Kent shredding hard at Tampa Kitemasters '05
Great write up Rick. There is a lot of great info in your post for anyone looking to do the event. I personally wouldn't compete in a long race like this unless I had run it first. An hour of racing on one tack is far more taxing than 3-4 hrs. of wave riding.
My group did take off about a half mile south of the first group and approximately 20 minutes after they went by. Garry and I rigged 12 bow kites. I was on a CB2 12 and Garry on a Contra 12. Tom, the smart guy, was on a 9.0 CB1. It took me about 10-11 miles to catch all of the riders from the first group minus Billy and Damien T. Fortunately, about 18 miles in, they decided to take it easy and ride some waves. Both Damien and I commented that our kites (he was on a 14 Octane) were far too large to ride any waves given the winds. Once we decided to kick it into high gear again, in my opinion, Billy was noticeably faster while Damien and I averaged a very similar speed. At one point in the flats between the waves big Damien put the hammer down and went past me at at least 30knts! I was saying, oh well I guess I'll see him later, but then he exploded into a garage sale and came up smiling.
After about 40 miles, it was clear to me that every rider could potentially ride at the same speed for limited amounts of time. The difference was simply that the riders with stronger jumpers could hold it down longer. Each rider seemed to hit the "zone" for about 20 minutes at time. During this time, the rider, no matter who it was seemed to be uncatchable. Usually the zone ended with a fall, which takes away energy and your line. The time in between the zone lasted for me about 10 minutes of hell and slowness.
I don't think that any of us really pushed it that hard, but I can tell you that Damien T. and I almost got run over by a car crossing the street in Ft. Lauderdale, because our legs weren't listening to our heads. Damien pulled in about 30 ft. in front of me and we were followed by Mikey on a 7 meter kite! It was painfully obvious that a 9 Cab CB would have given me a far faster speed, not to mention much more fun.
As it stands now, I think that Damien T., Billy P, Mike G., and Damien L., will all be pretty tough to beat. I'm sure that there are about 2-3 other riders that will prove to be competitive. I personally think that unless you are Damien T., a bow of any type will be a huge advantage in a race like this. Instant on, instant off, it sure helps to pick a line. I guess that the proof will be at the finish line.
We did the ride fairly fast, and I actually think that we broke a world record that I don't care to break again....
WE WASTED MORE PERFECT WAVES IN A SINGLE SESSION THAN ANY RIDER BEFORE!
Kent