It has been a real slow start to 2012 in terms of kiting. Yesterday I got my monies worth though. Aberavon was sunny, windy and full of others looking to have a great time on the water. A whole gang turned up which was great to see – a lot of people I have not seen for months. Despite a few set backs I eventually hit the road for half ten. I love cruising to the beach in the van with the music up loud.
Got there as the tide was coming in, and with it blowing bang onshore, I figured the current would make it tough to stay in the water so I went for a quick landboard. As the tide turned, we got suited up. This was my first chance to get in my new neck entry wetsuit (Xcel Infiniti X-zip2 wind series). I need to work on my technique getting in and out of it. It is also not as loose as my old suit. Kinda like when you get new shoes, never as good as old ones, but you know they will be good soon. The suit was warm though, and flexibility was great.
I really want to nail the strapless riding this year. So I went out on the Newave Play 5’8 first. It was tough in the onshore winds. The Flysurfer Unity 12m DLX is a great kite for it though. Can’t fault the kite. The mushy waves caused me to wipe out a lot though. It is going to take some dedication. After going through what felt like a few washing machine cycles, I had a quick break then went out with the twin tip.
The lack of riding this winter has been bad – and it showed in terms of my fitness. Really got tired. Spending a lot of time in the water recovering your board takes it out of you faster than you might imagine.
After another tea break and some lasagne, we went out for a sunset landboard session. It is nice to landboard again – as I have been neglecting it and prefering kitesurfing, but it is very different and there is space for both. Basic landboarding is a lot more mellow than kitesurfing, and on a nice big expanse of hardpack sand it is great. The sunsets are unbeatable in Wales too. Hopefully it was a sign of things to come!
