Teaching at Alameda

[paulwhitaker]

I'm teaching a couple of friends to kitesurf and once we get to body drags want to take them to Alameda because it seems like the safest place to let a couple of nuebies get dragged around in the water.

Can anyone tell me anything about when the season over there kicks off, what are the typical kite sizes, what wheather conditions to keep my eye on, etc.

Thanks in advance.

[Sonny]

Very bad idea, let the certified instructors's teach them. What they save on the lesson will probably small percentage of the medical bill.

[paulwhitaker]

I plan to have them take lessons from licensed instructors and I agree on the safety argument. Teaching isn't as easy as it sounds, so it's good advice. As a Pilot I have a well developed sense of respect for weather and for safety. These are my friends and I don't want to see them get hurt or turned off from kiting.

That said, going over the basics of wind and kite control with a trainer doesn't require spending money on a licensed instructor and I'm confident that I can get them through some of the rudamentary aspects of kiting quickly and safely.

Speaking of safety, we are working on the basics at Crissy Field, which I'm already familiar with. That's definately not a place for beginners and that's why I'm asking about Alameda.

[Sonny]

You are right about having your friends fly the trainer kite and get very good at it before they take a lesson, they will get lot more out of the lesson. I personally think that Alameda is not a good place for the trainer kite due to the beach goers. I think 3rd AVE upper launch on the west side, away from the regular kiter is the best place. I used to teach at 3rd few years ago, feel free to come talk to me when you are at 3rd, I'm there almost every day when the wind blows.

[OliverG]

The Marina Green downwind of Crissy is a good place to fly trainer kites, Ocean Beach has plenty of room, and in the East Bay Cesar Chavez Park in Berkeley has good wind and plenty of room to fly trainer kites. At all places, be respectful of the other folks enojying the parks or beach and work on those basic kite-handling skills. That will help out quite a bit once the lessons start with the bigger kites and water lessons.

[michael]

"Can anyone tell me anything about when the season over there kicks off, what are the typical kite sizes, what wheather conditions to keep my eye on, etc. "

Sure.

1) Season: has already started. For example, just last Saturday Alameda was at its best. Alameda is one of the least predictable places, it's pretty much hit-or-miss, and there is no reliable wind forecast. More windy days April through September, however the least amount compared to any other places of the Bay Area.

2) Typical kite sizes: 12-14m on average, depends on the weight for 12-14mph winds.

3) Weather conditions: low tides expose rocks close to the launch area. High tide won't be perfect for beginners. Anything in between gives a 3-4 line-length waist-deep water along a long beach. Combined with typical side-onshore WEST or NORTH-WEST wind this makes Alameda a total paradise for beginners.

In the water this is perfect place to teach your friends (some schools teach right there already). Just not on the land, because the beachgoers seems to like taking strolls particularly under the kite lines. For Land Lessons there are many other places, but for Water - Alameda is the only one.