RushMarkRush
11-10-2004, 06:58 PM
Blew NE the past few days 15-20 with higher gusts....finally getting some wind here....this weekend looks like another front that will hold wind through the middle of next week.
Self launching in these gusty conditions has made more than a few of us realize this week, that you have to double check everything and if in doubt, don't launch! Plan for the worst scenario or an outline of your possible future if things go wrong. We watched a kite go across the bay today...with no rider attached. I found out later this guy had self launched and one of his lines caught on a stick just under the sand, left over from Hurricane Ivan, which caused his kite to go into an immediate loop pulling the rider towards a row of pilings along the beach. As he ditched his bar to depower, his safety line broke and the kite took off across the bay and ended up in the State Park Campground on the rocks. It was gusting 18-25 at the time, side off.
Self launching in these gusty conditions has made more than a few of us realize this week, that you have to double check everything and if in doubt, don't launch! Plan for the worst scenario or an outline of your possible future if things go wrong. We watched a kite go across the bay today...with no rider attached. I found out later this guy had self launched and one of his lines caught on a stick just under the sand, left over from Hurricane Ivan, which caused his kite to go into an immediate loop pulling the rider towards a row of pilings along the beach. As he ditched his bar to depower, his safety line broke and the kite took off across the bay and ended up in the State Park Campground on the rocks. It was gusting 18-25 at the time, side off.