BizGuru
04-02-2007, 09:28 AM
Looks like the winds down here were a bit better than St Augustine this weekend. I went up there and got a new board from the guys at Extreme Kites. They guys in St Augustine are lucky to have that store up there; they have such a huge variety of gear and a great knowledgably staff; Who kept a smile though the hour and a half of me looking at boards and debating. After the debate I got the Crazy-Fly Pro 145 x 48. It is a big light wind board that will hopefully get me riding upwind in the later stuff we will see over the next few months. It is a bit shorter that the XXXL and Glide but has a bit more rocker which will hopefully help the wave performance.
So I get the new board and the wind was blowing 12-14 mph ESE, I was so tempted to give it a shot but with the waves coming in it look very difficult. After chilling on the beach a bit and watch 3 people try to get out there and give up after 10 minutes I designed to try an alternate kiting fix. So I never inflated the kites and I broke out the 3.6 beamer and the land board and enjoyed the compact sand they have up there. That turned out to be an absolute blast, I was able to cruise up and down the beach all day, and I had no problem running upwind, blasting though water up to a foot deep. I would power the kite, kiteloop the turn and slam into the water so hard the board would float on a plane a little and I could spin it 180 degree and power out of the turn. I was even able to lean back on the harness and run some tacks without holding the bar. I rode for about 4 hours, some with a harness some without. Here is a nice picture my buddy Matt Armstrong put together. Although I didn't get to get on the water and try out the new board, the hard sand up that makes way for a nice alternative. I really wish we had a beach we could land board down here. It really is a great way to take advantage of those marginal days.
Hopefully we will get some nice afternoon / evening winds so I can try out the new board this week.
So I get the new board and the wind was blowing 12-14 mph ESE, I was so tempted to give it a shot but with the waves coming in it look very difficult. After chilling on the beach a bit and watch 3 people try to get out there and give up after 10 minutes I designed to try an alternate kiting fix. So I never inflated the kites and I broke out the 3.6 beamer and the land board and enjoyed the compact sand they have up there. That turned out to be an absolute blast, I was able to cruise up and down the beach all day, and I had no problem running upwind, blasting though water up to a foot deep. I would power the kite, kiteloop the turn and slam into the water so hard the board would float on a plane a little and I could spin it 180 degree and power out of the turn. I was even able to lean back on the harness and run some tacks without holding the bar. I rode for about 4 hours, some with a harness some without. Here is a nice picture my buddy Matt Armstrong put together. Although I didn't get to get on the water and try out the new board, the hard sand up that makes way for a nice alternative. I really wish we had a beach we could land board down here. It really is a great way to take advantage of those marginal days.
Hopefully we will get some nice afternoon / evening winds so I can try out the new board this week.