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jaksavage
Since 02 Dec 2009
216 Posts
hood river
Stoked
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 Sun Jun 03, 12 6:54 am Moon kiting |
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Not on the moon, by the moon.
Does anyone go out on big moon nights?
Inquiring minds want to know. |
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C.Lee
Since 02 Apr 2012
44 Posts
Southern Idaho/The Gorge
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| Sun Jun 03, 12 7:48 am Not yet. |
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| We tried snowkiting camas under a full moon a few times this year. One day the wind shut off and the other the clouds covered the moon. It is definetely doable though it lights up nicely. If you get it post pics. |
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Gman
Since 11 Feb 2006
4911 Posts
Portland
Unstrapped
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Nak
Since 19 May 2005
4304 Posts
Camas
Site Lackey
CGKA Member
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| Sun Jun 03, 12 9:23 am |
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| Did it in Kailua a few years back. Glo sticks on the wingtips. Very cool. |
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wylieflyote
Since 30 Jun 2006
1648 Posts
Puget Sound & Wa. Coast
XTreme Poster
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| Sun Jun 03, 12 10:00 am |
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| Gman wrote: | | It's better in texas |
And Brazil! Kited a full moon steady fan 9M on the flatwater bay of Ilha du Guarjiru this past December. Maybe one of the sweetest hours in this short life, followed by caipirinhas at the launch/euro-bar. Magic.
edit: Glow sticks on the footstraps to assist with lost board potential.
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Kip Wylie |
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tautologies
Since 24 Aug 2006
602 Posts
Oahu
Addicted
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| Sun Jun 03, 12 12:13 pm Re: Moon kiting |
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| jaksavage wrote: | Not on the moon, by the moon.
Does anyone go out on big moon nights?
Inquiring minds want to know. |
yup. If you are a few guys that go out make sure you attach some glo sticks to your kite and harness. |
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Inept_Fun
Since 14 Apr 2005
1417 Posts
Hood River
XTreme Poster
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| Sun Jun 03, 12 12:39 pm |
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It has gone down at the sandbar, definitely do glow sticks or something to help with the vision...
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I heart dangling |
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OG
Since 07 Jun 2011
599 Posts
Addicted
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| Sun Jun 03, 12 6:20 pm |
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| i have 2 friends that did the REAL British Virgin Island trip a while back when they used to host that. Said they rigged up under the moon a few times, mention was made about there being bigger fish out and about and that creating a very heightened sense. Sounds fun. Right sitch and 'Id hit that' |
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achen
Since 03 Apr 2012
39 Posts
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| Sun Jun 03, 12 6:58 pm Re: Moon kiting |
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| jaksavage wrote: | Not on the moon, by the moon.
Does anyone go out on big moon nights?
Inquiring minds want to know. |
Some guys here in austin did it at a local lake. I would hesitate to do it in the ocean as that is when the nocturnals come out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=K-MMK3YjL94
We have a local forum that you probably cant read, but here is the text from the post
<<What an awesome experience. Rick, Jason and I went down to pflug around 7pm and waited for the wind to pick up as predicted. We watched the sun set and with every passing minute the wind kept getting calmer and calmer, even though the forecast had the wind at over 15mph by that point. Seriously, plfugerville was almost completely glassy and our kites were barely moving on the shore.
Rick rigged his 15 m waroo and outfitted it with glowsticks (from ToyJoy in austin) as the sun was going down. He made sure to rig up red glowsticks on the left and green ones on the right, per nautical convention. Always remember 'red-right-return', if you see red buys on your right and green on your left it means you're returning to harbor. If you see red lights on the right it also means a vessel is headed toward you, which is a very handy thing to know.
Around 9:30pm the wind started picking up a little bit and rick got his 15 in the air. He was kitelooping on land so didn't have a whole lot of power but it was still better than the near zero wind we were seeing. It was cool watching the kite fly around with glowsticks on the leading edges.
Around 10pm or so the wind actually started picking up enough that rick hit the water. I had to hustle to get my glowsticks all setup on my kite and by the time I hit the water the wind was really howling. I rigged my 13m and had plenty of power. Rick ended up coming back to shore as his 15m was too much kite for the building wind. I was lit most of the time I was riding on the 13m.
Riding by moonlight is a surreal experience. The spray from my board was well illuminated by the moonlight but the water was black. Luckily, it was pretty easy to see the gust lines in the water by moonlight alone due to the ripples but I couldn't see any obstructions and it was hard to judge how far the pier was when I was headed there (my night vision sucks though). Riding fast was super fun and exhilarating, probably the best thing to do.
Boosting was a completely different experience because it was so hard to judge height. It's amazing to float through the black sky but sometimes that water was further away than I expected and other times it was closer than I expected. I had to be really careful to keep my knees bent. I could see how it would be really easy to hyperextend a knee on a botched landing at night given how hard it is to judge your landing. The people on the pier were super stoked watching us Tron guys riding around and jumping (we had glowsticks all over us). The water temperature was also perfect out there. I would get a little chilly riding through the wind but the water was pleasantly warm and felt great to plop down into. It was also perfect during the day after riding in the 100º+ air.
If you decide to ride at night like this be sure to bring extra flashlights and also extra glowsticks to use as markers. It's really hard to make out the pier and the entry/exit spot so you'll want to mark those ahead of time with either glowsticks or lanterns. You also have to be comfortable riding without looking at your kite. Dealing with gusts at night is a little scary and you can't always tell when you're riding into one due to the poor visibility. Also, Lake Plfugerville seems too dark to ride at without the benefit of a full moon so I wouldn't recommend trying any other time. Also, don't ride alone at night, always get a group together to help launch/land you because it's much more difficult in the low visibility.
Finally, to top the night off we saw an unreal shooting star. Thing broke up and was multiple colors. Very cool.>> |
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CarrotHead
Since 05 Jul 2007
35 Posts
Once Seattle, now Portland
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| Sun Jun 03, 12 7:30 pm |
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| Tomahawk danger from not seeing bar colors. Keep track of bar spin. |
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carolb
Since 04 Nov 2006
590 Posts
Stevenson, WA in the summer, SPI in the winter
Bolstad Clan
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| Thu Jun 07, 12 9:52 am Got a few in |
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| Stevie one time and lots of times in SPI. Lost my board in Stevie and got it back about a month later. Use glow sticks on your harness, kite, and board as it gets hard to see each other on the water. Also, put your car flashers on so you know where to come back to. |
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Weaz
Since 23 May 2012
360 Posts
Beaverton
Obsessed
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