Hatteras HIGH JUMPS & Wind and a Caution

[ricki]

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/Images/Andrea_TMO_2007128.jpg
Subtropical Storm Andrea churns away throwing of some good wind and swells to OBX

Ty Luckett of http://kitehatteras.net/ just sent some photos along of the high wind and wave entertainment served up by Subtropical Storm Andrea off OBX last Sunday, May 6, 2007.

Winds were reported ranging from 40 to 53 mph and seas to 15 ft. as this early subtropical system formed in place off of Hatteras.

Ty was out on a 7 m Omega and boosted a really big one.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album270/omegajumpTys.jpg
That must have been one interesting session. Hopefully Ty can post some of his impressions out in this nuking session with a light and lively 7 m Omega.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album270/julian_s.jpg
Julian walks against the flow. I understand he received some aid in this extreme session, no details though. If you know what happened please pass them along. Glad he is ok.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album270/ocean8_s.jpg
No flat water in this session, waves all the way!

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album270/ocean7_s.sized.jpg

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album270/ocean12_s.jpg

I believe the photos were taken by Lane Du Pont, http://www.lanedupont.com/


Looks like a fun, intense session, rider input would be welcome.

[ricki]

P.S. - for those in impacted areas, note the fires and smoke trails in the northern part of the state shown in the satellite photo. This along with the counter-clockwise flow of wind from what is left of STS Andrea is what is delivering the heavy haze and smoke to eastern county areas in SE Florida and elsewhere.

[ricki]

Just got a voice mail from Ty with a bit more info. I'd like to talk with him directly to get some more of the details. Anyway, he said landing the jumps was particularly difficult. He would be coming down for a gentle touch down and the wind would rip into a strong gust boosting his landing speed much higher. To further complicate things some of those ragged waves would pop up providing a nice mobile barrier to slam into. Apparently the 60 ft. jump was witnessed and that is what the observer estimated possibly Ty as well. He said he boosted one a lot higher than that which wasn't caught by the camera. The witnesses' estimate was 20 ft. higher. Hi times in OBX! Hope to learn more and pass it along.

[ricki]

hurrican season is right around the corner!
-Danny

True. It is worth noting that quite a few people were severely hurt and some killed last year and in years past in strong gusty weather related to hurricanes and other sources of convection. I suspect the same may be true again this year, particularly with older C kite designs, flat kite issues (PM, preflighting, other performance irregularities), with people exceeding their skill set and for those that were simply unlucky.

A few things about this post. Ty Luckett was one of the earlier kitesurfers on the east coast of the USA. He started back in the late 1990's and has ridden in sometimes challenging Hatteras conditions for many years. He also was an early instructor of numerous people and has continued to innovate teaching concepts ever since. You can learn a lot from training others yourself. He was on a new Omega 7 m bow kite.

These were obviously extreme conditions. Even for someone of Ty's considerable abilities if there had been a serious problem, severe injury might have resulted. That is simply the way it is. Another rider apparently had a problem requiring assistance, details unknown at this point.

I wouldn't take high wind kiting lightly or be anxious to head out into hurricane related conditions anytime soon. Some guys will do it anyway but not all of them will come out unscathed or in one piece based upon past experience.

(reposted from kiteforum.com)

[ricki]

This just in from Bryan with Real Kiteboarding up in Hatteras.

Just wanted to let you know that Ty was boosting huge last weekend. We (REAL Kiteboarding) had a LF demo on Sunday. I was out riding earlier that day and got blown off my 7m. by the time the demo rolled around (10:00) Kite point was packed with cars watching Jason Slezak and Ty going trick for trick in the KP pool. Slezak was on a 6m Assault. They did a downwinder later that afternoon when those pictures were taken. the kites ranged from 7m to 3m waroos.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album270/DSC_0999.jpg
Jason Slezak riding in the sound on a 6m Assault

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album270/DSC_1121.jpg
REAL Head Coach Colin Colin Gowland on a 3m Waroo during an ocean downwinder

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album270/DSC_1268.jpg
Colin's 3m Best Waroo and the Jimmy Lewis Chamber landed safely on the beach in-front of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse after an epic downwinder

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album270/DSC_1306.jpg
Naish and REAL Rider Sam Bell Packing up his gear in a near Saharan Sand Storm

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album270/DSC_0938.jpg
Jason Slezak, Julien and Tommy Kogut watching Ty boosting at the Kite Point Pool