On The Beach Again

Things are changing here and for the better. The past couple of weeks the weather has been so erratic. One day the temperature is cool and the wind is from the north. The next day it warms up and the wind is from the south but very strong. Then there is rain and thunderstorms moving through. Then back to chilly temperatures with north winds again. The better thing is that I have gained access to the beach and have a place to fly kites. I just have to wait for a day with moderate south winds. You see, our beaches face the south and are lined with houses and condominiums. Winds from the north are blocked and swirly. Not the best for kite flying.

But the day finally came and I did something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time. Put up a show of White Bird dragon kites. They are some of the most beautiful round-headed dragon kites I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, they have been out of production for many years. But I have made it a calling to find as many of their patterns as I can. I have quite a collection and have always wanted to put them all up. I could have done it this time but I settled for flying six at once. And then just sitting in the sun, enjoying the weather, the sound of the waves and my kites.

These past couple of weeks I’ve also gotten some work done on my Giant Hata kite build. Finished all the pockets and sleeves and got the binding sewn all along the edge of the sail.

After framing and bridling, you truly realize how large this kite is. It practically fills one wall of my living room. Now to decide what kind of tails to make and it will be ready for a test fly. Hopefully this weekend there will be a beautiful day with winds from the south and a chance to try it out. And put another show of color in the sky above the beach.

Special thanks to Don, Jeri and Brett of Kites Unlimited & Bird Stuff, etc.

Fair Winds All

A Little Catching Up

The latest kite fly was again cold and very windy. So windy, in fact, I only put delta kites in the truck and grabbed our heavier lines. When I got on the beach, I quickly decided that two of the deltas I brought would have more pull than I cared to deal with that day. So, once again, I only put up two kites and spent the rest of the morning visiting with the other fliers.

We had a couple of out-of-town flyers joining us and they made a point of putting lots of kites in the sky. Looking upwind, kite anchors were popping up all over the beach with no rhyme or reason. Well, there was a reason. We didn’t want to have a lot of tangled kite lines.

One more community kite fly coming up and then it’s off on a trip to Maryland for the Maryland Kite Society Kitebuilders Retreat. This year we’ll be building Chris Hanson’s Solar Cell kite. I’ve still got the appliqué to do on my sail pieces but I, at least have them all cut out and the patterns transferred. I should have no problem getting them done. The big task after that is just planning what I need to take. As usual, I will probably take more than I need. Thank goodness we have a truck.

Looking at the calendar, it’s going to be a busy Spring and early Summer. Hopefully, that means I’ll have lots to write about. So here’s to good winds and good weather.

Fair Winds All

Where Has The Year Gone

The past year has flown by and it has been a busy one. But I didn’t realize it has been a year since I had written anything. And it hasn’t been because we haven’t been flying anything. There have been festivals and workshops and just everyday flying. I just haven’t been writing. So here’s to beginning again and hopefully doing better.

Winter weather makes kite flying “iffy”, so the first beautiful day was late January. Winds were very strong and gusty but steadied out as the morning progressed. If fact, it was so nice on the beach, we could have stayed out all day except for the fact we had no food or drink with us.

Because the wind was so strong, I only put up three kites. I only flew one of my latest builds because I didn’t want to risk broken spars and torn skin. I knew my rokakku could handle it. So after some bridle tuning, my Birds rokakku took to the air. To keep it company, I also flew my Green Dragon dragon kite and one of my power sleds.

The power sled and green dragon are patterns that are no longer available. So glad I purchased them when I did. I have the same power sled color scheme in two other sizes of power sleds. Here’s hoping this weekend was a sign of the weather changing in our favor and there will be more frequent kite flys to come.

Fair Winds All

And Sunday Was A Beautiful Day

We finally made it to a local community kite fly. The winds were low to moderate which made it hard to decide what kites to haul down to the beach. As we get older, we find ourselves only picking two or three kites to fly and not pulling the cart with a ton of stuff. Most times we make the right picks but sometimes we don’t have the right stuff and have to decide whether to walk back to the truck and change kites or not. This day we picked kites that would fly at least for a while. Until the wind died completely.

Weather-wise it was a great day to sit on the beach and watch the waves, the birds, the boats and, of course, the kites. Temperature was comfortable with a hoodie and there was sunshine, blessed sunshine. Just a small group of the regular flyers were there. So relaxing.

I did put up my kite show kit. I love how I can handle the lifter and all the associated line laundry by myself. The lower winds actually added a new aspect to the kite show. The crab was often just barely above the ground, so it looked like he was scuttling across the sand instead of flying above it. I also flew a new delta kite. Really wanted to put the tube tails on it but the wind was not quite strong enough.

Some of the serious stunt kite flyers may take offense but there are times when it is just seems like too much work to put out the lines and assemble a stunt kite. This was one of those days. The quad line kite stayed in the bag. Instead time was spent visiting.

Hopefully we will have the chance to fly on Thanksgiving Day before feasting. We will see.

Fair Winds All

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