August-September Wind

[newbkiter]

I heared a rumer that winds in august and september are kind of dangerous for newer kiters because of speratic wind and gusts. Can anyone confirm this?

[Danimal8199]

I think we are lucky if we even get wind in august and sept.

Watch the forecasts, rig a proper sized kite, connect your safety systems properly and know how to use them, don't ride by yourself and you should be ok.

Danny

[Kiteboarding Tampa Bay]

Newb- this is not a good time of year to learn. These afternoon storms contain some wicked weather, gusty winds, and lightning. Westerly winds give us onshore conditions and limit us to mainly riding in the Gulf, which is not beginner friendly. Once the East winds kick in, we have a lot of great shallow, flat water spots that are perfect for learning.
Until then, I would suggest wakeboarding to work on board skills, and exercises that improve core strength to get you ready for kiting.
One thing I may add to Danimal's suggestions- seek qualified instruction.
See ya on the water!



More weather tips and local info here:
http://www.kiteboardingtampabay.com/weather.htm
www.TBKA.org

I feel like this time of year tends to have more sporadic winds than most.
The kicker is that the "base wind" tends to be light (big kite stuff) and if the wind does change, it's usually fast and furious (up to 30 plus).
That's a really bad combo.

We often get storm cells associated with the light seabreezes. These can gust past 30, even 40 sometimes. That just happened to me (I hopped off about 2 minutes prior) on Tuesday. It went from about 15 straight to 30 plus for several minutes. The only visual giveaway was the sand storm up the beach. The clouds weren't that obvious to me.

The late afternoon East winds at the Skyway are fairly notorious for going from 11 knots to 20 plus, very commonly 30, in literally a heartbeat, as the land cools off. That possible scenario will start in about 6 weeks, I think. So, yeah... stuff can change fast.

This time of year, especially starting in about 6 weeks, is the time I am always most concerned for rider's safety. We usually have a lot of riders wanting to ride after being cooped up for awhile. Thing is, (especially at the Skyway) it can often go from 11/13 to 25 plus in certain scenarios, and did quite a bit last season with the afternoon easterlies.
We had several people hurt, with one rider (unfortunately) making the news due to a very serious injury.

If you do ride, I would recommend trying to be around some vet riders who know how to anticipate weather. Hopefully they know what to look for and give you warnings on scene. Also, they can catch your kite, etc.