dylanj423 - 18-4-2008 at 03:13 PM
I just bought my board today, have some old kites, and a harness... Just waitin on the chance to take a weekend off from work.
Gonna be heading to Galveston, anything I should know before I get there??
My experience (limited) is with landboarding, and Ive been flying around 6 months, boarding for about 2. Lovin it, and cant wait to hit the water.
USA_Eli_A - 18-4-2008 at 03:25 PM
go to corpus, just spoke with brandt at pks and it's going off. I think I'm heading down for 'kites over water' may 9th-11 staying thru 16th
dylanj423 - 19-4-2008 at 06:35 AM
I promised my Dad I would visit him soon in Houston, hence Galveston as my choice. Otherwise, I'd probably be there. Thanks for the heads up, though.
Have fun.
burritobandit - 21-4-2008 at 09:12 PM
Eli, do you have any info or a link for the Kites Over Water event?
Sup Dylan!
Here's the spot most people ride:
http://tinyurl.com/5ysgrj
That spot is very beginner friendly, and where XLKites gives their lessons (they're usually out there all day long). The water is warm and waist high
for at least a mile out.
Best winds are out of the north, south, northeast, and southeast. Winds out of the west can be kind of turbulent due to the windshadow from land. If
it's out of the west, they say it smooths out once you get 100-200 yards away from shore. The bad thing is that near the shore, the gusts can cause
your kite to jellyfish, lift, and/or teabag you during launch (when the winds are out of the west, that is). Winds out of the east would make the
winds directly on shore, which isn't ideal for peeps just starting out.
People rig/launch/land in that bright green patch along Skyline Road. One thing to note is that there's about a 3foot difference in height between
the grassy area and the small sandy shore. You might want to consider walking the kite down to the shore, and launching it from there.
I'd also recommend neoprene boots with rubber soles. There are broken seashells along the shoreline, and the locals told me there's an oyster patch
where the shoreline starts to curve out into the bay (just north of the launch area). This guy said people have cut themselves on those oysters and
had to get shots because of the possibility of flesh eating bacteria ;o
Another hazard to watch out for is the rocky shore right to the south of the launch area. I didn't see any easy spots to get back to the grass once
that rockline started, so try to keep in the area where you can reach the sandy shoreline in front of the launch area.
When I was there, all the people in the launch area were friendly and more than willing to help land and launch kites. Just holler at someone if you
need assistance.
If you need any sort of gear or lessons, XLKites is only about 16 miles away:
http://tinyurl.com/49rsbh
They have great rates on lessons, btw. They'll take you out on a jetski and train you away from everyone.
If you need any more info, let me know. If I remember anything else, I'll post a reply or add it here. I've also got video of the launch and riding
area, if you're interested.