wednesday (supposed to be light wind).. i got nuked off my 9 and had to fly the 7m i bought for the trip...
yikes!

i have never jumped as huge.

yesterday it was really sketchy wind at HR sandbar. should have gone east.. but i still had fun on the 12 and eventually switched to the 9 as the gusts were overpowering me. would go from no wind to where everyone is laying in the river w/ kite at 12 to 15 minutes of insane wind .. then it would die down again.

i am sore as hell.. abs killing me.. supposed to hit in the east today.. hope to get an afternoon session..

Cool. Out of curiosity, what kite brands seem most represented out there?
It seems like that would be a great place for "gust muncher" kites.

i'd say its at least half waroo and then SS .. might even be more than 1/2 waroo .. mix of 07 and 06 brands.. few bullaroos..

saw a few north, wipika, there is a windwing demo van at the gorge.. saw 2 or three of the helix kites up close (they stick to the sand in lots of wind.. its odd.. the small V shaped opening when laying flat creates a vacuum sucking the kite to the ground. they flap MUCH less than the other kites on the beach.. canopy on either side of the middle struts are sucked to the sand.. odd odd odd.. kites look funky.. )

the people here all exactly like our local scene.. most everyone is in their 30's or above.. a very large female rider population.. and not just there to support their male friend in the sport.. they ride as strong as the men.. very cool..
everyone is laid back and helpful.. saw a group of guys trying to hot launch a 2002 slingshot directly down wind in 25+ gusts..
he should thank the gods for the large sandbar.. got dragged 200 feet before kite smacked the ground..

good times..

off to Rufus.. east of the gorge to try to see what it brings... expecting 20+..

later

1 more thing..
the one guy i ended up talking to the most yesterday ended up being someone thats been wintering it in st. pete area for 4 years.. knows most all of you ..kites with Trent Hinkle.. his name is Gene.. think he said he was from Minnesota .. cool guy.. rides type 8 kites.. is heading to st. pete this winter.

Yeah,

Gene is cool. He use to ride SS (like all of us) up until about 2 years ago.
He is about my height but a little more stocky, semi-crazy on the water (goes for crazy tricks) but an exceptionally nice guy. Cool.

I have heard the same about the kite split and demographics from others, thanks for the info. Also have heard they are very friendly there.
Wow, the helix actually sticks to the sand in wind. Very interesting, thanks.
I obviously got it backwards (I thought it would get blown away).

One last question, any weird nose or ear-aches?

rufus was very cool..
solid wind for afternoon.. very powered on my 12m ..

for the first hour everyone except for me and one other rider was on new Ozone 11 or 13 instincts..

guess one of the guys is a dealer and all his crew was there.. number of other kiters showed up as the wind kicked in.. most all on waroos..

i still prefer the HR sandbar ..launching and landing on slippery rocks is not fun.. i was the only one there with booties on too.. that was odd..

got some pics and vid of the day.. fun fun fun