VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

Does anyone do summer lessons at Goose Spit/Airforce Beach? Dates would be extremely flexible during that period since I'm going to be there for over a month.

I'm looking for a second set of lessons before I try anything without someone directly watching me.

West winds in summer likely won't hit goose spit. Go to Nitihnat

More importantly, what things do you try with someone watching you?

yep, if you are up there, maybe consider Nimpkish with a buddy with a zodiac or other small boat, it is a nice long drift/run to the campsite from the point, you can get a lot done

Go to Nitinaht. No place better around these parts. Go midweek. When it's normal. Take lessons from Strong Kiteboarding.

I'm likely not going to be able to do anything camping related (Nit/Nim) this year due to my new twins who are due shortly. I know it's not optimum location in the summer, just wondering since I'm going to be there anyways.

you can make day trips to Nitinhat but its a full day and better if you've got a truck. there is literally no better place to learn especially with Strong Kiteboarding.

just keep at the trainer kite and if you've got a wetsuit that 2m inflatable will get you out there... buy an old windsurf board thats over 100 liters and do downwinders when your confident with your trainer kite skills!

congrats on the twins!

There are people in the valley that teach but not much full time or strictly organized. Kye Bay can get some light winds in the summer and its possible to have some safe kiting adventures. North and South of the comox valley there are beaches that get a bit of wind but nothing as steady or consistent as Nitinaht or Nimpkish. Check out the website/forum from the area and try to connect with some people living there...http://comoxvalleykiting.ca/forums.

As skywalker mentioned, goose spit is not much of a summer spot. A trainer kite is a great thing to have in your vehicle for keeping you kite skills fresh.

Yea, I've got my 2m rise and 7m ozone. That's a good idea about getting the large board and just using the training kite. I want to work on my up-wind through, not sure if that's going to be possible.

I will post on the comox site, informal may work. I've already taken proper lessons but just need a bit more to solidify my upwind and turns.

7m will be pretty tough to get out for an upwind session in the summer there. More of a 12-14m kite in the summer with a larger board. I am a big supporter of getting the kite out any chance you can safely. Trainer or 7m. Even if you end up downwind, you are developing kite skills that will help you when the wind is more consistent.

If you've taken lessons but are not staying upwind then the best thing to do is get as much TOW (time on water) as you can.

This time of year you won't be getting upwind with frontal storms unless your experienced. Summer is the best at Nitinhat you just have to wait.

Organize 'pickups' with Strong and while they are teaching others you can have an eye kept on ya before you get too far down to the end of the lake.

Or alternatively buddy up with another kiter have them launch you on the upwind side of the Caycuse River. Ride as much as you can before the point of the wind surfers beach and have that kiter catch ya.

Make sure to have lots of beers for this kiter to drink while watching you trickel downwind to encourage them to come and catch ya. But if you venture beyond the end of kite beach, lord have hope for you as those windsurfers can be a nasty bunch.

however this does help you learn the self rescue / landing stuff, fist fights on the beach with a kite in the air etc...

I'd be happy to help out at the lake after my own session and I'm ready for tasty beers. Not accepting Lucky Lager though!!!

I recently bought a 2 m Rise trainer. Abetanzo mentioned doing downwinders with it using a big old windsurf board. Any chance of beam reaches with a windsurfer with the daggerboard down? I'm wondering if my Kona longboard might work for that. Or has anyone tried it in a kayak? I'm thinking a double with one person using a Greenland paddle as a big daggerboard to stay upwind and brace while the other flies the kite.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_-BHzvTN5g

Stand Up Kite'in or SUK'in.. seems like a very light wind activity which could get boring quickly...

I've never tried it but would like to one day its super light and could prove to be fun in the sun!

kayak or small row boat would work for sure!! only mentioned the old wind surf board for aboba as its price point wouldn't break the bank compared to a SUP board

So that looked a lot better than the other SUP kite video I saw, which was really lame, that at least looked fun to mess around on and still non-intimidating They actually looked like they were moving pretty well, 10 knots or more, when they were cruising, but that was on full-size kites. Will a 2 m trainer even pull enough to move in 10 or 15 knot wind, or is that where the downwind-only thing comes in?

My instructor did this with a full SUP board on a 8m kite while I was taking lessons in Maui in about 25 knots. He mostly just sat on the board and followed me, but stood up and was able to go upwind quite nicely when I was busy doing the walk of shame back up the beach.

How would the trainer work at slightly higher speeds 15-25 knots, with a big 100L+ board? I'm 125Lbs, I assume a board that size is pretty much a SUP for me.

I'm not an instructor. But there's a simple rule of thumb for any sailor!

Low wind, slow big kites / keelboats with extra sails / sharper angles downwind... high winds small fast kites / small boards and on a keel boat reduced main/jib (not a genoa) smaller spinnaker dead down wind!

So a really small kite will be very fast the higher the winds, easy in lighter, better for heading down wind and on a keel boat you can only reduce sail to maintain control.. Pinching upwind staying off your ear and deep angles down.

The sup will help up wind such as a surf board vs twintip! But the higher the winds the harder it gets to ride the thing! 7m weather for a 125#er on a sup sure might help.. 2m kite and a 400# kayak human gear combo not so much to do other than downwind!

Be carful out there!