Scoring good kite conditions takes serious effort when you're in between windy seasons. Big air and wave riding machine Joshua Emanuel always has his eye on the forecast. Read on as he takes us along on his search for strong wind in South Africa's low season in this Western Cape Strike Mission!

In low-season kite missions, last minute is the name of the game. Unlike the predictably powerful summer winds on the west coast of South Africa, the winter wind is an unfriendly creature. Many of the local crew head east to my home spot of Durban, where the warm, subtropical climate offers a relieving reprieve from the cold Cape Town winters. But in May? Wind becomes hard to come by, and we're all on the hunt.

Having just returned from Mauritius, where conditions weren't as good as expected, I arrived in Durban in one of our worst months for wind. After not getting what I was looking for in Mauritius, I was near desperate for some proper sessions, but the forecast at home looked bleak. Doing a quick check on the wind forecasts around South Africa, I found myself zooming out further and further on the map. Finding ideal, or even good, conditions at this time of the year can be difficult, to say the least! 

Cape Town popped up and, to my surprise, showed a solid southeasterly wind forecast for the weekend ahead. I double-checked on the Thursday before booking flights to decide whether it was worth flying over for just two days of kiting! Looking at the model, Friday was to be gustier with a solid wave forecast, and Saturday looked like the big wind day, with winds expected to reach 40 knots. It still looked promising, so I packed my bags and landed in Cape Town on Thursday evening.

Upon arriving in the Mother City, I was pretty unprepared for the cooler temperature, a fresh 13°C. Yes, I know that's not cold, but having come from Mauritius, where I had worn only board shorts for the past few weeks, it was chilly! Temperatures in Durban are not often below 20°C, even in the coldest times of the year.

Early Friday morning, I was woken by the sound of rain and wind. The forecast prepared me for this but also indicated that it would clear by midday. From previous experiences in Cape Town's autumn season, I know that wind after rain in these cold conditions is generally gusty and tends to be more offshore. Today was the day to go and do some wave riding. 

I took a drive down to the beach at Haakgat to see that the swell had actually pitched up for a change, with solid 6-foot sets and about 30 knots of wind. I had arrived a little under-prepared; choosing what to pack can sometimes be testing when you're trying to travel as light as possible. Having only my strapless freestyle board, the Core 720 5'1 with a cut-off nose, made these larger waves just a little bit more challenging!

It was cold before I even got in the water, but the swell at the back got me so psyched up and ready for an epic session with no one else on the water. I had an awesome session out on a 7m kite, a tad overpowered, but the glassy waves with the offshore wind were totally worth it. I then enjoyed a second session with the boys, but at this point, the wind had gone more offshore and was just too gusty to be even a little bit enjoyable. Better to save the energy for Saturday's big wind!

Saturday morning, with high expectations of pumping wind, I started the day by checking all the spots around Cape Town to see what the wind was doing. Options were all pointing to one place, and that was Misty Cliffs. From what I could see in the forecast, there was a small window that would provide some solid conditions.

We headed off at lunchtime, aiming to reach the spot by 1 pm. On our arrival, the waves were a fun size to use as kickers, and the wind was close to 30 knots. I headed out on my new Core XR8 9m, but it wasn't long before the wind blew me off the water, and I decided to come back in and switch to the 8m. I love the 8m kite, as I get good height and a great kite angle during loops.

After a solid session on the 8m, it was time to test the XR8 out on short lines. Oliver Fraser was behind the camera, and I would be on the water, looking for that perfect shot. As you may have seen, I always use the GTS6 for short lines. This time, I decided to mix it up and see what the just-released XR8 could do. The performance was impressive, for sure, and I can see some serious potential with this kite. But time wasn't on my side, and it wasn't long into the session before the wind started to turn a bit more east, and I knew the window of safe conditions for going big was ending fast. I wanted so badly to get a solid one in, but at the same time, knowing the wind was getting worse made things a bit more complicated.

On my last loop, on the landing loop, there was a sudden and significant shift in the wind, throwing me completely off on the landing. I took a nice little knock to the ribs, fortunately ending up with only a bit of bruising and no injury! That was the clear message that it was time to get off the water. Autumn in South Africa is fickle at best, and those squirrely conditions at Misty Cliffs can quickly turn sour. As the wind turned east, I returned to the beach and packed it in.

Overall, it was worth the mission for two solid days of riding. Scoring any session at this time of year is a win, and getting to ride in both proper waves and send some solid low loops was even better. We went home with some epic shots and the satisfaction of riding in strong winds again. As we head further into winter, I'll be scouring the forecast for the next strike mission... Stay tuned!

 

By Joshua.Emmanuel

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