Fantasy Fest

[FTLKiter]

Awesome! We had a blast.

1st day I did short session off smathers beach. On the 2nd day the wind was NE so it was offshore for Smathers. We went to the other side of the island and rented a kayak to stow our gear and walked out like a mile past the powerlines so we coud kite. The bottom was nasty. I probably won't do this again and woudn't recommend it. However, we made it out there. Thank god PaulM happened along on a boat giving someone a lesson. He allowed us to secure one of our kites to his boat so my friend could launch me. Then he helped launch my friend. We ended up having a good long session. PaulM mentioned he was doing a trip out in to the bay the next day and we jumped at the oppurtunity. The next day my buddy and I took our girl friends and met Paul at hurricane hole marina. We couldn't go to the normal spot due to some cloud cover, so we ended up going to a different spot and had a blast. I think the wind was blowing about 15 knots. This day ended up being one of the best kiting days I have ever experienced. Plenty of room to take nice long tacks. Beautiful clear flat water. Paul and his g/f attended to any rigging need. Paul even offered some valuable techinque tips even though we weren't taking a lesson. Lunch and drinks were also provided.

PaulM has to be the coolest, friendliest, and knowledgeable kiteboarder I've met. I would highly recommend him to anyone interested in a kite excursion or vacation. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. This guy runs a top notch operation. I've been on a few other similiar trips and the quality pales in comparison.

Oh yeah, and Fantasy Fest was going on at night. We had fun the three nights we went out. The last night (Sunday) ended up being the best time because the crowds we're a little lighter. Friday and Saturday were so packed you couldn't even walk down duval.

I am really surpised that the Florida Keys isn't a more popular kiting destination.