Re: Buying my first kite, 9m or13m?
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 12:46 pm
When the topic of Ocean Beach comes up, my ears perk up...
I lived on the Great Hwy (between Moraga and Noriega) for 12 years. I've surfed there for 35 years and windsurfed there for 20+. I've kited there for 4 seasons now.
Ocean Beach has many faces depending on wind, swell and tide. Some days there is a nice inside area where you can blast around, parallel to the beach without dealing with a bunch of whitewater or many breaking waves. Other days it's a cat and mouse game where you're dodging bulldozer thick, overhead double-ups, which break really, really hard. Toss in 25-35 Knot wind, usually straight on-shore and it makes getting through the beach break just a little bit entertaining.
The trouble with the place is that it can be hard to see which kind of day it is from the parking lot or even the beach. With all the time I've spent in the water there, I've been surprised as I'm riding out on my first few tacks at how gnarly it can be, when I thought it looked pretty mellow from the car.
I've always said about kiting: "It's all good, until it isn't." You might see a bunch of guys riding OB and making it look relatively easy. But you have to plan for when things go wrong and it's really easy for things to go really wrong, really, really fast. Throw some overhead, slamming beach break into the mix, add some kite lines wrapped all around you and you're screwed.
OB is no place for a beginner kiter.
When you're up and riding comfortably, both directions with a really solid 95+%, tack to the other direction on flat water, you're starting to be ready to play around with surf - at places like Dillon, small Waddell, Pismo. A side or side-onshore spot is much easier to get out through the surf than straight on-shore.
I remember my first few outings in the surf with a kite - it was like the whole past experience of riding on flat water was now 2D - the waves add the 3rd dimension and it's really, really fun!
Welcome!
Kirk out
I lived on the Great Hwy (between Moraga and Noriega) for 12 years. I've surfed there for 35 years and windsurfed there for 20+. I've kited there for 4 seasons now.
Ocean Beach has many faces depending on wind, swell and tide. Some days there is a nice inside area where you can blast around, parallel to the beach without dealing with a bunch of whitewater or many breaking waves. Other days it's a cat and mouse game where you're dodging bulldozer thick, overhead double-ups, which break really, really hard. Toss in 25-35 Knot wind, usually straight on-shore and it makes getting through the beach break just a little bit entertaining.
The trouble with the place is that it can be hard to see which kind of day it is from the parking lot or even the beach. With all the time I've spent in the water there, I've been surprised as I'm riding out on my first few tacks at how gnarly it can be, when I thought it looked pretty mellow from the car.
I've always said about kiting: "It's all good, until it isn't." You might see a bunch of guys riding OB and making it look relatively easy. But you have to plan for when things go wrong and it's really easy for things to go really wrong, really, really fast. Throw some overhead, slamming beach break into the mix, add some kite lines wrapped all around you and you're screwed.
OB is no place for a beginner kiter.
When you're up and riding comfortably, both directions with a really solid 95+%, tack to the other direction on flat water, you're starting to be ready to play around with surf - at places like Dillon, small Waddell, Pismo. A side or side-onshore spot is much easier to get out through the surf than straight on-shore.
I remember my first few outings in the surf with a kite - it was like the whole past experience of riding on flat water was now 2D - the waves add the 3rd dimension and it's really, really fun!
Welcome!
Kirk out