3/10/04

randy, webguy,windlord and all,

I made it back to Pacifica on Monday morning with all of my kite stuff. Wow, what a trip. Little too much alcohol at night and a lot of wind on Sunday. Just thought I’d fallow up on my kite experience at Lanier for general information.

Checked out the some possible kite launches on Fri. afternoon. Sunrise would be a legit launch for kites on the W or SW fetch. I really wanted to give it a go sat. morning but ended up shooting skeet down at Fox Creek with my friends.

The islands off of So.Van Pugh have a large sand bar launch (between 2nd and 3rd isle) just at the edge of the main W or NW fetch. This is where I set (by boat) up sun. morning and was surprised at the success I had launching to the So. I put up a big 20 when it came up, then 11.5 and got nuked later on my 8. Made a mistake by trying a launch to the No. side of the island when it went it went 25-30 plus. The shadow from the tall pines causes too much turbulence.

Being a rookie at Lanier was challenging for me. The wind pumped up quickly and I was over powered on all of my kites not long after I had put them up. The cleanest air for me was between 15-25(11.5 kite) and riding the southern side of the islands. I boosted a few big airs, and got dropped hard on once. Had more fun doing low level tricks. Tried to go down wind and ride with the VP crew late in the afternoon, but found it very gusty. Probably had a lot to do with the gusty conditions that blasted us late sun.

Lanier is a beautiful place! With some local experience I’m sure a kite boarder could have some fun figuring the place out.

I’ll return the favor of local info regarding the bay/delta and norcal coast if any of you are traveling to the Bay Area.

Thanks again!

Aloha, Tom