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.

New Cut- High Tide is for Sharks

Beautiful day! I'm at the New Cut. Some Great Whites were spotted near here recently so of course I'm not going to the outside. No way am I going to the outside. Definitely not. Sam goes to the outside. Now I have to go. I have no choice. You have to watch your kite buddies back. Otherwise they'll get good waves and you'll be sad. But it's not good. High tide, deep water, tiny waves, the sandbars that create an illusion of safety aren't shallow enough. We hightail it outta there. It's better to live to kite another day. Shark bait. The wave in the background is where the sandbar is at low tide. Hardings, Kitesurfed, SW, SSW, 12-20, 12M Rally/Flx 138, with Frank, Sam, Andrey, Colleen.

Happy with What You Have to be Happy With

Thursday Night- Josh's 4th kite session. High tide, chop, light wind, lots of swimmers- Revere is not user friendly. Josh tries to ride upwind but the wind just falls out. When are we going to get good beginner conditions?! Revere, 8-15 MPH, SE, 17M kite, Mako King.  Saturday- Not today. Way gusty. The gusts have gusts. Josh does 1 run and gets off the kite. It's even too snotty to get Paige and Darren on the trainer. They man the SUP, Josh windsurfs, I kite, I windsurf. Everyone's happy. I hope. Waq Bay, 10-30MPH, SW, 8M kite/Mako King, 4.2 sail/ Acid 94. Windsurfing- Hey, this is fun! I'd totally forgotten how great it feels to let it rip on a small sail, strong wind. It feels like I'm just flying across the water! It's also fun to kite while Josh windsurfs. I wonder if I can kite right up to Josh and jump onto his windsurfing board, ride along. That would be fun! If we lived through it. Thanks to Darren for manning the camera!

Teach Your Family to Kite Week

Who knew that this would be so enjoyble?! Teaching your sons to kite. And your son's girlfriend. I try to get my brother and my wife on a trainer kite too, but the kite police in Essex Bay make us land the kite. Baby plovers are napping in the neighborhood. Watching everybody get their first rides is a great feeling! About as much fun as riding myself. I love it. Riding with them is going to be really special. Until they get better than me. Then I'll have to go back to windsurfing. 7/6- Ben- Saturday. Ben's first time flying a real kite! Bodydrag lesson, wind dies. 10M, Long Beach, Stratford, Connecticut trip. 7/8- Josh- Monday evening. Josh's second time with a kite, bodydrag practise, first time getting on a board! Wind dies late. 10M, Revere. 7/10- Ben & Josh- Wednesday evening. Ben's first time getting on a board! 14M. Josh gets on a board but wind is too light for the 10M. SSW, 5-15 MPH, Revere. 7/12- Josh & Paige- Friday evening. Paige's first time on a trainer kite. Josh is up and riding with 17M. There's barely enough wind for Josh, even on such a big kite. NE, 5-15 MPH, Revere. 7/13- Saturday. We boat, in Al's boat, into Essex Bay, inside of Cranes Beach. Put up the trainer kite for Al, Barbara, and Paige. We get shut down by a ranger on a 4x4. No kites during plover season. The Plovers own this beach. What a week!

Poor Man's Carribean

Beautiful day! I get high on the turquiose water around Monomoy. The flats, the New Cut, it all looks like a kiter's dreamscape. It's the Carribean of the northern USA. It doesn't compare with Brazil though. Hardings to flats and New Cut, Kitesurfed, SW, 12-21, Kahoona13.5 & Rally10/ Mako 150, with lotsa friends.

A Chip off the ol' Blockhead

Josh and I are both excited to get on windsurfing boards again! No kitesurfing for me this time. We go to Kalmus, where kites aren't even allowed. A tiny little voice in my head wonders if I'll regret that. We rig. We hit the water. We slog. Hey, I'd forgotten that this is one of the pleasures of windsurfing. You can do it in non-planing conditions. But then we can't. Not even enough wind for that. The wind goes up and down. Light rain spits off and on. There's enough wind to plane and jump with a kite, but I'm not thinking about that cause this is a windsurfing trip. Then I notice that the lifeguards are gone. Bring out the kites! I put Josh on the 3.6 trainer kite, first time. He loves it! I put him on a 10M kite in the water, no board. He really loves it! Finally, I take a few marginal runs on the 10M kite while Josh somewhat-planes on a windsurfer. If I had planned to kite, I would have pumped my 17 and had plenty of power but this is a windsurfing trip, no kiting. We pack up in a brief downpour. Driving home, Josh and I rattle on about what a good day we had. We squeezed all the adventure we could out of a grey, rainy, light wind day. The best part was seeing Josh's excitement for kiting. It reminds me of me. That's not a good sign for Josh's future. Kalmus, Windsurfed/Kitesurfed, SSW, 5-18, 5.7/Acid94, 10M Rally/6' Surfboard, with Josh, Martin, Peter, others. Picture- Josh reaches warp speed on a Windsurfer, almost.

Call of the Wild

Hardings, to Monomy flats, to New Cut, to Stage Harbor, to Hardings. It's all in a day's kiting. New Cut- I went to the outside of the New Cut to play in some tiny, baby smooth waves on the south point. I said I wouldn't do it but I did. Offshore wind, my 17M kite's depower was maxed out, outgoing tide, kiting solo, sharks. How could I resist? Does it help to say that I was mostly over a sandbar? Hardings, Kitesurfed, SSW, 18-25, 17M Fat Lady/Mako King. Solo at New Cut, lotsa friends everywhere else.

Twilight is for Kiting

Another pretty good kiting session. Lightish winds. When the sun touches the horizon, I pull the camera out to get a few shots of the die hards in the gathering twilight. It's a beautiful, almost Summer evening. Warm breeze. Soft, golden, light fading to blue. 9:00 PM- One brave die hard stays out until the only light left is from the half moon and streetlights. It looks like fun until his kite drops out and he has a long swim. Damn! Must be creepy to self rescue in the dark. I drive my truck around the bay and keep my headlights on him until I see him touch ground. This is what happens when there's no parking lot attendant to kick us out. Nature kicks us out. Pleasure Bay, Kitesurfed, SSW, S, 10-22, 14M Rally/Flx138, with Kristof, Johhny H, Peter, Others. Click on pics for full size. Top pic- Peter Mid pic- Johhny H Bottom pic- ?

Closing Time

Horseneck- Light wind, big waves. I'm having a pretty good sunset session. Until we get kicked out. Brad waves me in to tell me that we have to leave. The parking lot attendant wants to lock the gate. What? This is the best part of the day! These people have no respect for kiting into a glorious sunset. Well I was just coming in anyway. So there! It's hard to turn my back on that hazy, golden, setting sun though. Ahh, until next time. Horseneck, Kitesurfed, SW, 10-20, 14M Rally/Mako150, with Brad, Jean, Dan.

Fishing for Kiting

Plum Island/ Newburyport- This is going to be great! I'm fishing in Al's boat. We catch a bunch of mackerel. Josh reels in 2 keeper striped Bass. Now I'm getting ready to kite. I've wanted to kite off of Al's boat for a long time! Al brings his boat close to a deserted sandbar. My gear is ready to go. I tell Al that I have my cell phone in my harness pouch. If anything goes wrong I'll call him for an early pick up. Otherwise, he'll be back in 2 hours. The wind is cranking! I put my gear bag on my back, grab my board, and jump overboard, swim it in. I wave goodbye. Pretty sweet. I pump my kite and reach for my harness to put it on. My harness! I look up to see Al's boat far off in the channel heading out to the ocean. Too far away to signal him. And my cell phone is with my harness. A seagull squawks nearby. It sounds like he's laughing at me. 2 hours later, my harness is right there in the boat where I left it. Al and Josh can't believe it. I'm no smarter than the bass that are in the cooler on ice. My brain is the size of a mackerel brain. It's amazing I can function at all. But I have to forgive myself. It helps that I had a quick kiting session with Brad and Walter yesterday in Buzzards Bay. It helps that it was a sparkling day on the water today with family. Fresh bass for dinner. And my tiny little mackerel brain forgets things quickly. If I was a fish I'd be caught by now. But I'm not a fish. That helps.

Picture- Brad kites better than a Striped Bass.

Top Picture- Al's leg is a striper.

The Smell of a Kiter

I notice when I'm putting on my wetsuit that Hatteras seems to have done it some good. I guess getting wet every day for a week brings out the best in a wetsuit. It's slimy, smelly, and it feels a little thicker, warmer. It's like wearing a petri dish of live bacteria. Don't you love that fishy aroma!? It just makes me want to sing... Ooooh that smell / Can't you smell that smell  Ooooh that smell / The smell of death surrounds you -Lynyrd Skynyrd In spite of my stench, I have a lot of fun at Chapin, kiting the vast outer sandbars at sunset. It quiets the longings in men's souls.   Chapin, Kitesurfed, 10-20, WNW, NW, NNW, 14M Rally/Flx138, Mako150, Plywood Skimmy, with Brad, Flo, Chris L, Steve, Marcello, others.

In the Company of Rocks

It's windy. Hah! They didn't forecast this. Where to kite? Revere? Where all my friends are? Or Deer Island, where the wind is 5MPH stronger but I'm often on my own. Hard choice. I go with the solo session. Wind trumps everything else. In the end, I'm glad my friends aren't here. They don't get to see me bobbing around like a discarded cork when the wind dies and strands me over at The Five Sisters. The only ones who get to snicker at my floundering are a few dog walkers and 1 little boy who runs down to the water's edge to inform me that my kite is really big. The long walk back across the fist size stones makes my plantar fasciitis thrive. All in all, a great day. Not expecting any wind makes any lame session seem like a fabulous adventure. Yirrell Beach, Kitesurfed, ESE, 12-22, 14M Rally/ Mako King, Solo.

A Public Service Announcement

Early onset lunacy. You, or someone you know may have this disease. Do you know the symptoms? -Complete obsession with ______. You fill in the blank. -Avoidance of showering, eating, peeing. Takes too long. -Drooling and speaking in broken sentences when excited. -Getting up in the middle of the night to start the day because can't wait. -Keeping a blog about lunacy. This is a disorder that is treatable! Most sufferers of this degenerative disease don't recognize or acknowledge that they are ill. Early diagnosis and treatment leads to the best outcome.  Be honest. Tell yourself or your loved one to get help. I don't know anyone with this disease but if I did I would tell them to straighten up and fly right. I certainly don't have it! Not me. Chris, flying right. P bay, Kitesurfed, SSW, 20-30, 14M Rally/Flx 138, with Chris L, John, Kristof, Alex, Others.

On the Ninth Day of Hatteras

I say goodbye to Kite Mecca with a short oceanside downwinder. It's back to perfect side shore wind, NNE. This is the best riding of the whole week! The waves are nice, friendly trolls. Smaller than yesterday but still overhead, easy, fun. Goodbye Hatt! I camp on Chincoteague Island. I'm thinking about kiting at Tom's Cove, Assateague Island, but I'm running out of light, decide it isn't worth it. I throw my camera in my bike bag and take a sunset ride around Assateague. When I crawl into my sleeping bag, in the back of my truck, I'm happy, contented. It's been a great vacation of listening to my heart, exploring, and following the call of the wind and waves. It may take a few days to get the fine sand out of the folds in my brain. Hatt Downwinder, NNE, 15-35, 8M RPM/Mako150, Solo.  Picture- Baby Blue Heron strutting it's stuff on Assateague.

On the Eighth Day of Hatteras

Another oceanside downwwinder. Today the conditions aren't so easy. Side on wind, big shorebreak, waves breaking out as far as you can see, gusty, fully depowered on my 8M kite. I'm glad to have Denn's company on this one. I'm on the edge of my comfort zone. The waves are lumbering trolls. Some are friendly. Some are not. I ride way out, getting lost in the deep valleys of the troughs. There's really no place they aren't breaking. I'm not taking my eyes off of them for  a second. I'm cautious for the first mile or so. I don't drop into anything. Then, I look for smaller ones to ride. Finally I start to loosen up and ride some waves. Oh yeah! Scary fun. It seems like I'm just starting to get into the zone when we're at the endpoint. Frank walks over the dunes at Kite Point just in time to help us pack up and give us a ride back. Thanks! Later, Denn says that he thinks the wave height on the outside was 20'. I can't tell if he's joking. He must be. I do know that I had to pay attention to the angle of my kite when I was down in the troughs. It felt like I could easily loose my wind or snag a line in a lip if I let the kite get too low. I've never felt that before. Tired muscles! It's not a question of which muscles are tired. They all are. It's just a matter of degrees. Hatt Downwider, Kitesurfed, NE 15-35, 8M RPM/Mako150, with Denn Picture- Frank sets the water on fire.