Frogzie said..
Thanks for the advice guys. the article was intersting as well and I don'twant take any chances. Is it as extreme all through winter though? I went out 30 or 40 times this summer, can do my jumps and boost, go upwind no issues, can manage a little bit of over powered conditions, but I'm far from years of experience indeed.
Would I be able to score a few more calmed sessions or should I just get an air ticket and fly somewhere else to get my fix :)
When it comes to kiting, every day is a different day. You can get dangerous fronts in the middle of summer as well, so the specific time of the year is irrelevant. It's just that in the winter in Perth you are more likely to get extreme weather changes (i.e. 10-15 knots getting up to 30 knots + in a matter of minutes) and from now on there is pretty much no more chances you get Sea breezes due to land being too cold, which means the only winds you are going to get from now on until October are fronts. Sea breezes are much safer winds due to their consistency in direction and strength and frontal winds are much more dangerous for the exact opposite reason. By the way, all this is essential knowledge you should've learned in your first lesson...
The decision to go out kiting in fronts is ultimately yours. Additional things to consider if you do decide to go out in Winter fronts (learning from other people's mistakes) are:
-Use the smallest kite size possible. This way if the wind picks up suddenly, you won't be as overpowered. If you only have one kite, you are much more likely to be overpowered quickly, so get yourself a smaller kite if that's the case.
-When arriving at the spot, take your time and don't setup immediately. Observe and assess the conditions for a good 30 min. Look at other kiters weight and kite sizes and how powered they are. Ask them for advice. If in doubt, don't go out!
-On shore frontal winds are probably the most dangerous conditions to kite in and probably responsible for the majority of some of the worst accidents in kiting.
-As much as possible, avoid self-launching, especially in a narrow beach with on-shore winds full of sea weed (tangled lines). The chances of failure are much higher in these conditions. If in doubt of being overpowered, trim your kite to full depower and keep one hand on the safety system until you are confident it's not too much to handle.
-Remember 20 knots of cold winter wind has roughly the same power as a 25 knots hot summer breeze.
-Be ready to activate your safety system anytime, anywhere. Make sure you can easily, quickly and safely self-retrieve your kite after activating your safety system. Don't just tell yourself ''you know how to do it''. Get out there and Practice, practice, practice. This should've been covered in practical scenarios more than once during your lessons. This is a
vital skill that is unfortunately very rarely taught in lessons, hence most people hesitate to activate their safety systems when things go wrong and wouldn't know how to retrieve the kite even if they did activate it! If you decide to kite this winter there is pretty much a 100% chance you'll have to do this on multiple occasions, sometimes in very strong winds...
-Make sure your safety system operates smoothly and is not jammed or corroded, full of sand, etc. Check it regularly
-Thoroughly inspect your equipment for possible early signs of failure (lines, bridles, depower rope, pulleys, canopy, etc.) Replace anything that looks dodgy.
-Keep a safe distance from the shore especially in On-Shore winds. Jumping big or riding too close to shore in on-shore winds you can quickly end up very close or on the shore upon landing.
-Avoid very narrow beaches with high dunes and too close to roads or other major obstacles. When something goes wrong, you will need space to activate your safety system and retrieve your kite.
-Don't get complacent, observe the weather changes closely. Land your kite quickly when darker clouds approach before things get out of hand!
-Keep a big distance from other kiters, kite tangles in strong on-shore winds could be disastrous.
Hope this helps,
Christian
can't wait for the westerlies .......
