Today was a club-day for the Nelson Kite Club at Rabbit Island Beach. We have one of these once a month and whenever I'm not kayaking, I'm there. Today I was hopeful for a good kite buggy session. The forecast was for northerly winds which are perfect for this north facing beach.
Low tide was due at around 1.30pm. I arrived there just before 1pm to find the whole island shrouded in a strange sea-mist. Visibility was down to little more than 100m in any direction and there was barely a breath of wind. Still I remained hopeful and set up my buggy. I dragged it and my newly acquired (but not yet flown) 8.5m2 C-Quad kite out onto the beach, ready for wind if it decided to show up. The guy I bought the C-Quad off must have been flying it with the brake-lines and main-lines around the wrong way. Hes lucky he didn't break anything, as the brake-lines are usually made of lighter line than the main-lines. With a little help, I got the lines around the right way and the lengths tuned, ready for another day.
A few other kite club members showed up but the wind was virtually non-existent. The sea-mist cleared into a balmy afternoon but the wind never got going enough to buggy. One good thing about kite buggying is that even on the days when theres not enough to wind to fly... at least you're at the beach :)
 
Above Left: My buggy on the beach. That strange mist in the trees was covering the whole island when I arrived. Above Right: Not even the mammoth 12.5m2 C-quad could generate enough pull to buggy with today. There was only just enough to get it off the ground when this I took this picture.
 
Above left: This is a 6 foot flexifoil with a special ultra-light spar. It is so light it can be flown in literally no wind, and even indoors, by just running in small circles. Ted managed to fly it 360o around himself today, proving there was indeed no wind. Above Right: Bill and Ted waiting for wind. At least we're at the beach!
I guess we-ve had the last of the summer afternoon sea breezes...
8:32:02 PM 
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