Wind on Sunday

[Steve-O]

Brian,

You know the quality of the flats area behind East Beach. It is pretty sick. Well on a NNE that launch on the backside of the Skyway wouldn't work. Hence yesterday's winds being NNE, then North, then NNW.....well you can see why some might choose to use the backside on a day like yesterday.

I am definately not trying to tell anyone what to do, but just offering some advice. The gust and unpredictability of the wind over the mangroves is nasty and definately increases risks of problems.

On that note, even when it is blowin NE, or E....I still prefer East Beach over anywhere else as so many others. With that being said, the backside is still so much better than the frontside as far as riding quality....IMO. Friday had a ton of kiters on the frontside and was honestly not much room to ride.

I think guys and girls like myself are just exploring other options of more open locations to ride.

I think all of this has been very healthy discussion about a spot that I see being used more and more. Many use the Skyway area due to convenience, well the same goes true for East Beach....it's just closer for some.

Phil. Glad you liked your pics. You were UP THERE... dude!!

Seriously, you were hitting 30 footers that day... I remember.
It was blowing 30 or more (one of those 12 knots straight to 30 East winds at the SW). The pics don't do your height justice.

The backside of EB rocks, especially the walk through the mangroves.

[BigR]

East Beach just plain ROCKS!

[Chad085]

don't waste your money on my head scott, much like yourself and steve-o i tried this launch once and don't plan on doing it again. The general conclusion from everyone seems to be the same, backside EB is a sketchy launch but a risk some are willing to take. Some advice was offered from a few instructors on how to minimize that risk. No one is encouraging riding there, just describing what can happen, the most likely of which is annihilating your kite in the mangroves. To avoid "tone" issues i'm announcing mine as positive, not trying to start a war here

Neither am I. I was just poking fun on me gambling with your health as a way to show that you were gambling.

Many of us that have been around awhile have noticed that most bad scenarios are the result of several little things all going wrong in succession. No one sees it all coming. In hindsight it seems like "oh yeah... duh.. 1, 2, 3, 4 what am I gettin' whacked for?"
But for most, they didn't see it coming (including me).
My personal view is that if you remove 1 or 2 little things from the picture, you greatly reduce your odds of having 5 things occur in succession that will whack you. It's actually pretty straightforward: 1-5 can't happen without 1 and 2.
The easiest thing to remove from the scenario is objects downwind. That's what usually whacks you, so I guess it's 4 and 5 in the process (?)

Anyway, good discussion. Maybe it just reinforced that sh.it can and will go wrong. Even if it's rare, it's best to not be in front of a tree when it does.

[Chad085]

glad to see we're all on the same page

[Whitey]

I was there last Friday when folks were launching or walking through. Stood there for 15 min surveying the situation. Concluded that the up draft potential to pick you up and land you in the trees or road is way too real.

Pumped up the kite carried my bar, board, and kite unrigged ( upside down) through the opening walked out over a hundred yards to the NNE. Put the kite leading edge down on the dry grass flat with the board on the leading edge and walk the lines out in 2" of water hooked it all up and put the kite into the shallow water let the lines come tight to the SW and water launched. I was never anywhere near the mangroves or another kiter. My riding buddy and I landed each others kite in the same area rolled up the lines and carried the kites back.

The post of the kiter that got hammered and dragged over 600' in Jupiter was the result of a very simular set up. The updraft that lofted him was onshore wind hitting a sand wall caused by beach errosion but the shape of the ridge line is the same be it treeline of mangroves, a building, or a sand dune. Rember the depower on a kite doesn't work effectivly if the wind is hitting it from the underside.

BTW Scott, I hope you don't get to win or loose your bet.

I wouldn't bet on something like that, no worries.

I don't want to see anyone get hurt either. I just know that saying it a particular way fails, so I say it another way.

[kite-4-life]

I am always a little nervous, I guess... Kitemares are very easy to see unfold from a distance and there's nothing you can do about it. Us seasoned kiters have all seen them, and try to prevent them as much as we can. Scraping your friend up off the ground kinda sucks...
I have seen way too many close calls for comfort, and most of the time its an avoidable mistake. Lack of knowledge should not be one of those, and this is why we preach... We are all bros and want to help the new guys become safe and independent, and we are all smarter because of it. We also happen to have about a dozen local instructors in the area, and probably half of them post on here. Most areas don't have that, so absorb the knowledge, be thankful that we have the beautiful spots to ride, and lets all work hard to protect them. The newer kites aren't any different than the old ones as far as safety goes, I know that my "100% Depower" kite could kill me if I make a mistake. Its in the hands of the operator to have good judgement, and plenty of respect for the kite, mother nature, mishaps,malfunctions, and freak accidents.
bE sAfE hOmEy!.!.!