7/26 ULSSB - Wild Ride 7M Waroo

[Kenny]

Arpi was looking out at a dust cloud when I arrived. After about 10 minutes the wind picked up over 30 mph. Sand was blasting across the beach. I looked upwind and I could not see any storm clouds so I rigged my 7M. At first it was very gusty, but it soon smoothed out. Rode for 45 minutes to an hour full powered with the strap pulled all the way in. The waves were awesome and so were the jumps. The wind backed down to under 20 and Arpi and I went out on 16's. The wind backed down further and Dean got a few reaches on my 16 and the Glide right before dark.

Almost had a kitemare when launching my 16. It shook me up a bit and reminded me that we can never be complacent when it comes to safety. Just a reminder to everyone:

1. Don't launch with anyone or anything downwind within 200 feet of your kite and lines.
2. Talk to the person launching and communicate where you would like to launch and how you are going to indicate when the kite should be let go.
3. Check the bridles carefully when launching a bow kite to make sure the bridles are straight and not tangled around each other or the tip of the kite.