Strapless in 40+

[mattv]

The winds were great today so I escaped from work a little early and headed to the beach for a quick session before the sun went down. Went out with the 8m and surf board as there were some nice juicy waves. After about 30 minutes on the water the wind got wicked. See the graph below. I was on the water then the third spike hit at around 4 pm. The graph only shows about 35 knots but the wind monitor is on the other side of the island from our kite spot and usually reads 2-5 knots lower than the conditions on the water.

While it shows as a spike it was more like a gradual increasing of the winds over a 10-15 minute period. At one point I got stuffed doing an ollie off of a 2-3 foot wave and when I body dragged up to my board and grabbed it I kept gaining speed. So now I was body dragging in the water with one hand on the surf board and going almost as fast as I was while I was on the board, or at least it felt like I was, and no way to slow down. When the gust subsided enough for me to get back on my board I went in before it got any worse, and it did about 5 minutes after I put the kite down.

It was fun while it lasted.

I guess we had some even stronger winds last night because I found a trampoline in my front yard when I went to work this morning that came from 5 houses down, hit my car, it is a kitesurfing battle wagon so minimal damage, and came to rest in my yard.

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mattv
http://www.kitesurfinfo.com

[Yann]

Way to charge it! 8m seems a little too big though. I usually ride a 5m when the wind is that strong and a little more I pump my 3m.

No wind in sight here for the following 7 days. It's been a while since I was out now With only 6h of daylight and tons of work my chances of getting out are limited to the weekends.

[mattv]

Way to charge it! 8m seems a little too big though. I usually ride a 5m when the wind is that strong and a little more I pump my 3m.

No wind in sight here for the following 7 days. It's been a while since I was out now With only 6h of daylight and tons of work my chances of getting out are limited to the weekends.

I weigh in at 80 kg but I am losing weight so I might have to get a 6m some time soon.

mattv
http://www.kitesurfinfo.com

[Lonny]

Matt,

Nice session! And pushing the boundaries!

One of the biggest drawbacks of modern kites is that sometimes we all forget how super powerful they really are. But we are quickly reminded if we unhook or cant edge. I would agree with Yann though that a 6 would be a great choice. Personally, if I can get on a smaller kite I always do, and that was of the things I loved out strapless riding right out of the gate. I can always ride a kite size less than a TT rider. I weigh 72 kg and can easily start using a 6 in around 28-30.