NEW Distance Race Cocoa Beach - Vero

[kitebdr1962]

Hey everyone, its me again, I have figure out how to use this forum, scary..to you Jayson, there is a place to stay after the race, Caribbean Court. this is the place that We will be holding the Trophy presentation and it is the finish line also...Google it...Vero Beach...google Cherie Downs, Cocoa Beach..If you can not find it, Rick does have a aerial photo of the Start site coming soon, and it will show more. I am getting emails about PAFB, and I have all the answers to give, but this why you need to attend the Skipper's Meeting Friday night or one hour before start on Saturday, which will be at 10:00, therefore the meeting will be at 9:00..Just to let you know, this Race is for experienced kiteboarder's and there will be no chase boat to help you, but all Lifeguards along the route are aware of the event.



Overall route of race, about 55 miles



Approximate starting line in area of:
Cherie Down Parks
8492 Ridgewood Ave, Cape Canaveral


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A view to the NE, may or may not have land wind shadow at this location depending on actual wind direction. Would be good to watchout for rotor and stalling kites on launch anyway.



Patrick AFB approximate 10 miles south of starting line. Aside from aircraft flying in and out, is there a real obvious landmark near the northern boundary that out of towners will easily remember and recognize from the water?



Sebastian Inlet, the only inlet crossed by the race



Approximate finish line in area of:
E Causeway Blvd & Highway A1a, Vero Beach, FL 32963 US

All the locations shown are approximations as I am not totally certain of your exact starting and stopping locations.

Approximate intervals between waypoints of race:

Start to Cocoa Beach Pier (stay 300 ft. away minimum) 1.7 miles
Pier to Patrick Air Force Base 7 miles
North to south distance along Patrick AFB 3.5 miles
Patrick to Sebastian Inlet 26 miles
Sebastian Inlet to finish 17 miles

[ricki]

There are your aerial photos AJ. The scale isn't so great, it is hard to make out a lot of detail in them. You will need to mark the finish well, I suspect Kent has already talked to you about that given the apparent lack of real obvious landmarks for people unfamiliar with the area.

The shoreline there has lots of hotels and likely college students too currently. Your idea of staying at least 350 ft. offshore in this area and further off Patrick Air Force Base makes good sense based on the aerials. Patrick AFB is about ten miles south of the start.

It looks like the wind may be a bit up and down from the NORTH currently forecast (may change again!) at the start due to land wind shadow from the point north of the inlet (Cape Canaveral). I would expect gusts and lulls during launching and space out and manage your kites accordingly to try to avoid tangles, and get offshore pronto into cleaner air.

Boschoss made a lot of points worth considering and acting upon in his posts.


I know you are doing complete planning and execution for this Kitetricity event including safety planning and will be briefing participants thoroughly on things to do, not do and watch out for. I hope to make it up but may not be able to do so. Either way, have fun and be safe. By the way, what are you calling your distance race anyway?

[kitebdr1962]

Hey Everyone...

We are a go for Saturday morning...Forecast is looking like NE winds, 15 to 25...We will start the race at 10:00 a.m. Sharp....Skippers meeting at 9:00, and you must be there to hear it..Fee for the race will be done at 8:30 til 9:00...25.00 check or cash, NO CARDS..There will be a pre-race party Friday night at Liar's Pub, 3800 US1, Grant, Fl. 32950, and a Skippers Meeting there too, around 8:00. You can pre-pay there also before the race Saturday..Just to let everyone know, I have been working with PAFB, and all that info will be told at the Skippers Meeting, Friday and Saturday..The Race is "ON"...There will be a 36 hour notice coming soon..Get ready Riders, it is going to be a blast, and tons of fun, that is what this is all about..Be sure to check out the FKA forum, there is stuff there to read, and I will try and update info there also...Rick has put up a aerial view on this forum, thanks Rick..The start line will be at Cherie Downs Park, at the corner of Washington Ave and Ridgewood Ave, which is just south of Ron jon resort..Be sure to look it up, and be there for the meeting and start, not at the resort..The finish line will be marked well, so that should not be a problem..btw if anyone has people following them down, for a support team, be sure to have them take pictures at the Cocoa Beach Pier, and at the Sebastian Inlet Bridge on top of it, should make for some awesome shots..fyi, this race does not have a name, and I am just trying to keep a flame going here for neil, because we know that his Race/event will be back next year. I know about the local knowledge very well, and I know that there are some new shops that just opened up there. I will back sure that We do not cause any problems up that way for their future business. If anyone has family memebers that want to help in anyway, have them see me Friday night or Saturday morning around 8:30..Thanks Again for all the help Rick and Kent. Hope to see everyone soon..A.J...

[kitebdr1962]

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to say, before I forget, I want to Thank Everyone that is trying to make this happen. This is what the Sport is all about, Team Work, Sportsmanship, and just Good "Old School" Kiteboarding...Thanks..

I do have an update on PAFB....They do not care if We go by in the Ocean..BUT..We are not allowed to Kite there because it is the Military..You can never Launch or Land there...period...This info comes from a "High Ranking" Officer..Just an FYI, since this is My backyard, per say, I do have contacts...lol...so with that being said, the race is "SO ON"...

The Race will start at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, and will end in 2 to 5 hours...he,he,he...Yes, I am writing this to the Guys who are going to smoke this, and to the people who, like me, are going to take longer...lol

There is going to be a lot of info to go over at the Skippers Meeting, so be sure to listen, and understand, because this is the first time doing this race.
Again, if You can make it, there will be a pre-race party, and We will do a Skippers meeting there, and one before the day the Race..If there are issue's at the Party Meeting, I will be sure to bring this to Everyone's attend at the Saturday morning meeting..So just bare with Me while I try and do the best I can to make Everyone Happy...Btw, this Race is All about having Fun and SAFETY...

If you are looking at the weather, like I have been doing, the winds are going to be blowing their butt off. So be sure to double check your gear the night before, and again the day of the Race, because there will be NO Safety Boat out in the water, unless the Coast Guard is called out. Be sure to have your cell phone and money with You in a water proof bag, just in case. Again there will be a lot of info to go over at the meetings, Friday and Saturday morning...

I will be sending out more info thru emails tomorrow morning...

[Boschoss]

I wasnt trying to offend anyone by my post. It's just that I live a block from the Pier on the beach and about a mile from Cherie Down. This literally is my backyard. I grew up surfing here and have been on the beach all day every day for a while now doing surf/kite/sup lessons. The idea of a tons of kiters going down the beach with the recent amount of people freaked me out. Due to heavy binge drinking of college students, they do tend come out a little later than 10am, so all should be good. Hopefully people will get setup kinda early so that the tourists don't put their towels and umbrellas in the launch area. I am excited that people will get to experience the amazing conditions we have. The forecast looks great for Saturday! As long as there is a decent amount of East to the wind, then Cherie Down will be a good starting place. The beach gets really gusty with NNE and sometimes NE but once you get past the breakers you'll find a good breeze. Keep your distance from the pier cause occasionally the fishermen find it fun to cast at kiters. I just found out about the race on Sunday and already have lessons booked, so wont be able participate. Good luck to everyone and have fun!!!

[Boschoss]

Answering Rick's question about landmarks for PAFB...Basically when the condos and houses end about 9 miles from the start, the Airforce base begins. Keep your distance!

[ricki]

The forecast is holding 20 to 25 kts. for Saturday, even improved a bit switching back to NE. With the wind starting on Friday, should have some waves on Saturday too, 7 to 10 ft. by current estimates. More wx info at: http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=6738



AJ mentioned stopping at Sebastian Inlet Bridge to watch and photograph the kiters as they blow past. Here's a video looking towards the ocean from the bridge. Looks even better in real life.




The view from the north jetty is pretty good too as you can see in the following clip. If you're lucky, you might even see someone on Fred Flintstone's surfboard.






For folks that can't make it but want to see some of the action as it happens, be sure to monitor images at the following link, I would guess from 11:30 am on. The inlet is about 40 miles down the coast from the start. http://www.sebastianinletcam.com/



There are far better views on the site than the one shown above so be sure to monitor those as well.

Be sure to save some of the images and put them up here. Not everything shows up in the image archives. You can have a front row seat to part of the race from anywhere in the world!