Belmont Kite Haps: June 2010

Finally GOOD wind

June GLOOM leads to other things

June, 2010

June GLOOM leads to other things

June 20th, a down winder and Father's Day

June 20, 2010

Dan and Martin talk to Radko and explain what our down winder was all about.

Then Radko came over and took a picture of the three adventurists, me, Martin Hubert and Dan.

As the wind started to build Martin put the last few pumps to his kite. Better too hard than too soft.

In our minds this is what we were going to do, down wind to the Huntington Beach pier on a straight tack, but it wasn't that easy because the wind didn't cooperate,

We did a warm up lap at Belmont and noticed that there wasn't enough wind to get past the marina entrance, so we went back and got a running start and headed for the oil platform. Then we went into Seal and kited a little to see if the wind was going to get any stronger.

Double click on the picture to make it larger and you will see that we made one stab at getting past Anaheim Bay. You may know it as the entrance to Huntington Harbor. We got to the entrance and Dan pointed back to Seal so we went back and twiddled our thumbs until there was enough wind to make it to Surfside.

Once past the harbor entrance Dan and I went into Surfside and worked our way down to Sunset. For some reason I didn't see Martin until we were playing at Sunset. Later he said he didn't get the signal at Seal to head South. Ooooppppppssss. Sorry Martin.

We were now at a critical place because we needed enough wind to get us the rest of the way so we did a couple of passes at Warner Avenue and then head to the finish line. We did find that we would get ahead of the wind and then would double back and then continue on the voyage. Once we passed Golden West the wind was really sketchy. We were really weaving our kites to get to the Huntington Beach pier. Then I saw Martin head in so I just followed him.

Once we got to the beach you can see it was no problem landing our kites since there was no one on the beach. Lucky us.

I asked one of the guys walking down the beach to take this shot. Yes we were happy to be on the sand.

Dan still had some juice left so he went out to ride the waves.

and another,

and another.....

That's it, that's a wrap. Time to head home.

We dropped our gear on the grass on PCH, then Martin and Dan walked down to Dan's truck and we headed home.

We arrived back at the house, then proceeded to clean up our gear and go into the warmth of the house. OH nice...

We walked in and heard the stereo blasting to the music from the show Glee. Then Sara and Ruth hit the dance floor. Two girls having fun.

Thanks to Martin we have this Father's Day picture. It was quite the day, filled with excitement, insecurity, sore bodies and relief that we made it all the way without a kitemare to tell.

Saturday SCKA meeting and a fun kite day

June 19, 2010

Today the SCKA had a pre-Kite Expo meeting at Belmont. Dan, Kristin and I came early to set-up the new tent. If I could read Dan's mind it would be something like "I don't need no stinking instructions."

I think Hank Sanchez saw us struggling so he came over to assist with the tent building.

Look at that......it's ready to go.

Our SCKA President welcomes back our lifeguard friend Mitch who started work today.
WELCOME BACK MITCH!!!

Bart Miller on the left welcomes back Mark Moore who just returned from a European kite trip. Soon he will be showing the video of his trip...maybe at Alfredo's. In the mean time Mark is a kite instructor for Kitesurfari (www.kitesurfari.com) The site also has the Kite Expo flier.

After the meeting we were fortunate to have the wind come up. Now that's planning.

Wow, when was the last time we saw two motorcycle officers on the Claremont ramp???? Maybe they came down to learn to kite. "Robert sign them up."

The kite area also had some support from the Lifeguard Rescue Boat, trying to help the kiters recognize where the "SWIM ZONE" area is. Many of us have to remember to stay out beyond the white buoys.

Ruth had the thankless job of babysitting the two dogs today. She took a little break and walked down to see us. "Hi Honey!!!!"

Ruth walked Loki and Bebe over to the lifeguard tower to say hello to Mitch. She then rapidly walked the dogs home.

There were quite a few kites out today. Pretty good wind.

At the end of the day there was a beautiful sun fireball that added to the days events.

Harley Mike meets his Big Mama at Belmont

June 24, 2010

Today was a big day for Mike Noel, aka Harley Mike, he has his new Wainman "Big Mama" and his new Liquid Force "Low Rider".

This is where the rubber meets the road, or "Big Mama hits the sand for the first time"

Mike made a beach donation to Kitesurfari. He said he bought this air hose extension many years ago and now he's found a new use for it, blowing up his kite.

Bill and Suzi look on as Mike tests the air on my kite. Bill suggested he hand pump Big Mama for the first time to make sure there are no folds in the bladders.

Robert, from Kitesurfari, came over to check on Mike. Just wanted to make sure everything was all right.

The two Big Mama's are ready to go. I launched Mike so I could take some pictures of him on the water. I'll join him in a few.

I guess you could say this is Mike's first date with Mama. The wind was still building so Mike wanted to get a running start.

Look at him fly. Mike was tearing it up today.

So were Suzi, Al and Trevor.

I don't know what happened to Suzi, but Mike joined Trevor and Al...ripping.

Al Navas was nice enough to take a shot of the two Big Mama fans. Taking a break before the wind came back.

Mike just didn't want to quit today.

You'll be seeing a lot more of this graphic at Belmont. There are now three Big Mama's. Come over and ask me to take a test ride.

June 13...SCKA Safety Clinic

June 13, 2010

The SCKA Summer Safety Clinic

This item is new for 2010, a tent. Thanks to Martin Hubert we had a central spot for visitors to sign-in, join the SCKA and find out what station to go to. It was great!!!

Our past-President Francis Hu and Bart Miller (both in white shirts) ran the first stop, knowing your safety equipment.

Here Jane is being shown the release system by Bart Miller.

The group had a complete lesson, stem to stern, of their kite lines and the safety system.

The second segment was "Know The Right of Way" and the SCKA wanted to have points of view from Huntington, Seal and Belmont Shore.

Nudge headed up this clinic, with the assistance of Al Shuton, Max Runyan and Al Navas.

If you notice Nudge kept their attention while all of the instructors discussed the Right of Way from the view of different areas.

The third segment was Self Rescue. It was headed up by Arnaud Vuillermet, who also teaches at Belmont. On the right is his new KiteMasters tent and flag.

Arnaud is in the sand and behind him is Dan Slater, our official SCKA photographer. Check out his website at http://www.nearfield.com/~dan/sports/kitesurf/SCKA/index.htm. At the moment he has shots from last years event. Soon Dan will have the pix from this year.

During this part of the self rescue lesson Arnaud describes how to use your kite during the rescue process. Go over and introduce yourself and tell him what a great job he did.

The next stop was meeting Carter Thomas, an instructor with Kitesurfari.

Carter and Dan Corbett set-up the group by stating that having someone helping you launch and land your kite is the safest way to kite, especially on busy weekends, especially here in Belmont.

Dan is waiting for Carter to give him "Thumbs-UP" before letting the kite go. Coordination between the kiter and launcher is most the most important factor so there are no mistakes.