The Best of Times, and the not so Best of Times

Sandy Neck- 3 miles from Chapin, nothing but slicks and waves as far as the eye can see, perfect wind for a 10M kite, sun throwing silver diamonds across the glistening water, my board taps out a rhythm as I skip across the washboard ripples. Chriz is out here exploring with me. This is good. This is very good. I'm in my happy place. $50 Parking ticket- There's a very nice officer in the parking lot when I get back. Apparently, if you park at 8:00, before the parking lot attendants arrive, kite out to Sandy Neck, come back at 12:00, you've committed a parking violation. $50 worth of violation. I try to explain about the slicks and waves as far as the eye can see, the silver diamonds and my happy place. Violation. You need to be here between 9:00 and 10:00 to pay the attendants or you're in violation. I'm a scofflaw, a dangerous violater. But the officer is interested in kiting. It looks like so much fun! Yeah it is. Just don't do it in Dennis. You'll be in violation. Chriz's GPS Tracks Chapin, Kitesurfed, NNE, 15-25, 10M Rally/Mako 150, Chapin with 60 - 70 kiters, Sandy Neck with Chriz. Learners Report Josh- didn't get a session this week but he did last week. Chapin, high tide, choppy. He struggled with riding toeside in the bumps but was getting some good chop hops. Paige- finally got her body drag session. She got dragged. She got bounced. I forgot that she is so much smaller and lighter than me, probably should have had her on a smaller kite. She was still smiling though.

All is Fair in Kiting

This Week- Josh and I got 2 weekday sessions after work, Deer Island, Revere, now we're driving all over the Cape with Paige chasing wind. We finally find it, West Dennis, WSW to W, sideshore coming across land, gusty as stink, dead high tide. This is not an easy launch. Josh is in the water trying to launch the kite, looking for a shallow spot to stand. I have to hold the kite in the dunes. It's not pretty. The kite rolls once and I chase it. No harm done. The second time it goes up. I see the same thing happen to 2 other people. Some kiters decide to wait for the tide to go out. The meter reads 13-30. Josh is riding 14M fully depowered, way out deep, when the depower rope pops out of the cleat in a gust, slams him. No fun. He makes it back on his own though. We put up a 9m and it's perfect for awhile, especially out past the breakwater where the wind is stronger and cleaner. Josh and I take turns on it. It's great. Learners Report Josh- I can't believe Josh got his first full rides just last weekend. Really?! This week he learned to carve to toeside, stay upwind toeside, pop little jumps, and manage these stupid conditions. It's not fair. Paige- is a trooper with our craziness today. 3 beaches and we never find the right conditions for her body drag lesson. You can't learn to kite if you never get on the water. Next time. I hope.

Chappaquiddick Escape

Chappaquiddick. Beautiful Chappy. So quiet and peaceful. Where else on the Cape can you find deserted beaches on a hot Summer weekend day? Only in your dreams. I think the second ferry usually keeps the Rif Raf, like us, out. We snuck onto the island for 4 days. Thurs night-Monday night. The kids were with us for 2 1/2 days. What we did- Kitesurfed 2 full days, windsurfed, boated, SUP'd, snorkeled, biked, fished, puzzled. What we didn't do- Unicycled. Not enough time to do everything. Katama Bay- We boated out to Norton Point Beach, launched kites and I pretended I knew how to teach this sport. The big shallow flats at that end of the bay made a good bodydrag/waterstart/crashing ground. Our inflatable was the chase boat. 2 full days spent kiting here, nice. Cape Poge/The Gut- We drove to the end of North Neck Rd, walked the narrow path to the Gut, (the mouth of Cape Poge). We could have paddled across with kiting gear on SUP but wind was light at the time. We SUP'd, snorkeled, fished. Later I came back and windsurfed. The 4x4 driving pass to Cape Poge costs $180. No day passes, (like Norton Beach $30/day), are available for Chappy. It would be worth the $180, if we were here for  a week, so we could drive out easily and kite. Cape Poge looks like it has the best kiting slicks on the island, supposed to have better wind too. Wasque Reservation- Solo session at the mouth of Katama Bay. Nice spot in SE wind! Sandbars, slicks and waves. Mean current though. Learners report Josh- A quick learner, had his first fully powered sessions, got his first long rides, first slide transitions, good upwind bodydrags, easily kited upwind on outgoing and incoming tides. It must be nice to be 22. Ben- The wind lulled every time he looked at a kite. He only had 1 session due to wind dropping on first day. Did many water starts on 2nd day but never really had enough power to get riding. I should have given him a bigger kite. It was an exercise in frustration tolerance, not Ben's favorite kind of exercise. Paige- Trainer kite session during a gusty spell. She remained in 1 piece, a major success. Barbara- First time flying the trainer. She didn't crash it once! Maybe this is where the kids get their kiting genes.