Forums > Kitesurfing Tasmania

how bigs ya kite? how small r ya balls?

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Created by BarnacleBill > 9 months ago, 1 Mar 2017
BarnacleBill
VIC, 8 posts
1 Mar 2017 10:35PM
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Hi Guys,

I'm spending the first two weeks of May in TAS. First week on the South coast, second week on the North West coast.
The BOM says you had a lot of cold fronts come through April, May last year and they flogged the out of you.
Just wondering if this is normal for that time of year?
I was hoping you guys could recommend a couple of kite sizes (wave kiting) for that time of year,
I reckon I have room for two.
Also how much rubber are you blokes wearing in those kind of conditions, that time of year?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

brady
TAS, 450 posts
2 Mar 2017 3:00PM
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Hi mate

I normally wear a 4/3 in May. Warm enough as long as I'm not near a river mouth.

Weather in the northwest is a complete lottery.

The southwesterly post-frontal conditions often look tempting for the Marrawah region - but the wind is really up-and-down with the squalls. I sometimes will kite those conditions, but you would need to have the patience to come in before the squall hits and sit it out - I have been known to lie under my kite in the hail for a while before heading out again. Be patient and don't rush it. At that time of year there will be no-one on the beach to help if you get into trouble, and it can be a bit gnarly. You need to use your own judgement about safety. It would be a very rare front I would think about kiting.

Can get some nice nor-easters which can generate a great swell for the Stanley region (Peggs beach)

Norwesters are most reliable. The further towards devonport you go, the better.

Most of my wave kiting is on an 8m reo

Can't comment on down South

BarnacleBill
VIC, 8 posts
4 Mar 2017 4:46PM
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Hi Brady,

A 4/3 is what I was thinking, good to have some confirmation.
I'll probably be wearing booties and a hood also as I'm coming from QLD.

There's a couple of spots in the Marrawah region that I was keen to check.
Though I'll be happy to wait for the right conditions, I have no intentions of tackling anything thats out of control in unfamiliar territory. Those sessions you describe are similar to what we get up here, ours are far less extreme and the opposite,
at times we find ourselves sitting out the lulls on the beach and waiting for the squalls to hit so we've got something to ride.

From what I could gather online it seems conditions as you say are a lot more stable on the East Coast and up North.
I'll be heading through Stanley on the way out so I'll keep an eye out for kites on my way through,
it wasn't on my list of places to go, but if it looks the goods I'll stop in.

Thanks for the information mate, much appreciated. I'm looking forward to riding somewhere new.



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Forums > Kitesurfing Tasmania


"how bigs ya kite? how small r ya balls?" started by BarnacleBill