I'm headed to my folS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s house in Palm Harbor, FL next week and need a good venue to practice body dragging. Where's a good venue for a neophyte kitesurfer in northern Pinellas County? Maybe the Dunedin Beach Causeway? I fear there will be too many sail boats there. There are also power lines on the inland side of the causeway. And then there are the cars on the causeway itself. :-( I want a nice safe spot where I won't be in anyone's way.

I was also considering Fred Howard Park in Tarpon Springs between the beach and the mainland. If the tide is low it's pretty shallow--probably waist deep. I'm not sure if I have a good launch zone there though.

I welcome the input of some locals. AJ?

Philip

Your best bet would be Howard on anything with west winds! I would stay away from Dunedin, lots of boat traffic.Make sure you wear booties! I just moved to OBX, but would of helped you out if I was still there.Good luck!.......aj

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Originally posted by action jackson Your best bet would be Howard on anything with west winds! I would stay away from Dunedin, lots of boat traffic.Make sure you wear booties! I just moved to OBX, but would of helped you out if I was still there.Good luck!.......aj

Yeah, I was figuring on a west wind. So where's the good launch zone? Backside of the island? Is the wind clean enough to launch there?

I didn't realized you had moved to OBX. So are you seeking fame and fortune or just a better kite surfing venue? ;-)

Philip

90% of the time there are a few other kiters there, so just set up upwind of them.You do get some rotor wind from the palms but soon as you get upwind of the Island no problems. The north side has deeper water!The southside is shallow all the way to sunset point.Alot of the kiters also use sunset to launch at but it is a tight launch!I never was there on the weekends but I hear the beaches are quit busy! I just moved to OBX last week so I have not even ridden here yet!Hopefully Monday the wind will turn on for the season!..........aj

I went to Sunset Point in Tarpon Springs late today and it was very busy. There were at least 10 kites in the air the entire time with at least another 15 inflated on the ground. The launch zone is very tight. Every launch I saw was assisted and they needed to be. It was 100% tube kites and the water was pretty busy. I figured this was not a good place for an Arc flyer to find an assisted launch or a good place for me to learn so I went just north to Fred Howard Park.

At Fred Howard there were zero kites--just a few windsurfers and a modicum of people and they were happy to work with me. There was lots more room to launch. Admittedly I had been there 2 days early and there were some many people on the back side of the island I didn't bother pulling anything out.

So anyway the winds today were great 15-20 MPH with minimal gusting. No squirrelly inflation issues with the Scorp today. :-) I did a lot of water dragging and it was pretty fun. The only problem was the volume of water that went into my nose. I can prevent this problem when I swim underwater by constantly exhaling from my nose, but somehow this did not work for me when harnessed to a kite. Ordinarily I can walk and chew gum at the same time but I wasn't about to test it after that session. :-)

Midway through my session I noticed one of the rangers was collecting trash on the beach. A bit later I looked back at the beach and my backpack was not to be seen. I could deal with loosing the pack, but my glasses and car key were in the pack. I came out of the water, trotted down the beach toward the spot it was sitting and sure enough it was not there. I talked with a group on the beach and they didn't know where it went. As we were talking I see the ranger in his little golf cart in the parking lot. He sees me and says, "Is this yours?" as he lifts up my pack. He brought it down to me and everything was cool. It turns out they pick up about 6 forgotten packs each day and hold 'em at the ranger station 'til someone comes to pick them. I guess I need to attach a luggage tag to that bag lest it not return so quickly next time.

Philip

Nicely done!

You coming to JIBE?

Mel

cool , seems like a good spot . keep rolling

your decision to locate at a favorable spot, pure champion !

a little trek away beats snags and targets EVERYTIME!

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Originally posted by mgatc Nicely done! You coming to JIBE? Mel

Oh yes! Dean and I are sharing a site at the Jekyll Island Campground. I'm arriving Wednesday and have reserved the site through Sunday morning.

Bringing the family this year?

Philip