2014 Griffin TRX Pro and Australian Kite Safari

Rider: Weight = 95 kgs
Level = intermediate
Style: Freeriding
Weather: 25-35 knots
Build Quality: 10/10
Satisfaction: 10/10
Disclosure:

Two parts to this report: The place and the gear.

The Place

I took the opportunity to go to Australian Kite Safari up near Cape Flattery for the four day session.

It blew 25 to 35 knots, 24 hours a day ........ Absolutely awesome and the water was warm.

I only flew a 10.5 or 7 metre kite during the trip. I spent quite a bit of time overpowered on the 10.5. You can kite from 6am till 5:30pm and you end up having two types of session: full tide and choppy (little ramps everywhere) or low tide and butter smooth immediately outside the camp (reef protects the sand bar).

If you want a break from water kiting, low tide affords the opportunity to drag yourself around the sand bar
on a trike. Lots and lots of fun and you learn a heap about "drifting" kites.

The hosts (Ant and Paully) are really good value and fun. Ant cooks the best "Man Food" you are every likely to have after your pre breakfast kite, brunch kite, post lunch kite, pre dinner kite...... Paully comfortably demonstrates the dangers of setting up your kite to fast.

They demonstrated the best use of a water tank ever: Fully water proof and quiet accommodat



ion (you hardly hear the wind howling past). It's a four star camp site with a real toilet and a real warm water shower. All you need to do is pump your kite, kite and rest..... everything else is done.

If you can, get driven to the site the night before. It maximises your time on the water.......

The Gear

I went up with some Griffin TRX Pro kites: 7, 10.5 and 12 ..... They pack small, so it easy to take quite a few. I also went with the faithful North Nugget and Maui Board Riding Paipo.

My goals were to ollie, ollie with a handgrab and do downloops (thanks glasstrax) .

I mainly flew the 10.5 Griffin and rode the Paipo and they were a heap of fun. The Griffin TRX's always seem to seek the edge of wind window and they do it fast...then they take you along for the ride. The thing I had to learn was to not choke the kite, but ease the bar out so the kite could jump forward to the edge of the wind window. Very much a sailing sensation. I quite like it as you really are flying the kite.

The Griffins turn very quickly and fly quickly. I had no troubles sining the kite and generating apparent wind!

I loant the 7m to one of the other volunteers (he flies a 9m North Rebel normally) and he got distracted for two seconds and flew kite straight into the ground. He was surprised at how quick the kite was.

I had no troubles lugging myself and the Nugget five metres+ into the air with the 10.5. But I was surprised
by the amount of drift considering my weight . Really really nice.

The ollies are progressing well and I was getting a good metre in the air on the paipo and the downloops were an absolute ball .... very very quick with lots and lots of speed/power generated.

No handgrabs were achieved sadly. (I feel I might need a trampoline and skateboard deck to practice with).

The paipo was really great. Basically it is a directional skim board with some small fins, so it can be skatey in hard turns. It has a really nice rocker and flex, so it was surprisingly nice to my knees in all the high tide chop. Doesn't have quite the upwind ability of the Nugget, but it is still really good.

Take the fins off and it is still runs pretty well and you can use it in one inch of water.The only downside for me was I didn't clean up my bars each night and unfortunately I unbraided most of a centre line because I did not clean away the sand in the bar ... a fiscal slap will fix that behaviour.