friday am?

[BigR]

We'll be there @ SSW early fri.,

I think the tide will be low and going lower,

But you are right, the bar to the right is where you rig and launch from during high tide

Don't forget your drysuit, it'll be nippy , air in the 50's/ maybe even high 40's/ but at least we should get wind before it dies at 10am and warms up to the 70's

Bob,

I was thinking the same thing about the tide. Low tide isn't until fairly late, by DP standards.

http://www.capmel.com/tides.htm

[vstone511]

hopefully this weekends good but it doesnt look that way

This morning was good until 9am.
It's the same old story at the SW - with a 25 degree temperature differential b/n morning low and afternoon high, the winds picked up as it warmed (as the sun rose) then it gradually died starting at 9 am. The wind sensor for the SW was actually fairly spot on for this a.m.
http://www.iwindsurf.com/windandwher...149&siteID=812

Adam and I are the only ones who got there in time and really nailed it.
Lots of people showed after it tapered off and was dying.

Originally Posted by jim

........ The way to self launch as shown in the ozone video I think is sketchier in that the leading edge will take lots of abuse raking over shells and sand as it pivots, and at least in this video the launch seemed more powered up or hot which has attendant risks.

Believe it or not, if done properly, the kite barely gets any abuse. It takes off pretty quick.
I probably self launched and landed my RRD last year 50 times.
I have zero LE issues with it, no tiny puncture wounds or anything. Always rock solid bladder. On shells and stuff it might get some abrasion.

In terms of safety with a hot launch. - The kite is at the edge of the window, so it's the opposite of a hot launch. Sometime I have to walk upwind, to make the kite more downwind, just for it to launch. It's not anything like launching a kite in the water, LE down, downwind of you.
The biggest risk, by far, with self launching a bridled kite is a bridle tangle. If it is tangled, as you launch it could do some bad stuff. I recommend making sure your lines are "clear" before launch. That's the real threat with this method. I have only had bridle problem once in maybe 150 launches, but it could have been bad if I didn't have my finger in the QR, ready and waiting, during launch.

On a fine sandy beach, this method poses zero threat to the kite, imo.
If done right, I personally prefer it to leaving a kite tied to an anchor.
To each his own, though.

[Sean B]

I self-landed my 16m the other day at Sand Key and it shredded the leading edge. Unless it's powder, the LE is gonna take abuse. I need to acquire some sail tape just to patch all of the cuts up, which are now leaving the bladder exposed. Best way to self-launch/land, IMHO, is to attach your CL to a fixed object via an extra leash of sorts. That way the kite doesn't move around.