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sabato, gennaio 08, 2011

Great start


What a start! I was just back from Italy where I spent some days with my family and friends, and weather conditions gave me a wonderful surprise: the wind has been blowing strong during the last days allowing us to sail in Kanala and Laida beach.
Not everything went well, anyway: usually southern winds are really gusty there, so you can find yourself sailing with winds ranging from 15 to 30 or more knots. It could be a nightmare. Thanks to god, temperatures at least were higher than the average for the winter season, so I didn't need to wear neoprene gloves and shoes.

On the 5th we've been in Laida sailing with the 10sqm North Rebel kite. Flat water as usual, few kites in the lagoon (actually only two!) and all the space to jump and have fun. The session lasted only one hour and a half, then the wind dropped. Time to get back home.
On the 7th we decided for Kanala, two km upwind Laida (see map here). To get to the spot, you need to park your car on the side of the main road and follow the path down to the beach. There are several steps to get there: not a problem before you start your kite session, but a big issue when you're coming back tired and with all you gear. Get prepared! Since we didn't had any idea of the wind conditions, we brought two sails with us (for me there was a 13sqm Crossbow and a 10sqm rebel). Once arrived the wind was so gusty it was almost impossible to sail. I mounted the crossbow and waited patiently.... till some fresh wind appeared. Good. It was not the best session overall, of course, but ok, who complains? At least I can't say I did several steps for nothing...
On the 8th a common friend told us that a photo shooting session with the GIN kiteboarding team was scheduled in Laida. When we arrived, the wind was already blowing strong, but the tide was so low there were few space left to sail... if the spot get crowded as usual it could be dangerous to sail there.  So we decided for Kanala once again. This time conditions were almost OK. I went into the water for the first session, which lasted one hour and a half. Then the GIN team appeared on the spot, and I took the opportunity to shoot some pictures of those crazy guys. Once the cameras stopped we get back to the water: at half past three, almost low tide and a terrible gusty wind, I keep on sailing till it was possible. The last gust (>30kn) scared me a little, I think I made the highest jump ever... but it was too dangerous, time to pack everything and put an end to the session. What a wonderful start!

1 commento:

IL MAO ha detto...

Buon per te che l'anno sia iniziato bene per il kite ... visto che non si può dire la stessa cosa per i tuoi altri interessi sportivi ;-)
BUON ANNO NUOVO !