Alberto

[RushMarkRush]

This morning the wind was 10-12 ESE...by 2:30 it was 16-20 with feeder band gusts to 30.....surf picked up to 6 feet by dark. Lots of riders out on 16 meter bow kites early in the day but 12's and 9's later in the day.
Tomorrow looks like an epic day..........the first tropical storm....with more to follow I am sure.
Reminder to watch the sky when these systems are approaching.....dark feeder bands have big hay bales of wind in and behind them.....it is best to come in and land your kite before they hit...as you never know just how much wind is in them. Today it gusted from 16-18 to over 30 in a blink of an eye.

[ricki]

Thanks for passing on word about conditions Rush. We never really do know what sort of winds a squall will toss out. Spikes to 40 and even 70 knots + are not that uncommon in summer squalls and those associated with tropical systems.

Even with a flat kite, say a 16 m or even a 12 m, ready to experience a 60 kt. burst? It can and will happen with enough storm time on the water.

It is good to checkout color radar closely throughout the day, say someone in a car with a net phone or aircard. If something nasty seems to be inbound, call the guys in with prearranged signals (horn, flag, etc.). Sometimes you can see them visually and sometimes not so well.

Be careful, have fun.

[ricki]

This is way to the south in Tampa, but the system will be easing north over the next couple of days. Looks like things are getting started. Checkout the wind direction at the top of the page. All those rapid direction changes are a squall giveaway along with the minor spike of course.

http://www.ikitesurf.com/windAndWhere.iws?regionID=149&siteID=2001
Port Manatee