Power Kite Forum

Amelia Island meet up

BeamerBob - 23-1-2009 at 07:02 AM

February 14-16th.

I wanted to go ahead and give everyone a chance to join us on this one. pokitetrash and I will be at Fort Clinch State Park on Amelia Island in Florida with our families. acampbell thinks he has a pass to attend for one day. It is as north Florida as you can get on the coast. It is at exit 373 (first exit coming out of Georgia) on I-95. There are several miles of undeveloped beach that with the right winds, could make for some epic runs. All are welcome to join us. If you look at it on the map, we will be at the pier on the north end of the island hopefully running south till we run out of beach or into a crowd. This is the inlet where the nuclear subs come to and from their base at St. Mary's so there might be one cruising by while we're there. Bring some onshore wind!

Edit: Exit number above has been corrected from original post.

tridude - 23-1-2009 at 07:08 AM

any waves (if the wind craps out?)

BeamerBob - 23-1-2009 at 07:14 AM

Seems like there was some surf, but its always been cold enough when we were there that I haven't ever been in the water for a true mental picture. We have gone on this weekend for 3 years now. It is the Atlantic so there should be something at least a longboard could work with.

acampbell - 23-1-2009 at 07:35 AM

Actually it's exit 373 on I-95 - exit 1 would be in Miami. OK- it's a slow Friday.

But I'm there and will try to get some of the local 'posse down there too.

BeamerBob - 23-1-2009 at 07:46 AM

Oh, I guess that would be significant! You've driven by there a few times so you would certainly know. Corrected above.

pokitetrash - 23-1-2009 at 10:24 AM

I'll bring my extra buggy for anyone who wants to try out/borrow it while were there.

PHREERIDER - 23-1-2009 at 08:25 PM

14-16 feb wife is booking it

BeamerBob - 24-1-2009 at 07:28 AM

Hopefully the wind will be as enthusiastic as we are! It's great to have the gang join in.

acampbell - 24-1-2009 at 12:21 PM

I have at least one, probably two locals, each with a bug coming down. Peter will also paint the sky with some huge single line heavy lifters and line laundry.

John is a local windsurfer refugee who took a ride in borrowed bug and got hooked. He's just copped a used PL and is looking forward to building a quiver.

BeamerBob - 24-1-2009 at 02:29 PM

Great to have new guys in our SE buggy and board club. This is turning into something like the group of guys my dad used to go hunting and fishing with. I think we're having more fun than they were though and we definitely get together more often these days.

johnnylaing - 28-1-2009 at 10:14 PM

Count me in!

BeamerBob - 29-1-2009 at 04:57 AM

Congrats on your new significant other! I'm sure she will be at your beck and call at all times but quietly stay out of the way when you don't need her. Welcome to the forum and glad you can join us on the beach too. Where are you located?

johnnylaing - 29-1-2009 at 08:32 PM

Saint Simons.

johnnylaing - 29-1-2009 at 08:33 PM

It'll be great to see others fly...this will be my first time with several kites in the air...

kitesurfer - 2-2-2009 at 12:28 PM

the current is wicked there--7 knots or more. very bad spot to kiteboard. on down the road about 25 miles south on Hecksher (A1A) drive is Hugenot Park. the spot for buggy's and kiteboarding. opposing wind and current gets you on the board in light air. a tidal pond for newbys who want flat water and no chance of floatiing out to sea. we kiteboard off the tip in west winds. primo fishing spot too. admission @ 3$ per car and camping $10-$12 per night per spot. i'll be at Hugenot if wind, but not Ft Clinch...

BeamerBob - 2-2-2009 at 01:02 PM

I'm quite sure I won't be getting in the water. Going to buggy and landboard. Great advice for those that would consider it. I'll check out Hugenot too.

BeamerBob - 2-2-2009 at 01:07 PM

Hugenot is an easy drive from Fernandina, so I might head down there and try it one day. Might be worth a look for sure. Is the sand hard there? I'm working on some bigfoot tires but have midis right now.

kitesurfer - 3-2-2009 at 01:03 PM

the beach is hard up until 20 ft from the dunes. but my kite trike had no problem with it in the "soft" stuff. high tide don't work as there is no beach. all wind directions work for a buggy but for the water, you must know what you're doing for the westerlys. hugenot is only about 15 minutes from fernandina.

kitesurfer - 3-2-2009 at 01:12 PM

if you kiteboard at hugenot park, the best waves are on the south end of the beach by the rock jetty. that is 'officially/unofficially' reserved for the surfers--from the rocks north 500 ft. if we see surfers there, we let them have it to themselves. no surfers then ok. also we 'voluntarily' don't shoo up the rednots on the sandbar as requested.
we don't litter. we don't drink alcohol because the cops will come and look iin your cooler--i've seen this happen to the fishermen but never a kiteboarder. the only rules for us is common curtesy stuff (and don't kill the birdwatchers who so richly deserve to die :) )
also park at the high tide line because many cars are totally lost there each year. the tide comes in quick if your new and don't knnow where to park.

if there is wind, i will be there on sun and monday and sat if it's not valentines day.

BeamerBob - 7-2-2009 at 09:23 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by PHREERIDER
hope beech island polo had wind, should have been good through the midday and afternoon.

got finished and free about 1pm caught low tide and a SW 10-15mph til about 4

phantom at AMELIA fully stoked on this rig see you guys then


So where did you ride at Amelia Island? I'd love to know what conditions you had with the beach, and where you parked and stuff. SW isn't the best but 10-15 sounds pretty good.

BeamerBob - 7-2-2009 at 09:31 PM

So lets do a roll call. This is what I've understood so far.

1) BeamerBob and family Friday night late till midday Tuesday.
2) Pokitetrash and family Friday afternoon till midday Sunday.
3) Acampbell
4) johnnylaing
5) Phreerider and family Saturday through Monday

acampbell - 8-2-2009 at 01:37 AM

Add Peter Boyton from St. Simons Is. He has a bug, foils and some huge single line stuff to paint the sky. Johnny says another local Laura may come down.

Fresh from the CWS Skunk Works, I am bringing the new Coastal Kite Cam - wireless video cam for the kite bridle with receiver and recorder mounted to the bug.

BeamerBob - 8-2-2009 at 06:41 AM

1) BeamerBob and family Friday night late till midday Tuesday.
2) Pokitetrash and family Friday afternoon till midday Sunday.
3) Acampbell
4) johnnylaing
5) Phreerider and family Saturday through Monday
6) Peter Boynton

johnnylaing - 8-2-2009 at 10:04 PM

Can't wait!! ...flew 3 hours today! I may be getting a little safer to be around.

BeamerBob - 9-2-2009 at 04:27 AM

Your prior experience will make you a good citizen on the beach with a group. That you are even thinking about it yet is a good indication of how well you will do. I look forward to meeting you this weekend.

PHREERIDER - 9-2-2009 at 06:55 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by BeamerBob
Quote:
Originally posted by PHREERIDER
hope beech island polo had wind, should have been good through the midday and afternoon.

got finished and free about 1pm caught low tide and a SW 10-15mph til about 4

phantom at AMELIA fully stoked on this rig see you guys then


So where did you ride at Amelia Island? I'd love to know what conditions you had with the beach, and where you parked and stuff. SW isn't the best but 10-15 sounds pretty good.



i was still on HHI and flow at home
I will be on Amelia isl. with the P15

PHREERIDER - 9-2-2009 at 07:38 AM

just checked tides for ST. Mary's ....

midday high tide and low tides are around 6am and 6pm

don't know the high tide line lay out i,m sure it is soft all the way to the dune.

14th right ? ah wind in the AM may be a zero and it will be dark next low tide

just curious this sounds off for land ride with high temp of the day breeze peak

someone else check this?

pretty good SOUTH wind coming WED 15-20mph don't know how long it will last

BeamerBob - 9-2-2009 at 08:20 AM

yes, you are right. The tides are about as bad as we could get. They did a reclamation on much of that beach so maybe it is wide and hopefully firm for us to play on. We planned this one because the kids are out of school mon and tue. The tides are just what we get. At least we are gaining beach through the afternoons.

acampbell - 9-2-2009 at 08:31 AM

Looks like there is a good amount of beach above the high-tide lines, according to Google Satellite views.

BeamerBob - 9-2-2009 at 08:52 AM

That section of beach between the business district and the pier to the north has been reclaimed by them pumping sand up there and then grooming it with earth moving equipment. There is a risk that it is somewhat soft though. Reclamation can make a narrow tide washed beach no matter what the tide is which leaves you with the perpetually dry sand. We could have lots of beach but need bigfoots to roll on it. Roll those dice I guess. We'll find a way to make the best of what we get.

PHREERIDER - 9-2-2009 at 09:08 AM

ok , just some details i would say you could get rollin about 3pm on pack sand and run til dark if wind is good and would only get better 4-6pm could be nice .

a rising tide in the am with 15mph+ would make a nice ride on the water til the turn
dependent on wind direction.

we ride in a similiar current spot here all the time with fast movement

tridude - 11-2-2009 at 06:15 AM

thought Id say have a great weekend before you all depart and dont forget your cameras..........................safe journey:lol::duh::duh:

acampbell - 11-2-2009 at 06:58 AM

Depending who you listen to, West or Southwest winds, 15-20 kts. Wohooo. looks like no trees to the west at the park to make the winds too lumpy coming over land. Is that so, Bobby.

BeamerBob - 11-2-2009 at 08:02 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by acampbell
Depending who you listen to, West or Southwest winds, 15-20 kts. Wohooo. looks like no trees to the west at the park to make the winds too lumpy coming over land. Is that so, Bobby.


There are trees in the park, but they decrease in height closer to the beach. I think we would be ok with westerlies and that would let us run the waterline. Between the state park pier and the business district, I remember somewhat of a dune and then houses but can't remember how big the dune is. I think we will have more fun with whatever we get from the west than wind from the south or North.

Windmapper is showing 20 mph at 10 am decreasing to 12 in the evening. That wind looks westerly enough to diminish the impact of the tides. I'm bringing a drysuit and I'm not afraid to use it either. In the buggy that is. I shouldn't cut my teeth on water riding with a straight offshore. I'd probably find a nuclear sub before I'd reach land somewhere.

BeamerBob - 11-2-2009 at 08:07 AM

I count a little over 2 miles of wide beach with only scrubby trees and the houses to the west.

BeamerBob - 12-2-2009 at 09:21 AM

We will arrive at the Fort Clinch campground tomorrow night, so we will hit the beach right after breakfast. I think it will be easier on us to just do the short walk around the corner and under the pier to get to the main beach just south of the pier at Fort Clinch. You would have a shorter walk if you park at the pier itself and then head straight out. Look at it on google maps to familiarize yourself with the lay of the land if you get a chance.

Here is a google map of the area. Chris and I will have our campers in the loop at the top of the map. There is a nice paved lot at the pier with a boardwalk straight out to where I'm envisioning playing. The beach I'm planning on playing at should be big enough even at high tide to play on especially with an offshore wind. That would be fun to hit the beach first thing before the tide comes in. Windmapper is calling for a SW 14 mph at 7am.

google map of Fort Clinch state park area

mgatc - 12-2-2009 at 01:27 PM

Sorry We'll miss this one. Have a blast!

mgatc & madkiterboy

johnnylaing - 13-2-2009 at 08:31 PM

1) BeamerBob and family Friday night late till midday Tuesday.
2) Pokitetrash and family Friday afternoon till midday Sunday.
3) Acampbell
4) johnnylaing
5) Phreerider and family Saturday through Monday
6) Peter Boynton

I know me, Angus and Peter are coming...we still have everyone else?? Any more??

tridude - 15-2-2009 at 09:22 AM

anyone back? If so how did tides/wind cooperate?:lol::duh::duh:

acampbell - 15-2-2009 at 10:43 AM

We got chased off the beach by light rain yesterday about 3pm.

Turns out Ft. Clinch State Park is a non-starter for any wheeled vehicles on the beach- powered or un-powered. This all came down when I pulled up to the toll station and the Ranger saw the buggy on the back of my trailer and said."You aren't planning of using that here are you?...."

Oh and no kiteboarding allowed either. No kites that can lift you....

Short story is that we ended up on the public city beach next to Ft. Clinch beach and it was much more convenient and accessible - except for a few more pedestrians. Wind was SW, on again off again 2-9 mph. Chad launched his Venom 15m and I launched my Synergy 15m and we both were made to work hard to launch and keep in the sky. Wexler had some good runs on the landboard with the Montana IV 9.5, but he too had to work hard in the lulls.

Watching the sky for a local run later today....

tridude - 15-2-2009 at 11:32 AM

improvise, adapt, and over come.............gotta do what ya gotta do....................Did BB and Pokite get any ripstop airborn? With 2 to 9mph winds, BB should have had a blast on the 9.66 Quad...............Early dayz I know but what did you think of the Syns low end? Did your 10.6 Reactor make it out of the bag? :cool::lol::duh::duh:

acampbell - 15-2-2009 at 11:43 AM

BB had the 7m Blurr and I'm not sure if PoKite got up before the weather went to crap. I just had a chance to Launch the Syn.

PHREERIDER - 15-2-2009 at 04:28 PM

that was Phantom 15m

wind was off shore and very challenging, too crowded with people and the tide thing just made it very tight.

nice to me some new folks and nice little camp spot WITH HOT SHOWERS

too bad the wind wasn't so good

TODAY (sunday) just finished a nice water session 15-20MPH most of the afternoon at home. hope the guys down there got piece of the breeze ENE should have nice for them

bob and chris thanks for spot hookup

acampbell - 15-2-2009 at 06:02 PM

Yeah, sorry, Phanny. but it had a zipper.

pokitetrash - 16-2-2009 at 07:19 AM

I got home from Amelia last night, but I didn't fly on Saturday. I got out there just in time to see BeamerBob wringing out his kite from an ocean dunk, working the sand out and then it started to rain so I went home with dry stuff to wait for Sunday. Sunday wind was right down the beach which was high tide when I got there with BB and we worked ourselves to death trying to get upwind in the narrow beach and flew static more than anything until we bailed to wait for low tide. I had to leave for home but Bobby has some fun news he'll share I'm sure. I'll go back again, and hope the wind direction cooperates.

BeamerBob - 17-2-2009 at 06:37 AM

Well, we're back as well. It was a fun trip because, well, it wasn't work and it was Florida. The wind seemed to blow the entire time. The issue of them not letting us buggy in the state park was a real downer. Amelia island has two beaches at almost 90 degrees to each other so between the 2, you could really buggy with almost any wind direction. After the ranger saw Angus' buggy and said he "thinks there is a rule against that" and "it may be a park rule" but he's not sure, we had to take a second best beach (for wind angle)with wind shadows and more people. Then came the rain. So Saturday was mostly a washout. Still got to see old friends and meet some new ones, Peter and Johnny, so that is always good. I should've manned up and gotten out the XXXL on loan from tridude but the gusts were a little more than I wanted for my first buggy ride with it. It would've been perfect for flying close to the water with an offshore wind.

BeamerBob - 17-2-2009 at 07:06 AM

So on Sunday, Pokite and I tried to make something with side shore winds, high tide, and soft sand above the water line, I had had enough. Phreerider gave me some inspiration for a night run. I grilled dinner for the family, ate and then headed out onto the forbidden beach. The moon doesn't rise till 1 am so no help there. There is some kind of mfg plant to the west with lots of lights and they sent a glow in the sky. The wind was dead on shore and about 8-10 mph. I took the Blurr and the Reactor and decided the Blurr was the choice. Of course there were a few twists in my lines but heck, I've seen that enough I could fix that in the dark and got it taken care of. Then the angels sang. I had a half mile of beach and not another soul in sight. I had the glow in the sky to my SW with my kite in silhouette, but it wasn't visible to anyone back in the park so I had the beach to myself and no one could even tell I was there. I made a slow pass to make sure there weren't any pedestrians or flotsam to avoid and then pulled the kite down low for 20-25 runs up and down the beach. This was a first for me. I had been able to do a downwinder/upwind slog at Jekyll Island at JIBE last fall but this was easy running both directions. The beach is arc shaped so I had a burst of speed at the end of each run, but I didn't really feel like I was running upwind when I turned around. I had no concept of my speed other than the dunes slipping by in the glow from the sky, but I imagine I was running around 20 mph. It was really cool slipping through the dark like that under the power of the wind and with such smooth consistent winds. I could park the kite about 20 feet off the ground and go the whole length of the beach. After an hour or more of constant buggying, the wind dropped enough that I really slowed down and packed things up. I know it was irresponsible to risk getting in trouble with the authorities but the ruling wasn't definitive and there was little observation by the rangers during the day and they close shop at 5:00 so all went well. Now, I want to talk to the Ranger in charge of the park to see if I can get some relief on this sort of ruling that maybe we can't buggy there. I'll keep my progress posted here.

PHREERIDER - 17-2-2009 at 07:31 AM

OH yeah that 's what i 'm talking about ! BOB! shanghai a night ride

take a ride on the dark side... nice

get it while the getting is good

sleep...... way over rated

pokitetrash - 17-2-2009 at 11:55 AM

Beamer, you're such a maverik!

kitesurfer - 17-2-2009 at 01:06 PM

you should have asked the park ranger for the rules (nothing in writing). flying a big kite is not against the rules at fla state parks. i have flown at big talbot island state park kitesurfing and there is no problem at all. the first time the rangers saw one, they questioned it but evidently found out all the rest of the parks in fla allow it so they have to also. as for the wheel issue...destroying vegitation i guess. i hate to say i told you so...but HUGENOT IS THE SPOT! I didn't attempt anything over the weekend because of the rain but yesterday was sunny and the wind was 20mph NE with some +'es. the water is still cold though. i'm heading to panama city this weekend.