Wind Indicators

One of the hardest things to determine in kiting is whether it is windy enough to venture out.  I'm pretty good at figuring out when it's so windy that I have no business even looking at my kite pump.  But the other end of the spectrum is different, and can get you in to trouble just as easily.  I have learned that the wind report from ikitesurf.com is definitely to be taken with a grain of salt (sometimes a salt lick would be better).  Sometimes the wind can barely flutter a flag and it's reporting 16mph.  And sometimes when it's reporting 10mph, you take a chance, go out anyway and have a fantastic day.

A classic windsurfer's wind telltale is white caps.  Most kiters and windsurfers will tell you that you need white caps on the waves to even think about kiting.  But we have had many dud days already when white caps are present.  Thankfully, since Huguenot is also a bird sanctuary, I have discovered a different anemometer.  

Huguenot is a haven for many birds: laughing gulls, terns, red knots, plovers, and pelicans.  It is truly impressive to be a part of this massive community of birds.  But of course, when humans and animals mix in large numbers, there will be conflict.

The gull  in the middle is being a bully and attacking the poor guy on the ground.

Everyone we have talked to at Huguenot has told us about how 'they' are trying to close the island and turn it into a bird preserve.  I have no idea yet as to who 'they' are.  Some kiters find the birds annoying, some think we should share the park, and some think the land is theirs and we should stick to the water.  Personally, I love the little buggers.  Their mannerisms crack me up.  And moreover, they are actually very helpful.

In a nutshell, when the birdies are all facing solidly upwind, the wind is good to kite.  They apparently don't like to face their butts in to a solid wind because it ruffles their feathers uncomfortably.  This has been my most accurate wind indicator (so named by the most amazing kiter Beth Lygoe) and has kept me from having to buy a ridiculously expensive anemometer.  So.  Not only are they great entertainment, they save me a lot of grief from slogging around with my too small 10m kite.  I adore them, may they live long and prosper.

Example of a bad wind day.  All the birds are a jumbled mess, there is no cohesion.   

This was a very strong wind day.  All birds facing upwind.  

Again, bad wind day.

Two  royal terns.  Sounds like a Christmas song.  

The guy on the left has stanky leg.

Wait, how'd this get here?

One giant step

Yesterday was the most successful day of kite surfing that I've had so far.  I finally rode in both directions confidently.  Most of this truly comes from the fact that the conditions were ideal.  We were out at a mid, outgoing tide with the wind direction opposing the current.  I'm guessing the wind stayed at around 13 knots, which is still light for my grumpy Cabrinha Crossbow.  However, I still managed to learn many, many things.

1.  Downwind is way more downwind than I think.  I have had a consistent problem with water starting too much upwind, which causes me to have a hard time planing off.  When you're snow kiting, this really doesn't matter.  You can get started on an edge right off the bat and be fine because you don't have to overcome the drag of the water.  On water, you have to pick up speed before you edge with your board.  Yesterday, I learned to roll my leading hip over on my water start to force myself to head downwind.  The difference was amazing.

2.  Controlling the board seems to be all in the back foot.  This is probably elementary to anyone who has any familiarity with a board sport, but for this rock climber, it came as one big eureka moment.  Even though I am still not transitioning, my runs are now smoother when I start downwind and then use my back foot to edge and control where I am going.

3.  One of the local guys let me ride using his 13m yesterday.  I was of course nervous as hell, worrying about both my welfare as well as his kite's.  I am flattered that he trusted me with his kite, and it was an amazing experience.  I have always been very scared of bigger kites, but flown safely and in the right wind conditions, bigger kites can mean the difference in you getting to ride or not.  I no longer see big kites as a threat but as a helpful light wind tool.  And I am just as likely to get hurt on my 8m as I am on a 13m.

4.  I do not like sluggish kites!  My problem with my Cabrinha is that if it is a light wind day, it can pull a tank on the first dive but then it has a hard time turning back up the window.  This means I can't fly it fast, which means my board stays under water until I eventually sink.  I got a little better with it yesterday and learned to stop choking it by pulling the bar in too far, but I have given up on this kite and will be buying a larger, faster turning kite soon since the predominant wind speed here seems to stay around 12-15 mph.

5.  Sweet way to land your kite on your own:
     1.  Bring it to the edge of the wind window and let is stand on edge until the bottom half of the fabric flutters.
     2.  Unhook the chicken loop from your spreader bar (of course make sure your safety leash is attached).
     3.  Grab the center lines and pull them toward you until you reach the center swivel.
     4.  Grab the upper center line and pull it towards you hand over hand very quickly.
     5.  Your kite should now be situated leading edge down and facing upwind.

More random photos:

This surf looks totally benign.  It tossed me like a salad and I finally gave up on this day.  

I love seeing all the kites up.  

Mayport has so many BIG ships coming in and out of harbor, I love seeing them all.

The 'road' at Huguenot floods at high tide.  I got out of the truck to gauge the depth for us and the cars behind us that were scared of getting stuck.  

Jacksonville sunset.  I love this place.

Learning Curve

There's so much more to consider when kiting in the ocean than in a lake or without a rescue boat.  There's the constantly changing tides and the current that goes along with them.  The wind direction has become crucial for me since there's no way I'm kiting in an offshore breeze.  On the flip side, an onshore breeze in a very strong wind has proved to be impossible conditions for me.  I have to either walk very far upwind into the water since I still have trouble staying upwind, or the wind is so strong that I'm overpowered and I can't even make it far enough into the water to even start riding.  And then there's the waves.  We have a surf report app, but it hasn't been very helpful as of yet.  I just haven't figured out waves.  I can just get pummeled by them so much that I give up and come back in.  The one good thing about them is that when you see a big one coming at you and you're still in the water, it's a great impetus to get your water start going immediately.  All I know is that my happy zone is 15mph cross on shore winds at low tide with flat waves.  And I have learned that if it's over 25mph, I'm outta there.

My board skills are coming along, but the wind has been so sketchy for the last week that I haven't really been able to get any consistent runs in.  I still have a bad habit of wanting to edge too quick after I water start.  And I still find myself wanting to start off going too much upwind whenever I'm headed back to shore (I'm fine going away from the shore for some reason).

We have two main places to kite at Huguenot, one on either side of an island that runs SE to NW.  The east side of the island is the Atlantic and the west side is sort of a huge tidal pond that we have nicknamed The Sewer.  The Sewer is obviously flatter than the Atlantic, but it is not ridable in low tide.  The bottom of The Sewer is disgusting - there are oyster beds in places, and inexplicable areas that you step in and suddenly you're knee deep in muck.  The smell at low tide is powerfully bad.  But at high tide with the right wind direction, it's like a playground.  It's big enough for lots of kiters and the flat water just makes my day.  We are unfortunately going into the phase in which it will be low tide all week in the afternoon, so no sewer riding for a while.  It's nothing but waves in my immediate future.