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Sauvie's: A begginers story of a horrible day

 
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jbruxer

Since 24 Jul 2005
398 Posts
Beaverton, OR
Obsessed



PostMon Jul 10, 06 1:53 pm    Sauvie's: A begginers story of a horrible day Reply with quote

Alright, the weekend was finally here! Sun is out, no work to do, and all the time to play!

Saturday
2pm:
My girlfriend, myself, and another friend decided to go out mountain biking and berry picking at Sauvie Island. After looking at some weather reports, I decided that the wind would be sketchy and bringing my kites wouldn’t be the best idea. Once we arrived at the beach, my original thoughts we correct…no wind! “Great, I didn’t pack the gear for nothing,” I thought. We all then took a ride around the island, only to get back to the beach and notice that there was plenty of wind, and lots of people shreddin’ it up!!! “What the fuck!!!” I said. “Figures.” Thoughts of powering up and ripping across the water quickly left my mind as we laid around on the sand.

7pm:
After returning home, I plopped into the recliner, thinking about how great my day went, and how much better it would have went if I had just brought my kite! Rolling Eyes

7:30pm
Decided that tomorrow I would be out there around 2pm with gear in hand!!

Sunday
8am
After a good night sleep filled with kiting dreams, I awoke to see the sun again. “Yes, this is going to be a great day!” I thought to myself. I then went out to the garage and dusted off the gear.

1:30pm
“I’m leaving,” I said to my girlfriend. “What will I do while you’re gone?” “I don’t care…..I mean….I don’t know” I quickly responded. “Call one of your friends and see if they want to go hang out on the beach with you.”

2pm
Waiting for her friend! Mad

2:30pm
Waiting for her friend, while walking paces around the living room! Evil or Very Mad

3:30pm
“Where the hell is she! I wanted to be there over an hour ago!!!” Just then her car pulled up. We were off! Very Happy

4pm
Finally, we were there! I could feel the warm breeze, I could see the huge ships, and I would finally be able to get some time on the water!

4:30pm
After unpacking my new 14m I had purchased at the end of last year, I set up camp far upwind in order stay out of the more experienced riders’ way.

Alright, ready for launch. I quickly looked around to see who could assist, and realized I walked so far upwind that there weren’t any kiters around. “Alright” I said to my girlfriend. “Here is your quick lesson in launching/landing kites.” After a few seconds with her holding my kite, I realized that this was an accident or death waiting to happen. So, I walked down to the main kite area, and luckily found someone who didn’t mind walking a ways (much thanks to you man!).

4:40pm
Kite is in the air, and I’m reaching for my board!!! “Finally!!!” I thought. Just then, the wind died down, and my kite crashed into the water. “Oh, joy. Now I get to try rolling this thing over with little wind.”

5:30pm
After continuously trying to get my kite to catch wind, I realized instead of pumping up the 14 I should have launched the 17.

“Well, time to pack it up.” When what is this….a random person on the beach yells “need some help?” “NO,” I replied. “Unless you know how to kite.” And before I know it, he is grabbing my kite, and setting me up for a hot launch!! “WHOLLY SHIT!” I thought Shocked . Since that guy had no idea of what he was doing, I had to get myself into a better position…..and fast!

So, I’m swimming out downwind, and I start yelling at the guy to walk upwind. And what does he do……walks my kite directly into the poles with the garbage can on top!!! But it gets better! After that, I finally got him to put it down, only after he managed to loop my lines around the top!!!

I threw my bar on the beach, and ran towards my kite. “I got it,” I said. After putting some sand down, I looked up to see the guy had taken off. BASTARD!!!

5:45pm
After recomposing myself, I started to wind my lines up. The only thing was one of them was stuck on the top of the pilling. Luckily I pulled it down without any damage.

“Alright. Time to walk back towards camp.” I thought. Only to look down at the leading edge to see that when the guy hit the pilling, it ripped 2 holes!!! BASTARD!!!!!! Shocked Evil or Very Mad Shocked Evil or Very Mad

6:30
In complete frustration, I packed up my stuff and headed home…..longing for a day when I would actually be on the water, fully powered, and staying up wind. Confused


So, what did I learn this weekend?
1) Never go anywhere without your gear!
2) Never give your girlfriend a quick launching lesson and think she will be okay.
3) Never let anyone near your kite that doesn’t know what they are doing…..and if they do, and crash your kite into a giant pilling, beat there ass and take some repair money. Twisted Evil
4) When at Sauvie, always rig a bigger size kite than you think because the wind will always die down.

One last note. Is there a place in Portland that does a good job with kite repair?
Question

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stevegriffith22

Since 14 May 2006
434 Posts

Obsessed



PostMon Jul 10, 06 2:03 pm     Reply with quote

Been there! Feel the pain, fix your kite right and go to air time in HR.

Have a good life, it could be worse, you could be married to her.........When in doubt, bail out. Laughing

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jdk

Since 21 Dec 2005
333 Posts

Obsessed



PostMon Jul 10, 06 2:38 pm     Reply with quote

That is a well told story! i was going to talk about how painful it was to rig at the kite spit with the throngs of people, rocks and bushes but it doesn't even compare!! it'll all be worth it when you get your next session... Cool

p.s. i'd keep the GF, mine won't even go to the beach anymore Wink

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pkh

Since 27 Feb 2005
6548 Posts
Couve / Hood
Site Lackey



PostMon Jul 10, 06 9:37 pm     Reply with quote

Sounds like your learning all that Sauvies has to teach you Very Happy

Don't be too discouraged by your kite crashing due to a wind dropout, it happens to everyone. The key is to make sure your in a spot where its not going to to hit anyone, sounds like you to all the necessary precautions. Thumb's Up

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blowhard

Since 26 Dec 2005
2023 Posts

Windward



PostTue Jul 11, 06 9:02 am    Lessons? Reply with quote

LESSONS LESSONS LESSONS

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jbruxer

Since 24 Jul 2005
398 Posts
Beaverton, OR
Obsessed



PostTue Jul 11, 06 10:11 am     Reply with quote

Lessons can be soooo damn frusterating!....and expensive! Smile

I guess it all comes down to practice, practice, practice! I just wish I could start seeing some faster results. Confused

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jdk

Since 21 Dec 2005
333 Posts

Obsessed



PostTue Jul 11, 06 10:25 am     Reply with quote

Good place to practice flying your kite is at the Hillsboro fairgrounds across from the Portland - Hillsboro airport. there is a nice big grassy area right across from the airport (in the fair grounds) and then another in back near the ball parks and tennis courts. you can't drive through the grounds to get to the ball park area you have to go around. also, the approach to the airport across from the fairgrounds gets a little hairy in the evenings with all the helicopters coming in but i have practiced out there too and it is legal. otherwise sunset beach is great. tons of room and wind like a fan. plenty of room to get away from others and do your thing. landboarding and/or buggy might help you out too. otherwise downwinders on the inside i find to be really safe. if you have snowboarded in powder at all you can handle the waves, they are only like 2ft on the inside

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jdk

Since 21 Dec 2005
333 Posts

Obsessed



PostTue Jul 11, 06 10:28 am     Reply with quote

Having said that, the wind at Sauvies is fluky on the beach. i've seen experienced riders have their kite fall back into the window on launch. the wind is much better out on the water. same goes for kite spit, from what i can tell. when i launch i, hook in and keep one hand on the 5th line. if it starts to fall back into the window i pull on that and it floats to the top. easy as that

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jdk

Since 21 Dec 2005
333 Posts

Obsessed



PostTue Jul 11, 06 10:46 am     Reply with quote

Sorry to drag on about this, but since I opened my mouth about the approach i better add that i only practiced flying my kites on the west end of that field (nearest the fairground). the approach to the main runway out there goes right over the east end of that field and the airplanes are barely higher than the kite so i would not go to that end. the helicopters come in from the west end but they can easily go over/around you. different story with a plane on approach. i would stick to the fairground property there is plenty of room.

pick your days wisely you don't want too much wind. you can fly in 8mph winds (any size kite from what i can tell).

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jbruxer

Since 24 Jul 2005
398 Posts
Beaverton, OR
Obsessed



PostTue Jul 11, 06 10:57 am     Reply with quote

You do this just standing on the ground??? Is'nt that a little dangerous? Shocked

I can see it now.......kite at 10 o'clock......kite at 2 o'clock......me at 20 feet......face at 0 feet.......ambulance at 60mph!!! Laughing Shocked

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jdk

Since 21 Dec 2005
333 Posts

Obsessed



PostTue Jul 11, 06 12:08 pm     Reply with quote

i started with a 3.6m foil. you can fly them in 5mph upto 40mph+. start in the lightest wind possible. once you can control it in all kinds of wind, move to a bigger kite, everything is the same. you are standing on the ground when you launch at sauvies, the kite spit, the coast... everywhere. better to learn in an area where there aren't hard obstacles around (i.e. logs, concrete walls, people). sauvies beach is a horrible place to learn to fly a kite. it sounds like you would really appreciate sunset beach at this point, you might check it out. if you don't want to commute so far, check the places i mentioned. Have fun, be safe!

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pdxmonkeyboy

Since 16 May 2006
6081 Posts
forever labled as the
retired kiter & motorhead Unicorn Master



PostTue Jul 11, 06 12:18 pm     Reply with quote

It could be worse... you could have been hurt. Since were on the subject, I'll let you in on one of my beginner kiting experiences just so you don't feel like the only guy that had a bad day.... ahhhh the memmories.

September 2003, Rooster rock.

With two lessons under my belt and the ability to plane and change direction and all that, I decide its time to go it alone and head to rooster rock. upon arrival I see the beach is essentially just a sand storm and decide to hind amongst the willows with all the other kiters (about 6) and wait for the wind to calm down.

About 30 minutes go by and a naked guy pokes out of the bushes with his dick probably 5 feet from me. "hey, do you know what time it is?" "time to get a watch and get your dick out of my face" I said. He says nothing and disappears.

The wind dies down to a steady East 25-30 and people start rigging. I pump up my perfect "beginner" kite, a 2003 10 meter fuel. With sand wipping in my face and leashes from my wrist and leg flapping all over the place I manage to get in the water without incident even though the kite was pulling me off the ground at times. I crank the kite into the window and BOOM I'm off like a freakin rocket!! I let the bar out to "depower" but quickly notice that it effectively does nothing. So now i'm forced to edge for dear life as I am now seriously hauling ass across the river. How do you slow down! How do you slow down! That's right, turn down river a bit and then reset your edge! Of course a gust pulls me off edge and I skitter and skip about 40 yards down river befre I catch my toe side edge and slam face first into the water. Coughing and gasping I look up to see my angry little kite grinning at me and flying back down into the window. Next thing I know I am sailing upside down and backwards about 5 feet above the water. I mange to burry my head in the water and crash the kite. As soon as my head comes above the water my board lays me a serious blow to the back of the head. MOTHER FUCKER that hurt. I gather my thoughts, trying to keep my head above the whitecaps and remind myself that this is suppose to be fun. My head seems fine so I manage to relaunch the kite and nearly have a panic attack trying to untwist my lines and re-attach my super star non spinning wrist leash. I'm now seriously down wind of the "pylon".

I grab my board and put it on my feet and instantly notice that I tore one of the bindings out of the board. Its about this time that I start to get upset. I figure that I can hardly board with straps so I might as well do the self resuce thing. I start wrapping my lines up and the wind seems to be getting stronger. I had a bunch of line in my hand and a weird gust picks the kite off the water and the lines go tight enough to cut my hand. I instincively let the lines go and decide I'm going to ride the kite in, hell or high water.

After what seemed like an eternity of getting launched over my board, boddy dragging with my face under water, and planning out at mach 10, using my pateneted "ass brake" and crashing I make it to the rip rap banks near the stairs. Now what?

I decide its too risky to try and put the kite down by myself in such high wind and I didn't want to "death spiral" the kite via release into the sharp willow stakes and rocks that were everywhere. It took my at least 25 minutes to walk to my launch spot while fighting the kite and carrying my board. I though my right side hips and abdomen were going to explode I was so tired. I remember telling my kite to just leave me alone at one point.

Someone landed the kite for me and I went into the bushes dreaming of the ham sandwhich and can of PBR I had with my stuff. Upon arrival I am horrified that some dog or critter tore the shit out of my paper bag and ate my sandwhich. I remember wondering if the penis guy came and stole my sandwhich. I still got a beer though, I had a few good chugs and went to roll up my kite. I was putting the kite in the bag and knocked the beer over. FUCK!; I quickly grabbed the beer,blew the can off and went to take the last few slugs. SSSPPHHHHHHHeew, I got half a mouthful of beer and half a mouthfull of sand.

Pissed off, defeated, stinging cut on my hand and lump on my head I schlepted my way back to the car. I turned the heater on, rubbed my lump and looked in the rear view mirror and thought of what my wife would say when I got home; "how was your kite board adventure?".

"fine, just fine" I eventually said. "It may take awhile before I'm really comfortable with it though, its a fair bit intense at times"

"Honey, do we have any ice packs?".


Very Happy

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Mark

Since 20 Jun 2005
3677 Posts
I need my fix because I'm a
Naishaholic



PostTue Jul 11, 06 1:01 pm     Reply with quote

So here is one of my learning to kite stories. I decide to head to Stevenson to try out the best kiting spot in the gorge. Or so I’m told. At this point I can stay upwind but hate being underpowered. After careful consideration, lots of careful pondering I decide to inflate my 16m. Of course most everyone else is on 10 and 12m. But I “hate” being underpowered and figure better to be over powered than underpowered. (hindsight is always 20/20 )

I weave down the bank and have my entourage help with lines. I look up and get
”clearance” from the tower. The kite takes off from the cliff with evil in its heart. I am instantly in the air. Ok I figure I will be cool and just go with it. The kite settles me down. I put on the board and pull the kite in to the power. Bad evil kite…. It takes me up again! I land using my own patented Ass grabbing slowing device. Only now the kite has decided it like the feeling of power. It swoops thru the power zone. I am now Superman! My reel leash is at full extension and my board is bass plugging straight to the bottom. This slows me for an instant. Only an instant. Then the board decides it wants nothing to do with me. And rips itself free. Mean while the kite is not happy about me flying along side/up high with it. It downloops to teach me a further lesson. I am in shock that same amount of material that makes up my tent can punish me so much! I hear Ping, Ping, Ping and finally the madness stops. The kite is now only on two right side lines flapping, almost waving at me.

I unroll my eyelids and look around. The carnage is impressive. My board is somewhere south of me. My kite is flapping. Wow. Before I can even get the lines all wrapped up a local rider has come by and offered to drag my kite back for me. I start swimming. When an other rider says grab my harness and tows me in. That when I realized several things. Being underpowered maybe better than overpowered! Also more importantly, I am impressed with the help from my fellow kiters. Once again thanks guys!
Several beers and dinner later I have started to pay off my debt to them. Only started! Smile

_________________
Cleverly disguised as an adult...

www.naishkites.com

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pdxmonkeyboy

Since 16 May 2006
6081 Posts
forever labled as the
retired kiter & motorhead Unicorn Master



PostTue Jul 11, 06 1:24 pm     Reply with quote

Now that sounds like fun! in front of the stevenson peanut gallery no less. Indeed the early days were ugly. I once told my old Fuel "i fucking hate you" and I swear I heard it whisper from the trunk "so what, i OWN you".

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jbruxer

Since 24 Jul 2005
398 Posts
Beaverton, OR
Obsessed



PostWed Jul 12, 06 8:14 am     Reply with quote

Those 2 stories are so funny!! Not to be an ass, but it makes me feel a lot better to hear others have had similar days of kite hell when learning.

Mother Nature can be a real bitch! It’s amazing to know that something you can’t even see can beat your face in so much! Laughing

As for the people who came to the rescue......that’s what makes kite boarders rule! There is nothing like extreme sport camaraderie

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