Best day yet

[mattv]

I had my best kite skim day yet. The winds were 25-30 knots and it was cold, about 8 C with the wind chill, but I could not help myself. I just had to get on the water. I was on my 8m with my skim for about 1 1/2 hours until my feet and hands hurt from the cold. I had plenty of power to get some really nice airs off of the small 1-2 foot waves coming in. My buddy says that I was getting about 4-5 feet but he did not see my best jump which I estimate was about 6-7 feet. I had a few jumps that were higher but once I get over 5 feet my landings go all to hell as my timing is not so good. At first my buddy thought I had put some straps on my board as I was jumping higher than he had ever seen me jump my skim before and I was wearing boots so it kind of looked like I had straps on. In all I probably landed 80% of my jumps today with most jumps in the 2-5 foot range

Until today my biggest problem has been a lack of speed going into the jump. I was so fixated on just keeping the board under my feet and keeping my kite in the correct position that I was slowing down way to much before hitting the face of the wave and limiting the height of my jumps. Today I just gradually started taking jumps at higher and higher speeds and of course the jump heights increased.

It is really amazing to me how much effort goes into getting a good strapless jump. Your timing, speed, kite control, etc. all have to be spot on in order to keep the board under you feet during the jump and ride off after the landing like you know what you are doing. Since the board is not attached to your feet there is really not much room for error as you can not swing you body around to much and readjust the board for a landing if you get out of balance in the air like you can on a TT or a board with straps. The sense of accomplishment after a good strapless jump is so much higher than I ever experienced on a TT

I just can wait for the next 20-30 knot day so I can keep pushing the jumps higher.

mattv

[Lonny]

Hey Matt,

That is great! As you said, just landing a strapless jump can be quite addictive. The effort it takes to pull it off well does take a good amount of skill and maybe a little luck! It certainly keeps me coming back for more and more! I look forward to hearing about your additional progress.

[Kaito]

RIGHT ON!
Sounds like charging the cold was well worth it for ya Matt!
I was cold when I was dry, so just imagining how much colder it would be if I were wet, kept me off the water...

I'm slowly closing the gap between splash-down/landings too, but still have to get out & work on my timing/form.

[biggins]

Man you guys are getting GOOD! I landed one or two like that in the gorge last summer...just magic when you get it right. Although I nearly "credit carded" myself on one, that made me quit for the day!!!

My kites are on the way, as soon as they get here, I'm on my way down for ten days to try and get some good sessions in with you guys.

I'm going to TRY a back roll to revert kite loop! lol.

j