Our Excitement For The Week

Lately our days have been filled with helping friends at the local kite shop.  Last week we took an afternoon off to fly some kites and rest.  We gathered up all our rokkaku kites and were going to have a theme fly.  The wind was in the low teens and the temperature was warm but not too hot.  Perfect.

We got two vintage rokkakus up and anchored and were putting together a third when a squall blow up off the ocean.  Got the kite we were working on back in the bag so it wouldn’t get too wet and only then realized how high the wind had picked up, upwards of twenty-five to thirty miles per hour.  What made us aware of the wind was our two sand anchors whizzing by our heads.  The rokkakus took off in the high winds and lifted the anchors off the ground.  There was a mad dash to grab kite lines and spools and keep the kites from going completely out of sight.  Needless to say, there were some nasty line burns and cuts on our hands.

One kite ran into the side of the condominium, lost its lift and slid to the ground.  So far, so good.  It wasn’t going anywhere.  The  other was going to be our problem child.  It lifted the anchor close to twenty feet in the air and way above the dunes.  Then the anchor caught in a tree beside a neighboring beach house.  Yes, you read right.  The anchor caught in the tree.  The kite was flying high above the house and out of reach.

Luckily, the resident of the beach house were there and were able to help get the anchor out of the tree.  We tied the kite to a pole and released the anchor.  Then neighbor brought the anchor to the back to the beach where we re-anchored the kite and walked it down.  These neighbors really went beyond norm in helping retrieve the kite and I’m sure they will be talking about it for a long time to come.

Needless to say, we were done flying kites that afternoon.  Maybe soon we will get the chance to fly the rokkakus again.

The weekly community kite fly was another matter.  There was no wind that day.  Not to mention it was hot.  Tried to fly two different low wind kites; the Laima and the Skate.  Both needed constant supervision to remain in the air.  It just wasn’t worth the effort and the kite fly was cut short.

Things have got to get better.  We shall see.

Fair Winds All.