forecast is looking up
 

hopefully we will get plenty of riding time in the next week, possibly a DP or two :D

You betcha!

Thurs, Fri, Sat , Sun and maybe even Mon should all be good Danny!

im thinking of trying picnic island thurs around 4:30 then SW fri DP and hopefully EB sat DP, only time will tell

BTW anybody got an extral bungey leash they could sell for cheap?

Pardon the interruption...
I emailed Mr. Eagle but he hasn't replied so I'll ask here...

I'm traveling down to just north of Tampa to visit my 'rents. I'll be in the area Thurs - Sat and I'd like to get in at least one day of kiteboarding. Thursday is looking good IMHO. Where might I meet up with some locals willing to assist - not babysit - a fairly new kiteboarder during the day on Thursday?

Thanks in advance...
Pete

Danny, the slingy ones with the QR incorporated into it are only $30 at the shop...

Pete,

Thursday looks like a good candidate for either the beaches or Cypress (in Tampa) I won't get out of work til around 3 and prefer the beach.
I would ask to see whether guys are going to Cypress.

Friday looks like a possible East wind, as do Sat and Sun.
These are good days for east beach. There will be riders there.
East beach is in Fort DeSoto. I will probably be at the Skyway those days.
If you can hold your ground the Skyway is nice place to ride.
PM me.

Pete, it seems like theres a group going to cypress this afternoon
you can get directions at tampabaykiteboarding.com
to ride there you need to be able to hold your ground since its mostly onshore

How does Cypress handle SSW or SW winds?
Is it gusty or okay? I might go there after work, but might hit the beach.
Never ridden there on a SW... It is possible that it might really crank today, we have that band of showers to our north, again, like on Sat . :D
They are further away, but, heck, let's just hope anyway.

better than NW. A lot cleaner water since the waves aren't hitting the wall at the HF bridge and bouncing off.

Thanks.
The wind coming over the bridge doesn't really matter?
If not, both Donna and I will prolly be there :P
Prolly talk Dr. Bruce into it as well.

Curious - ikitesurf says 13-15 most of the day Thursday. Is that fairly accurate? I'm thinking my 14 Nemesis should be the kite to bring.

I can't hold my ground just yet. Actually, I just managed to get my first down-winder that lasted longer than "HOLY CRAP - I'm up!". So, shallow water would be my friend still.

edit: No need for a wetsuit right now, correct? Not even a shorty?

No need for wetsuits or shorties at this point, the air is warm and so is the water. Kite selection would also be based on your weight so we probably need more info to give you a good feel. If I were using a 14M kite today, I'd spend most of the day on the beach...(6'6" tall and 250 lbs)...

Trying the deeper water is inevitable, you're gonna have to do it sooner or later. I found the transition relatively easy, you just have to be a bit more cautious with the kite 'cause once it's crashed, relaunching is a BITCH!!!

I've got plenty of experience relaunching in deep water. In Lake Erie, there are only about 100 yards before you're in deep water.

I'm 6'3 and weigh 190. I've used the 14 in similar winds and it has given me plenty of pull.

id bring the 14 and the next size up, chances are it wont be blowing more then 15, but i could be wrong, im bringing my 16 and 21 and im 200lbs

Our 14 knots is pretty wimpy, Pete. Hot air... seriously.
It would feel like your guys 12 is my guess. Hopefully it will blow more, if not, bring a bigger kite, is my opinion.

I'll be at the gulf beaches today... don't know which ones exactly... but I'll be there.

I am bringing 3 fuels. One '04 15M, an '02 16M and an '03 17M. I am also going to keep my ears open because I have a 20.5M Machine with bladder issues at the shop, hopefully Slingshot will have sent the replacement by today! I am also getting a 25.5M Machine which was shipped by the previous owner DHL Ground on Monday. So I may have one of those as well...

/me packs his 20 Yarga

I have a 02 Fuel 16 as well, but it doesn't pack very tightly with the carbon spars on the ends. I think I'll leave that one at home. The Neme has the same wind range (in theory) as that kite.

I'm just glad it won't be nukin' - I just returned my 9 Waroo. The great thing about sheetable kites is that you can sheet them in and out. The horrible thing about sheetable kites is that you have to sheet them in and out. I don't want to have to work that hard.

is that why you returned it, you just didnt like all the sheeting...

That, and the fact that I wanted it as a lighter-wind snow kite.

Unfortunately, it doesn't fly well in light winds. Anything under 15mph and it would stall and fall out of the sky. I asked Simon about it and his reply was, "You need 15 mph for the 9 Waroo."

I already have a foil for winter winds over 15.

Perhaps a larger size Waroo would have been better, but then it wouldn't serve me well as a high-wind water kite.

if i ever get the money for one i am going to put it on a SS bar, then i can adjust the stopper balls to allow for minimum sheeting and possibly no sheeting at all, i didnt like the idea of losing most of the power in the kite just my moving the bar a foot, but it has its advantages, like when its blowing 25-40knots...

I took the waroo out in winds gusting from 25 to 40 mph and rode my mountainboard with it. The Waroo handles great (unbelievably) in gusty winds. I imagine that when my skills improve and I don't have to actually think about so many things at once, I'll get another one - perhaps larger. For now, I have a 9 Yarga on order to replace it.

some here ride 12m waroo w/ pulley bar.

a few here of a guy going huge on his 12 w/ pulley..

http://www.bryanleighty.com/kite41106/

Gave it a try and got skunked at Redington.

We got several hours in at Shizzle. With the help of the tide, going upwind was a breeze. Sorry for not returning your call Big G, I wuz kitin'... We be kitin' now thru the weekend. gimmie a call...

cypress was good.
2morrow should b nice2

Yep,

It was nice out there. Wazoo looked good.