Kitesurfing's topics - tribe.net

U.S. Kiteboarding Nationals - Crissy Field, San Francisco, 6/9 thru 6/14/08

2008-06-09T00:20:59Z

Last year was the first year of this event and this year it's back in San Francisco before becoming a rotating event that takes place in a different location each year. Kite racers show up from all over the world to participate in this unique event. As part of the organizing committee, it's been wild to see all of the preparations that make this event so special and so smooth for every one to enjoy. I'm really looking forward to seeing it all come together. Should be a blast!

posted in Kitesurfing - 1 reply

Kiting Thailand

2007-12-13T22:24:15Z

Hey, it looks like a spot I was intending on checking out next winter has been discovered. Check out the link for the new spot in Chumphon.

http://www.kiteboardingasia.com/chumphon-kiteboarding-kitesurfing-asia-shop-school.php

posted in Kitesurfing - 9 replies

...and just like that, the season leaves us with a whimper

2007-10-16T10:54:48Z

Friday 10/5/07, one of my good kiting buddies and I bolted out of the office by noon as the swell was on and the winds appeared to be cooperating down at Waddell & Scotts Creeks. By the time we got to Waddell, we decided that with only two other kiters in the water every one else was down at Scotts so we'd hang out here to avoid the crowds. Turns out the other two kiters were some dear friends that we usually hang out with at Sherman Island. We caught it perfectly, and while it was just short of epic, the swell got close to overhead in some areas and the winds stayed mostly in the 20+ mph range for at least 2 hours, before settling back to something flukey, gusting from what felt like 10 to 30 mph. We knew it then, that the season was slowly coming to an end. It wasn't clear that we would get many other days.

Fortunately, that Saturday we managed to get some late winds at Crissy Field, just enough to power our 12m kites, but it was certainly the low end of the range in a flood tide, and we were now even more convinced that the season was surely letting us know that it was all she wrote. And with that whimper, it's all coming to an end. This weekend, I checked out the Crissy Exploratorium cam and could see 3 or 4 of the Crissy regulars out there, but the wind seemed less than inspiring, and it's with that that I look forward to putting the bang into the end of my season. Yes, I'm heading out to Kauai for 3 days, then to a conference on the Big Island for 4 more, where I hope to put my season to rest properly.

It's always a sad time for me, to see the season come to an end, but such is the cycle of this sport. Sure, there may be a couple of unpredictable days here and there due to approaching storm winds, but the cold tends to send my mind to snowy hills and the thoughts of snowboarding. I may even motivate myself for some snowkiting in Utah again this year. It was a blast last year, though I only did it one weekend. As a good friend put it, "it's like this new sport that you know how to do from your first try like you'd been doing it all your life" :)

Anyway, I was feeling a lil' melancholy over this whole season ending thing, and I thought I'd share. Peace to all.

posted in Kitesurfing - 1 reply

New Tribe Michigan Kiteboarders

2007-09-04T03:06:25Z

http://tribes.tribe.net/windsurfingaddicts

posted in Kitesurfing - 0 replies

www.iFlySFBay.com global skydiving simulator - vertical windtunnel in the SF Bay Area

2007-06-30T07:13:06Z

Hello I'm new to the tribe and very new to owning my own business. Prior Biz Dev Mgr at HP in Silicon Valley now gone
wind tunnel owner...
It's a totally cool, safe and INCREDIBLE business to experience human flight WITHOUT the danger of skydiving! Check us out at: www.iFlySFBay.com We fly everyone 3yrs to 93yrs!

Here's the question...how do I promote it in the internet space? MySpace? Google Ad's, Yahoo postings? Mass emails?

I am working on a limited budget (like everyone I know...) planning printed ads, news events for the launch, VIP tours, etc but am really not sure about what the "best practices" are for internet publicity?

Any ideas?

Thank you, Kent Sessions

posted in Kitesurfing - 1 reply

need a trainer kite (borrow?)

2007-06-17T22:07:47Z

I have been dying to learn to kite board! I mastered the trainer kite in 2004. I was about to move to a bigger kite when I shattered my collarbone mountain biking. Then the next year I did Katrina relief for months and was not able to get back to it. Now I want it again but I need to get back on the trainer kite and refamiliarize myself with it. I cannot afford one and I don't suspect it would take me long anyway since I've done it before. So I want to save my money for getting the rest of the equipement. Does anyone know how I can get my hands on one without expensive lessons, which I'd rather save up for when I hit the water? I'm relatively new in town and was also hoping I could meet some others who are interested in the sport. Any info is appreciated!

Thanks!
-Austin

posted in Kitesurfing - 0 replies

YouTube: Now this is a stable Kite

2007-02-15T18:24:47Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSWfi5AMT2E

I have done this with my PL Venom. It really works. Self launch, hook in, no hands on the bar, walk to the water, put your board on your feet, grab the bar and go. One of the sweetest parts of this stability is when you f up, just let go of the bar and to goes to zenith.

I only got a dozen days in last season (the gorge) and my kite never hit the water!

posted in Kitesurfing - 2 replies

YouTube: Peter LynnPromo

2007-01-05T02:55:08Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Nt8ATulDDs&mode=related&search=

Quite a effin' soundtrack, but good action

posted in Kitesurfing - 0 replies

YouTube: Kitboarding Koh Pha Ngan Thailand

2007-01-05T02:49:37Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D2pL_3JHqE&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s6KG7ADJFY

posted in Kitesurfing - 0 replies

YouTube: Dude, where are your boardies

2007-01-05T02:44:38Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d021ThxKck

posted in Kitesurfing - 0 replies

YouTube Kitesurfing Chumphon

2007-01-05T02:42:33Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zoewr2zvtrA

posted in Kitesurfing - 0 replies

Beginner kitesurfers' prayers being answered

2006-12-22T05:50:57Z

There's a whole new style of kite that has taken the market by storm and every kite company offers their version. You'll see several of them posted in the photo album section from Best, Slingshot, Cabrinha, Naish & Globerider. These bow style kites offer greater safety for beginners in that they can be fully depowered quickly and easily relaunched when dropped in the drink. With some of them, the bar pressure is minimal which helps reduce the amount of arm fatigue that can result while learning on more traditional kites. Perhaps the best part is that one can get by with a two kite quiver versus the normal 3 to 5 kite quivers that can often be desired to cover all wind ranges.

For those accustomed to the traditional kites, while the economic benefits could be desired, the bar pressure is probably something you've grown accustomed to and will not likely want to give up soon. Hence, with the exception of the Cabrinha Crossbow and Switchblade (which in my opinion have too much bar pressure), the rest may be too little for you. It's not hard to get used to them as they turn fast and certainly have enough pull to keep you moving, it's not the same as locking down a tradition mid or high aspect kite and in steady winds and going for a cruise ;-)

Would love to hear other people's experiences with these new kites. Any one flying one this season?

posted in Kitesurfing - 6 replies

2006 North Vegas, the one kite quiver

2006-10-02T05:54:29Z

Well, as we near the end of the 2006 season here in the Bay Area, I can now officially call my 12m Vegas a one kite quiver. With only one exception, I rode this kite all season at Sherman Island, Crissy Field, 3rd Ave (San Mateo), Ocean Beach, Stinson Beach, Half Moon Bay, Berkeley, and Larkspur, in wind conditions ranging fm 13 mph up to 33 mph, and was able to make this kite work great. For those higher wind days, all I had to do was move the front line attachment to the next knot which is approx. 4-5 inches up fm the end knot, and my range was suddenly increased so I could ride when others were hopping on 8 & 9m kites. This actually blew me away because I was doing this more to feel out the kite's range, and it turned into great riding days. At no point did I ever feel over-powered. On the low-end, I'd say that it's not the best kite out there, and a good friend on a Caution 12m Spitfire was having a better time than me on those less windy days, but the effective wind that this kite can generate is pretty amazing. For those familiar w/Crissy Field, and the slogging that often needs to be done to get out to the wind line, this kite got me there every time. Suffice it to say, after riding this one kite all season, which means an average of 3-4 days per week (w/one or two exceptions) fm May through this last weekend of Sept, I can safely say that this *IS* the one kite quiver for the SF Bay Area. Needless to say, I highly recommend this kite, as it's got the power of a 'C' kite and the de-power range of a hybrid/flat kite.

posted in Kitesurfing - 0 replies

trainer kite recomendation???

2006-06-12T05:26:12Z

Hello

so what begining trainer kite do you recommend??????

I want to get started so I can take a series of lessons in lake tahoe in mid july

thanks!

~ss

posted in Kitesurfing - 0 replies

The Bay Area season is off and running w/a bang!!!

2006-03-21T00:06:22Z

This past weekend, the e-mail started flying early on Saturday and by noon friends were dispersed from Stinson Beach up north to as far south as Waddell Creek, some at Ocean Beach and Crissy Field. Yes, the winds have begun the early season tease. We managed to get in the nice chilly waters both Sat & Sun at Stinson, with Sunday offering steady winds usually only found in the summer in the Delta. Lots of smiling faces bringing us back to why we do this sport.

Hope all of you prospective riders and current kiters found yourselves at windy location 'cause it was definitely ON! Anyone need any tips on where to check out lessons let me know and I'll provide some recommendations (which may also be appearing in the recommendations section of this tribe).

posted in Kitesurfing - 0 replies

Has anyone seen or tried the cabrinha switchblade??

2006-01-26T00:56:12Z

I just ordered one but it will be two weeks before I get it.

posted in Kitesurfing - 3 replies

Loading up pics of the new 2006 kites

2005-12-30T19:52:07Z

Hi Folks,

I don't know how many of you are actively riding these days, but it would be great if as you ride these kites, you go into the photo album and place a review on your thoughts of the particular kite. I got some of the basic top brands in there but will also start looking up some of the other brands that have been making a name of themselves and posting these too.

Hope you're all dreaming of or actively kiting :-)

posted in Kitesurfing - 0 replies

NY Times article

2005-12-05T17:33:05Z

A familiar face to this list...

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/04/fashion/sundaystyles/04SILICON.html?8hpib

posted in Kitesurfing - 1 reply

New pic in the album

2005-11-27T02:30:18Z

My friend Kathy just sent out the picture I just added to the album of her friend Max riding Jaws four days ago. Scary ain't it? ;-)

http://sanfrancisco.tribe.net/template/pub%2Ctribes%2CViewPhoto.vm?page=1&currentoffset=0&parentid=0494defe-895a-45cd-a83d-985471aa7cbd&sortby&rows

posted in Kitesurfing - 0 replies

German Kite Skates Across Australia

2005-11-10T03:47:35Z

This blog post is pretty cool talking about Dirk Gion (whose picture appears now in the photo album) crossing Australia on mountain board and kitesurfing gear. Nuts!...cool :-)

Read about it here: http://spiralbound.net/2005/11/08/german-kite-skates-across-australia/

posted in Kitesurfing - 0 replies

Red Bull King of the Air site

2005-10-24T05:39:34Z

They've really done up the Web site this year for this awesome Maui event that ran from Oct. 9th to the 16th. You can go directly to this URL to do a lil' vicarious kitesurfing where they've mounted a camera on a rider to some funky music...it's great...http://www.redbullkingoftheair.com/virtual_kite.php .

The main site is at http://www.redbullkingoftheair.com/ .

The winner of the men's event was Rueben Lenten (Netherlands), a local bay area rider. He also placed in the top 3 of the King of the Bay competition at 3rd Ave, in San Mateo, CA.

posted in Kitesurfing - 0 replies

Kite Sailing on SF Bay

2005-10-23T20:43:52Z

I've put a couple of pics in the photo album, but also check out:

http://www.kiteship.com/Flash/index.html

Very cool.

posted in Kitesurfing - 0 replies

New GK kite - the Sonic

2005-10-10T18:23:14Z

http://people.tribe.net/p-air/blog?r=10535&topicId=bfc0a0b9-c3fc-469c-aebb-e19b110c8940

It was worth the ride.

posted in Kitesurfing - 0 replies

kitesurfing manana!

2005-09-30T07:37:18Z

for the 2nd time EVER. totally stoked is me.

posted in Kitesurfing - 1 reply

The Cabrinha Crossbow rocks!!!

2005-08-23T02:21:42Z

This sport is evolving almost as fast as the Internet w/all the new services that are being introduced on a weekly basis. Two weekends ago, I had the chance to take out the new Cabrinha Crossbow (now officially sold out for a couple of months) for a test run and it was amazing. It flies very differently than traditional kites and has an interesting bridal system that's much nicer and simpler than what used to be available for foil kites back in the day. The shape of the kite is also somewhat unique, but it's probably the safest kite I've ever flown in terms of letting go of the power at will and relaunchability.

For more extensive info and videos on it, it's worth checking out the Cabrinha site at http://www.cabrinhakites.com/crossbow/

Oh, and did I mention the hang time? Well that part is almost scary, but when you add the fact that it can pivot a kite loop on a single axis it becomes a must try kite.

posted in Kitesurfing - 2 replies

This week's insanity installment...

2005-07-06T21:49:52Z

Pictures from our resident kiter/photographer Byro:

http://www.norcalkite.com/4th/

Jamie Heraiz and Skye came out to Sherman Island in the Delta (SF Bay area) to put on a North show to remember. They were doing some insane tricks. Byro caught Jaime on some up close and personal shots featured in this week's collection doing some sick maneuvers.

posted in Kitesurfing - 0 replies

picking spots for the sess.

2005-06-30T12:59:34Z

Whats a good rule of thumb for wind speed for an Sherman morning session? My job is a bit flexible with start time.... I'm thinking marker 14 showing 18K before making the drive?

Also, is Berkeley dependent upon wind direction? What am I looking for, SSW?

FInally, same question for OB...

posted in Kitesurfing - 2 replies

A little kiteboarding madness for the tribe

2005-06-28T22:58:27Z

Yes, Rio Daze days are back (check out my blog post for more about this: http://sanfrancisco.tribe.net/template/pub%2Coc%2CDetail.vm?plugin=blog&inst=245&r=10535&topicId=701afe37-99fc-4e66-8495-2a55dd2f2699 ).

Just got the following epic shots from my buddy Byro and they're worth spending a few minutes checking out...

http://www.norcalkite.com/rio/

Happy viewing.

posted in Kitesurfing - 5 replies

FL surfers wanted

2005-06-24T22:40:09Z

hi
is there someone that can help me with some hints and show me how to start with kite surfing.
i have 2 kites different size and a cool board, im a professional wind surfer, snowboarder... etc.
i live in the ft lauderdale area

posted in Kitesurfing - 1 reply

Another Downwinder scheduled for SF Bay

2005-06-17T18:17:40Z

There's another downwinder scheduled for the SF Bay going from Crissy Field to Berkeley for Saturday, June 18, but it will lkely be postponed as the weather may not cooperate.

Visit www.bayareakiteboarding.com and www.kitewindsurf.com for more information and updates. Hope to see you there when it does happen!

Ollie G

posted in Kitesurfing - 1 reply

Best Kite's Hellfish sighting...

2005-06-09T19:58:39Z

...expected tonight (6/6/05) at the St. Francis Yacht Club Thursday Night Kiting event (SF Bay Area). For those of you who have heard about this new kite, tonight may be your first chance to see it live and in action. Rumor has it that you should look for the kite at the finish line leading the pack ;-)

The race starts at 5:30pm PT.

posted in Kitesurfing - 1 reply

TI to Crissy and back...

2005-05-09T06:24:20Z

Don't know if any one has tried this, but I'd recommend it if you're up for a serious ride. This past Sat a crew of 4 kiters and I took off from Treasure Island (for experienced kiters only as it's a sketch launch and landing) for some sweet riding in the Bay. We eventually made our way across to Pier 39 for a lil' expression session where the waters were flat and the winds at their strongest. We the proceeded to do an upwinder to Crissy Field. Unfortuntately, the closest we got was to the St. Francis Yacht Club, as the winds became uncooperative and began to let up as the tide was shifting from ebb to flood. It was at this point that we turned tail and headed back to TI. Fortunately, everyone made it before the winds died, but it was definitely work getting back ;-)

With that said, you can definitely experience the exhiliration of this ride next Sat per Jeff's posted event (see events below or click on http://sanfrancisco.tribe.net/event/99be947f-26c3-4570-a2c0-3882089ca6da?tribeid=0494defe-895a-45cd-a83d-985471aa7cbd&nextpage=http%3A%2F%2Fsanfrancisco.tribe.net%2Ftribe%2F0494defe-895a-45cd-a83d-985471aa7cbd%3Fr%3D10535&r=10535 ) to get the details on the Crissy to Berkeley downwinder. Should be a blast!

posted in Kitesurfing - 1 reply

where to buy a used kite bord ?

2005-05-02T15:27:28Z

I have this nice kite-sail my bro gave me !!!
where can I find a used board ... I don't want to invest in a flashy new.. as I am just beginning ...

any one here willing to sell me and old one ?

-Michel

posted in Kitesurfing - 2 replies

Peter Lynn Venom

2005-04-28T22:29:14Z

Hey fellow kiters.....anyone have one of these new PL wonders? Looking for a review....Thanks

posted in Kitesurfing - 5 replies

East Coast Kite Surfing??

2005-04-22T20:41:17Z

I'm looking into to starting kiteboarding this summer but it seems as if I live on the wrong coast. Whats up with Kite surfing around the Jersey shore? I guess I can just guess on buying the gear and go to the North end (non public end) of the island I grew up on (Brigantine) and teach myself. It just sucks not to know what kind of gear I should pick up. I'm a very experienced snowboarder/wakeboarder so that part I'm not worried about... I just don't want to end up stuck out at sea. How do you know what size kite you need and what kind of harness to use.. does it go by weight or by the average wind speeds for your area. Also what brands are good but yet afordable?
Thanks peoples...

Fusionizm

posted in Kitesurfing - 7 replies

SFYC - Thursday Night Kite Series 2005

2005-04-10T19:08:30Z

From yesterday through September, every Thursday night there will be a kitesurfing event at the St. Francis Yacht Club. I'll post the details for participation later, but for now thought I'd share this link to pics from yesterday's event. Had several Bay area locals stylin' big time including Chip Wasson (brought the sport to the Bay Area) and Jono Buys who was cranking big air as usual. Check out:

http://www.norcalkite.com/tnk2005/

Crazy...

posted in Kitesurfing - 3 replies

Capsizing sail boat under the Golden Gate Bridge...

2005-04-08T08:59:15Z

If you haven't seen these pics yet, you gotta go through the slide show. For those of you who have sailed, windsurfed or kitesurfed by the south tower of the GG Bridge, this will blow your mind...

http://photos.sfsurvey.com/

posted in Kitesurfing - 3 replies

It's going off RIGHT NOW!!! (3/28/05 - 2:00pm PT - SF Bay Area)

2005-03-29T01:04:48Z

If you're any where near Crissy Field right now, then there are 10 kitesurfers rigging faster than you are to get out into the water. Just got a call fm a buddy of mine's wife who's out there w/the kids being amazed by the spectable. Looks like winds are W 20-29. As I checked ikitesurf, it does appear that every where is ON! Half Mon Bay, Ocean Beach, and even Alameda are all cranking. For those lucky souls who can bail fm the office, make sure to bring your caps as it is chilly out there today, but it's definitely a kiteable day.

posted in Kitesurfing - 2 replies

Schools?

2005-03-28T22:07:27Z

Anyone know of any Kiting schools happening soon in the Bay Area?

posted in Kitesurfing - 1 reply