Parham 16/03/2011

Might be heading out to parham at about 5-530 pm after work tomorrow if anyone else is keen. Seabreeze is looking aroung 16knots Southerly and high tide is at about 6pm at 1.7m.

Hopefully some of the pazza regulars can catch up and work on my poor upwind ability

I had the same plan to go there tonight with these SE winds and will be happy to not be alone on the water if it works there - See u around 5.30pm

Well got there about 10 to five - set my lines up - wind sitting beautifully at about 16knots direct southerly - pumped my kite up and BANG - Blew another 30cm tear in the leading edge again but this time on the other side - I think it might be time for a new kite but will have to wait for tax time to get the funds :( Cant afford another $300 repair on the kite as I only purchased it for $600 a year ago. Sorry if I missed you fabien - must have been by a matter of minutes.

Nice to hear you had a good hour, forecast didnt look too good so I sadly worked.
Went out last night, it was very nice at 22-25 knots.
Trying to toeside and it seems very un natural, but will get it, soon I hope!!
Tried to self land the kite and had a real problem, eventually had to pull the eject button but it makes such a mess of the lines.
Could someone give some advice.
Thanks Jim

Hi Jim,

I have watched some of the long standing, experienced crew at Parham, self launching & landing, so this idea came from Don Pumpa (Tim's dad).

Don uses a 2 metre length of strong sail rope (mine is 12mm dyneema cored halyard rope), with approx. 200 mm loop in one end and a large, strong carabiner clip attached to the opposite end.

Don also has a large tag attached explaining its use to casual observers (so they don't remove it while you are on the water) with a contact number if it gets left behind after a session.

Don attaches this to the sturdy signpost on the south side of the boat ramp.

This can save your butt big time if something goes wrong at launch or landing.

My personal examples are where I discovered the stitching had come apart on one of the outer line pigtails, luckily, found during setup. Had I have self launched (not tethered) and then the pigtail parted company, it could have led to a bad day

Also I have experienced unexpected increases in wind strength which also adds a danger factor to an unassisted landing.

For less than $20 outlay you can reduce your risk.

One downside is rigging across the ramp and risking your lines being driven over by legitimate ramp users.

I have considered approaching the locals, via the progress association and the Light Council to ask approval to sink a large post into the beach, about 30 - 50 mtrs north of the ramp.

This could allow for a permanent fixed point for launch & land plus perhaps some sinage explaining kite safety to other beach users

Cheers
Fossil