Sunday wind

Today was good at EB.
That makes 10 weekends in a row where we had at least one day with 3 hours or more of solid wind. Pretty awesome.

The SW sensor has been off lately, sometimes reading low. (Maybe it was zero for an hour out in the channel... either way, it wasn't at EB)
A couple guys I talked to on the phone didn't come out, due to the SW sensor readings.
Not sure which sensor around here would have helped today. Luckily, I am so close it's obvious when my trees start moving.

Anyway, for anyone trying to "get a feel of what it did", to use a sensor, or your trees as a sensor....at 12 it was blowing solid 13 from SSW, at 1pm it went to 15-18 S/SSW (definitely was not zero) and stayed there until about 3.
Then it started to taper of a tad, and worse (in terms of riding) switch to SW.

Nice to see the PR crew and all others. I was just hoping for 12 knots, it was a very pleasant surprise to get good wind today.

It got exceptionally gusty today close to shore as the wind shifted.
We saw lots of weird stuff. SW winds and EB don't mix so well.

[sparkyman]

No doubt, things @ East Beach were niiicce,indeed. Always great to see the local crew. Scott, Donna, Big R, Lil L,Fox Brothers Kiteboarding Inc an Albe and his Babe. She said great things about my D-O-G Ralee. Wonder where I got that name? The launch & landing @ East can get very weird when the wind shifts...Be Careful. Riding gets better when you only need minimal clothing. Randy was topless. Should have been a Male Dancer / kite Boarder. Hey come on it's Florida, everything happens here. Shaka or Chaka Khan turn 50 last week. I didn't now she was in my dating range. ......GO GATORS !

[kuds]

I was a victim of the local meters today. It was somewhat breezy in Tampa at the time Scott mentioned but the SW meter was reading low if not zero - it use to be somewhat reliable on a South for EB conditions. I guess I will get on the band wagon in the search for a reliable meter. Put me on your speed dial for wind alerts- I just started working in St. Pete. Thanks.

Bruce 813 355 1539

[Steve-O]

Not always a sure thing but check the Dunedin Causway wind meter today. Not a 100% indicator as farther north and closer to the gulf can be factors.....but it is worth mentioning. You will also note it blew all day Saturday at Dunedin but only in the am near the SW. Two solid days of riding for those willing try some different spots. Southerlies can be very good there....lots of options. 3 kites out there today with the gulf and the flats as your playground. It still amazes me more folks don't ride up here.

[JoshTaylor]

hmm lucky people..

i saw you guys at east beach.. me and 2 good friends went diving/spearfishing at some bridges saw the kites up at EB made me jealous

I use to go to Dunedin every weekend years (like 12 years) ago when I had a hobie cat.

I can almost guarantee it is always windier there, especially on S/SE winds.
I debated going up there with Donna yesterday, because I figured it would blow harder at Dunden. It ended up being good here though. I think the Dunedin sensor only reads correctly when from the south, not the north. Is that your experience?

Where are some good places to launch on S/SE winds if you don't want to trailer and launch from a boat? I would like to start going up there.

I use to launch the hobie at the causeway, but it got REAL crowded on the weekends there, and that is the main reason I don't go there on weekends to kite (launch seems crowded).
Are there areas in the vicinity that qualify as non-crowded, good launch areas? Thanks.
I don't care if it is flat or Gulf, just nice launch (not muddy or crowded).

Without knowing some good spots, my game plan yesterday (if we went to Dunedin) was to drive until I saw a kite.... hmmm.... not very thorough or sophisticated!

[BigR]

Way back when in the day, I used to just launch and kite from Honeymoon Island. Then I would kite in and ouside of the channel. You gotta watch out for speeding boats tho', they either don't see you or ignore you but at full throttle nontheless

[TampaBay Noob]

honeymoon is one option...another is to just setup the kite/lines and water-launch. It does get very crowded at the causeway with swarms of old people and some families. There's usually just enough space to run your lines out, but you have to do it right along the shoreline. Many of the cars park along the grass, leaving some open space along the water. Hopefully dc doesn't get as crowded, kiter-wise, as EB or I'm S.O.L.. :/