The weather cleared, the temperatures moderated and new kites were ready for their first flight. Ever since I flew the two stack of Revs I had in my mind to try a stack of three. The day finally came when I could train my three Rev custom B-Pros (full vent, mid vent, full sail) together. The winds were about 11 mph when we reached the beach. It took me a little time to get all the kites ready and the lines attached. Upon launching, the pull took me by surprise. They flew great but I did have to be careful and ride the brake a bit. After landing, a check of the wind showed it had risen to gusts of 14 mph. This made me a little nervous because I certainly didn’t want to break anything on my first three-stack fly. I flew enough to know I had control and to get photos of those great looking Revs.
In order to have some additional color in the sky, I put up both of my Brasington trains. They danced in the wind and drew compliments from some of the beach walkers. That’s what this kite flying is all about. Bringing smiles to those who see the kites in the air.
The weekly club fly was a couple of days later. Temperatures had dropped and so had the wind. The usual Sunday morning state of affairs. But this time I was prepared. I recently purchased a new low wind kite, the Skydog Black Dog UL. I had flown this kite a few years ago and was impressed with it. With all the low wind days we’ve been having, I decided to treat myself. It didn’t hurt that this kite was in my favorite color combination, red and black. The cooler temperatures and low wind kept all but a couple of flyers at home. They missed a beautiful day on the beach and I had a fun morning flying my new kite.
Got up in plenty of time to sort and load the kites for the weekly Carolina Kite Club fly. The winds were around fifteen mph and we planned accordingly. It was cloudy and gray but that wasn’t going to stop us. However, Mother Nature wasn’t going to cooperate today. On the way to the kite field, it began to rain. Not much but enough. And when the rain stopped, the wind picked up to around 20 mph. Neither my husband nor I like to get wet nor do we like be dragged around the beach by our kites. So the kite bags never left the back of the truck.
The week following the Carolina Kite Festival is one of cleaning out kite bags, re-organizing kites and getting things stored away until the next festival. It is also a time to rest and recharge from the intensity of two long days on the beach. The first fun fly after a festival is usually a lightly attended one and this week it was no different.
And as usual, we were visited by “The Sunday Curse”. The winds were light as we drove into the parking lot but we were prepared and had brought our light wind kites. We got to the beach and had a few kites up and flying when the curse hit. The wind completely died. The flag above the fort wrapped itself around the pole and all kites drifted slowly to earth. Now what do kite flyers do when the wind stops? They sit around and solve the problems of the world and ponder if they should just pack up and go home or not.
We are diehard kite flyers and we waited. The winds rose a little and some kites went back up. One of the kites I struggled to fly was a Malay Diamond, “Sunset”, by Into The Wind. My husband has the Sunrise Malay. This kite was an anniversary present and I really wanted to get it up, even though I knew the winds were gong to be a little too light to give enough lift. So I stubbornly persevered and got it to fly for a little while.
“Sunset” Malay Diamond by Into The wind
What ultimately drove us off of the flying field was not the lack of wind but rain. Quicker than we expected, clouds blew in and it began to rain. Now getting a little wet is not a bad thing. But having to pack up wet kites and then unpack and dry them when you get home is not fun. There is never enough space to spread out a bunch of kites, kite bags, anchor bags and spools of kite line.
All is dry now and we’re looking forward to more fine fall days to put color in the sky.
Our long and very pleasant stay with our daughter, grandson and very new granddaughter has come to an end. We were sent home and told under no circumstances were we to miss the Carolina Kite Festival in Atlantic Beach, NC. Our kite flying hiatus has come to an end in a very big way. Two days of endless kite flying, old kiting friendships renewed and new kiting friendships made.
The Carolina Kite Festival was held this past weekend. The temperatures were perfect and the winds were obliging most of the time. Saturday’s winds were perfect in range though a little gusty. Large inflatable kites were flying at one end of the beach all day. There were mass ascensions of many types of kites and performances by the kiting celebrity guests and some local talent.
The Bay Area Sundowners, a stunt kite performance team from San Francisco, CA, flew several routines with their trains of Hyperkites. They are regular guests at the festival and people look forward to seeing them each year. Big Al Sparling, another regular from Chicago, IL, came and flew the big kites. The kids attending the festival decorated and flew small sled kites. “Purple”, the pink playsail, made an appearance and was a hit. And, of course, so was the candy drop. The one of the highlights of the day was the flying of the ribbon kite. This kite is 440 feet long and is the largest ribbon kite in the world. It is handcrafted by Randy Tom, an internationally known kite maker. A new guest to the festival was Dodd Gross, a kite designer and a champion stunt kite flyer. He gave stunt kite demonstrations and seminars. Representatives from two kite companies were in attendance, Jim Christianson of Skydog Kites and Chris Schultz of HQ Kites. Both flew kites from their respective companies. It was a busy, busy day. Lots of folks came to see the kites and many brought their own kites and joined in on the fun. That was the key word for the day, FUN!
Dodd Gross and the Low Wind Kiting Seminar Attendees
Sunday started out a little disappointing. There was no wind at all. The ocean was glassy and the skies were partly cloudy. Thankfully, kite flyers are an enterprising group and several got out their fighting kites and demonstrated how to fly with no wind. Yes, it is possible. As the morning went on, there came a breath of wind and we got the low wind kites out of the bags and put them in the air. By noon, the winds had increased and become steady. A perfect day for kites.
Ribbon Kite
Bay Area Sundowners
The big kites went up and the mass ascensions and performances began. Two mass ascensions of note were the Sky Skimmers and the Kites Unlimited Revolutions. Both of these kites are only available at Kites Unlimited kite shop in Atlantic Beach, NC. The Sky Skimmers are made by Jeri Dixon, one of the owners of the shop. The special black and white Revolution kite pattern are made specifically for the Kites Unlimited shop by Revolution Kites. I should mention too that the Hyperkites the Sundowners flew are also only available at Kites Unlimited. This is starting to sound like a commercial but I can’t help it. Kites Unlimited is my favorite kite store and the main sponsor of the Carolina Kite Festival. I hang out there way too much.
I did something at this festival that I had never done before. I got out in the performance field and flew for the audience. The wind had come up in the afternoon and was blowing steady down the beach. I trained my two Kites Unlimited Revolutions, one full sail and one vented sail, and flew to some music that was playing at the time. It was a spur of the moment thing and went pretty well. It went so well I dug out some music of my own choosing and flew my progressive “Dream” stack. I trained my Dream On stunt kite and my Little Dreamer stunt kite, both designed by Dodd Gross and sold by Skydog, and flew them to the song “Time In A Bottle” by Jim Croce. I lost the wind once on a low pass but put them back up and finished the music. It was fun and I think I’ll do it again sometime. Maybe with a little more practice beforehand.
So how do I sum up the weekend? Long days, tiring but fun, Fun, FUN!!!!! And that’s what kite flying is all about.
Freedom In The Sky - A Kiter's Blog 