Kite surfer at Seaside Heights
As Joe and I headed to "Kite Nite" in Seaside Park I saw an inflatable kite flying near the beach a few blocks North of our usual area. Joe dropped me off and I told him I'd walk up to where the rest of the group was, I wanted to check out the kite surfer.
Turned out to be an older guy (no offense to anyone), I'd say around 35-40 years old. He was flying a blue 16 sq-meter slingshot inflatable. The wind was from the South, but on-shore enough to be safe for ocean play. He was going just coming back to the beach when I saw him. He stopped and came to shore and started walking back upwind.
I caught him and walked with him for 5 minutes or so. He had a helmet on, and a PFD (yay!). Not sure what kind of board he was using, but it looked narrower than I'd expected. He said he hadn't been out in a while, so he was just practicing. He wished he had a chase boat so he wouldn't have to worry so much. As it was, he spent a lot more time walking than riding, but he was having fun.
I watched him do a water start... just arrange the board on his feet, drop the kite into the power zone, and take off. I'm sure it takes practice, but looks a lot like water skiing, or snowboarding even. I should be able to do that. :)
I wish I'd asked him what his name was... oh well, maybe he'll be out there again.
I'm going to try to set up a lesson with Dan at Extreme Windsurfing on Saturday.
Turned out to be an older guy (no offense to anyone), I'd say around 35-40 years old. He was flying a blue 16 sq-meter slingshot inflatable. The wind was from the South, but on-shore enough to be safe for ocean play. He was going just coming back to the beach when I saw him. He stopped and came to shore and started walking back upwind.
I caught him and walked with him for 5 minutes or so. He had a helmet on, and a PFD (yay!). Not sure what kind of board he was using, but it looked narrower than I'd expected. He said he hadn't been out in a while, so he was just practicing. He wished he had a chase boat so he wouldn't have to worry so much. As it was, he spent a lot more time walking than riding, but he was having fun.
I watched him do a water start... just arrange the board on his feet, drop the kite into the power zone, and take off. I'm sure it takes practice, but looks a lot like water skiing, or snowboarding even. I should be able to do that. :)
I wish I'd asked him what his name was... oh well, maybe he'll be out there again.
I'm going to try to set up a lesson with Dan at Extreme Windsurfing on Saturday.
