Backloops!

The wind wasn't so great for windsurfing at Coronation yesterday, so I pumped up my 14 metre kite and went kitesurfing. The wind was a little gusty but manageable, not being so strong. I focused on trying to develop my control and smoothness with the kite. It all went pretty well, but as I thought about coming in and ending the session it occurred to me that I hadn't really tried anything new, or done anything hardcore. So I made the decision to try backloops. For those who don't know a backloop in kitesurfing is when you do a small (or large, but in this case small) jump and you look back over your front shoulder to rotate around your harness before landing, having spun 360 degrees under the kite. It sounds hardcore, but I have been told that it is fairly easy and is the first freestyle trick one should learn. I selected a small, steep ramp, put my kite high to support me and as I launched off the wave looked over my shoulder. I felt myself start to spin on my kite lines and it was great, but as I landed my board came off my feet. It was all rather painless so I decided to try it again. This time pretty much the same thing happened but I lost control of the kite and dived it into the power zone, causing it to yank me through the water. I managed to regain control of it before it crashed which was good. The third attempt was my best, I made the full rotation and landed on my bottom with the board in front of me, still on my feet, and the kite above my head under control. It was a long way off being a proper landed-and-sailed-out-of back loop but it felt great and boosted my confidence. I tried another three or four times, none of which were quite as sucessful as my third attempt but none of which were particularly painful or caused me to crash the kite. I cruised back to the beach super stoked and looking forward to trying more during my next session.

Nick and I had a fairly chilled night, we're trying to live on a much tighter budget at the moment. Today (Saturday) theres not much wind, so no windsurfing or kitesurfing. The wind is due to come back within a few days though. We went to try and find some surfable waves, but the swell wasn't too good. We drove along a beach and managed to get bogged, so we let some air out of the tyres. I didn't have my pressure gage though and I went a bit nuts on the tyres on my side, so when we got back to the road (the White Dragon powered out of the sand easily with less air in the tyres) we decided not to drive as far as the garage for fear of the tyres being damaged, or coming off the rims. Luckily a kindly Aussie guy came past and lent us his compressor. We have now bought a compressor of our own, for $18!! Thisafternoon I'm enjoying not doing a great deal, its been an action packed week, or month, so chilling out is nice. Tonight we're going out for Nick's birthday, which is tomorrow, but we're hoping to see it in at midnight. I'll let you know how the celebrations go in my next post!