More flying adventures

Meanwhile the summer in Qatar has passed. This is always such a happy time. Extreme heat and humidity are a thing of the past and gorgeous summery days with refreshing breezes and water that actually cools you down are here to be enjoyed every day!

I have been able to go out a few times during the summer too. The heat and humidity are almost suffocating during July until September. If a session goes well, you can deal with this. But if you find yourself with just not enough wind or any kind of setback preventing from kiting across the water, energy levels will very quickly drop!

The spot at Sealine has worked best, I have found quite a few days with winds of 8-9 knots onshore, excellent to keep learning on the foil. My level now is such that I feel quite confident exploring the whole speed range of the foilboard, and I can steer the board on a more upwind or downwind angle relatively easily. Stability in terms of keeping the same height above the water is starting to feel a little natural, most of the time it happens automatically now. This is where the real feeling of freedom comes in. During my last session I have been attempting to send the board through a gybe, but with flying the foil kite from one side to the other overhead. This is clearly not an option, it has to be downlooped to reverse direction. The consequence is that the kite is going to be quite powered up so a steering mistake would hurt somewhat. Then the foot change on the directional board needs to be considered. This will be plenty of ‘material’ for learning in my coming sessions.

Not to forget a 2 week trip to Bali has also been on the menu. The toy of choice for this trip was my beloved Ozone Buzz Z3 Paraglider. While I had a lot of fun visiting all sorts of places with my (extended) family, I also managed to enjoy two days of superb Paragliding. The spot of choice was Timbis, where I flew before in 2014. Nothing much has changed, although the built-up areas are certainly expanding. The winds were ESE allowing for good lift along the eastern stretch of the southern coastline. I ventured as far West as I dared on one occasion but then dropped out at Melasti Beach. Other landings I was able to carry out right next to the family who were enjoying their beach time down below. An amazing experience! I checked out Candidasa launch another day but found conditions way too strong and opted for a walk with the family instead. But clearly a spot with a lot of potential!

More adventures are upcoming. I still have to tell you about my paramotoring in Thailand and as a consequence the paramotoring safari’s I am dreaming of doing.. in the next episode!

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