If a tree got your kite recently at backside....
 

Seen a lot of tears lately due to the trees at backside... had a beginner asking me what to do today, and I know some people who have been stuck with a torn kite for months or a blown seam...so here's the number I promised:

Advanced Sails in St. Pete: 727-896-7245.

This is where most of the shops send used kites for repair, so I know they do good work and the turnaround is fast. Forget the sail tape, get it done right it's not expensive.... Watch those trees, have fun guys!

-tom

Yeah, Keith over there is awesome. A couple times he even fixed something small while I waited. He's a one man operation and stays very busy.

There's probably not so many tears these days with all the safety releases and quick depower kites. It's a good thing, because with all the kiteboarders now days, that guy would never sleep.

keith is the man!!

does a great job.. very thorough.

make sure your kite is 100% sand free as you can get it.. clean and dry. his sewing machines are very expensive. he will not accept anything that is not clean and debris free.

make sure to ask him for some sail tape scraps... he's got the industrial strength stuff that only comes in huge quantity rolls.

Agreed, Keith does the best work in town! I have had some repairs done as well while I waited, most not so easy though and what more can you ask for, incredible customer service and a professional repair job...if ANYONE in this area is deserving of pimping, it is Keith Donaldson at Advanced Sails!!!

Keith was the first guy in town to do kite repairs (professionally).
Believe it or not, some of the other sail repair places weren't willing to touch the kites for liability reasons. Keith has always been a pleasure to work with.
Plus, Wendy's is only about a quarter mile away (that wasn't the case until about 3 years ago and was a welcome bonus). He is also basically on the way to Lassing.

Yeah, the first time I took a kite in (maybe 2000?) I rolled it out of the bag (sand everywhere). He was polite, but made it clear not to do that again.
That's an excellent point, Bryan. Get your kite as clean as possible before going into his spotless shop.