Wildwood Buggy Bash

Wildwood Buggy Bash is held on the expansive beaches of Wildwood, New Jersey. Once famous for boardwalk amusements and ferris wheels, this area is fast becoming the most popular spot on the east coast for kite buggying.



Over one-hundred power kite enthusiasts were in attendance this October. Plenty of wind and sunshine brought smiles to everyone’s face all weekend long. HQ Kites was on hand with a ton of gear for demo, including the new Apex III, Montana VI and Toxic. One rider liked the new Apex so much, he rode off one morning and did not return all day! Friday winds were very strong and gusty out of the west. Turbulence from buildings made for bumpy wind. Beamers were the kite of choice. Nothing munches a gust better than a Beamer! We look forward to returning to Wildwood next May for the spring edition.

http://www.wildwoodbuggybash.com/

Smithsonian Kite Festival

A soggy forecast did not damper the fun and enthusiasm at this popular annual DC event in its 43^rd year. The crowds were lighter than usual because of the cloudy skies and muddy grounds. But it was exciting to see the cherry blossom buds popping and to be flying kites again on the National Mall.

Having not been to the event in over seven years I thoroughly enjoyed seeing old friends from the region. One old friend was Patrick Callahan and after catching up we agreed to compete together as a team in the popular Rokkaku Battle to occur at the end of the day. If you’re unfamiliar with a Rok battle, it is a western take on a kite fight (aka The Kite Runner). The object is to down or cut the other kites out of the sky. Last one flying is the winner.

A number of small exhibit tents lined the edge of one field with booths from the Swedish and Czech Republic embassies, Smithsonian kite history, green energy promoters and so on. I was recruited to assist with kite building at the American West Indies booth where they gave away the kites for free. These Dracon Foundation “sugar glider” kites were made from paper and bamboo sticks and got their name from their resemblance to flying squirrels.

One of the hallmarks of the Smithsonian Festival is the kite competition where only homebuilt kites are allowed to enter.

As with many things in life, a good story and fancy dress can put you ahead.

Xtreme Green Team

Dressing for the job they want, not the job they have.

As the Rokkaku Battle approached, Patrick was nowhere to be found. My friend Jim Cosca had been recruited to battle with the ladies from the graphics department of his former employer - Premier Kites. The ladies brought yellow battle shirts with the team name ironed on the front: Screamin' Jim and the Ripstop Girls.

I made my way onto the field thinking Patrick would eventual show. When it was announced that each team required a minimum of two members, they singled me out as the only team short. I wanted to battle! So I needed to act quickly. I turned to the on looking crowd standing at the edge of the roped off field and loudly pronounced “Anyone here want to run around this field with me and fly a kite?” A moment passed with no takers. Suddenly, a lady shouted, “I will!” and she stepped on the field to join the fray.

With only a minute remaining, I gave her (Amy) some basic information – “I need you to help launch the kite, then run back to me and hold the line winder.” The battle fielded fourteen teams and we came in fourth during the first heat. Along the way we engaged another kite and cut them from the sky! Our kite only came down because we ran out of wind. I needed to make a bridle adjustment before the second heat.

Along the way, I was feeding Amy information about how to fight in the battle and basic kiting tips. Despite my adjustments, our Mona Lisa adorned kite was not quite right after launching the second time and we were quickly downed. It was a kite from my old collection of Premier Kites (yeah, I once worked there, too). It had a defect – the top tie lines for the spreader / keel connection was sewn three inches too far to the left. As a result it snaked the spine badly, making it unstable in flight. Without the tie off, the spreaders would slip and flatten the kite too much. This is what occurred during the 2^nd flight. So for the third and final heat I was able to rip off the cord and connect the spine to spreader directly with a knot. It held for battle. However, we were outmaneuvered by the eventual winners (The Midnight Squadron from Laurel, Maryland) and we probability came down in the middle of the pact. Not too bad for taking a volunteer from the audience.

Get a REAL job

My beginnings in the kite industry started with Kitty Hawk Kites, the World's Largest Hang Gliding School and Kite Store in Nags Head, North Carolina when I was fresh out of high school. My Greek mother would sometimes ask when I was going to get a real job. Kites. pppppffffff. At the time I had graduated from university and was no longer flying kites every summer day on Jockey's Ridge State Park for the local retailer. No more outdoor fun on the dole. Now it was retail management. And starting to see some real money. Little did I know that twenty years later I would still be in the industry. Shout out to my high school friend, Marc Conklin, hooking me up with that first KHK job as kite flier.

Now, I'm a member of KPEC (Kite Producers Economic Council) and along with other members from companies such as Premier, Skydog, Into The Wind, and HQ Kites, conducted meetings at the 21st annual KTAI Kite Trade Show and Convention this past week in Destin, Florida. Let me tell you...expectations are high for kites in 2009.

Good friends of mine who started a new venture, Skydog Kites, debuted their company and won Best Booth. HQ Kites & Designs took home some acrylic for the Best New Kite of the Year with our Giant Magic Star.

The original design by Ralf Dietrich easily won first place at the 3rd World Kite Championships in Weifang, China with the Han Bao Sing (red star). The star's key data: 25 sqm spinnaker, 15m of 8mm carbon rods, 600m edging, 1400m thread and 892 individual parts. A large kite at 3.3m by 3.3m.

Around 18 companies exhibited at the show with 35 or so retail stores represented. A very small show compared to the size ten years ago. What remains is a hard core group of retailers and manufacturers that generally treat it like a class reunion. How many places in the world can you go to find a barroom filled with people that have over 20 years of experience selling kites?

Look no further than the 22nd annual show, scheduled for the end of January 2010 in Primm, Nevada.

Pictures of the HQ Kites booth...

Lucky Seven Run

We'll call it the Lucky Seven Run...seven miles from Nags Head Pier to the Outer Banks Pier in South Nags Head. Santa left a holiday treat on the OBX day after Christmas. Über smooth ENE winds averaging 12 mph - perfect for buggy runs on the beach.

The onshore breeze was an easy upwind reach. Only one portion gave us trouble, avoiding a large drainage pipe near Nags Head Pier that put us through soft sand on the upwind. Riding fast along the dynamic contour water edge, the tide was low leaving smooth hardpack. The downwind runs were awesome! Some of the finest beach buggy I have ever had(Sorry Galveston). I logged upwards of 30 miles today, making the full run from pier to pier twice. Amazing to see the number of cottages and beach front properties suffering from erosion. We even caught a glimpse of beach decay evidenced by some graffiti.


Click here for more pictures

Catch the drift

Bring a good book, a full charge on you ipod and all the patience you can muster before attempting international travel. My flight from Chicago to Frankfurt was delayed over seven hours after we were forced to change planes when a problem with the cargo hatch arose. This was followed by flight cancellations in Frankfurt due to heavy fog, creating an eleven hour delay before I could catch a flight to Bremen.

The next day I met with many of good folks at Invento HQ that I have been working with via email and Skype. It is always great to put a name to a face. The offices and warehouses are located in a beautiful, old world setting on the edge of town that oozes charm.

The next day we loaded up the HQ Powerkite Ford Transporter at 5 am on the Invento campus and prepared for the twelve hour journey to Lago Bianco. Jan Hendrick leads the adventure, hitting speeds of 160 kph as we ride north on the autobahn towards the Swiss Alps. On board are team riders Gunnar Wiegers and Yannick Schwickert, along with Jan Rogge, a new apprentice at Invento. The media department, consisting of Vanessa, Jorg, and Frauke follow in a hatchback.

With only a few stops for fuel and tolls, we pass the rolling German countryside, through Bavaria and Austria, before reaching Switzerland. It looks like a winter wonderland. So much snow, in fact, that there is a possibility Bernina Pass will be closed, delaying our arrival to the lodge that overlooks the lake. As we reach the popular resort of St. Moritz, the weather looks foreboding. Snow is falling and visibility is limited. We stop to put on tire chains. Plows are clearing the road, but the further we travel up the mountain the larger the drifts become. We hear the pass is officially closed, but it is decided to send Jorg ahead in the car to test the road. After a few minutes he calls and reports it is passable. Avalanche potential is high along the valley. We reach the lodge without much delay, passing 4 meter drifts along the side of the road. The Ospizio Bernina lodge is nearly empty as the HQ team invades. More kiters will be arriving as the week progresses as we are here until Wednesday, December 17th.

The next morning we meet for breakfast at 8 am before wandering out in the Swiss white powder. Equipped with kites, snowboards and cameras, we have trouble navigating a path down to the lakebed. The 300 meters straight down the hill proves to be too deep to walk through without major effort, as we sink to our waists in certain places. We regroup and walk down the road toward the train depot, eventually reaching a spot near the tracks that is relatively easy to cross.

We find the lake has a meter of power on top in most places, in some spots the drifts are deeper. The wind blows from the north at around 15 mph. The crew begins to launch and ride. I grab a 7 meter Apex II and go for launch. Getting up on my board the first time was easy. Down wind I went. Visibility was limited with the falling snow and white overcast sky. It felt like flying in a cloud. You could hardly see the mountain on the edge of the lake as it was camouflaged in white. Only a few rocks gave a clue of its presence. I was halfway across the lake when the leading edge of board began to sink under the powder and dig in, perhaps due to my stance and being slightly underpowered. Before I knew it, I stopped sliding and my board was buried. When I brought the kite down into the power zone, I got yanked head first. Powder flew everywhere. I could see nothing but white. I lost awareness of the kite and was later told it did a few loops. I was dragged head first into the deep powder. Reflex was to breathe deeply, filling my mouth with powder. My face was covered. I could see nothing. So this is what being in an avalanche must be like. In that instance, I panicked, as it felt like suffocation. I wanted to rip everything off my head – hood, goggles, helmet, and beanie to find some air, but resisted. I must have hyperventilated because when I raised my head and rolled over on my back I could not catch my breath.

Then I remembered the survival rescue course I had taken at the Snowkite Summit last week in Utah. If you find yourself fallen into freezing water, remember a human can survive for up to 30 minutes – if you can control your breathing. Most people perish within minutes when they cannot retain control of their breathing, panic and drown.

So I lie on my back with the kite in the air and waited for the calm to return. The only way back to our launch site was to ride upwind. It was too far to walk in the deep snow. I tried to ride again and fell on my back a few times. But I was getting closer. Must keep the kite powered up to rise above the powder. Gunnar saw me floundering and rode over offering assistance. I told him my problem and he offered advice. Put more weight on the back leg and lift the front so your board edge rises. That helped. By the time I reached the launch site, my confidence was rising, and I was ready for another downwind run. But first I had to remove my goggles. They were only hurting my visibility.

Before too long, I was crusing the lake with no difficulty and riding along side my fellow team riders. What a relief. After an hour we began to pack up. Snow was falling heavier and the cold was taking its toll (-8 C). Some of the crew had already headed back before we wound up our lines.

Jake, team rider for Best, and Billy, team rider for Ozone, warned me back on Skyline Drive that riding in deep power presented its own challenges and was much more difficult than riding on snow pack. They were not kidding. I can’t wait till tomorrow to build on what I learned today.

As we walked back to the lodge we could see that the plows and snow blowers that were operating in the morning has ceased. Drifts and snow were accumulating on the road. We are snowed in after all.

(Nearly) Two-miles high

,At the Summit of scenic Skyline Drive you are nearly at 10,000 feet in elevation. For the first time I snowkited and rode a snowboard. Yippeeee! Apparently, snowkiting with skis is easier. But it recommended to go with the type of ride you are more comfortable with - Skis vs snowboard. As a kite surfer, I'm going with what I know.
Word for the day
Sledneck
def - noun - A snowmobiler. Some of whom have been know to invest upwards of $40k upgrading their ride with 3rd party parts and nitrous oxide.

Save a turkey, Eat a kite party

HQ Kites and the Blue Crab Tavern is proud to present...

Thanksgiving night

8 pm

Blue Crab Tavern

on the road to Colington in Kill Devil Hills, NC

RSVP

This is a private party...so please RSVP if you would like to attend.