coming to florida in july 2010
 

hi guys and girls my name is richi and im from ireland and am coming to florida 3rd july 2010 on my honeymoon, just wanted to put some questions out there to see if it was worth bringing my gear with me or to rent and what the winds are like this time of year?
im going to be staying orange lakes country resort orlando, so what what beaches do i need to research and what size kites, ive been kiting for two years now so am at a intermediate level,
any info would be much aprreciated, thanx
windy regards richie;)

Hello Richi,

All the best to you and your bride on your honeymoon! In most years, July and the rest of the summer months can be a fairly off time for wind. More about that at: http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=500

Normal weather patterns seem to be shifting, so this year, who knows? If you can easily bring some gear and won't be totally heartbroken if you can't use it a great deal, you might consider it. There can be summer thermal winds at times along with some tropical systems. Both sources of summer wind can bring both useable and unuseable (hazardous) wind depending on circumstances. Kite gear rental aside from boards is still not that common in Florida.

From Orlando, there are kiteable beaches about an hour to the east around Ponce Inlet, Cocoa Beach and an hour and a half to the west around Ft. Desoto. As for kite sizes, I would try to cover the low end, say around 10 to 15 kts. If you could find a larger board that should help too. Anything is possible but those are the usual July wind trends here.

Have a great trip!

Here are a couple of wind plots for July from last year. There can be variation year to year. The first is for the 520 Slick, a spot on the Intracoastal Waterway near Cocoa on the east coast.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album369/Cocoa.jpg


The next is for Egmont Key just south of Ft. Desoto below Tampa Bay on the west coast. Winds are likely a bit better in the graphs than you may see closer to land at Ft. Desoto.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album369/Egmont.jpg

The first horizontal line is 10 mph and the second 20 mph, (not knots). Those sharp long spikey things are gusts in squalls. These are things you want to avoid of course. We do get squalls in the summer, the thermal variety related to sea breezes and also tropical systems. Cold front activity usually dies down here in the summer.

even the luck of the Irish won't deliver the goods to FL in July, change plans and go to Outer Banks, Long Island or southern New England like Block Island in Rhode Island! Block Island is sweet!!!!

http://www.diamondbluekiteboarding.net/blockisland.html

cheers

I would have to say that RickI's notes are correct...but....and this might be wildly optimistic...the weather here this winter has been extremely unusual....and Maybe, just maybe...people in FL will get more wind this summer???

But they are also saying higher hurricane activity too...and as Rick implies those are the conditions to be very careful with...Tropical Storms, Hurricanes, Tornados, etc...There are some infamous kiting/weather related stories from here...so be aware.

Congrats with the upcoming nuptials...Slainte!
(I sent you a PM too)

Richi - whatever the outcome of the wind, or no wind more than likely, you'll be in Orlando. There is a good cable park located there so if no wind, you can practice your board skills. Don't forget the little woman! They tend to think that the honeymoon is meant for them too. (Maybe that's where I went wrong-we went fly fishing in Montana). Also, you'll be around for our Fourth of July celebration, which really means that there will be a lot of people out on the road, a lot of whom have consumed a lot of adult beverages. Besides this inherent danger, there are also a lot of police checking for those people. Have a great time, enjoy our Independence Day, and be safe.