th Feb 8m kite 24-31kn (gusty)
14th Feb 10m kite 18-24kn
13th Feb 8m 22-26kn
9th Feb 10m 16-20kn
8th Feb 10m 20kn
7th Feb 10m 18-22kn
4th Feb 10m 19-22kn
3rd Feb 9m 27kn

add to this

20th 22kn 10m
28th 18kn 13m (1:20 session)
29th ~20kn 10m (2 hour session)

That's a total of 14+ hours wasted kitesurfing.

I've got a 7m, 10m and 18m kite, was having a ripper season up until I went on holiday over Christmas! Got out after work and on weekends 3-5 times a week. Since coming back in mid Jan I've been out maybe twice a fortnight and had some pretty average sessions. The 18m has been a major session saver, but also resulted in some really low quality sessions. Still worth it though :) I'm a lot less frustrated after a failed session rather than sitting at home checking the radar every half hour wondering what if.

I'd also sign a petition to change daylight savings in winter so we wake up 2 hours earlier over winter to get 2 hours of additional daylight after work. Isn't that the real daylight saving?

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acitta said..
I'd also sign a petition to change daylight savings in winter so we wake up 2 hours earlier over winter to get 2 hours of additional daylight after work. Isn't that the real daylight saving?

This needs to happen!!!!!!!

Wind gods must have taken pity on all of us and gave us totally unexpected 25-30 knots today. Nice to get out on 7m for once.

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stok said..

acitta said..
I'd also sign a petition to change daylight savings in winter so we wake up 2 hours earlier over winter to get 2 hours of additional daylight after work. Isn't that the real daylight saving?

This needs to happen!!!!!!!

GET EXCITED GUYS!! Endless season here we come!

www.change.org/p/victorian-government-implement-daylight-savings-in-winter?recruiter=499973555&utm_source=share_for_starters&utm_medium=copyLink

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acitta said..

stok said..

acitta said..
I'd also sign a petition to change daylight savings in winter so we wake up 2 hours earlier over winter to get 2 hours of additional daylight after work. Isn't that the real daylight saving?

This needs to happen!!!!!!!

GET EXCITED GUYS!! Endless season here we come!

www.change.org/p/victorian-government-implement-daylight-savings-in-winter?recruiter=499973555&utm_source=share_for_starters&utm_medium=copyLink

Signed!

Signed

Signed.

Signed.

Signed