two days of great winter kiting

February 20 and 21, 2010

Two days of great winter kiting


On Saturday the wind came up pretty early, about 11 A.M. This wind graph seems a little off because when Rijk and I hit the beach it felt pretty strong, maybe 15 to 18. We had a great time until I hit a piece of drift wood. That loud clunk knocked off the two front fins of my new directional board. My day ended about 3:15. That was OK since Ruth and I were going out tonight to a party in downtown L.A. The party started at 5:30 and dinner was served at 7. We got there with time to spare.

Today, Sunday was a different story. Dan came over to the house at about 11 so we could work on his sister Sara's car. We were going to change the oil, the oil filter, air filter and put on new front brake pads. Everything was going great until the wind started howling. That was at about noon. Sara wanted us to change her wiper blades and we said "Sorry the wind is blowing and we've got to GO!!!!" We grabbed our kite stuff and headed to the beach. Rijk was already on the water. We were playing catch up.

It's such a beautiful sight when your local spot is cranking. It's like one big block party.

Today there were about 30 kiters on the water. It was a lot of fun seeing so many of our kite buddies at the beach.

Kristin got a great shot of Dan getting ready to go out.

Rijk had come in when Kris grabbed this shot. He not only kited all day but played soccer this morning. How do these kids do it???

She even caught Dan and I on the water at the same time. Yes, father and son bonding.

Dan pulled off a jump right in front of us. You can tell the water was a little choppy today.

Rijk loves to tell everyone about his beautiful kite. Here he's going port right in front of us. Yes his Wainman "Boss" is beautiful. The Dutch Olympic athletes are too. You've got to love their orange and blue team colors.

I don't know why but I couldn't get this shot to look right. Maybe the sun ducked behind the clouds or something. Sorry Dan it was a good jump too.

I didn't get his kite but I did get this smooth turn that Rijk pulled off......Ssssmmmmooooth.

Kristin got one of me going through the surf. Today I felt a little tired. Back, legs, arms and hands. Dan said "Time to hit the gym Dad." He's right.

It's just a great feeling that just around the corner were going to have warm air, warm water and some great sailing.

Here I'm trying to make something out of nothing. The girl that is going out is Gabriel. A new friend of Rijk's. Next time I'll try to get a little closer.

As I headed home I couldn't put down the camera. After all the wind was still blowing. And who knows maybe tomorrow will make it three days in a row.

After an hour on dog beach chasing the "big boys" Bebe snuggles in her bed for a little nap before dinner. We had chili and Bebe had poached chicken with a gravy sauce and a bit of kibble for that added crunch. Everyone was happy!!!!