Hi, I think you misunderstood my post.zgur wrote:It's sharky as all hell....the water is cold as hell....the waves are fast and very punchy - it's a beach break...the wind is very fluky...do a search on this board, has been discussed posted about many times....
Generally best wind is on clearing winds, lots of local knowledge needed to score it just right. It's an early wind place, starts @ 11, gets super funky by 3....each day is different.
If you have only learned to kite inside the bay you will need:
* different wetsuit - thicker (and don't pee in it,,,sharks are attracted to urine smell)
* Good kite flying skills, really good - the wind is variable and you need to know how to deal with lulls and big gusts
* know basic wave riding rules - again, do a search here
* Good swimming skills - shit goes wrong in the ocean, and don't go out any further than you are able to swim...no joke here....think about swimming 1/4 mile in cold shark infested waters
* Good self rescue skills - if you wash in where the public is, with a kite out of control, the beach will be shut down for kiting...you don't want that on your karma ledger, right?
Don't go to Stinson to do freestyle inside the surf break zone. Lots of other great places to do freestyle that don't get in the way of wave riding. Trust me, you don't want to be body dragging for your board in sharky waters.
As always, practice common sense:
* Don't rig a 12m kite when others are pumping 9's and 7's
* Have a few cold beers to hand out to local kiters
* Ask local kiters what you should know
* Respect the ocean - moving/cold water (waves) are powerful and will kick your ass and rip your kite...this is not the same as wind chop in Alameda/3rd
* Don't be in a frenzy to get out...spend a little time watching and learning
This is an internet forum....get on the ground, talk to people and use common sense.
...oh yeah, and don't forget to get sum!
We're both confident riders riding at OB, HMB and waddell frequently (without being locals, my usual spots stay SI and 3rd ave. But I like to mix things up. :mrgreen: )
I was, for my part, posting about the lagoon (which got answered right away as being a reserve for the birds, so no kitting there) and for stinson set up (lines, where to rig on the beach, etc).
As far as sharks goes, that was more for my friend who was a little more concerned than usual, but I told him it's all part of the red triangle, so if he can ride Waddell, OB and HMB he's as much of a lunch for fish there than he is at stinson. I think seeing so many surfers just standing in the water doing nothing reassured him a lot.
Anyway, we had a really good time there on tuesday until 3 pm until the wind start to switch side-off. So we packed it up then with the few other guys who were on the beach that day and went to drink. 8)
I think your post is pretty interesting and you should actually copy and paste it into the "stinson beach guideline".
