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Forcast for Thursday looks good tomorrow for the Wall. Anybody keen?
Winds Westerly 10 to 15 knots tending west to northwesterly 15 to 20 knots around dawn then becoming westerly 10 to 15 knots later in the evening. Seas 1 to 1.5 metres. Swell Below 0.5 metres.
Hey, have much luck today? We headed out but the wind was a non-event, I'm 70kg and struggled on a 14m.. Have you seen tomorrow, afternoon looks promising!
North Haven. You go down Australia II drive to get there. Need a saksa tag! It works best in a northerly wind cause you get strong winds and flat water. It's right next to the sea wall so very sheltered in a northerly! Wicked spot!
From what I have been told, you just need to have an aksa tag.
eg. any association who gets thier membership from aksa.
So why's it called the wall? Just because of the northern breakwater leading to Outer Harbor?
Anyone going to be there this arvo?
Tom, the outer harbour breakwater rock wall forms the physical barrier between the deep water channel and North Haven beach. When a NW wind blows over it, the water on the downwind side is sheltered and glassy, yet the kite is above the wall in smooth air. Sometimes you get good swell there and it's like surfing in glassy conditions, but on a kitesurfer! This pic sort of shows what I have described.
Also, there is a webcam there that can save you a drive. Ideally, the BOM outer harbour wind should be NW above 15kts. Hope this helps.
www.sa.gov.au/topics/driving-and-transport
So I went along after work, and realise of course that asking if anyone was going to be there was a stupid question. Should have asked if anyone wasn't going to be there!
Anyway, got one short tack in. Tried to go the other way, messed up, dropped the kite and couldn't relaunch it in the dieing conditions. Swam back to shore with a little help of a tow from a passer by (thanks!).
All in all probably the most frustrating session ever. I can see why everyone loves it there though. So much easier for a beginner when there are no waves.
Does the much shorter breakwater at the other end of the beach have a similar effect? Would have to be something like a SSE I'd imagine.
Hey Tom,
When you were re-launching, were you just pulling on the line (eg. other hand not touching anything) or did you have the bar in hand and pulling the line?
I spent a long time learning that when re-launching, you just pull one of the outside lines in a little bit (can pump it a bit to get it up).
If you pull in (sheet in) on the bar when doing this, the kite has too much power to roll over (especially in lighter winds) and will be very difficult to re-launch.
So to re-launch, leave the bar alone and just pull one of the outside lines.
Just some food for thought as I have been told that it is a common learner problem.
Cheers,
Luke.
