Another great day at Belmont

It's Sunday evening and we had a great day at Belmont. This makes seven days of kiting and still counting because tomorrow it could blow also.

You can see that the wind didn't come up until after 2 o'clock. So there was a little sitting around.

After cleaning up our gear and while waiting waiting for the wind we filled in Mike and Mandy about the trip to Huntington. Unfortunately for the moment they aren't around.

I had to grab this shot of a sun bather who is nonchalant about having a pelican "hang out" with him. I could just hear the guy say, "Hey dude, do you need some tan lotion?"

Lots of kiters came to Belmont including Bobby. I think he said he just got back from Cabaret.

Once rigged we just hung out and told stories. Dan, who is standing next to Klaus, had a great day at Belmont. Luca hung out with us for a while too.

Pilar, Jorge, Henry and Bobby were waiting for the wind also.

The other cart guy Mark and Carole came to see if the wind was going to come up. It didn't disappoint him.

Matt has figured out that he can get out on very little wind when he's on his surfboard. He's gotten really good with it also.

At one point, during his break, Mitch (the lifeguard at the Claremont station) grabbed Klaus's Bandit and down-winded for a few minutes.

After seeing Matt go out I decided to grab Dan's old surfboard and give it a try.

I don't have the turns down, but I can go both port and starboard. I just have to get that turning thing down and I've got it.

In the mean time Mitch had his eyes on something.

Mitch and a fellow lifeguard pulled in this catamaran that became stranded when a line that holds the mast came undone. A pin came out.

On the far left you can see the female passenger kissing the sand. She was very happy to be back on land. I guess it was a harrowing experience, or she wanted to wash off her knees.

With the wind going up and down and changing directions, there were a few kiters waiting for the wind to return.

I think it's cool that during his "breaks" Mitch can grab his kite and board, and go out for a pass or two. I wish I had a job like that.

I caught his shot of Ben, the new instructor for Capt. Kirk's, who also just happens to be a pretty darn good kiter.

I heard that Naji was having bladder problems, so this gave his a chance to check out some other kites. Good air Naj.

While on the subject of jumping I caught Eyal getting off the deck. Next time it's Lisa's turn to get air.....just kidding.

I'm so bummed that I didn't catch this amazing jump that Bobby did on his port return. I was looking at a shot I had taken and when I looked up Bobby was about 15 feet off the water, then his board was dangling from one foot, then he kicked it off completely. The, as though he pushed a button, he went a little higher and then BAMM, he was back in the water. He was lucky every thing was alright.

Once the wind came back there were still a lot of kiters that had stayed hoping it was going to be a late blow. Like yesterday the wind didn't shut off until after 7 o'clock.

Dan has been getting a few tricks from bestkites.com. Here's a grab.

I'm guessing that Dan has been doing some ab work because now he's inverting too.

Next stop, all the way around. I think he told me on this jump his board hit his kite lines. Just go hands free......next time.

I, on the other hand, am a one trick pony. Today I got the strapless board down pretty well. So Bobby loaned me a directional board with straps. I just need to fix this big hole. Come on wind don't let me down.

Hope to see you on the water soon.