I just had the luxury to get to kite with Angus on his home turf at Jekyll Island this past weekend. It was a ride to remember. The forecast was calling for some side shore action with maybe a hint of onshore. They missed it and we arrived both days with either direct onshore or a slight side angle to give a downwind leg.

Saturday started out real low but by the time the tide was out enough to ride, it had picked up to 5 or so which will give you a ride with the 10.8 Reactor II. This baby turns slow but it really pulls. Get it flying and then send it to the right, upturn and then sit down in the buggy while it gets pointed right, then when it heads back to the left, the fabric goes tight and you roll away. Twitch the buggy upwind just a tad and this tightens the lines again for a second surge. Now you can't be stopped and the speed just builds and builds. We put some miles on with these for several hours then the wind got up above 8-9 and the big kites started to pull too much.

We finished the day with the 18m Phantom and 19m Charger. The Phantom was like an old friend. I commented to Angus that it is a good example to explain depower that we were getting overpowered with the 10.8m fixed bridles so we got just about the biggest arcs to be had and had a relaxing ride and bumped up our top speed from 25 to 29 mph.

Back on Sunday with a few more mph of wind. Angus opted for the 8.6 RII this time and I went back to the 10.8. Mine was too much after a few miles and I sized down. I don't think the winds got over 12 the whole day and maybe not much more than 10 mph. This kite turns a whole lot faster which makes it more fun if you can get away with the smaller kite. I hit 32mph on Sunday but usually we would be cruising between 25 and 28mph.

This day was quite surreal cruising for what seemed like a couple miles each way running from just out from the shipwreck about halfway up the island. The wind was so steady that at times, Angus and I would creep up in close proximity to cruise within 40 feet of each other with kites looking like a train, one right behind the other. With kite, buggy and wind so perfectly matched, we could toy with kite position and brake tension to see what the affect was. I found myself in wonderment that we had these sheets of fabric and line that we could hold onto and they would take us down the beach at close to 3 times the speed of the wind.

These conditions were no match for the Ivanpah buggies. I never felt vulnerable except when the winds got higher while flying the 10.8s and I could feel a slight draft between me and the comfy seat. I could slide sideways all the way down the beach if I wanted to and not worry about getting dragged out the side. I have it balanced perfectly now with the back wheels sliding just a tad more than the front.
Pics to follow once I'm settled back in at home.

Sounds like a dream get away! Glad you guys had a great weekend. JIBE is already on my calendar for next spring!

Happy winds!

Sounds as you had a great visit.

nice one bob! light wind has been the order of the week!

reactors are incredible sails!

Yeah we had a great weekend as Bobby was kind enough to bring the on-shores. Sunday we tried out a new spot that I am considering for Saturday's staging site for JIBE (to avoid the weekend "crowds)", but will write more about it on the JIBE thread.

These runs were the first ones with the new PL Divine harness and I had not flown the big Reactors in a while. After the first runs I found that the pull of the kite was coming through the tops of my thighs, and the big 10.8 was trying to pretty much pull me out the side of the bug by rolling me over the side rails. I have massive bruises on my upper thighs. Since Bobby was not having same trouble with same kite and buggy, I loosened the brakes and let it lean farther forward in the window and that helped a lot. Kites were perfectly matched for the conditions and easily pulling 3x local true wind without trying hard.

Didn't have the GPS on Saturday but on Sunday we logged over 30 miles.

nice ride!!!

take a look at your bridles and see if the A has stretched more than the B / C on the second section from the Center. they may need to be lined up again and than we could place a knot in the A to speed it up. If you have slow turn on the 10.8, we can adjust your D bridles to have it turns faster.

glad to see you're speeding up, and if you have too much drift depending off the front or rear you could add a weight or two, this would balance out using the bigger size

Sounds like you two had a great time, I enjoy reading recaps from incredible rides!

That sounded like a great cruising day. I'm headed out to Dillon beach this weekend - I'll let you know how it's developing for when you get back.

Quote:

Originally posted by flexiblade That sounded like a great cruising day. I'm headed out to Dillon beach this weekend - I'll let you know how it's developing for when you get back.

make sure you teach Dino how to drive fast, he needs some practice before NABX and UK.