Rigging and Control 4line LEI

[Ron]

Rick,

The info on the lightning is very informative. I learned to ride in Kuwait and have never ridden when the potential for lightning is present. The rainy season here is quite cold and damp and mostly puts one off from kiting in the rain and cold that are present when there is lightning in Kuwait.

The Al-Baraweh winds that bring the duststorms will start around June and can continue thru August-September. During this time, Kuwait City receives very fierce NW winds that blow down from the desert interiors of Iraq and northern Kuwait. The average wind speed during these storms is 20-28mph with frequent gusts into the 30ish mph range, The highest gust that I've personally measured was 42mph but are reportedly much higher in the interior. These northerly winds are most often accompanied by wicked dust storms that can reduce visibility to a few meters.

As Patrick said, one really has to see them to experience the full sensation. At night, these duststorms are just plain eeire and they can literally turn day into night. The worst duststorms I personally experienced in Kuwait were touched off my movement of forces into Iraq in 2003. I was working as a US contractor at the time and the duststorms were so severe that they set of the US troops chemical alarms.The dust is so fine that it blows thru window sills and doorframes and leaves everything with a fine coating.

Patrick, I wouldn't recomend going out in these winds until you've mastered riding upwind and are familiar with Kuwaits waters and riding out a gust. It's a bit disconcerting at first, not being able to see the shoreline because of reduced visibility. I remember my first session in a duststorm, my buddy just disapeared into the dust about 50 meters from shore and it took a couple tacks for me to get used to riding in the reduced visibility It's often very gusty during these winds so a helmet and impact vest is also highly recomended.

Scott, I don't have any pics of riders in the sandstorms but I hope to take some when the sandstorms come this summer. Until then, I'll post a pic of a sandstorm and a pic of one of the local kite spots, just for visual reference.



Sandstorm at a military base in Kuwait


Some locals kiters on a clear day