Tues, DW Advice Needed

[Kitespear813]

Hi I am A beginner, Tues looks like good wind, I plan to do a downwinder any suggestions of where to go on a NW, Thanks In advance.

First, do you have the right size kite?
I don't know if it is going to blow or how hard, but our cold fronts seem to be all or nothing the last few years. I don't think they are usually solid 20 knots. More like 25 to 35.
If it's really blowing (30 or so) you will need a fairly small kite.

How far north are you?
I think that John's Pass is a good starting point. It was pretty choppy north of there last time, and more reasonable south of JP last DW.

[BigR]

If you are a beginner then you should goto north part of Treasure island beach , it is a long wide open beach. free parking lot.

from there you can practice small downwinders to get a feel for how rough it can be. also you should not go out alone and as Scott said, use the proper equipment for the conditions

[Kitespear813]

well i have a 11m waroo, so hopefully it won't blow too hard, I say beginner because I don't get on the water alot, however Ihave been mostly land boarding for the past two years I can go upwind on a lnad board( maybe on the water also, who knows, I just need to practice,) So I am good at controlling the kite. AS far as another person I Know one person that kiteboards, Thats me.

Raul is right about TI and the much broader area for launching. That's a better call. That 11 will definitely be pushing it if it is hitting 30.
I was on a 7m litt and BigAirAl was overpowered on his 9m.
It seems to almost always hits 30 with our cold fronts the last few seasons.

I would see where people are talking about riding as the time nears, and try to join them at the launch spot. Not a good idea to launch solo in 25 knots or more.

[bryanleighty]

not sure if you got out or even went to the beach a couple weeks ago during the NW front we got on that epic Sunday..

Strong wind on flat water has nothing on strong wind on the Gulf. If you read thru the forum posts from that day we had numerous skilled riders getting worked pretty hard. many lost boards.. etc..

I was out at St. Pete Beach and tho I've been riding for about 3 years.. it was pretty damn intense.

I am not trying to scare you away from the amazing thing that is Gulf riding on a strong wind day.. just be SAFE.. get a riding partner or hook up with others that might be doing a downwinder.

If you only have an 11m kite.. you might not want to go out or look into picking up an 8 or 9 m kite before next week... you will need it for our area..
11 is too big once these fronts come in.

I weigh 200 and was on my 9m waroo and got worked a few times. Its brutal, survival-like kiting at times.

Just be Safe.. thats all anyone on this board will ask you to do.