Sea Breeze is Up and so is tourism*** PLEASE READ ***

[TritonKiteboarding]

The Gulf is white capping right now and its deffinitly ridable, be forewarned that there are ALOT of spring breakers on the gulf beaches right now, and from the house it looks like many are drinking. Kites are attractive and people will try and interact with you but DO NOT let people get closer than you are comfortable with and DO NOT try and showboat inside the swim zones.

I have informed my riders of this and have put a couple people in charge of looking out for kooks and maintaining safe riding practices, i unfortunately will be heading to the keys for the weekend to throw our college event but if any of the college riders are seen in swim zones or around tourists please don't hesitate to inform me of it my number is 203 918 6637 and consequences will be heavy.

Do not feel intimidated calling out the more experienced riders as well, as often times we are the ones who have too much confidence and end up looking hazardous to swimmers and beachgoers.

Unless riders are 100% confident level three riders capable of riding upwind without question you shouldn't even think of practicing on the gulf beaches with the exception of North Beach, Ft. Desoto or the Backside. This is prime season for us and tourists love the kites, but we love our beaches and our access to them so I foresee this as a potential issue and just hope the heads up is taken into consideration, happy windy weekend to all!!!!!
-Matt Sexton
www.Tritonkiteboarding.com
TritonKiteboarding@yahoo.com
(203) 918 6637

Those are good points and definitely worth repeating.
I happened to go out to PaG today. It smelled like absolute hell out there. Tons (literally) of Chaetopterus worms, (this is a pick of the worm inside those tubes) http://flickr.com/photos/artour_a/1520309708/ , along with sea urchins, pen shells, scallops (anything on the bottom) washed up on shore. Man... it was nasty. I don't remember seeing anything quite like it. It was solid crap along the entire shoreline.
Not so good for tourism.

In terms of beaches to practice, I would actually recommend Treasure Island over North Beach. North Beach can be pretty crowded on weekends starting about this time of year. Jim prefers if we just avoid that beach starting around now for bird nesting reasons and because lots more beach goers start showing up. It's not a rule per se, but don't be surprised if when out there you are approached and politely asked to leave. If so it's probably pretty obvious to not ask to see the sign or argue about it (that'd be a really bad move).

TI is a good alternative because it is huge (wide) and the area to the south usually isn't too crowded with people.

[Steve-O]

There is a beach near Sand Key Park that takes the cake.

I was out there all afternoon, and only had to deal with a dad and his little girl on a towel upwind of us. Other than that it was coast clear for 2 blocks in either direction. Beach is wide also. No one in the water for 5 hours.

Parking is free and access is totally legal.

PM me if you want exact location of this gem.

[Brian360]

It blew a solid 15-19 knots at SB today. It was only me and one other kiter on butter flat water using a Sb3 12m. Wasn't it forecast to blow 5-10 knots for today on the marine this morning??

[Chad085]

nice downwinder today from north clearwater to redington pier from about 6-8pm. zipped on by the main beach, the pier and the pass, then had some good times in the waves from clearwater pass on down to redington pier. Nobody else out just 3 of us. gotta love daylight savings!!!

Forecasts don't mean anything this time of year (thank goodness).

It's seabreeze central time. The trick is usually getting there before it happens because a "true" sea breeze around here blows NW at solid 18 or so and usually only lasts 2 hours (give or take 20 minutes). The wind on the beach often comes on strong and out of nowhere, and dies off just as fast.
So getting there early is key If you wait til the sensors show it (especially the SW) and then go out, it is usually over, at least at the beach.

If the forecast has any North in it at all and the morning starts off at NE, it at least fits the first few requirements for a decent sea breeze. Several other things come into play. Oddly, the SW going to dead zero is usually a great sign (for PaG anyway). Inferno always laughs, but I usually start driving to PaG when the SW goes to zero.
I think we are going to see some good sea breeze potentials until it starts raining in the afternoons. Maybe tomorrow again.

[Steve-O]

Brian what did you think of the SB3?

Chad it was a good thing I didn't join you guys although you know I wanted to. I hope it does more of the same tomorrow.

[RM3001]

Rode alone at Cypress from 4:30 -7pm. Started off light then got pretty nice. Hardly a soul on the beach. I second the Hooray! for daylight savings.

[Brian360]

[QUOTE=Steve-O;30379]Brian what did you think of the SB3?
QUOTE]

Loved it. Around 3pm it was only blowing 12 knots. 12m and a Flight deck was enough to ride upwind and do some rolls. I ride mostly Revs which are very fast kites to where sometimes if I over sheet with the front hand it'll loop on a double back roll or front roll, getting the timing down took some time. The SB3 was more stable and better for my style of riding- wake, freestyle. It was alot easier to pull tricks on it without looping the kite. I found that I had to put alot of pressure on the front hand to get the kite at the right position, to where the Rev wouldv'e looped. Overall, I love that kite. This is only my observation and personal preference, and my .02 .