Easter Mash-up

Easter is one of my favourite times to spend out on the water. It is always mayhem. A large group of fellow windsurfers and kitesurfers from all over Queensland make the pilgrimage each year to camp at Elliott Heads. We all get on really well, so its not only great fun to meet up, but the spectacle on the water is always inspiring. Unfortunately the wind can be fickle over this period. This year a big south-easterly was predicted to come through, so a bunch of guys stayed on to catch it.

Slow-mo Kitesurfing

This was shot with my Sony DSC-HX100V super zoom camera, which has a 30x optical zoom, optical image stabalisation and shoots in full HD 1080p at 50fps. Once again it was blowing a gale (20+ knots) so it was really difficult to keep the camera steady, even mounted on a carbon fibre Benro monopod. This was my first time using this camera, and I only found out later that a dodgy circular polarizer filter (CPL) I used caused focus problems. I am still getting used to which settings work best.

Slow-mo Wavesailing

This was shot with my Sony DSC-HX100V super zoom camera. It has a 30x optical zoom, optical image stabalisation and shoots in full HD 1080p at 50fps. Once again it was blowing a gale (20+ knots) so it was really difficult to keep the camera steady, even mounted on a carbon fibre Benro monopod. Still, this was only the second time I have used this camera, so I am still getting used to which settings are best. Next time, I may try mounting it on my heavier Manfrotto tripod.

Slow-mo Windsurfing

This was shot with my new Sony DSC-HX9V compact camera. This is an amaizing bit of gear for its size, weight and convenience. It has a 16x optical zoom, optical image stabalisation and shoots in full HD 1080 x 50p resolution. It was blowing a gale on the day (20+ knots) so it was a bit difficult to keep the camera steady, and I think the wind was actually buffeting the zoom lense. Still, not bad for my first go.

Last of the Light

The wind prediction was spot-on, I got there at 3 pm, and as predicted, 10 minutes later it was honking. Gav and Nev arrived later in the day, but sometimes it better to be late, and stay late, than miss out altogether.

Unseasonal Sessions

Compared to last winter, this one has been unseasonal. All those predictions I made about rare sessions, few and far between have been unfounded. We seem to be averaging about the same amount of time on water as summer, with lovely blue sky days, and perfect conditions.

Easter Monday

It was pretty typical for the Easter break, predictions of strong winds that were slow to materialise. Easter Monday was no different, everyone arrived early expecting a gale, instead we shared a liquid breakfast and didn't venture out until well after lunch.

5 Days of Wind

Sorry if you had to work and missed it, but we had five epic days of south easterly winds in the 20-25 knot range, combined with reasonable tides for some flat water blasting.

Nev Wavesailing

I never get a chance to vimeo the windsurfers because they are either out the front or off Coonarr wavesailing. Today I got a few shots of Nev wavesailing - but he's not happy with the session, the wind was too light so nothing spectacular.

Overpowered

Elliott Heads was cranking 25-30 knots all day long, as squall after squall blew through. It was high tide. There were white caps out at sea, and small ones were forming inside the river estuary. The wind was ballistic.

Rob & Terry Kitesurfing

When fellow kite surfers and windsurfers join in the action at Elliot Heads, the locals are pretty inclusive. I guess it all comes down to the non-local kitesufers' attitude. Some are friendly, like Rob, Terry and Tina were this week. After a few sessions, everyone was getting on like old mates. Everyone was keen see these guys in action and learn a few new techniques, so I grabbed my camera and Vimeo'd Friday's session.

Smooth East South Easterly

Everyone headed out the front for a blast in the slushy low tide swell so I waded out onto the sandbar and got some reasonable shots. Its hard to know who to aim the camera at - you follow someone who is doing nothing only to miss someone else getting extreme air. Later they all came back in for some smooth flat water runs.

Ray & Caleb Kitesurfing

Ray was barely out on his 9m kite when a failed jump left him gasping. Turns out he agrivated an injury from the previous day - possibly a broken rib. After Ray's misadventure, Caleb took his 9m kite out for a spin. Sadly I didn't notice that the camera lense got covered in salt spray, so the images are a bit soft.

Matt & Jason Kitesurfing

Monday came and it was still blowing 18-20kts. So I went down to see if anyone had ventured out. Matt and Jason had the river mouth all to themselves.

Offshore Kitesurfing

Andrew, Kaleb and Ray decided to kitesurf off the beach, which it pretty dicey with a gusty offshore wind. The main problem is getting dragged out to sea.

Andrew & Caleb Kitesurfing

This was the best winter session so far - but I was getting over the flu so I didn't go out. Instead I took along my new Lumux DMC-FT2, and vimeod my kitesurfing mates Andrew and Caleb.

Ray's jump & drag

What kite surfers do in light winds - a jump launch and down wind drag, followed by a slow walk back up the beach.