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Old 03-14-2007, 09:19 AM
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Arrow M I A M I - Flats!


Kitehouse Miami Instructor Clarissa Hemple throws down in Stiltsville.

"... Got to get back to Miami
Have a whole lotta fun ..."

The Blues Brothers sang it, Crockett and Stubbs lived it in a fashion and hundreds of kiters visit the Miami area annually to have a go at it.





That is now more true than ever now that the Flats of Miami are being opened up to kiters. This roughly 200 square mile area of calm, shallow water lay just south of Miami. It starts with historic Stiltsville just south of Key Biscayne and runs south to Key Largo at the head of the Florida Keys.



Almost 200 square miles of riding ground, largely wave free right next door to the most populous, metropolitan city in the SE USA.


You need a boat to get to the Flats but so what, you need a plane to hit the islands and gear to ride, a dive charter boat to hit the best spots. Why? Because it's worth it!



The boat is fully equipped with an electric kite pump, sound system, new Cabrinha kites and a great deal more. For info contact thekitehouse.com/miami



Clarissa orbits by Cape Florida



The Kitehouse put together a great video of a few pros kiting through the Flats. Click the image to check it out.






There are parties at SoBe but that can wait til later.



The Flats await, so what are you waiting for?






Interested in kiteboarding instruction? Mike and Clarissa are Certified PASA Kiteboarding Instructors and taking a page out of Kitesurf-The-Earth are very well traveled in doing just that.



No beaches, trees, bathers, building wind shadow or other shoreside deterrents to learning out here. Just miles of wide open shallow water.



Not all instructors teach self-resuce, but they should.



Rip along the Flats for miles. If you're learning it can boost you way ahead along the learning curve. The boat will shadow you along the way with your instructor coaching your progress along side. If you're already on your game it can just boost you way ahead.



Captain Mike of The Kitehouse - Miami takes a turn kiting through Stiltsville. Mike and Clarissa make an excellent, proven team in kiter training and catering the joy of riding the Flats to experienced kiters.



Here are the recorded wind averages for Fowey, about 6 miles offshore and 123 ft. high (N.B.).



Water turkeys (Anhingas) aren't dumb, why not spread your wing and fly through the Flats like Clarissa.






No wind, no worries there are always options. A word about wind and the Flats. Typically, the Florida Keys fair better than mainland Florida for more wind, more of the time. It is interesting that the Flats being a transition area between the mainland and Florida, share some of the Keys wind characteristics. AND, the wind is rideable from ALL directions! Yet one more reason to ditch the land and hit the boats for the flats.






Clarissa at the helm.


Get in touch with Mike and Clarissa through ...


The Kitehouse



If you head out with the certified captains and trained crew of The Kitehouse - Miami or other quality operation there you don't have much to worry about, fun times should be on autopilot. IF, you decide to try to wing it on your own there is quite a bit to be concerned about, things like getting stranded in the Flats at low tide, striking sand bars, getting rousted by Park Rangers for breaking conservation laws, etc..

NOTE: LOTS of boats and folks like to pile all over one another like a basket of cats on a single sandbar near Stiltsville. Some guys even ride there among the closely anchored boats. If it is too crowded, guess what? It's too crowded and pretty much the same crap that we fight onshore, so spread out! There is tons of room here. Don't almost get yourself killed by hitting a boat here like this poor fellow HERE.

This area is designated at the Biscayne National Park under Federal Authority. If we annoy the rangers enough it is possible to threaten kiting access even within this HUGE area. We can't allow this to happen.

The Park Website is located at:
http://www.nps.gov/bisc/

Park Regulations are discussed at:
http://www.nps.gov/bisc/parkmgmt/lawsandpolicies.htm

NOTE: Personal Water Craft, PWC or waverunners and other related small craft propelled by internal combustion engines are BANNED at this Park.



So, you could try to fish around for fun on the few accessible small, crowded shoreside launches around Miami or ...



You could rip loose on the wide open Flats. Hmmm, let me think about that.



More about the Flats of Miami and Stiltsville at:

http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=658

Ty Luckett of Hatteras Kiteboarding also runs the Flats. More about his operation at:
http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=1263


Enjoy!

FKA, Inc.

transcribed by:
Rick Iossi

Last edited by admin; 03-14-2007 at 03:34 PM.
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  #2  
Old 03-18-2007, 07:49 AM
clamike clamike is offline
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Location: Miami, FL
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Default Miami Flats

Thanks Rick for your excellent write up about the flats and our operation.

We have been having a great season with pretty consistent winds and lots of new riders coming out with us to experience the flat water conditions that the Miami Flats has to offer.

As Rick said the flats are a huge area of perfect flat water riding with almost nobody out riding. There are some area where boats congregate, but it is a relatively small area compared to the amount of ridable area.

We go out to the Flats twice a day every day that there is wind, and offer all levels lessons (Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced). Plus we do water taxi for experienced riders who just want to get away from the crowds at the beach.

For more info about the Kitehouse Miami or the flats visit out webpage www.kitehousemiami.com or call us at 786.380.2269

Mike and Clarissa
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Old 03-19-2007, 08:42 AM
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ricki ricki is offline
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Hey Mike,

You're welcome! Thanks for offering this great service to new and experienced kiters so close to Miami.

Question for you, what is your lesson plan for new students? That is a list of skills you teach? I see the photo of self-rescue so I assume that is in there.
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Old 03-20-2007, 08:01 AM
clamike clamike is offline
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Default Kitehouse Miami lessons

The Kitehouse Miami believes in teaching all new kiteboarders these basics BEFORE they begin to ride the board:
1) Self Rescue- a must for any rider
2) Setting up the kite with bar and lines
3) Launching and Water relaunching the kite
4) Flying the kite- one handed and two handed
5) Depowering the kite- from releasing some power to killing the kite completely- always use a kite leash
6) Body dragging- both downwind and upwind
7) Board retrival- never use a board leash
8) Body dragging with the board in hand- both upwind and downwind
9) Putting the board on the feet while keeping control of the kite

After these step we work on riding both directions, and eventually riding upwind both directions. These are the basic steps we believe all kiters and students should know before they attempt kiting by themselves. Unfortunately some instructors miss some of these steps by hurrying to get their students on the board.
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Old 04-01-2007, 12:55 PM
jim jim is offline
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Default Miami

Just got back from 2 days in Miami. Great wind both days. Miami Kitehouse is awesome!! Mike and Clarissa do a great job making sure you have a blast. Thanks for a wonderful time and great pictures.
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