where is the sandbar/event site?

stringy · Since 23 Jun 2006 1736 Posts vancouver XTreme Poster

huh?
ok made you look! all this talk on the issues down in HR make me want to take my mind off of it and focus on kiting.

As some of you know, our main summertime kiting location up in Seattle is Jetty Island. Some of us were fortunate enough to catch the northerly winds and kite there earlier this week.

Here is some video of our session, actually it's pretty much one guy, but fun to film regardless.

http://www.livewireprototyping.com/kite/jettyopener.wmv

enjoy!

stringy

alleycat · Since 29 Jun 2006 176 Posts Portland Stoked

Nice video, thanks for the post...

I would like to check out the Jetty hopefully this weekend. Could you give me directions on how to get there. Other than the trees on the beach is there any hazards that I should be concerned about and finally what wind direction is for ideal kiting..

Thank you very much for the info

stringy · Since 23 Jun 2006 1736 Posts vancouver XTreme Poster

http://www.seattlekitesurfing.org/index.php?title=Jetty_Island

Forecast could happen on Friday, but not sure if it will happen on this weekend. Possibly southerlies, but there are options for the southerlies at other puget sound locations. You can review the other beaches at the link above.

I guess you could say Jetty Island is to Seattle what Sauvies is to Portland.
Jetty is optimal on a northwesterly flow, so in the summer this usually happens in the afternoons due to thermal conditions. While it is a light wind throughout the summer, it does seem to blow harder during the spring. The day I shot this video, there was no forecast for a northerly there but I had a visual confirmation from a fellow rider that it was whitecapping. I guess we kind of lucked out for that day.

One of the biggest issues we encounter, other than the wind not being strong enough, is transportation to the island. Anyone who kites there has either a kayak, boat, jetski, or bums a ride from a fellow boater. In the busy summer season local shops provide courtesy shuttle service back and forth. Jetty Island is located north of Seattle in Everett. It is a mile or two north of where they station the USS Abraham Lincoln.

Here's another little slideshow I made that I feel shows the beach lifestyle I was able to capture this past season.

http://www.livewireprototyping.com/kite/SKA%20Jetty%20Scene.mov

stringy

forrest · Fri Apr 06, 07 8:14 am

Jetty Island is the shit, I miss it so much. I remember popping olies off the water there near the inlet to the bird sanctuary, looking down to see how high I was and smashing into the water because it was so clear, I was basing my height off the bottom of the water. Water was only 3 feet deep where I was.

I miss that little section on the north end where the bird sanctuary inlet starts.