kitend Events

2014 Regatta Update

Calling all kiters! Don’t forget about the Regatta this August 22 and 23 in North Dakota’s Fort Stevenson State Park on beautiful Lake Sakakawea. Kiteboard and other wind riders are welcome. A sign-up is available on the DYC Racing site below but if you don’t want to or forget or whatever just show up on Friday or Saturday and hang out. There are a handful of kiters already planning on coming but you are all welcome. Come to kite or just watch. Just come.

More info:

Hope you can make it up for the fun.

kitend Events

2014 Fort Stevenson Regatta

The sailboat crowd has invited the kiteboarding crowd to join them in their regatta this year. The events take place at the Fort Stevenson State Park on Lake Sakakawea starting Friday, August 22, 2014. This will be a great chance to get together and meet other wind sport enthusiasts. For those just getting into the sport of kiteboarding, this will be a good place to ask some questions and check out gear.

The sailboats will be racing on Saturday with an exhibition area for the kiteboarders. With enough interest we may be able to set up a kiteboard race as well. Without enough interest we will just get together to freeride and hang out. It may be possible to arrange for a professional kiteboard trainer to come out and join us as well if we could get enough interest in that.

There will be Saturday entertainment for those who stick around. Tickets and food will be extra, I will try to have a few bracelets available for sale on the docks for those interested. Those who want to stay in the park should make arrangements through the Fort Stevenson office by calling 701-337-5576.

If you’re interested, sign up through the link below and we’ll make sure your contact info gets filtered to the right folks. Yes this includes the kiteboarders.

Feel free to call if you have questions, comments or ideas,

Josh Wolsky
701-340-1763

Sign Up:

Please sign up for the event so we can get an idea of how many folks are going to show up. It will help organize this and future events.

Sign-up here

Location:

Follow this link to find Fort Stevenson State Park on Google Maps.

Schedule:

Friday, Aug. 22

  • 7:00 pm: Social & Rules Refresher at De Trobian Marina

Saturday, Aug. 23

  • 9:00 am: Skippers Meeting at De Trobian Marina
  • Noon: Race Start at the mouth of De Trobian Bay
  • 7:30pm: Garrison Beach Party at De Trobian Marina with music from Billy D and the Crystals

 

 

kitend Locations, Session

Multiple kiteboarders spotted at same time in western ND

Kiteboarders

Kiteboarders are used to sharing the beach with their brethren but in western ND wind lovers are more likely to go it alone. This picture shows three kites which is an unusual site out here on the prairie. But it isn’t like the beach was overcrowded. No, there is a lot of room for more so come join us next time.

Chris, Al and I met up at New Johns Lake, NE of Wilton, ND. We didn’t get a good reading so we aren’t sure what the wind was but our guess was about 15-20 mph with gusts of 25+ when we started about 2 pm. and it went down slowly to probably about 10 mph by 5 . The wind was tough from where we started. We were going to try and stay up wind and if it didn’t work we would just ride down wind and have someone pick us up. That is pretty much what happened. Both Chris and I found the wind going one direction to be nice and very rider friendly but coming back was difficult and we couldn’t get back up-wind. The closer we got back to the South side, where we started, we would lose the wind. There isn’t much out there to block it but it did. So we both ended up down the lake. Chris got a ride back from a nice lady camping along the lake and I got a ride from Al’s wife who was nice enough to come get me. Al didn’t trust the conditions with his kite. He got it in the air but backed it down and elected to go fishing instead. The water temp was warm enough to go without a wetsuit but I wore a shorty anyway.

It wouldn’t be a day of kiting without some kind of story right. I was trying to get upwind of an island and I knew I would be cutting it close  but I really thought I was going to be able to ride the edge of it. See where this is going? I should preface the rest of the story with some background info for those who have not kited in ND. The wind is gusty here. On this day it was more variable than usual. Back to the story. I was edging hard just a few feet from land and the wind died so I wasn’t going to make it anymore. I ditched but not without issue. I did slide across a couple submerged rocks that led to some scrapes on me and the board. The thing that I was most concerned with was the fact that the kite lines were now caught up in the three foot grass leaving he kite hanging out on its own without supervision. The lines were slack and I was worried if the kite powered up it was going to be hard to control the power. I am writing this so you probably already know it turned out ok. Afterwards I asked myself why I didn’t just stop outside of the danger zone and look for another route.  All I could attribute it to was my competitive nature and a need to push my limits. My wife would likely give you a different reason and it would likely rhyme with dupid.

Next time, you should come out and if nothing else, just sit back, enjoy the outdoors and watch the folly.

kitend Events

First Bismarck Kiters Meet and Greet

We got some folks together this past weekend. We only had five show up, including me, but I think it was worth the effort. Stories, contact info and an interest in power kiting were shared. There was gear to check out and compare so I got to see some other systems up close that I hadn’t before. There were several landboards there but the wind was so light no one went for a ride. It was good to meet some more kiters in the area and hopefully we can hook up in the water or on the snow for some real fun.  The day was nice and we got to hang out and talk about the sport a bit. Watch for another opportunity to get together later this summer. In the meantime, hope for steady winds.

kitend Off Topic

Kiteboarding origins?

I saw this video titled, “Kitesurfing – A true beginning of the sport in 1958.” I couldn’t help but share it. It might have more  to do with parasailing than kiteboarding or kiteskiing but you might think it is fun anyway.

Check it out: 

kitend Locations, Session

First session of 2014

This was a day of firsts. It was the first time I was out in 2014, the first time I met Darin, the first time he flew a de-power kite, the first time either of us had tried McKenzie Slough and the first time I locked my keys in my vehicle while kiting. I wish I could say it was the first time I had ever locked my keys in my car but I cannot.

prepping kiteDarin had contacted me via this very blog to find out more about kiting and luckily we were able to connect. Having another kiter in the area is great. I know now of five others who kite. If you are kiting in the dakotas or live in the area and thinking kiting might be fun let me know. I would like to get more folks out there enjoying the wind.

He caught up with me just as I was finishing my pumping. I locked down my kite to the ice screw and then we went over some general set up and safety instructions. He got set up but was missing a harness. I couldn’t really make fun of him for that since I kind of needed a ride back to town when we were done. He was able to learn a little about set up and we locked him to the ice screw so he could fly the kite a bit. I think that was an eye opener for him having only flown trainers up until then. He noted the power was more than he expected. He was flying a 9m Slingshot (forgot the model) in 19 mph winds. The sun was out and it was about 40 degrees which is beautiful for this time of year.

Speaking of the conditions, this was the first time I had tried the McKenzie Slough area. I had been hesitant because it is part of a Wildlife Management Area and didn’t know if that was allowed. But I talked with an ND Game and Fish representative earlier in the week and got the verbal approval. The snow depth on most of the bigger lakes is bad. The warm weather and wind have left them looking like speed skating rinks. This slough has held the snow a little better. The area is large enough for a few kiters  to play together. The road runs through the slough so access to the ice is easy. This spot is about eighteen miles East of Bismarck so it is much closer than many of the bigger lakes I had been using. That is an obvious bonus. I will be back.

As for my progression, I did try a few jumps and I’m getting more comfortable with the idea. I had to cut the session short so I didn’t get to practice as much as I would have liked. But it was a beautiful day and the snow was good so I can’t complain at all.

Takeaways:

  • If you are interested in getting started with power kites contact me
  • The really good days are worth the wait
  • Keep track of your keys
kitend Session

Soggy and calm still beats working

I don’t get near as many opportunities to get out kiteboarding as I would prefer. As such, I have a tendency to get excited when an opportunity arises. Perhaps overly at times. So with a few hours of free time at while at the family lake house in MN I got my gear ready. No, I didn’t measure the wind. I knew the wind was likely on the light side but thought I could will it to be enough if I ignored the thought of it. I was, of course, wrong. But I had everything set up on the ice so I thought I may as well keep going. This is when my kind sibling informed me the lake has flooded and there was water below the snow. He could have told me that when he saw me blowing the kite up a half hour earlier – but didn’t. Anyway, I decided to make the most of it. Oh, did I mention this was going to be the first time I had used my board instead of my skis. Well, it was and I didn’t bring an alternative ride. Practice with kite can never be a bad thing so why not take the opportunity and go with it. I was able to get the kite up a few times and move a bit but it was tough going and only on the gusts. That meant when the gust died, so did the kite. As kiting goes, I followed next. Usually landing in the water my brother was nice enough to have mentioned ahead of time. I was dressed right so the water stayed where I wanted it – on the outside of my clothes. Luckily, it was cold enough to freeze the water on my gloves before it had a chance to soak through. So how about the silver lining. As I mentioned above the chance to practice with the kite was worth the effort. I really don’t get out enough. While providing much Christmas laughter and cheer for my family I did get some valuable practice time and look forward to a windier and whiter season. If you have one of these sessions, just remember, it is the bad days that make the good ones seem so.

kitend Equipment, Off Topic, Session

Kite tubing – the next big thing?

Want to know what the next big thing in kite sports is going to be? Well don’t look here. But if you just want something wacky to do you could give this kite tubing thing a try.  Yes, kite tubing.  North Dakotans are crazy and this is proof. It all stems from the sub-zero winters. Darin from Mandan is credited for starting this new sport. He found a way to have summer fun in a new way with his Hydra 300 and an inflatable tube.  As he put it, “Ya the tube is ok, but needs fins or a rudder because once and in awhile it would spin me around haha.” I especially like the person hanging onto the back of the tube working as ballast and a rudder. So this might not take off the way kiteboards have but fun is fun. Just be safe.

kite tubing
Kite tubing in central ND