Yesterday was about 28-35knts at long beach between 11am and 1 pm
i had fear in me for the first time as i set up my 12meter
upon launching my kite ,i had to fully depower the kite and keep it as high as possible,barley staying on the ground i grabbed my board and went for the water,the waves were 3m at least in the sets,i was alone,it was cold, and it was bucketing down at an amazingly horizontal way!
i raced of into the white water with unbelievable speed!!
i knew that once i reached the end of my tack i would have to turn around an head beyond the waves.
i paced myself and made it over the first few waves,but then something horrible happened, my kit lost air and came squirming down out the sky,OH FU#K i said, i was half way between 6 foot waves and the beach,the first wave was really angry with me , it sucked me right up the face and threw me over with the lip,that was so unpleasant!!
well after facing a few waves i was finally beaten back to shore,and managed to gather all my bits and pieces.
the reason for my kite loosing air is rather obvious...I WAS OVERPOWERED!!!! the kite was under so much strain that the valve popped open. i was lucky that happened!! it could have been much worse.
so the best advice i could give to anyone is don't underestimate the power of a north westerly wind