10 to 15 dudes kited at times, over the afternoon from 1pm to 4.30pm, Ian Oz got it early from 1pm onwards, in the best, cleaner conditions, with a seriously jacking swell. Around 2.30pm a kiter guy was saved by jet ski as he was about to get killed on heavy rocks in a 3m shore break. At 3.00pm the sets were starting to get ugly with no kiters or wind surfers out, I arrived and thought someone must havejust died as the break was empty for 15 minutes, the mood on the point was nervous. Large sets of of 6 to 8 waves this size every 10 minutes with medium sized mothers about 3/4 size every 16 seconds. A few kiters went out, and then the hardcore windsurfers hit it. The conditions were super dangerous on a kite with sketchy side offshore winds from 15 to 25knots, most on 7m kites, out the back there were big holes in the wind, with major glassy patches all over the place, and you would suddenly find your kite had no power. 5 windsurfers dudes RULED THE DAY and carved it up, many others got rescued or smashed gear. Got more off shore later in the arvo, with the biggest meanest sets rolling through in sets of 8 or 10, it became total sucide on a kite, as 1 mistake and you were swimming for your life. I saw the Hero of the day, the jet ski driver - save at least 5 or 6 windsurfers from very bad situations.
Yes JK it was a big day up here as well for NYE not as big as that tho unless you were out at hells gate. The solo arvo session of 2 hrs up north of Gero with skatepark conditions in between some heavy sets with glassy faces. 5 hrs on the water for the day, Its still etched in my mind
that photo was SOLID!
video would be good if it went for 2 min instead of 11min and cut out the 9 mins of crap in it!
I must agree the windsurfers were killing it BIG time!
Full respect to you Johnny, I was one of the pussys watching in the arvo, little too offshore for me................ok too big .
It was a vid made by windsurfers, so you only see a kiter in the background. I thought Karin Jaggi rode well - nice to see a girl out there.
thats huge margs in the pic - you wouldnt want to mess up the bottom turn or top turn on one of those!!!!
got to sth point and huzzas on new years day and it was sweet as, dropped off a touch though
on the 2 jan it was less than 2m swell after it picked up in one afternoon to over 4m swell on new years eve.
Late arvo 2 surfers were paddling in to waves, but very windy, so almost impossible to get into the shifting take off zone over 50 metres. They got couple of BIG waves.
Hmm, anyone who ever saw Dave Sheen get air off the pitching lip of mast and a half high Margs and then immediately crank into his next bottom turn as he landed would wonder what's happened to the standard of big left wavesailing today.
I had the pleasure of watching Sheeny tear big Margs completely apart a few times back in the 90s, hitting the lip like it was a 2 foot shore break.
Unfortunately it was pre digital so I can't find any evidence but I know Dan Engdahl got some shots at the 1995 wave comp there that make the above pale into blandness.
... windsurfing or not, that vid (and pic) was awsome, full respect for the crew who hit some of that massive Margret!!!!!
Agreed with Ryland, that pic is off the hook, amazing photo. The video has 2 minitues of incredible waves and riding lost in meaningless boring build up.
But still fully sick waves and even good to see the poleys killing it.
Why were the windsurfers not effected by the so called " super dangerous conditions on a kite ". Surely the holes in the wind and glassy patches effected them as well
any more pics ?
If poleys are out kiters should be out is all I am saying but when we get cyclone swells here on the east coast the crowd drops right off too, some footage of the guys who did kite it would be sick. 15 knots lulls with holes on a 7 in those conditions sounds sketchy as !! wouldnt want to run out of power trying to out run one with 8 more behind it
Anymore epic pics ?
Hey, just posted an amazing photo, with a bit of a personal story and my personal opinion about an afternoon kite that happened at a similar moment. For the love of kiting. Nothing more or less. Hey it's been flat for a week and I'm off to to buy some paving paint at Bunnings......
Great pic, good Vid. I'd bet my left nut marg's local Simon Peters would have been out pole dancing everyone. He's the most stylish Poley and absolutely charges in big waves, closely followed by dread locked Corey, Scotty Mac and Glenn Alexander. I had the privilege to kite along side all of them in a session of a life time at Gnaraloo about 2 years ago in 5-6m swell, scary as hell.
I think I'd rather kite that size than surf that size, what your comfortable with I guess.
the other thing is that the down south wind can be very sketchy
i have stood there with a wind meter measuring literally 0kn then going to 20kn
other times have had kite drop out of the sky when lulls hit
or kiting left handers on a 7m only to surf in offshore in the evening!!
will swing ssw - sse and when that occurs the kiters will head for the rivermouth to get in asap
my theory is mixing of ssw west coast seabreeze and sse south coast wind
which ever is dominant at the time and at times very little
John Keys is the best combined big wave kiter and paver over here in the west.
If he can't pave it, it can't be paved......full stop!