NEW Distance Race Cocoa Beach - Vero

[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!

[ricki]

Nice swell photo! For folks that spend lots of time in South Florida, take away the Bahamas, add a few thousand miles of fetch and you can get some large nicely formed waves. Cocoa Beach is famous for them. In the race from Jupiter to Ft. Lauderdale the waves usually shrink as you move south. It sounds like the reverse may apply in this case.

Regarding wetsuits, another consideration are Portuguese Man-O-War. If you go into one it is nice to have some neoprene between you and the tentacles. A minor contact and anaphylactic shock threatened a rider in the race to Bimini requiring him to be rushed back to Miami for treatment. Just heard an amazing story from Kent tonight about catching tentacles in his eye yesterday! I was at a loud reggae concert and couldn't catch all the details. I think it just flew up there from some spray. He is ok but was in a lot of pain, what are the odds?! I will get the complete story and post it with photos. Only in Biscayne Bay? Folks get drilled down there by needlefish too. Lots of us have tangled with Portuguese many dozens of times, still it is nice when the tentacles don't reach your skin. Especially when you're trying to go somewhere, 55 miles away!

AJ mentioned waterproofed cell phones, a great idea. Camelpaks, powerbars are also a good to have along too. BE SURE to tighten all your fastenings on your boards, someone always has footstraps or fins fall off. Again bad timing for something like that. I would check your lines to make sure they don't need to be changed out. Inflate your kites and leave them for several hours to make sure there are no leaks, etc.. Broken gear in the middle of something like this frequently happens but is always a pain in the butt. Pays to inspect to try to avoid it.

There will be some large breaking waves as shown above, perhaps a lot of them. Some of the best of us have been thrown off the falls and sushi rolled in line, not a good thing. Hopefully, there will be a few obvious break lines making avoidance easier to do. There's a story about a kiter getting pulling under in big seas at the link below.

http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=543

As fun as these distance races are, in the more extreme conditions they aren't for everyone. In the first pre-race from Jupiter to Ft. Lauderdale in similar winds and perhaps slightly larger seas over 25% were taken out of the running one way or the other, see below. I took my time in the run, around five hours, sheez. Hey, I was touring. Spent a good portion trying to avoid getting grabbed and rolled in big breaking waves. So, if you've done similar runs, feel confident and able to have at it, go for it. If not, think it over, its all about fun after all.

http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=248...light=pre-race

Hey Craig, you were there and at most of the other distance races that year too. What did you think of the pre-race?

[kitebdr1962]

Hey Everyone..To does that are coming to the race on Saturday. It is Offical ON...The forecast is still looking awesome, and Yes the Waves do get Bigger as You go South of Cocoa Beach, real BIG..I would wear a full wetsuit, I am, and be sure to put a camalback on if you have one..There will be a half-way stop, if you feel like You can not make it, and it will be marked very well..Hope everyone can make the Pre-Race Party, and we will start the Skippers meeting around 8..3800 US1, Grant, Fl. 32950..(Bill's Discount Marine)

[ricki]

The forecast is holding, back to the NE, good thing.

Zone Forecast: Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm (AMZ552)

This Afternoon...North winds increasing to 15 knots. Seas 4 to 6 feet. A moderate chop on the intracoastal waters.

Tonight...Northeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 5 to 7 feet. Choppy on the intracoastal waters. Slight chance of showers.

Saturday...Northeast winds 15 to 20 knots increasing to 20 to 25 knots in the afternoon. Seas 6 to 8 feet. Rough on the intracoastal waters.

Saturday Night...Northeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 6 to 8 feet. Choppy on the intracoastal waters. Slight chance of showers.
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick...y=108&site=mlb


What is causing this wind ...

"Synopsis...A FRESH TO STRONG NORTHEASTERLY BREEZE WILL BEGIN TO IMPACT THE LOCAL ATLANTIC WATERS THIS AFTERNOON AND WILL CONTINUE INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. HAZARDOUS BOATING CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THIS WEEKEND WITH OCCASIONAL WIND GUSTS TO GALE FORCE. WINDS WILL VEER TO THE EAST MONDAY AND THE PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL DECREASE BUT SEAS WILL BE SLOW TO SUBSIDE...ESPECIALLY OFFSHORE."

They don't say anything about gale force in the current text of the marine forecast and yet there it is. By current expectations things may build in the afternoon, perhaps after the race is concluded. What size are you going to rig?

[Boschoss]

Well its blowing like crazy here (Cocoa Beach)! The wind still has a lot of North to it which will make it really gusty at Cherie Down on the beach. That is supposed to change over night though. If it is still gusty in the morning just do your best to get past the waves and it usually cleans up. The waves are huge! Just finished with some lessons at the 520 slick and had to fully depower my student on a 10 meter and he was still kinda overpowered. The beach was too gusty. I have some waterproof cell phone/MP3 cases for sale ($20) in the shop which I will bring to the start in the morning. The shop will open around 8:30 and I will probably take them to the beach around 9:15 or so. I only have like 4 left so first come first serve. Let me know if you need other last minute items. Looks like it going to be a good race!! Good luck to all the riders! 386-235-9804