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Re: Kitesailing
[Re: Rhumbline]
#52257
04/29/2015 12:25 AM
04/29/2015 12:25 AM
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 399 Pacific NW
snmhanson
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 399
Pacific NW
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I have been down a few times with kiters on board, and am heading down this June with two hardcore kiters in the crew. In the past we had a tough time finding good places to launch. Most of the kiting was in the Gorda sound, although we did kite off of Sandy Cay once. The trick is finding a place for the kiter to launch, as moorages and anchorages that are good for boats are generally not good for kiting. Plus, kiting around a bunch of moored boats in variable winds is probably not anyone's idea of a good time. We are still trying to decide how to maximize kiting on this next trip, while at the same time keeping things fun for the rest of the crew. I am thinking that trying to get them kiting while we are sailing would be optimal. Just trying to figure out how to launch the kites from the boat/water. Of course the bigger challenge is trying to get the kiting equipment down to the islands at a reasonable cost. Any advice on that front? As far as the best locations for kiting, I am thinking Gorda Sound, Anegada, Sandy Cay and Sandy Spit look promising as they all have nice big beaches with exposure to the wind. Other than that, good beaches with good wind that are still accessible by boat are far and few between.
Matt
BTW, where are you from and what dates will you be down there?
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Re: Kitesailing
[Re: snmhanson]
#52258
04/29/2015 07:32 AM
04/29/2015 07:32 AM
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,172 Rincón PR
casailor53
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,172
Rincón PR
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One place that you sometimes see kitesurfers is Long Bay, Beef Island. Empty beach (except for four days a year when half of Tortola is there "for a lime"), stronger winds because of the squeeze between Beef/Tortola and Scrub/Camanoe/Guana, and a fair sized broad reach to Little Camanoe. So back and forth, back and forth, between the two.
You could do it as a lunch stop, or dinghy over from Lee Bay, Marina Cay or Trellis Bay. In June you can usually safely overnight, no swell likely, although you rarely see a boat in there other than the Sail Caribbean kids.
Come to think of it, one of the four days half of Tortola goes there is at the end of June/begining of July - Territory Day, when they have the Fisherman's Jamboree there.
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Re: Kitesailing
[Re: JasonHelmbrecht]
#52261
04/29/2015 09:32 AM
04/29/2015 09:32 AM
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 5,720 Massachusetts
maytrix
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 5,720
Massachusetts
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Why couldn't you just launch from the back of the boat? Boat points into the wind, kite surfer launches off the back?
I've never done it myself, so maybe there's something I'm not thinking about..
Matt
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Re: Kitesailing
[Re: maytrix]
#52262
04/29/2015 09:46 AM
04/29/2015 09:46 AM
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 399 Pacific NW
snmhanson
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 399
Pacific NW
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maytrix said: Why couldn't you just launch from the back of the boat? Boat points into the wind, kite surfer launches off the back?
I've never done it myself, so maybe there's something I'm not thinking about.. Kiters need a fetch of beach/open space to lay out their lines which are ~20-35 meters, and then properly attach them to a fully inflated kite which can be as large as a jib sail on some of the smaller charter boats. Launching off the boat is technically possible, but challenging and a bit risky. If something doesn't work out the results could be bad as there is a lot of power in those kites. That said, I'm sure some have done it before, but I think it would be tough for the typical kiter.
Last edited by snmhanson; 04/29/2015 09:49 AM.
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Re: Kitesailing
[Re: snmhanson]
#52263
04/29/2015 09:56 AM
04/29/2015 09:56 AM
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 5,720 Massachusetts
maytrix
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 5,720
Massachusetts
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ah yes, I forgot about laying out the lines - that would be tough to do from the boat
Matt
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