A little bit more about this session and snow kiting in general from kiteforum. Including:

http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.p...62847&start=10


and a more in depth post dealing with hazardous weather phenomena and snow kiting at:
http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.p...23429&start=10

Feel like some island time? Here you go ...

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album479/NPX_Bimini.jpg

Click Image for video

Kent and Paula shot a video from ASM off West End, Grand Bahama. A tandem kiting run with some nice angles. Hope it shows up for non-facebook folks. Please let me know if you can't view it.


http://www.fksa.org/albums/album477/kp.jpg

Click Photo For Video

Thanks for the video. It's bad up here. You don't really understand it until you've been living here through the whole winter.

Good news is, I'll be back down in Florida two weeks from today. Hopefully warm temps, good winds and waves. Can anyone hook me up with some gear demos?

View from my dorm room at Penn State University.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album477/Photo_24.jpg

Not getting enough wave time? How about cold water? Well, got you covered on both, read on. Off to Mavericks for the big surf contest!


http://surf.transworld.net/files/201...inner-copy.jpg



http://surf.transworld.net/files/201...assel-copy.jpg



http://surf.transworld.net/files/201...5tazy-copy.jpg



http://surf.transworld.net/files/201...wiggy-copy.jpg



http://surf.transworld.net/files/201...ish18-copy.jpg
Is the guy on the right holding back? If so, wonder if it worked?! Ouch!



http://surf.transworld.net/files/201...2flea-copy.jpg



http://surf.transworld.net/files/201...wiggy-copy.jpg
This is the wave that smashed into the cliff injury 15 spectators.


All photos from: http://surf.transworld.net/100009636...-surf-contest/ There are many more there too from the contest.

nice and clean
 

those are some great waves, really smooth and clean for the size, wish I could of been there to watch the contest.

Greg

Just a plane flight away Greg! In this case being a spectator has its risks too.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mavericks...nclick_check=1

Why monster waves at Mavricks? It seems to come down to deepwater, long period swells being refracted together by the bottom bathymetry and summing amplitudes when they converge. There seems to be a narrow strip of rubble on the bottom west the of point which helps in shoaling the waves in a narrow sector.

Here's what the USGS has to say about it:
http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/pre...607_items.html

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album477/...ence.sized.jpg
An overlay of wave nodes and amplitude amplification points through wave convergence and summing.

There's a nice slide show of the event including some really good inwater shots of the monster waves rolling through at:
http://extras.mercurynews.com/slides...0214mavericks/



The crowd under wave attack at Mavericks. Wasn't President Bush, the dad, not junior, about swamped by a wave out of no where in Daytona years back? Recall it washed some cars around the beach and scared the hell out of some folks. The Secret Service thought the Soviets might have been tossing monster swells at him or something.

Will you look at this place, Witsand, SA.

http://i61.servimg.com/u/f61/13/31/75/40/witsan10.jpg
From: http://i61.servimg.com/
Some of the steepest, high narrow wavelength surf I've seen. Impressive stuff. The winds look honking strong too.


http://www.yosurfer.com/public/photos/292.jpeg
From: www.yosurfer.com
Gothic waves? Interesting place.

Mavericks Contest
 

I watched the contest live at maverickssurf.com you might still be able to see some video clips from the event there.

JP

Some random shots from past Florida kiting events ...


http://www.fksa.org/albums/album384/flying_II.jpg
A look at II09



http://www.fksa.org/albums/album384/...g_IMG_8536.jpg
Off to the course races, II09



http://www.fksa.org/albums/album160/118_s.jpg
A cool windy but memorable day off Ft. Desoto some years back during the first Masters Competition.



http://www.fksa.org/albums/album385/Off_II.jpg
There off racing south to Vero in last year's Central Florida Downwinder



http://www.fksa.org/albums/album386/Josh_001.jpg
Another from the race to Vero. Josh "NPX Toastinator" rips along in fine time south.



http://www.fksa.org/albums/album210/9_G.jpg
Sunset on the Gulf at yet one more great event.



http://www.fksa.org/albums/album384/jon_flyover.jpg
Come in from orbit at II09

.