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Hurricanes have been a reality for a very long time. Some years are harder than others in this regard. Trials will come but it is how you deal with them and strive to recover which make the difference. In 2004 two hurricanes passed over almost the same section of Martin County, FL among many other areas. These hurricanes may have been the first to come this way in about 50 years. I visited Ft. Pierce, FL in the area a month after the second storm. Here is some of what I saw.
http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/fp_1.jpg Kitesurfers and windsurfers go at it, seeking fun on the water. Nothing new there. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/fp_3.jpg George, a Ft. Pierce regular shows off a vintage duct tape optimized directional and Wipika kite. You can see storm damaged buildings in the background and George like so many others carries on. That is what it is about. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/fp_2.jpg Sunset is coming on http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/fp_4.jpg Lots of hard work and drive needed in the rebuilding. And, yet if you went there today you would likely find few signs of that time. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/fp_5.jpg A new day Photos by Rick Iossi * |
Heading up to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, a few years back in 2002. My timing has been off for kiting visits to OBX, usually for lighter winds. Still, it is an intriguing area with lots of sights and things to do.
http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/Waves.sized.jpg A look at Waves, with waves no less. No Bahamas in the way gives you a LOT of fetch to build swells in. (CLICK PHOTO FOR FULL SIZED IMAGE) http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/Bartons.sized.jpg The digs out on OBX, Barton's Hatteras Island Sail Shop, http://www.hiss-waves.com/ . He has a nice upstairs apartment. I understand this is a favorite starting/ending point for downwinders. (CLICK PHOTO FOR FULL SIZED IMAGE) http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/Beach_NC.jpg A PL kite goes up as the rain eases http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/Dune_Flight.jpg Want to work on your suntan and do some flights off the sandy bunny slopes? Kitty Hawk Kites can take care of you. I felt real bad for the instructors out there in this intensely hot "mini Sahara." I am very grateful that all my early training flights were almost a 1000 ft. over Biscayne Bay with boat tow without a sand dune or sandy face plant in sight. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/Stilthouse.jpg They have all these neat stilthouses along the shore. Hope the hurricanes have left them in place. Photos by Rick Iossi * |
Ok, brace yourselves, the "Way Back Machine" is going way back, well sort of way back to the early 1960's. Found these on Ebay?!
http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/...93_o.sized.jpg I love this shot brings back memories. For one it is a photo of a Rebikoff Pegasus with full camera and instrument compliment. Dimitri Rebikoff was a French inventor of things UW for decades. He was also a pilot. He decided to combine flying with travel underwater and conceived the Pegasus. It was about an eight foot long torpedo like wetsub that you lay on top of. There was a rudder bar for your fins and a joy stick for controlling the aerilons with your hand. The pressure housed instrument pod had artificial horizon, altitude uh depth, compass and other stuff out of aircraft. Looks like he had this one rigged with a cine camera with two UW arch lamps. You would fly this thing, do power dives, and boost ascents and could fly pretty level for photogrammetric and video surveys. I used to fly its cheaper cousin, the Remora. The main difference was instead of a $25,000 payload (in mid 1970's dollars!) of silver zinc batteries in the case of the Pegasus, the Remora towed a Whaler with a 220 v, 40 A diesel generator by a several hundred foot power umbilical. We used it for all sorts of surveys back in the day. Fun stuff. Oh, and there is mention of Columbus' "Pinta." There was another time we kicked around off Cap Haitian, Haiti looking for the sister ship, "Santa Maria" entombed in the barrier reef using diver operated drilling equipment. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/152172312_o.jpg I had never even heard of this publication before. Nice that somethings are before my time! Regarding, To Kill A Shark (in) The Mediterranean, I think you first have to find one? They do have tiburons but I think they are more elusive. Here's an interesting factoid from the past. In the Caribbean macho divers back in the day strove to get some black coral often at substantial depth, at least for the larger trees. This was before the practice was heavily banned for non-residents most everywhere. In the Med, macho divers used to collect Cat Shark Egg Sacks at depth? True enough, I once swapped some black coral for one of these funky translucent eggs with a guy from Germany when I was a young spud. Neat cover shot, all that fancy high tech stuff! Is that guy holding a classic RolleiMarin housing, Hans Hass' creation or is it a door opener? http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/152168789_o.jpg Ugh, weeds! Wait, what am I complaining about I'm trying to breath on a double hosed regulator! Deep Dive, wonder what a "deep dive" was considered to be at that time? I recall seeing an amazing account over in Small Hope Bay, Andros last summer of a guy that did 462 ft. in 1962! His partner stayed down there unfortunately. This was on AIR and in the small tanks available at that time, probably "Rhinohydes" or converted CO2 bottles or something. I think in general though a "deep dive" back then was substantially shallower. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/152167014_o.jpg A final oldie goldie. I've yet to make it over to Greece but recall something about SCUBA diving being forbidden off the entire country without permit or special arrangements. I think this decision had to do with too many historical cultural resources being poached. Free divers can do a lot, no doubt particularly in Greece where the practice goes back mellinia. Still, if you want to dredge some exploratory holes to pillage a trireme wreck in 300 ft. of water you'll be pushing it on just a breath? So, shame on the dude making off with the amphora for the options he has removed from future divers. Most of the damage that will happen to a wreck occurs in the first hundred years as is collapsed, spread around, attacked by corrosion and eventually covered up. After that it remains in sort of a low oxygen or anaerobic stasis. That is until you pop the top on the entombed wreck, let all that oxygenated water in and things can be royally trashed in a decade or so. That is for all time and all future generations, not a good way to treat a non-renewable cultural resource. Beach Temptress Contest? Oh, got a shot of that too, interesting fashions back then. * |
nice!
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No end of marvelous places to check out in the Caribbean. Went through the Grenadines last summer, it's a great destination. They are so close together and yet fall within about a 60 mile stretch north to south. There are so many beaches, cays, reef lines, wrecks and more to explore. The best way to take in the islands is by liveaboard boat. We did it on Windjammer, fun operation but sadly they're no more.
I saw a lot of nice photos from the islands on the website of CARIBBEAN KITE SURFARIS, http://web.mac.com/caribbeankitesurf...e/Welcome.html Some of the images follow, lots more where those came from in the Photo Gallery of the site. These folks do the Grenadines AND head south all the way to Trinidad/Tobago and across all those windy latitudes to Venezuela! There are lots of little explored islands and reefs in the ABC, Margarita latitudes. Would love the opportunity to check them out first person on a liveaboard someday. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/g5.jpg Nothing like some quality island time with WIND! http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/g1.jpg You get this incredibly blue water in some of the island areas. White carbonate sand sets it off even more. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/g2.jpg Endless island forms and coastlines to explore http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/g6.jpg You can also fall into some really good swells http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/g4.jpg http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/g3.jpg I think I might have rigged and launched from this same small island in the Tobago Cays. Great times to be had down there, why not check it out? Photos by Betty Findlay |
The NPX guys got together and headed over to the Miami Marine Stadium for some wakeboarding. The Stadium was built way back in 1963 to host hydroplane races. It was visited by Nixon, Sammy Davis Jr., Jimmy Buffet and Mitch Miller in years past. You know who Mitch Miller is right?! One visitor, Andrew, in 1992 had a little too much fun and shut the stadium down. That doesn't mean you can't rip by on the water though as our boys did.
http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/NPX_WAKE_04_mm2.jpg Andre Phillip throws one. Elliot Leboe did the filming and had the great idea to tow behind the boat in a small raft. That way he would next to and under the riders as they threw tricks. Great idea but I hope it was a kevlar raft with extra padding if they guys came too close. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/NPX_WAKE_06_s1.jpg Going off again! http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/NPX_WAKE_05_mm3.jpg Damien Lerroy rips along before what once was the largest cantilevered concrete roof span in the world. Uh, don't get too close there Damo. and here's the video! The wind was down for these days of shooting. Checkout that dramatic shelf cloud to the west over Miami during one day of the filming, intense stuff. So, don't have wind right now, here's an option. A clearer version of the video along with a complete look at all that great clothing & waterwear appear on the NPX website HERE Still photos by Tracy Kraft and video by Elliot Leboe of ACL Productions. Thanks to Josh with ASI for helping me out with all the great images. Great job folks! * |
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Cory Roeseler with the Kiteski Dusoski (combos) Photo: Marco van Es From: http://www.kiteski.de/ Back in the Day, not just any old day either, The Day, there were innovators. Sort of like today only a bit different, as there was no great following, real direction or global impetus. They were the original elves cutting their own path in Santa's T&E toy shop at the North Pole or in this case, the Gorge. So, let's pickup with Cory Roeseler and his concept (and that of his father William), Kiteski. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/ks_2.thumb.jpg http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/ks_3.thumb.jpg (Click thumbnails for full sized images) Patent Abstract A wind powered system utilizes a free-flying airfoil tethered to a conveyance device such as a water ski, a skegged hull slab or a wheeled land vehicle which either defines or inherently has tracking means defining a preferred traverse vector across an underlying surface. The tractive force of the airfoil is applied at the center of lateral resistance of the conveyance device such that there is no destabilizing moment caused by the airfoil, thereby removing an artificial limit on the sail area that is imposed upon fixed mast sailing craft. A control bar provides a mount for a tether reel which enables the conveyance device, when same is a kite, to be launched from the water without requiring the assistance of a boat. Patent number: 5366182 Filing date: Nov 30, 1993 Issue date: Nov 22, 1994 Inventors: William G. Roeseler, Cory Roeseler Primary Examiner: Anne E. Bidwell You can read the rest of the patent at: http://www.google.com/patents?id=2fobAAAAEBAJ I remember seeing one of these in a Toyota Truck TV commercial in the early 1990's. I think Cory was booking along dead downwind in the shallows a few feet off the beach and free wheeling truck. He had this massive arch shaped bar in his hands. It was entirely crescent shaped and didn't resemble anything in this writeup, secret prototype, shhh. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/Loop_s.sized.jpg Cory Roeseler in front loop, Photo: Michael Hildreth From: http://www.kiteski.de/ Love that control bar! I took one of these out to my first trip to Maui (a loaner from F One USA's Raphael) along with Trip Forman's old 5 m Wipika two line kite. Hung Vu had come up with an inventive way to attach a kite leash to this thing (no depower, whoops). So I took the parts along to put one of those together too. Good news is the wind was so strong, the "kite bar built like a Schwin" stayed in my suitcase (along with the 5 m). Good thing, I would have felt terrible if the bar dragged by a runaway kite in 45 mph winds decapitate the top of Haleakala or something. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/...rt_s.sized.jpg Richard Kummeth water starts Photo: Uta Kummeth From: http://www.kiteski.de/ Water launching had a different meaning back then, remember NO emergency depowering! Hey, it just hit me, Nuclear Gorge winds and NO WAY to kill the power in an emergency!? YOW, there must have been some real interesting sessions back then. Came real close to buying one of these from Scott up in Valkerie, FL years back. Was already collecting way too much kite junk. I was on the search for the Holy Grail of Florida Summer Kiting gear, a light wind kite (which didn't exist, hadn't figured that out yet), so I passed. Cory was and STILL is the man based upon recent speed kiting results. Have fun out there and thanks for all of those great sessions we have had in your wake. Anyone out there try a Kiteski before? How was it? http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/1_NoHands.sized.jpg Cory Roeseler Photo: Michael Hildreth From: http://www.kiteski.de/ Ride on * |
Back to Great Harbour Cay in the Berry Islands of the Bahamas with JP and Carlos ...
http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/GH_2.jpg Looking north over the eastern shore of GHC towards Little Stirrup aka Cayo Dark Chocolate? http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/Iron_Shore.jpg A typical chunk of Bahamian ironshore, nice to look at, fun to dive around, nasty for the odd kite landing, ouch! What year is it, oh yeah, 2008! http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/GH_4.jpg A busy day at the launch http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/gh_7.jpg A white mini tsunami barrels into JP's Pond http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/GH_3.jpg The Pond from aloft http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/gh_11.jpg Feels like Miller Time, anybody got a Kaliber? Here's to fun times in the Islands! You can see lots of photos from this day visit by private plane earlier in the year at: http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=5986 Good winds and happy traveling! Photos by Rick Iossi * |
Bahamas Fly-In
Rick. The pics are really inviting. Makes me want to be there, NOW!
We definitely have to organize a Harbour Cay fly-in, sometime in the fall, when the hurricane season is over. You must know a bunch of pilots that kite. I only know one other. We could hit a couple of other spots while we're there. Could be a long weekend, or longer. Any pilots interested? Chime in with type of plane and how many kiters you could carry, with gear. I have a mooney, so with gear and full fuel, I could realistically only carry one other. Or..... maybe two really fit women.(kiting optional). Could I get an AMEN? Frank |
Sounds like a great idea to me Frank. I'll paste your post into the last Bahamas Fly-In thread and get this puppy cooking again. Can't wait!
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This Photo Of The Day is in honor of the upcoming Adventure Sports Miami Bimini Winds Event this November. Sounds like a LOT of fun, it is a great event to checkout. On to Bimini, been going there for a very long time. Will have to locate and dig out slides from there over 30 years ago. The place has changed but it is still a great place to go kite, dive, walk around, party or just hang out. More at: http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=6942
http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/Bimini_Wreck_s.jpg Wreck of the Gallent Lady, a fairly recent addition to North Bimini http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/...i_Beach_II.jpg North Bimini Beach, white sand and deep blue water out to the 60 ft. mounds and dropoff beyond http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/..._1_s.sized.jpg A 180 degree view of the south end of North Bimini. (Click photo for full sized image) http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/N_Bimini_Beach.jpg I think I read somewhere long ago if you wolf down a couple of dozen of these purple flowers you will get a slight buzz. Who figures this stuff out anyway? Hmmm, just grab a Kalik instead, it's easier. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/..._1_s.sized.jpg The event will occur in Bimini Sound, in the "crook" of north Bimini just a bit north of this view. It's a vast area of shallow, clear, calm water pretty much rideable in wind from all directions. (Click photo for full sized image) http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/...ailey_Town.jpg A look over Bailey and Alice Towns on North Bimini and some of the great blue water in such abundance in the Bahamas. The contest area is just north of this area. It really is better in the Bahamas, why not find out why? Photos by Rick Iossi |
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Quote:
How did it go out there? |
Here's a funny story in commemoration of Mini Season ...
It took place in a land far away overseas and decades in the past. It happened to someone I know but who shall remain nameless. He had just been coasting along over a couple of miles of reef just looking around. He had no bugging gear with him as it happened. He came up on a tire on the sand in about 15 ft. of water. I think they call them "condos" these days but back then, just tires. The hubs were long gone but they were fairly sprouting with antennae. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/...bcd14ffe29.jpg Like the Bug Coop only deeper From: http://flickr.com/ Not the easy broken chromed aluminum variety but those bound to Panulirus argus, Spiny Lobster. He thought, hmm maybe should bring some bugs home to dinner, uh, for dinner. Problem, he had no gloves and had experienced the slice and dicing that comes with barehanding bugs that don't want to be manhandled. The ever inventive mind hatched a solution, take your bathing suit off, wrap it around your right hand and you're good to go. So, hand clothed and privates free to the deep blue sea he descended to address the bugs. Tires have the unique quality of making lobsters feel more secure and providing an infinite distance along which to travel, in circles at high speed inside the rim. Catching them is easier than shooting fish in a barrel, even without a gun. Just plop your hand in the inner recess of the tire and wait for the bugs playing Roller Derby to slam into your open fingers. As this was long ago and far away in a distant land, he tailed the bugs making it easier to hang on to them. Five lobster were gathered in this fashion sans bug bag and off to shore again. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/lobster_s.jpg Do these guys have attitude or what? From: http://dive.scubadiving.com/members/divetips.php?s=682 The guy was uneasy about putting his burden down and covering up his privates lest a greedy triggerfish fly in and scarf up the bootie, the bugs that is. So, cupping the tails in both hands he swam in au naturale for a time. Doing the odd barrel role to look around he happened to notice a permit fish in tow. A BIG permit and an eager one at that with a strange look in his eye? http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/01_28_B_29sm.jpg Permit on the hoof From: http://antiguaisland.blogspot.com/20...7_archive.html The diver was back peddling facing the permit hands in front along with everything else as it happened. It was a good sized one about the size of a Thanksgiving serving platter. The fish would rush in and then back off. This was starting to unnerve the guy more than a bit, considering a) he thought permits were midwater feeders, no crustacea or annelids in their diet b) despite the presence of bugs there was other potential fodder. There is a certain degree of irrationality that comes with certain types of threats to guys. This was one of those touchy situations and trophic analysis aside, Ockham's razor aside, it wasn't clear to the guy what was in the permits mind or on the menu. The damn fish kept charging in! The guy kicked it THREE TIMES and it still kept running in, dammmuh! He had kicked sharks only twice in the past and the toothy tiburons had fled. Not so our permit though. New problem, the water was getting shallower. He is envisioning running up on the beach holding the bug tails, flapping about with a permit dolphining in his wake to the general entertainment of the bathers on the beach. Understand in some cultures, having your right hand covered and nothing else ... means absolutely nothing? http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/...say_cheese.jpg The offending fish saying ahhhh. LOOK at the size of that mauw, gives me the willies! From: http://captaintadburke.com/the_fishing.html Coming down to the moment of truth and precious little water, he decided to throw the permit a bone, uh tail. It was the biggest one too, damn! The permit glided up, sniffed it and charged along after the diver AGAIN. In about two feet of water and shoaling at this point, kicked the fish one more time with feeling and it whipped around to gorge on the bug tail on the bottom. He was then able to drop the tails for a second, don his suit and walk out with what shreds of dignity the permit sneak attack allowed. Moral: Five bugs in the hand are good, but four and safely covered privates are better if permit'ed!? Text Copyright FKA, Inc. 2008 |
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A postcard view of an old fortification on the quay at Antibes. Likely before Gilpatric's time but it captures a sense of the place I think. From: http://www.leuchtturm-welt.net/HTML/...AL/ANTIBES.JPG It was the 1930's in post WW I Europe, France was rebuilding and about to descend into another tumult. Guy Gilpatric, an American, not in Paris but in Antibes on the Côte d'Azur, proceeded to explore a new realm, free diving. Equipment was crude and participants were few. Guy, an acknowledged author wrote some introductory pieces to the sport of "goggling" in his regular contributions to the "Saturday Evening Post." His musings eventually amassed into a book, "The Complete Goggler" first published in 1934. Skin Diver Magazine way back in 1957 published an expanded version of the book with "new" images of the sport and a forward by James Dugan. I received a copy of the later in 1975 as a discard from a very kind librarian at my alma mater, Ft. Lauderdale High School. She was probably impressed by the number of times I had checked it out in my years there. I subsequently found and bought copies for some of my close diving buddies. Since that time the book has become a fairly scare and valuable collectors item. Excerpts from the text follow. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/gg_12.jpg The cover page of the book showing Guy in his element http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/gg_4.jpg As a teenager, this impressed me probably as much as anything in the book. Free diving without fins or proper mask and spearing without any means of propulsion other than a well coordinated kick, stroke and thrust. I was intrigued by the feet first entry and timing of the exhalation of air to reduce buoyancy. Weight, we don't need no stink'n weights!? I had quit spearfishing before this time but could still appreciate an arcane art when I saw it. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/gg_10.jpg It was a new time for a very old, new activity. As with kitesurfing, innovation was rampant in the secluded areas in which the discipline was practiced. Here is a nifty speargun AND compressed air breathing apparatus. Wonder how SCUBA diving would have suffered if developments continued directly along these lines? http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/gg_16.jpg The goggles. The only ones you could equalize were the ones with the squeeze bulbs shown at the bottom from Japan. Ama divers had developed this provision long in the past to my knowledge and yet Guy wasn't all that crazy about them. Here's what he had to say about mask squeeze "At depths exceeding twenty feet, you will notice that your goggle rims cut into you uncomfortably and that your eyes within them feel as though they were being sucked out. Down around forty feet, this "suction" may deform your eyeballs, hinder your vision and cause you to miss your fish." He left out that part about acute headaches and perhaps losing your vision in extremes and with regular repetition! I want the ones with exposed aluminum rims, who needs soft rubber? I think my eyes would start to be squeezed out around 5 ft and 40 ft.? Amazing, core divers back in the day. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/gg_14.jpg Some more home crafted gear. I was so taken by this that I made a similar side mounted knife carrier as a teen using a steak knife, kids! http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/gg_5.jpg The weapon of choice. Note no surgical or other drive bands, just a handle. He did use rubber bands for retaining the point cable. Just needed bigger rubber bands, soon. The detachable point with keyway is well conceived. It isn't so far different in concept from some contemporary points. Thank you Guy for your contribution to free diving. I understand Skin Diver eventually gave copies of the book away with subscriptions and even threw some away sad to say given the lack of interest at the time. The book was said to be in the library onboard Cousteau's Calypso and in Hemingway's library. Got mine fortunately and it actually influenced my perspective on free diving growing up along with other books like Robert Marx's "Always Another Adventure" (e.g. Big Anthony striding around at depth on the bottom off Little Tobago on a breath). More about the book and author here. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/cover_s. jpg * |
Back to this year's Pier To Pier Naples Kiteboarding Race ...
http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/...photos_132.jpg Setup time, looks like the wind might actually build to what we need. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/...photos_142.jpg Getting close to the start http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/...photos_033.jpg Organizer Enrique of SW Florida Kiteboarding and some of the troops that made this event possible. Thanks guys! http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/...photos_181.jpg From whence we came http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/...hotos_198a.jpg The wrap party http://www.swfloridakiteboarding.com...otos%20107.jpg Winners all, way to go! Photos supplied by SW Florida Kiteboarding. For more great photos of the event checkout: http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=5612 And, for more about the event in general, checkout: http://fksa.org/forumdisplay.php?f=100 * |
Off to Cabarete, D.R. to see what Paul Menta of The Kitehouse is up to. He has been down there in recent times to do some T & E of new Cabrinha gear, kite tow-in, standup sessions and generally hang out in all that wind. More shots from the camrig and towing-in HERE.
http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/PM_0.jpg Here's an overview of Cabarete Bay with Bozo Beach to the west followed by Kite Beach. The wind is usually out of the east with thermal augmented trades in late morning on. You can see the reef and the swell zones it sets up. No wonder Bozo and Kite Beach go off in strong winds with nice swells. What's up with "X Kiter?" Is that the name of a Marvel comic, could make a great movie. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/PM_1.jpg Paul is out playing in the waves with a camera up on an 8 m kite and a surfboard lower down. Mighty nice waves off Cabarete over the reef. On this day winds were east around 20 kts. with solid head high surf and what Paul calls "surprise waves" on tidal changes. Hey Paul, what's a surprise wave, something like a rogue wave only unannounced and smaller? http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/PM_2.jpg Paul was sliding along when he saw this guy kite down and drifting north offshore and towards the wave breaks. They were about a 1/2 mile out inside or south of the "X marks the spot" area. The guy got caught and gobbled by a breaking wave. His fifth line rig got all twisted up after to where relaunching wasn't feasible. This can happen fairly easily too so it is good to have a good way to deal with things. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/PM_3.jpg Paul went out recovered the guy's board and brought it back to him. He figured the guy had two options. Including; 1. Paul could ride his board and drag his kite in while the kiter could paddle Paul's surfboard in, or; 2. He could self-rescue and sail in. The kiter setup for Self Rescue by sailing in using the kite. Paul mentioned he often sees people simply turn the kite upside down and use it as a raft ignoring the substantial advantages of being able to sail in using the kite. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/PM_4.jpg Once the kite was in position the kiter made shore in no time about 20 to 25 minutes and from a 1/2 mile out. You can see the rider with kite bent perpendicular to the wind from the east and tooling nicely shoreward to the south. Paul kept orbiting by to make sure he was doing ok throughout which is always a good policy when someone is making for shore in this way. It can't be emphasized enough how vital it is for all kiters to know and have practiced bailing out using the kite to sail in on the water. A new kiter was found on their kite raft hours after dark, expired from hypothermia this year. Not sure if they could have sailed into shore or not without the effects of hypothermia stealing their options away. When severe cold effects are creeping in you need to move early otherwise options fall away. Then again in strong wind you can make up to a few knots and short distances can be covered fairly quickly. We'll never know. There have been still other serious cases out there. I once used this to sail in from over a mile off the north shore of Antigua. Did the trip fast and easy and considering there was no way my kite was going to launch again before hitting shore, it was a good thing. How do you do it? There is a video of one approach at: http://kitefilm.com/video/rescue_techniques_part1.wmv The above example is with a small C kite in good wind, one of the easier scenarios to do this in. When they say watch out for (and EXPECT) lines to catch and tangle on you underwater believe it and be careful. Some advise winding at least one kite wing span of a single line (your kite leash line) on your bar first before winding all the lines up as you work towards the kite. In either case be very careful of breaking waves catching your kite and perhaps you as well with a stray line. More often than not you may have a flat kite and a larger one at that. The trick is to get enough of the kite canopy folded over perpendicular to the wind and making for the shore. You may need to let a little air pressure out of some leading edges to be able to fold them over. Just don't let too much out. Practice this before you need it for real to be able to better judge what you need to do and how it all comes together. With flat kites I've had some success working from the center of the kite wing tips up as shown in the second photo above. I will then pull in on one of the bridles from the shoreward facing wing tip, arching the kite over me. There is no need to hold both wing tips together with a larger kite as long as the wind sees enough of the kite canopy. You can control power or bleed it off if excessive by how far back you work along the leading edge towards the wing tip that is in the water. You can even steer very slightly closer to the wind by pulling the wing tip above the water across the line of the leading edge in the downwind direction. You can even lie on your back on the leading edge with one leg on top of your kite and sail in partially out of the water. I've even been able to mouth inflate the leading edge to be able to do this years in the past when the leading edge valve plug blew out on impact with water. Lots of ways of doing this, you just need to be practiced with a few. So, no excuses know how to do this. btw, wearing appropriate flotation/impact vest and carrying a knife may come in handy. If you are taking Pro Lessons make sure your instructor will teach you how to do this, don't take no for an answer. Photos by Paul Menta's kite, what's it called, Wilbur? * |
Sometimes we get a bit too comfortable with kiting. We start to do marginal (aka dumb) things. Doing errands around the car with a kite aloft falls in with that lot. You know, ill advised activities that can rip an arm off, move your face to the back of your head or even do some impromptu redesign on your ride. Skill is no factor in this either, really good kiters can still have a bad day if they set themselves up for it with poor decisions. Sort of like the following ...
http://www.kiteforum.com/download/file.php?id=20978&t=1 Here we have Tophat, Felix Pivec and an involuntary kiteboarder, a minivan?! Yup, the minivan that didn't want to screw with kids, moms, it wanted to go kiting. Reminds me of another van years in the past that was into kitelooping cleverly holding the bar in a wheel well and shredding stuff on adjoining less hip vehicles. As Felix was trying to collect another kite out of The Hat's van, he caught a line on the sliding door, the kite gets dosed on angel dust, goes ape and the bar rips the poor van's door off and flings it ten feet into the air! Anyway, Felix came out of it ok with some limited contusions and lacerations, as a minor miracle. The minivan was so traumatized that it slipped off that night, grabbed a flight to Italy to be converted into a cappuccino machine. It figured it might come into contact with a saner class of guys only suffering from caffine addiction as opposed to a compulsion to loft automobiles piecemeal. More photos and details at: http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2350534 http://www.kitesurfmania.com.br/ksm/...gos/927/26.jpg Felix on the prowl for vans in the surf, not finding any but still looking! From: http://www.kitesurfmania.com.br/ Tophat attending Erik Eck's astounding lofting in Oahu in 2002. What is it about toppers and the bizarre? More about what might have gone wrong that day HERE. |
Just because something appeared almost 45 years in the past, doesn't necessarily mean it isn't a lot of fun or even practical in today's world. Set the Wayback Machine to March 1964 Mr. Professor and let's look in again on the then latest issue of Skin Diver Magazine.
http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/sd_1.jpg There it is the Rebikoff Pegasus. A torpedo like DPV complete with airplane controls for steering, diving and ascending. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/SD_2.jpg Page 1, these things were a blast to fly vertically towards the surface and burst free like a breaching whale, Polaris or something as shown in the photo. The Pegasus was too top shelf for the likes of us with the expensive battery pack. So we used a very similar device with the exception of a long power extension cord (100 yards+). The cord was used to tow a large, 220 V, 40 A diesel generator around in a 13.5 ft. Whaler. Seems awkward but it worked. You didn't want to take it out into too large a sea though. The guys found this out the hard way of Viecas, Puerto Rico when 6 to 8 ft. seas caused the craft to turn turtle and be pulled to the bottom. So, that is how you can sink a whaler, with a huge weight bolted into it. They were on a Navy job surveying reef conditions in the bombing range. So no worries, just send a Huey out and winch it up off the bottom and fly it to shore for cleaning. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/SD_3.jpg Playing around with the device, it is easy to do. The Pegasus/Remora was designed as a survey vehicle with numerous custom designed UW arch lamps, cine cameras, photogrammetric cameras and the like. I can recall how thrilled we were to find a digital depth gage, an old Farallon, for our Remora to serve as an artificial horizon during photogrammetric surveys to preserve scale. It was the first digital depth gage we had heard of and a steal at $500. in 1976! We used these gadgets in the mid 1970's well after this SD article. I see Jerry Greenberg shot these photos. Lots of us may have copies of his UW photo books of the Florida Keys. You know back in the day when they still had Elkhorn Coral? Times do change. I have some images of my own of the Remora in action along with some photogrammetric composite images. I'll have to find them and put them into a POD at some point in the future. Noticed this Dacor ad and thought I would throw it in. How about those prices and nifty gear? http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/SD_4.jpg * |
Weather ... now there's a mouthful and something we spend a lot of time pondering through the year. The more we wonder, the more the wx gnomes create on the Internet for us to try to figure out what is going on. Click on the images to be taken to realtime conditions within the area shown.
http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/sm_1.jpg Here's an interesting one out of Weatherunderground. An interactive map imposed over google satellite imagery. You can see a system moving over Puerto Rico. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/sm_2.jpg What are conditions like across the Bahamas or in the Turks and Caicos? You can get an idea here. Weatherunderground has assembled data from a lot of privately owned weather stations and some public ones in this display. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/sm_4.jpg Zooming in on the Tampa Bay area and a very pronounced August cold front? They guys have been getting lots of wind out of this one. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/sm_5.jpg What is going on in the Keys? You can even view livecams if you click that option. Speaking of weather, here's news ... tropical weather season is in full swing. Realtime images, maps and model charts from several sites have been assembled for easier viewing at the link below. Best to keep an eye on things. Hurricane Prediction And Tracking Resources http://www.wunderground.com/data/640...at_ir_anim.gif One image via the above page from Weatherunderground.com |
Hope to start a new page ...
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FIT Divers and Trainers (http://divefit.com/) had the Gulfstream Free Diving Competition over the last four days. It was a real intriguing experience including competition over several forms of free diving or disciplines. Niki Roderick and Martin Stepanek of FIT created this first time ever event. Disciplines included Constant Weight miles offshore in several hundred feet of water, Static and Dynamic Apnea (apnea = breath holding) in the pool. The competitors including a range of athletes with strengths in varying areas. A new national record was set by Niki for Constant Weight descent to 55 m (181 ft. deep)with no fins. Jared also made it to 58 m (191 ft.)Constant Weight (with fins) yesterday.
http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/Rig_s.jpg The free floating free diving setup with weighted descent lines and even an automatic diver retrieval system in case of emergency. Technical SCUBA divers were deployed to various depths along the descent for the competitors. Safety free divers also meet and escort competitors to the surface at pre-established depths. Should the competitor black out or show signs, there are multiple provisions and personal in place to manage the situation including an EMT. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/Martin_s.jpg Martin just starting his warmup. We go through a series of preliminary descents to activate the mammalian dive response to depress heart rates and improve breathhold efficiency. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/SA_s.jpg Competitors and safeties performing static apnea or breathholding in the pool. The techniques for the various disciplines share training aspects and benefits in both competitive free diving as well as recreational diving. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/Jared_s.jpg Jared, a former Navy SEAL coming up after his first dynamic apnea dive, ever, I'm told. He made it 109 m (359 ft. horiziontally) in the 50 m pool if memory serves. Tony his safety diver is just behind him. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/Martin_n_Niki_s.jpg Martin eases up past Niki. Martin is a nine time world record holder in various free diving disciplines. Martin (CZ Free Diving Team), Niki (NZ Free Diving Team) and Jared (on the U.S. Free Diving Team) just left today for Egypt for a major international free diving competition. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/Ascent_s.jpg I think this is Todd on final ascent. There were a ton of volunteers required to pull this event off. Lots of technical safety divers equipped with lift bags (no aero-embolism for free divers to worry about), still and video cameramen, safety divers, boat crew, etc.. http://www.fksa.org/albums/album347/Moon_Jelly_s.jpg Todd again with a moon jelly. It really is blue out there in the Deep Blue. More to come, have a ton of video clips to edit as well. |
Some shots from gulf coast swell and storm winds courtesy of Hanna, Ike, and Gustav
http://inlinethumb12.webshots.com/42...600x600Q85.jpg
Tripp Hobbs SUP - Pass-A-Grille http://inlinethumb02.webshots.com/44...600x600Q85.jpg Tripp Hobbs SUP - Pass-A-Grille http://inlinethumb29.webshots.com/41...600x600Q85.jpg Matt Sexton SUP - Pass-A-Grille http://inlinethumb47.webshots.com/22...600x600Q85.jpg Billy Bosch of the UF Kite Club - Pass-A-Grille Tube http://inlinethumb02.webshots.com/40...600x600Q85.jpg Tripp Hobbs Strapless Kiteloop |
Thanks for putting up the intriguing shots Matt! I understand they were taken by CJ as well. Nice session and great photography!
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yea the two colored sup and surf shots were cj's the others were wells prestons, gulf coast really does get waves! ........but for now we're heading east
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http://www.aolcdn.com/aolportal/fusi...0lvg051608.jpg
From: http://journals.aol.com/photographyd/AOLPHOTOTALK/ It's a little off topic, but what the hell, I would love to fly something like this someday. And, doing it over the Swiss Alps, amazing. Yves Rossy of Switzerland just tooled across the English Channel in 10 minutes with one of these jet propelled wings. |
But can he do a loop?
Absolutely amazing. The guy is a 49 y.o. airline pilot from Switzerland. I wonder if the orders have started to pile up. I wonder if he'll figure out how to use it without the jump plane. BASE jumpers must be salivating right now.
I found a new item for my Bucket List. F. |
It is the stuff of dreams Frank, or nightmares depending on how things go. Maybe he'll do all the critical T and E for us. Here is some more ...
The clip of the crossing of the English Channel http://resim.samanyoluhaber.com/resim/ucan_adam_4.jpg Just step up and slide in http://resim.samanyoluhaber.com/resim/ucan_adam_2.jpg Will it work, strips paint great! http://resim.samanyoluhaber.com/resim/ucan_adam_5.jpg Free fall http://resim.samanyoluhaber.com/resim/ucan_adam_7.jpg It's a race http://www.davinciinstitute.com/new/...lyingman07.jpg Winning http://resim.samanyoluhaber.com/resim/ucan_adam_12.jpg Photos from: From: http://fotogaleri.samanyoluhaber.com/galeri/946/4 http://www.davinciinstitute.com/new/...lyingman03.jpg Touch down From: http://www.impactlab.com/2007/04/28/...he-flying-man/ Kinda reminds me of a movie... Who remembers this one? Not bad for a Disney flick either. http://members.tripod.com/makeitsoma...VERFORBLOG.jpg From: http://makeitsomarketing.tripod.com/...pic_id=1085512 |
Fusion Man
There was an hour long special on last night at 11pm on the NGC channel showing his flight from Calais to Dover.
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I'm sure the military has already got plans for it's use. And it would give suicide bombing a whole new perspective. As if they needed any more ideas.
F. |
Sorry I missed it Frank, sounds like an interesting program.
USA Today had the following ... wiss man flies over English Channel on jet-propelled wing 9/26/2008 2:53 PM **View Full StoryDOVER, England (AP) -- He had nothing above him but four tanks of kerosene and nothing below him but the cold waters of the English Channel. But Yves Rossy leapt from a plane and into the record books on Friday, crossing the channel on a homemade jet-propelled wing. Rossy jumped from the plane about 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) over Calais, France, blasting across the narrow body of water and deploying his parachute over the South Foreland lighthouse, delighting onlookers who dotted Dover's famous white cliffs, cheering and waving as Rossy came into view. Backed by a gentle breeze, Rossy crossed the Channel in 13 minutes, averaging 200 kilometers (125 miles) per hour. In a final flourish, he did a figure eight as he came over England, although the wind blew him away from his planned landing spot next to the lighthouse. "It was perfect. Blue sky, sunny, no clouds, perfect conditions," the Swiss pilot said after touching down in an adjacent field. He said he wanted to show, "it is possible to fly, a little bit, like a bird." Onlookers scooped up their children, picnics and dogs to race to the landing site as Rossy posed for photographs. His ground crew doused him with champagne, and the pilot swigged greedily from the bottle as he waved to the band of onlookers gathered to cheer him and take pictures with cellphone cameras. A small airplane zipped across the sky with a banner that read: "Well done Jet Man." Rossy said he had watched passenger ferries cutting a path between the Britain and France as he tore through the air. "I was happy to be faster than them," he said. The 49-year-old said the Channel crossing was the realization of a dream. "That's the most gratifying thing you can do," he said. Rossy's trip twice delayed due to bad weather was meant to trace the route of French aviator Louis Bleriot, the first person to cross the narrow body of water in an airplane 99 years ago. |
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/media...9/42667138.jpg
Look at what I saw on the homepage of the Sunsentinel. Looking good. "World Cup of Surfing (CARSTEN REHDER, EFE) Tony Frans competes during the World Cup of Surfing in Westerland, Germany on Tuesday, Sept. 30." Just don't let it go to your heads, they also had this ... http://www.orlandosentinel.com/media...0/42684597.jpg Captioned: "The Lizard Birthday; Meat Cake With Mice (DARON DEAN, THE ST. AUGUSTINE RECORD/ASSOCIATED PRESS) Krakatoa, the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoological Park’s 75-pound, 7.5-foot long Komodo Dragon, celebrates his eighth birthday with fellow eight-year-olds from R.B. Hunt Elementary School Wednesday, Oct. 1. The children sang Happy Birthday to the large lizard as he was presented with a meat cake topped with mice." Sponge Bob, a meat pie topped with mice and an excited Komodo Dragon, there's an image! uh, got any white cake instead? |
I Prefer Sushi
Thanks for the offer tho' |
Chrissy Field
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Blue Angels over Chrissy Field this weekend. I am going to venture down to Waddell this afternoon and check that spot out.
Clew In http://www.fksa.org/albums/album365/IMG_0052_Small.jpg http://www.fksa.org/albums/album365/IMG_0037_Small.jpg |
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Light wind day at Waddell, California.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWuq2t8S9j4 Clew In http://www.fksa.org/albums/album365/IMG_0064_Small.jpg http://www.fksa.org/albums/album365/IMG_0048_Small.jpg http://www.fksa.org/albums/album365/IMG_0020_Small.jpg http://www.fksa.org/albums/album365/IMG_0017_Small.jpg http://www.fksa.org/albums/album365/IMG_0014_Small.jpg |
I love all these pics!!!! and vids. good stuff
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Nice shots CI, thanks for posting them! What sort of wind did you have? Also, what thickness wetsuits are guys using now?
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Hey,
This is at the end of the season for this area and it was very light wind day 15mph- low 20mph. I think most use a minimum of a 4-3 wetsuit. The water is cooooold. Clew In |
Sounds like a normal day here, although its been stronger for the last few days. Sounds nippy, thanks again for sending the shots along.
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Having trouble learning to kite, fly, well you're not alone. Here's a tale of a guy that trains eagles born in captivity how to fly. He decided to take one for a flight off Monte Bianco into Chamonix Valley in France.
Maybe we could use them to attack problem kites? Good thing it didn't drag a stray talon across the paraglider canopy, ouch! October 14, 2008 Man and eagle soar over the French Alps Have a look at the video below. If you love birds, flying or mountains, it's impossible not to be moved. It's a report from France 2 television on a flight last Friday by Sherkan, an American bald eagle from the summit of Mont Blanc, Europe's higest mountain. The eagle, which has a two-metre (6'6") wingspan, flew with Jacques-Olivier Travers, a professional falconer. He specialises in teaching flight to big birds born in captivity. Travers, who runs the Eagles of Leman park on Lake Geneva had been training Sherkan, a 14-year-old bird born in Germany, the art of aviation for the past 18 months. When he was ready, he took him by helicopter along with paraglider pilots to the top of the mountain, which is at 4,800 metres (15,800 feet) altitude. The result was this film, shot partly from the escorting paragliders, of Sherkan making the 40-minute flight down to the Chamonix valley over 12,000 feel below. The thin air at altitude meant that the bird tired quickly and came back to his instructor mid-air to rest. He enjoyed himself more in the lower air, Travers says on the video. [Thanks, Dot King, for posting the link yesterday] From: http://timescorrespondents.typepad.c...10/post-1.html http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._du_Gouter.jpg From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:M..._du_Gouter.jpg It's an amazing place. |
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