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Originally posted by lad Plus...it's a relatively small and, uh, apparently a well "urbanized" area. Instead of driftwood and dried jellyfish, you prob. have to watch out more for discarded glass pipes! But, it IS close to me and is a proven spot.

I've never had a problem with debris in the field. I've seen wrappers, plastic bags, the occasional soda can, but nothing major. I normally pick up what I can while I am there. My way of giving back to the field after tearing the heck out of it with my massive power slides... :saint:

Wind in the right direction for that spot is about as rare as SE winds at Wildwood.

Confession time:

Actually, having not actually made it to the bowl yet,
I was only relying on humorous second-hand reports (and educated conjectures) about the area.

My experience at other waterside urban areas tells me to expect less than oceanside consistency in wind.

But the bowl-shaped aerodynamics sound interesting...

When the winds are right, its a really fun place to fly. Probably my favorite spot in the DC area. Nothing beats Wildwood, but this is a good substitute

It's a great little place... just watch out for that one sink hole at the base of the hill. Anyone wanting to scope it out can watch the video of Ragden tearing it up.

Wrecking Ball Video

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Originally posted by Todd It's a great little place... just watch out for that one sink hole at the base of the hill. ...

This is why its always a good idea to walk the field before you ride so you can tell if there are any "invisible" dangers. I've hit that same "hole", but it didnt jar me nearly as severly as it did Todd.

Nice video, looks like a great spot too.

Had my first experience with a sink hole on Friday. There is a nice new sink hole at Haynes Point with sticks shoved in it. I happened to ride into it and now I have a flat tire on my board. It's kind of in the middle of the field, but more towards the west side. Next time I am out there I plan to bring a bag of dirt to fill it back in.

Zow, if you guys come all the way from DC, VA & Soloman's just to kite in Harm...er, CHARM City, it must be an exceptional place! And here I've been scoping all the regional waterside parks with little enthusiasm.

Sinkholes (and downed lines) - that's where those little construction marker flags from the hardware store can come in handy!

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Originally posted by dtoast Nice video, looks like a great spot too. Had my first experience with a sink hole on Friday. There is a nice new sink hole at Haynes Point with sticks shoved in it. I happened to ride into it and now I have a flat tire on my board. It's kind of in the middle of the field, but more towards the west side. Next time I am out there I plan to bring a bag of dirt to fill it back in.

Were you really able to board at Haynes Point? When the winds are just 10 miles an hour its too small for decent static flying with a 4m. And yes I know of that hole its annoying.

That hole must be fairly new, I never encountered it while flying there.

My kiting experiences are limited as I have not really been outside DC yet for land boarding, so to me it’s probably not as disappointing of a place as to others who have been all over. I do just fine with my Crossfire and board when winds are from the east, runs are short, but I have not experienced anything longer yet.

Must be new because it was not there the last time I was there either. You don’t even see it until your on top of it.

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Originally posted by dtoast My kiting experiences are limited as I have not really been outside DC yet for land boarding, so to me it’s probably not as disappointing of a place as to others who have been all over. I do just fine with my Crossfire and board when winds are from the east, runs are short, but I have not experienced anything longer yet.

You'll just have to come out to Wildwood with us next time we head that way...

If you need a ride, let me know, I might have room...

I'd be likely to have room as well. Though you're responsible for your own place to stay ;-)

I can't wait, are you guys making trips up there all year round or just mainly in the warmer months? A tent always works for me; sure you can find a cheep hotel around there too.

Can't do warmer months :P Kiting is banned on that beach from Memorial Day to Labor Day... too many people.

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Originally posted by Maven454 Can't do warmer months :P Kiting is banned on that beach from Memorial Day to Labor Day... too many people.

Unfortunately, Maven is dead on. We arent allowed on the beach during the summer months. So we are relegated to other locations. Which is unfortunate. Personally, its a good opportunity to hit the water. :saint:

However, we are in the colder months now, so Wildwood is open for business (for us). Might head down this weekend, if winds cooperate. We are also looking at a possible thanksgiving trip. I am working on seeing about getting some group lodging arranged, but I dont know yet.

This weekend you say... hmmm.

I could be heading that way too! :bouncing:

Yeah, the only thing really holding me back is lodging... I dont like driving 8 hrs in one day...

edit: ugh, wind directions dont look right for wildwood though... Temperatures look high enough, might have to go kitesurfing both days as wind directions look right for water in Dewey... Only time will tell...

No kites for me this weekend, too much going on.

Colmar wasn't great. Had moments of good wind but I had a good time with my friend charles anyway we had a huge spread of food that we chowed down on and just enjoyed the day.

Sounds like good times.

Current wind predictions are showing NW winds Sunday. Looking at two different weather predictions and both are saying the same direction. Wind strengths vary, but it looks like a Sunday afternoon jaunt to the Bowl might be the place to be. I'll keep checking the weather predictions and will update this post with what I see....

Bowl, bowl, bowl. That's all we ever hear out of you .

/furiously flipping browser tabs between Wildwood and Baltimore weekend wind forecast screens/ :cool2:

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Originally posted by Maven454 Bowl, bowl, bowl. That's all we ever hear out of you .

Yeah, well, its one of my favorite spots to ride in DC. And you probably dont want to hear about what I am doing on Saturday anways...

I'd consider Wildwood, but its too far of a drive for a day trip, not to mention NW winds arent the best for there. If I had lodging arranged for Friday night, I might consider a day trip for Saturday, but I really cant afford a hotel stay right now. Wife is giving me enough grief about my day trips to DE as it is...

As related to me by Don, the rule-of-thumb for prime WW tides is every two weeks (this will be the 2nd prime tides weekend since the Fall Bash). This doesn't account for weather and wind, tho.

But the Bowl is a heck of a lot closer, just not as spacious as WW (nothing is!)

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Originally posted by lad As related to me by Don, the rule-of-thumb for prime WW tides is every two weeks (this will be the 2nd prime tides weekend since the Fall Bash). This doesn't account for weather and wind, tho. But the Bowl is a heck of a lot closer, just not as spacious as WW (nothing is!)

I agree with the two-week factor. Its almost dead on. Saturday would be a really fun day at Wildwood. South winds are fun on the south beach. Its not quite dead-on shore, more side-on, but if you have a kite that goes upwind well, you can take off from the pier, go down to the south fence, and then scream back up. The upwind tack takes some practice, but coming back is always fun.

NW winds are Wildwood are rideable, if you have enough wind. Since these are off-shore winds at south beach, I would recommend making sure that wind strenghts are consistently over 10mph. Anything less, and it doesnt seem to quite work. Not to say that you wont have a good time, I just dont make a day trip if winds are predicted that low.

The Bowl is a lot closer, and hopefully everything holds steady for that...

Saturday will be Solomon's OR a last shot at the water... Sunday is shaping up nicely for the bowl!

Predictably, predictions for Sunday are now down the toilet. With decent amounts of rain fall predicted, and very very light winds, I am not sure it would be worth the trip. If things change in the next 48 hrs, I'll update this post. As of this posting, I'm thinking Sunday is a day to vegetate/shop with the wife.