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Old 03-14-2007, 09:19 AM
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Arrow M I A M I - Flats!


Kitehouse Miami Instructor Clarissa Hemple throws down in Stiltsville.

"... Got to get back to Miami
Have a whole lotta fun ..."

The Blues Brothers sang it, Crockett and Stubbs lived it in a fashion and hundreds of kiters visit the Miami area annually to have a go at it.





That is now more true than ever now that the Flats of Miami are being opened up to kiters. This roughly 200 square mile area of calm, shallow water lay just south of Miami. It starts with historic Stiltsville just south of Key Biscayne and runs south to Key Largo at the head of the Florida Keys.



Almost 200 square miles of riding ground, largely wave free right next door to the most populous, metropolitan city in the SE USA.


You need a boat to get to the Flats but so what, you need a plane to hit the islands and gear to ride, a dive charter boat to hit the best spots. Why? Because it's worth it!



The boat is fully equipped with an electric kite pump, sound system, new Cabrinha kites and a great deal more. For info contact thekitehouse.com/miami



Clarissa orbits by Cape Florida



The Kitehouse put together a great video of a few pros kiting through the Flats. Click the image to check it out.






There are parties at SoBe but that can wait til later.



The Flats await, so what are you waiting for?






Interested in kiteboarding instruction? Mike and Clarissa are Certified PASA Kiteboarding Instructors and taking a page out of Kitesurf-The-Earth are very well traveled in doing just that.



No beaches, trees, bathers, building wind shadow or other shoreside deterrents to learning out here. Just miles of wide open shallow water.



Not all instructors teach self-resuce, but they should.



Rip along the Flats for miles. If you're learning it can boost you way ahead along the learning curve. The boat will shadow you along the way with your instructor coaching your progress along side. If you're already on your game it can just boost you way ahead.



Captain Mike of The Kitehouse - Miami takes a turn kiting through Stiltsville. Mike and Clarissa make an excellent, proven team in kiter training and catering the joy of riding the Flats to experienced kiters.



Here are the recorded wind averages for Fowey, about 6 miles offshore and 123 ft. high (N.B.).



Water turkeys (Anhingas) aren't dumb, why not spread your wing and fly through the Flats like Clarissa.






No wind, no worries there are always options. A word about wind and the Flats. Typically, the Florida Keys fair better than mainland Florida for more wind, more of the time. It is interesting that the Flats being a transition area between the mainland and Florida, share some of the Keys wind characteristics. AND, the wind is rideable from ALL directions! Yet one more reason to ditch the land and hit the boats for the flats.






Clarissa at the helm.


Get in touch with Mike and Clarissa through ...


The Kitehouse



If you head out with the certified captains and trained crew of The Kitehouse - Miami or other quality operation there you don't have much to worry about, fun times should be on autopilot. IF, you decide to try to wing it on your own there is quite a bit to be concerned about, things like getting stranded in the Flats at low tide, striking sand bars, getting rousted by Park Rangers for breaking conservation laws, etc..

NOTE: LOTS of boats and folks like to pile all over one another like a basket of cats on a single sandbar near Stiltsville. Some guys even ride there among the closely anchored boats. If it is too crowded, guess what? It's too crowded and pretty much the same crap that we fight onshore, so spread out! There is tons of room here. Don't almost get yourself killed by hitting a boat here like this poor fellow HERE.

This area is designated at the Biscayne National Park under Federal Authority. If we annoy the rangers enough it is possible to threaten kiting access even within this HUGE area. We can't allow this to happen.

The Park Website is located at:
http://www.nps.gov/bisc/

Park Regulations are discussed at:
http://www.nps.gov/bisc/parkmgmt/lawsandpolicies.htm

NOTE: Personal Water Craft, PWC or waverunners and other related small craft propelled by internal combustion engines are BANNED at this Park.



So, you could try to fish around for fun on the few accessible small, crowded shoreside launches around Miami or ...



You could rip loose on the wide open Flats. Hmmm, let me think about that.



More about the Flats of Miami and Stiltsville at:

http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=658

Ty Luckett of Hatteras Kiteboarding also runs the Flats. More about his operation at:
http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=1263


Enjoy!

FKA, Inc.

transcribed by:
Rick Iossi

Last edited by admin; 03-14-2007 at 03:34 PM.
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