My first lesson with an inflato... unfortunately no time for body drags or water starts - will happen next time. But spent a bunch of time getting a feel for flying, launching, landing, and safety system, none of which feels like my foils. A lot of raw power in these things. Getting psyched to start splashing around.
Floyd Bennet is about 2 minutes away from the kite beach here, so popped over there for a really fun roll around on my landboard afterwards. Was nice to have a steady breeze for a change. Not in the best direction, so lots of tacking, but was able to point pretty far upwind with the Blurr. All around good day.

Well that escalated quickly... :cool2:

Sweet! Another one sampling the cool aid:D

I spent an entire winter flying LEI's before I jumped in the water. Helped lots with the transition. They are a different animal for sure. Like any kite there are pluses and minuses. Set up and take down stinks in my opinion but they make up for it in stability and Depower range. Happy to see your getting your feet wet. Most importantly, have fun!

Yeah cheese - I have to assume nyc kite spots start to get over crowded pretty quickly as the weather gets warmer (thats what happens with surfing around here). So I better get my kook phase out of the way quick, while I have the chance and a little bit of room. And hopefully no go pros looking in my direction...

Cheddar - I thought the setup and take down were going to be way worse, so I was actually pleasantly surprised. Well, pleasant is pushing it, but you know what I mean. Pumping wasn't all that difficult, and attaching bridles was exactly the same as the arc. Launch and landing were the hard parts, at least for me on the first try. I do miss being able to easily launch and land by myself. Good news, there's always someone here to help out... bad news, there's always...

once a kook...always a kook
my experience

Quote:

once a kook...always a kook

No use hiding from it. I embrace my inner kook.

Up and riding, success!

Now just need more water time to practice.

For once, everything lined up yesterday - wind was perfect for Sonic 2 18m, and light enough that there weren't too many other kiters out. Tide was low enough that I could stand away from the beach. Water was cold enough that people stayed close to shore. After a couple test dives and drags to get used to the kite, and a couple false starts getting used to the board, popped up like a cork. After 2 of those up and down, I remembered to send the kite back up after the dive, and I was up and riding. Unfortunately there's a jetty in the way on both sides, so only a couple hundred yards or so in each direction, but felt pretty in control once up. Tried a couple half assed transitions (got a little air on one , think I can figure those out pretty quickly, will work on that next time. All in all, super fantastic feeling being up and riding. After about 6 or 7 runs I was pretty beat and had to call it a day. Which was unfortunate, because the wind got better and I could have gotten some practice on the 12m LEI. But best to quit while I'm ahead - I know a great session could turn into the worst pretty quickly...
The big kite and lightish wind were a perfect combo I think. The handling felt somewhat similar to my 14m Gin (still up for grabs btw!), where everything moves slowly, but powerful and purposeful.
I'll see you on the water soon, Cheadderhead!

hi jeffnyc

reading you thread i am both jelous and happy for you as i the water side was my aim this year (2018) but time and life took over sadly.making 2019 my target.

i did a land based lesson sunday doing lei lauching,landing,safety etc and like you say how much power do they have but i felt comfortable ish after short time.crazy the size kites you put up in stronger winds!!

did you get to spend more time on the water as i see this thread was last posted in may?

Heya m00ms! Rest of the summer/fall was kind of hit and miss for water for me. Had a couple great sessions early on, but between work and weather I didn't get enough time to get totally comfortable on the water. You definitely need a couple sessions in a row so you don't forget everything you just learned. I lost my King Gee (fell in the middle of the inlet, current grabbed it and sailed it out to the Atlantic - was a fantastic ride up to that point), but recently discovered I REALLY like riding a surfboard. But weather and work have been killing me, so again, 1 step forward, 2 steps back... so have only had a couple shots at it so far. But since I surf, it felt way more natural for me than twin tip.
I have gotten way more comfortable with my LEIs since I wrote those first posts - very different from my giant Speeds - they feel more like small fixed bridles the way they zip through turns.
At this point I'm looking forward to some snow. There aren't as many people that do water here in the winter, and I hate going out alone in these temperatures, so my window for getting out is even smaller.
Update with your progress, would love to hear how you get on with it. It's super fun when everything clicks. Not sure when I'll be able to get out again, work kicks into high gear right about now, so might be a while. Probably be back to square one by the time I can get into the water again :D