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Forums > Kitesurfing   South Australia

safe wind directions for kiting adelaide metro

Reply
Created by lovelife > 9 months ago, 29 May 2012
lovelife
SA, 160 posts
29 May 2012 11:45PM
Thumbs Up

Hey everyone!

I've had a few lessons and am planning to have some more. However, I've bought my kite and harness this week, and now I'm itching to get out there to practice , even if it is just the body dragging and all that. I'm not really too sure what wind directions are safe to go out on around the Adelaide metro beaches.

I know it is not safe to go out on Easterlies (they are offshore right?), but is it unsafe to go out when the wind has ANY east in it? or are some SE/ NE winds ok for particular beaches?

Any help is appreciated!

Cheers!!
elise

bryce31
SA, 18 posts
29 May 2012 11:57PM
Thumbs Up

lovelife said...
I know it is not safe to go out on Easterlies (they are offshore right?), but is it unsafe to go out when the wind has ANY east in it? or are some SE/ NE winds ok for particular beaches?


Yeah anything with E is a no go. When you are learning you'll drop the kite a fair bit and if you can't get it to relaunch you will find yourself going out to sea. Best to wait for anything with W in it..

I wont ramble on too much as there are a lot of other people who can help you more thoroughly, but enjoy the sport! It's a blast!

Also keep in mind about the SAKSA regulations with where you can and can't kite.

jamdfingr
QLD, 663 posts
30 May 2012 10:10AM
Thumbs Up

Also, make sure that the wind strength is right.

Too much = bad, Too little = bad

By that, I mean the too much part is obvious, but with too little wind, your kite will be difficult to launch, wont fly well and you may end up damaging your gear.

Summer will be alot more predictable and has steady seabreezes but if you find a good day in winter, then go for it.

lovelife
SA, 160 posts
30 May 2012 11:13AM
Thumbs Up

bryce31 said...

Yeah anything with E is a no go. When you are learning you'll drop the kite a fair bit and if you can't get it to relaunch you will find yourself going out to sea. Best to wait for anything with W in it..

Also keep in mind about the SAKSA regulations with where you can and can't kite.


Thanks for the advice! Unfortunately, looks like this week is gonna be poo then And, Yup! I just made myself member today, and had a look on their website as well as to where you can and can't kite


jamdfingr said...

but with too little wind, your kite will be difficult to launch, wont fly well and you may end up damaging your gear.



I've got a 9m rebel, and I am about 63 kg, just wondering what wind I shouldn't bother with, e.g. is 10 the absolute bottom line? or more like 15?

Cheers for your help guys! appreciate it

bryce31
SA, 18 posts
30 May 2012 4:27PM
Thumbs Up


Thanks for the advice! Unfortunately, looks like this week is gonna be poo then And, Yup! I just made myself member today, and had a look on their website as well as to where you can and can't kite


Yeah wind lately has been very on and off, either pumping 25+ knots or nothing

DaGodfather
SA, 280 posts
30 May 2012 9:18PM
Thumbs Up

Ideally wait till the forecast is 15-20 knots and no storm fronts are coming through .
If the forecast is only 10-15 then don't bother. And if the forecast is over 20 knots it maybe unsafe as no one can predict what the top end gusts may be in winter conditions. Also when you are learning, don't go if the wind is directly on-shore (W) - you won't have very far to go before you hit the beach. Best directions are cross-on shore (SW,SSW,NW,NNW) or side shore (S,N). Luckily these are also the most common ones in Adelaide.

Remember, when ur body dragging it's the walk back up wind that can be tricky if the wind is out of range. You don't want to crash your kite and/or get dragged on the beach.

lovelife
SA, 160 posts
2 Jun 2012 12:36AM
Thumbs Up

DaGodfather said...

Remember, when ur body dragging it's the walk back up wind that can be tricky if the wind is out of range. You don't want to crash your kite and/or get dragged on the beach.


That was really helpful, Cheers!

Btw, do u mean body dragging up wind is very hard, resulting in having to walk up wind?

Any tips for practising this skill?

Thanks!!

pneucube
SA, 112 posts
2 Jun 2012 9:34AM
Thumbs Up

I thought I had started the wrong sport. I thought it was called 'kite walking' in the beginning as I spent more time walking up the beach than actually in the water.
I found the 'progression' series of instructional cd's very helpful but you can watch a lot on youtube.


The more time spent in the water the better but it is a bit all over the place at this time of year and you will find in Summer it is a lot more consistant.
The first time you stay up wind is just fab.
Pick the right conditions and stay safe
Good luck
Jim

TomW
SA, 63 posts
8 Jun 2012 8:37AM
Thumbs Up

Yeah, what Jim said. On an average 2-3 hour session I recon I would walk a couple of kilometres back up the beach. Body dragging is not particularly difficult once you get the hang of it, but I wouldn't use it as a method to transport you back up the beach having been blown downwind. Just takes too long. Better to walk back.

Just starting to get up on the board and edge a bit, so hopefully won't be too much longer. Might have to wait until summer though. Was 4 degrees last night. Brrrr

lovelife
SA, 160 posts
8 Jun 2012 1:09PM
Thumbs Up

thanks for the vid jim, was definitely helpful!
Seems like im gonna get a bit of a walking work out then

4 degrees ouch! I hope you've got a wetsuit, cos have you seen the forecast for next week?? I know its a few days away, but tuesday and thursday look gooood
(i'm definitely hoping to get out!!)

cheers guys!

SpawnofFossl
SA, 116 posts
12 Jun 2012 11:12PM
Thumbs Up

Just a heads up from my personal experience with winter kiting.

When i first started it was around May when most of the seabreezes had moved on and the water had shifted from "ooh that's nice" to "jesus that's cold!".

At the moment the water temperature is "Holy F#%^ my balls are the size of ball bearings it's that cold!!"

I was super keen and was trying to learn while heading into the winter months.

Here is my advice from reading a lot of posts in seabreeze and good advice from other people here.

If you are really keen then make sure you have a full length wetsuit + boots + gloves. Fashion takes a step down under freezing your balls off in my opinion.

By all means if you think you can tough it out in water that is 2 degrees in your board shorts then i praise you all mighty iceman (woman) for you are more worthy than I!

On a more serious note here are the main challenges you will run into when trying to learn in the colder months.

- The wind is unpredictable most of the time - fronts and unpredictable gusts are the main dangers for kiters so do your research and learn what to look for with the weather.

- An example of this was when I was last at Parham about a month ago and the wind went from a comfortable 19 knots to 30+ in a space of ten minutes. Personally I thought it was lovely how the sun had come out and it was nice and warm now.. what I didn't realise was that the incoming wind had quickly moved the clouds away and I was about to cop it - good fun on a 12m

- Try to kite with like-minded snow people who can watch your back. I say snow people because they are the only ones dead keen enough when the water is that cold. In winter the kite population on the water is less so therefore if the shiite hits the fan there is less people to help you out who know what they are doing and less people to call an ambulance if it really hits the fan.

- Finally - cold water saps your energy. In case you haven't noticed - when you are first starting to learn kiteboarding you get dragged around and dumped in the water a lot. This is hard work combined with the fact that if you struggle to go upwind you will be walking back up the beach - wet - tired and walking directly into a cold breeze of 15+ knots.

- Read this article - it has some good points in it as well
www.seabreeze.com.au/Articles/Kitesurfing/Winter-Weather-Warning-for-new-Kitesurfers_2879690.aspx

- Overall I don't want to scare you away I just like to share my own personal experience as it can be very disheartening to fail at something for 6 months (trust me I know the feeling). So if you can reduce this disheartening period by giving yourself the best conditions to learn in then I think there will be less chance of us seeing your gear for sale in 3 months time :)

End of essay :)

Spawn

SpawnofFossl
SA, 116 posts
12 Jun 2012 11:15PM
Thumbs Up

Just noticed that the poster was a girl so please disregard all examples relating to "balls" rofl

lovelife
SA, 160 posts
13 Jun 2012 1:17AM
Thumbs Up

SpawnofFossl said...

Just a heads up from my personal experience with winter kiting.

When i first started it was around May when most of the seabreezes had moved on and the water had shifted from "ooh that's nice" to "jesus that's cold!".

At the moment the water temperature is "Holy F#%^ my balls are the size of ball bearings it's that cold!!"

I was super keen and was trying to learn while heading into the winter months.

Here is my advice from reading a lot of posts in seabreeze and good advice from other people here.

If you are really keen then make sure you have a full length wetsuit + boots + gloves. Fashion takes a step down under freezing your balls off in my opinion.

By all means if you think you can tough it out in water that is 2 degrees in your board shorts then i praise you all mighty iceman (woman) for you are more worthy than I!

On a more serious note here are the main challenges you will run into when trying to learn in the colder months.

- The wind is unpredictable most of the time - fronts and unpredictable gusts are the main dangers for kiters so do your research and learn what to look for with the weather.

- An example of this was when I was last at Parham about a month ago and the wind went from a comfortable 19 knots to 30+ in a space of ten minutes. Personally I thought it was lovely how the sun had come out and it was nice and warm now.. what I didn't realise was that the incoming wind had quickly moved the clouds away and I was about to cop it - good fun on a 12m

- Try to kite with like-minded snow people who can watch your back. I say snow people because they are the only ones dead keen enough when the water is that cold. In winter the kite population on the water is less so therefore if the shiite hits the fan there is less people to help you out who know what they are doing and less people to call an ambulance if it really hits the fan.

- Finally - cold water saps your energy. In case you haven't noticed - when you are first starting to learn kiteboarding you get dragged around and dumped in the water a lot. This is hard work combined with the fact that if you struggle to go upwind you will be walking back up the beach - wet - tired and walking directly into a cold breeze of 15+ knots.

- Read this article - it has some good points in it as well
www.seabreeze.com.au/Articles/Kitesurfing/Winter-Weather-Warning-for-new-Kitesurfers_2879690.aspx

- Overall I don't want to scare you away I just like to share my own personal experience as it can be very disheartening to fail at something for 6 months (trust me I know the feeling). So if you can reduce this disheartening period by giving yourself the best conditions to learn in then I think there will be less chance of us seeing your gear for sale in 3 months time :)

End of essay :)

Spawn



SpawnofFossl said...

Just noticed that the poster was a girl so please disregard all examples relating to "balls" rofl



Hey!

lol at your last comment

And yes I definitely know what you mean with the weather not being predictable
I went out today as seabreeze said 20-25 knots N, so I thought YES i am in (as I am SUPER keen as well Too bad that when I got there the wind was 10 knots or so.. not too much fun and was half offshore too

I started the same time as you, but this year.. I figured I can't wait all that time til its summer again, so bought myself a warm comfy wetsuit and boots. I am yet to find some gloves but at the moment it was ok without.

And no, definitely not planning on going out on my own... so if anyone is happy to have a noob tag along, let me know

About giving up, never. Today (and probably more days to come) was pretty **, but there is always next time. Oh well. at least I got to fly my kite for the first time
Also, I think I am already addicted. I've downloaded the seabreeze app on my phone and check the wind at least 3 times a day.. if only I had more time

Anyway,
cheers! hope to see u on the water sometime (if you have the balls )




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Forums > Kitesurfing   South Australia


"safe wind directions for kiting adelaide metro" started by lovelife