picnic

I've heard that kite is great in light wind.
Little secret though, at the weight of Steve and myself, we could ride any reasonable kite on a Glide in as little as 9 knots.

I can ride a 9m kite on my Glide in 9, no worries.
(Maybe we can make some sort of bet over how small a kite some one can make work in 9 knots). I think Jayson might win that one, with his "rocket" board.

[Whitey]

I believe you... I rode a 9m in 9 knots today upwind. The new cab revolver. I only have it for a couple of days to try out so, put it up and rode it. Very fast little bugger. Iv'e got close to 60 lbs on Steve-O. Old and fat, but I feel young and trim hauling ass across the water. That harness does a great job for my profile.

[slushy]

How much wind do you need to get up. Thanks

When you are first starting, my opinion is that 13 to 20 knots is perfect.
Any less and you are schlogging. It takes some skill to milk light wind. For a new rider, it can be a nightmare (it's possible, just not ideal).

More is up to the individual (and many might feel otherwise in terms of newbies) but I think 20 plus is where stuff happens fast and you can get hurt.
Probably best to wait at least 5 full outtings before going out in 20 plus.
I am talking local conditions. Some places have no options but to teach in 30, and as a rider you may not have much choice either. Around here, we can get 13 to 20, quite a bit (percentage wise of days riding... not absolute days/year).
I am talking ideal though, and that's not always possible. The fact is, the less days per year of any wind, the less picky you can/will be.

When I first started riding I avoided East Beach, the Skyway, etc. So riding meant the gulf. In that case I needed a solid 20 to get up and riding (straight down wind mind you).

In flat water, 15 is enough.

Glad you guys got some! I was at work watching the sensors and the trees hoping SOMEONE was out there.

-tom

[ALBE]

yep i was watching from the 9 th floor of the new marriott hotel on T.I . and i saw 1 kite at the bilmar ,just wanting to get out,,