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Old 09-08-2007, 02:26 AM
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RKITEKT RKITEKT is offline
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Exclamation SKY WAY WIND Currents WATER Currents

Everyone needs to know this! TWO THINGS:WIND CURRENTS, WATER CURRENTS

WIND CURRENTS will suck you in and bring you to a state of being overpowered quicker then you can realize what is happening!

WATER CURRENTS can do the opposite and sometimes kill your wind. You maybe able to cruise across a strong current heading the same direction as the wind, yet when you turn to come back that current will actually NEGATE some of your wind and may cause your kite to drop from the sky and next thing you know, you are floating down the channel into the bridge and feeding frenzies. WOO HOO!

Wind currents and Water currents exist out in that Bay like powerful streams. Once you come into them, you had better realize it and turn your ass around! Both bridges south and north of the beach have EXTREMELY STRONG WATER CURRENTS FLOWING THOUGH THE BRIDGE AND OUT THE CHANNEL. On a windy day, the WIND CURRENTS TEND TO FLOW THROUGH THESE SAME AREAS near the BRIDGES!

So hear me out!

I've been kiteboarding the Skyway Bridge for over a 18 months now and have just finally come to learn the winds currents and water currents. This is just one of my spots that I have come to know. Each spot has its own advantages and disadvantages in regards to Wind currents and Water currents.

However, this post is for all those who KITESURF at the SKY WAY BRIDGE.

Recently within just a few weeks we have had 2 MAJOR MISHAPS! One led to a SERIOUS ACCIDENT AND INJURY! I myself had a mishap Thursday evening after the sunset. I was one of the few riders still out. I was trying a new board out for demo, very small and fast! It was blowing 15 -19 all afternoon and I could hold down my 15 Rastaroo no problem. I decided to get a good longggggg tack and slalom fast to test this board out. I was screaming, LITERALLY SCREAMING as I went buy from North end to South and past the beach with CINDY waving her arms at me to come in or something. LOL

Once I went past the beach I must have hit terminal velocity and just HAULED ASS on by faster then I have ever gone! It began as an intentional test drive, then quickly became a problem. Suddenly I got to the point right before the channel that flows under the small bridge and I got sucked into this WIND CURRENT! It didn't matter what I did with my BAR, nor my BOARD I was headed to the HIGHWAY for sure screamin all HELL! I had the kite down to the water, BREAKING on my board like a MO FO! I finally lost my edge and tumbled for about 5 seconds, skipping across the water like a rock, HIT MY OH SHIT RELEASE and the kite went down to the leftside (opposite side I was flying). Once I regained my composure, found my board inside my bar and lines... the kite had relaunched itself over the mangroves and dragged me right into it. As I was stuck to the Mangrove bush like a pin doll, I held the bar with one arm until I could get the leash on the end and FLAGGED THE KITE OUT! WHEEWWWEEEE ****IN WHEEWWW!

Everything turned out ok. I did everything I was supposed to do when SHIT HIT THE FAN. I got lucky! Two other GUYS did not! BUT I GUARANTEE YOU THAT WHAT HAPPENED TO ME IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO BOTH OF THEM! GUARAN-DAMN-TEE IT!

That was no FUN AT ALL and I learned my lesson indeed. I am posting this so that others will learn from it too. E-bone was right... once you get upwind far enough you can see that there is not much beach at all. To elaborate, with onshore wind, if you are hauling ass from south to north or vice versa and lose it... you will either end up in the deep waters of the channel which is NO PLACE TO DROP YOUR KITE, or you will hit the rocks, or you will end up getting sucked into the WIND currents and eventually into the highway or either bridge.

Experienced or Beginner kitesurfers may never learn the lessons of the WIND AND WATER CURRENTS no matter how "CERTIFIED" they get. So please comment, educate others and myself more on this subject.

Hope this helps.

~Christopher
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Old 09-08-2007, 04:56 AM
Skyway Scott
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Outgoing tides carry you out, under the bridge. These go in the same direction as the wind (if riding on the east side, not back side) and will kill your apparent wind.

Incoming tides help carry you in to the bay. These oppose the wind and help to generate power (counter current, or opposing the wind).

It's a good idea to check the tide tables each day before you ride. I always check the tides because I use the currents to my advantage if possible. If you check the tide one day, the next day is the same thing (basically) except delayed 50 minutes.

I only ride in the channel that feeds to the smaller bridge if the tide is coming in. When it is coming in, I will try to use that current to help suck me way up wind. Otherwise, you actually lose apparent wind and the obvious, you may get sucked under the bridge when you get near it. I recommend not riding near the bridge. The current is just as strong in the channel (if incoming and you are using it to your advantage) 200 yards away as right under it. If the tide is going out, it's a really bad idea to get close to the bridge.

The tides here are just moderate in comparison to many spots in FL, but still have effect on us. About as fast as they get around the that bridge is 1.2 knots. I use to fish that bridge a ton and know that from being anchored up there. Tides are strongest on Full and New moons and pretty dead on quarter moons in this area.
The tidal current going under the big SW can hit 3 knots on rare occasion (usually strong "hill tide" of the summer). Unless you get right under it though, the current effect due to tides is not going to be that strong on the south side of our riding area. Still though, a half knot on a light wind day makes a difference. As a general rule, never expect the current south of the launch to ever be in your favor. It rarely is. In addition, the "waves" in that area are pulling you toward land. If you've ever dumped a kite out there, that's one reason relaunch in that area can be a pain and you might end up in the rocks.

The winds at the SW very commonly pick up as the land cools on east winds.
If it actually blew East all day (if it never dropped below 12 all day) odds are that at least 80 percent of the time it's going to nuke as it cools off. It very commonly goes straight from 12 to 20 or 25. If you haven't seen this as a rider out there yet, I would be surprised because it happens a lot. Heck, that's why we show up there, isn't it?
If as a rider you are going to launch your biggest kite at 5 30 or 6 pm, be ready to get blown off. It doesn't always happen, but it happens so frequently that I almost always rig anticipating this.

DOPPLER should be checked as well before you leave work to ride the SW.
If you see masses of red stuff coming at you full throttle from the middle of the state...yeah, it's gonna probably get dicey as the storms pass through. That's what happened last night. I guess it wasn't obvious out there (?), but I could sure see the clouds from my house a mile from the spot. It was even more obvious on doppler and had been for 2 hours. (It's actually how I knew it was gonna nuke, and I also knew we would be dodging storms)

These storm cells with these associated strong outflow boundaries happen mainly in the summer.

Hope that helps a little.

To me, the biggest danger at the SW is the "switch". The switch gets hit fast out there and can blow people away. Some things to be observant for-
Is it white capping like mad 300 to 600 yards out?

Call P.O.R.T.S . If it says 25 to 30 at the SW (the wind usually hits that sensor about 20 minutes before our riding spot) it IS coming your way!

Is there a band of clouds coming with clear sky behind them? These don't have to be menacing clouds at all, just clouds.
Is the air cooling?

I wasn't there last night (kiter blown off, kite in Interstate) but I have never seen it nuke without some visual clues first, ever.

So, if in doubt, look out a ways for whitecaps and call Ports...
1866 827 6787 and check to see if the SW sensor just went apeshit before launching.

These are a couple ways to minimize getting whacked by the switch (if on your biggest kite).
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Old 09-08-2007, 08:40 PM
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Just wanted to thank Scott on his insight into the weather events that happen here in the bay area. It always amazes me how obvious things are to him. He said all the signs were there on Friday night, but obviously guys pushed it a bit too far. I have increased our class at WSW to 3 hours to include some in depth discussion about weather events and patterns that take place in the bay area and I owe alot to Scott for his insight over the past few years. Imagine if you could sit and talk with a new kiter for three hours about the sport, then you get an idea of how much content we cover.

All of our students take this class about the fundamentals of the sport before they even hit a kite. I think it is truly an education that any new kiter would benefit from. If you know of anyone that might benefit from this type of lecture please send them our way. It will only be better for us all to have riders that are educated fully about the sport and its inherent dangers. Also, if anyone wants to sit in on the class and offer some suggestions to the curriculum please let me know....I would love to have your input. I hope this is not viewed as an attempt at pimpin but just a with all of the craziness lately, education will be a huge factor in the longevity of our sport. For what it's worth.
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Old 09-08-2007, 09:06 PM
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Thanks Steve. I don't know if anything is a given or obvious, but I believe when in doubt, play it safe where this stuff is concerned. I did drive out to the SW tonight to witness a very similar event to the one that occurred last night.

I was watching radar while reading kiteforum today (pathetic..indeed) when I saw another outflow boundary heading to the SW. The sensor at Port of Tampa spiked to 30 as the boundary passed it and I thought "crap, not again".
I decided to go to the SW to see it, and also hope to stop anyone with a large kite from launching. About 15 minutes after I got there, it spiked.
Not as dramatically (30 knots for about 1 minute, then solid low 20s for about 20 minutes) as last night, but that is still plenty to whack someone on a large kite though. I want to thank Bill, Rkitekt and others there for listening to me and not harassing or questioning me when I asked them to wait as the wind filled in. It looked awfully inviting when it was at 14 knots and they could have easily ignored my request and told me to shove it. Luckily they didn't. Unfortunately, once the initial winds passed, it basically died. Sorta sucked.

I have a real concern about the SW. It can be a booby-trap on East winds. We have people showing up after work, pumping up there big kite and waiting for wind. When it comes, it often blows about 13 or so for a few minutes and then totally switches on, often to 20 plus, sometimes, as you have witnessed, to even much more.
This happened again tonight, several people witnessed it. I have seen it, Jayson has seen it, and others have seen it probably 40 times. Its a pattern, not a fluke. Actually tonight Jayson had a 9m kite ready to rock when it was blowing..... 10 knots... yep (he knows what he is doing).

If I could ask only one thing (among the many things you teach your students) this whole season, it is this-
If you wait for hours for wind (on a weekend) or an hour after work, please wait ten minutes as these East winds begin to fill in before heading out.

That ten minutes of patience might save your life. I am not being dramatic with that statement, it's a very factual statement. The other route is to pray for wind, rig a little smaller in its anticipation, and if it doesn't fill to 20, just ride a larger board and tool around.

Thanks for taking safety seriously Steve.

(BTW, it filled in nicely tonight at Lassing )
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Old 09-08-2007, 11:48 PM
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RKITEKT RKITEKT is offline
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Thumbs up All good responses... thanks stevo and scott

yo! Scott, pssttt...
It filled in nicely at the bridge too. If I hadn't been set up already, I would have come on over to Lasing. That is where I trained... and haven't been back since. I saw my instructor once about a year ago, but I think he is in Costa Rica now.

Anyway, good to see ya out there today. I'm going to bed now and heading back at dawn.

Peace out!

~Christopher
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Old 09-09-2007, 01:20 AM
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Quote:
I have increased our class at WSW to 3 hours to include some in depth discussion about weather events and patterns that take place in the bay area and I owe alot to Scott for his insight over the past few years. Imagine if you could sit and talk with a new kiter for three hours about the sport, then you get an idea of how much content we cover.
That's awesome Steve.

Imagine how much more you would have to teach to educate your students on the microweatherenvironments of the rest of FL; Miami, ft Pierce, st Aggie.
Or even the other states, OBX, Corpus, Gorge, SF

It would be a yearlong meteorological course!

P.S. Oh Geez, things don't remain static long. even bay area microevents are very seasonally dependent. BottomLine , become a keen weather observer
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Old 09-09-2007, 05:27 AM
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C ya' in 5 minutes. We saw a BIG shark about 30 feet offshore in 5 feet of water yesterday at dawn. Hope he is there again, I brought my camera to take pics as proof.
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Old 09-09-2007, 06:04 AM
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yeah, I've seen Alotta sharks @Skyway as well, it's just a matter of time till someone gets bit. Didn't they pull an unkown diver that was cut in half outta the skyway launch site by a bull shark like 4-5 years ago?
He was all bloated and stuff with his wetsuit on ( 'cept where the bull shark bit him in half ) and had prolly been in the water a few days B4 they found him washed up by the mangroves where we launch.

For some reason sharks love hanging out by the bridge, prolly cause the bait are by the underwater structures. Any fisherman can tell you that




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Old 09-09-2007, 08:31 AM
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Absolutely that Easterly spike in the evening is something I have now included in our content to discuss. I printed out the IKite graph of Friday night showing the spike of 20-45 in 2 minutes. Also printed out doppler and included your discussion from this post. I have started out with about a 30 page packet to give each student that has grown to 50 pages. I am sure by next year it will be even thicker.

Again, I have gained alot of insight from you through this forum and truly find it as a valuable tool in the sharing of knowledge. My entry into the forum was a bit dramatic to say the least, but I am glad that I stuck with it to see it's true value.
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Old 09-09-2007, 08:59 AM
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Thats a big thing... after about 8 months of riding I still had no idea it could go from 10 to 35 in 5 seconds until it actually did. Unfortunately I was on an 18M C kite when it happened.

My hard lesson involved getting dragged 75 yards to shore (quick release did not work.. pulled it as hard as I could may many times), hitting the beach and getting lofted 10 feet in the air, crashing down hard on my stomach, looping my kite when my bar hit the ground, and getting slingshotted another 75 yards on my stomach, between trees and signs, across the street, between cars, and into mangroves.. all at about 40mph in a time span of 8 seconds. A lot of road rash and some really bad near misses. WOW.

That was the day I realized I needed to pay more attention to the weather.

The second thing I learned was to crash the kite in the water first... pulling the quick release may just leave you with a looping kite and the bar out of reach.

Don't let your first hard lesson take you out.

Later found out the QR was a poor (Best) design which could easily be rigged wrong (the correct way was exactly the opposite way you rigged the more common slingshot version). The quick release worked fine unless it was under high load... so check your gear (under load) regularly boys.
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