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tinyE
Since 21 Jan 2006
2004 Posts
not really an
XTreme Poster
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 Wed Jun 04, 08 7:54 am |
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| Spike wrote: | | don't hesitate to ask anybody if they are carpooling anywhere. I think Lyle (correct me if I'm wrong) is pretty good for beginners because of the big shallow sand bar, its just a bit far away form pdx. If you're up for the drive, Lincoln city on the coast has a really awesome bay (Siletz Bay) that has a huge sandbar. with high tide it has about two feet of water on it, and is about as big as three football fields! |
I actually don't think Lyle is a great place for beginners because of all the logs, and the water is too shallow...nice place to break an ankle or neck. |
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mschulz
Since 29 May 2007
530 Posts
Reno, NV
Addicted
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| Wed Jun 04, 08 8:07 am |
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| tinyE wrote: |
I actually don't think Lyle is a great place for beginners because of all the logs, and the water is too shallow...nice place to break an ankle or neck. |
And it is usally an onshore wind. If you F' up. you end up on the sand or in the bushes. IMO you need to be able to stay up wind for Lyle.
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MS |
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Blue
Since 03 Jul 2007
469 Posts
I used to be
Obsessed
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| Wed Jun 04, 08 8:59 am |
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| pkh wrote: | | I guarantee you 1 hour learning with jetski support will be equivalent of 5 days or more trying to learn on your own by doing hikes on the beach. Its worth the money. |
Yeah, sure. You could spend tons of money on let's say SPI vacation. That is a place a lot of noobs go to practice hikes on the beach for about five days, I am told. Or you can just get one hour jet ski lesson to nail basic skills in HR. Heck, throw in another lesson while you are at it, and you will be doing handle passes.
Buy us all tacos and beer with all the money you save that way. 
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Kataku2k3
Since 14 Aug 2005
3753 Posts
Los Angeles, CA
Videographer
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| Wed Jun 04, 08 9:08 am |
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| mschulz wrote: | | And it is usally an onshore wind. If you F' up. you end up on the sand or in the bushes. IMO you need to be able to stay up wind for Lyle. |
Oh yeah, everyone remembers JP's uncle at Lyle back in '05... lol
http://www.youtube.com/v/9tXMu04LHyM&hl=en |
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Tan
Since 03 Jun 2008
23 Posts
St Kilda, Australia
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| Wed Jun 04, 08 9:24 am |
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Yeah, sure. You could spend tons of money on let's say SPI vacation. That is a place a lot of noobs go to practice hikes on the beach for about five days, I am told. Or you can just get one hour jet ski lesson to nail basic skills in HR. Heck, throw in another lesson while you are at it, and you will be doing handle passes.
Buy us all tacos and beer with all the money you save that way. [/quote]
Alright......if anyone spots me doing handle passes after another 2 lessons in the gorge then beers and tacos on me. |
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pdxmonkeyboy
Since 16 May 2006
6081 Posts
forever labled as the
retired kiter & motorhead Unicorn Master
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| Wed Jun 04, 08 9:27 am |
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| Spike wrote: | | I think Lyle (correct me if I'm wrong) is pretty good for beginners because of the big shallow sand bar, its just a bit far away form pdx. |
Consider this the correction.. Lyle is NOT for beginners. Maybe it was good for beginners 2 years ago when there was hardly anyone there but that's not the case now.
1. Lyle has lots of submerged wood
2. You can't kite at Lyle if you can't stay upwind as it is always onshore wind (unless your going to kite in the main channel and if your a beginner..why would you be doing that).
3. Lastly, when beginners stand there with there kites parked at 12:00 then all the rest of us can't tack in the shallows and get back upwind after jumping and fooling around.
Sorry if it seems harsh but that is the reality of the situation folks. 5 or 6 years ago it seemed like everyone was learning (myself included) but it was no big deal as there wasn't that many people on the water. These days, its getting crowded out there, so if you want to learn, your going to have to suffer a little bit until you get your skills built up and THEN you can venture out to all the other spots.
So.......
1. take your lessons
2. kite at the sand bar and stop worrying about everyone else. The people that you are worried about pissing off should be experienced enough to stear clear of you. If your worried about slamming into other beginers, don't, we all like a koook show--just don't get hurt.
3. Go to Sauvie and head to the very north end of the beach (you'll see people there). When you dirft down to everyone else, hike and repeat. If you think that's lame you can hike back and forth at rooster rock flying my 02' Fuel, then you'll know what tired hamstrings feel like.
4. Go to Jones beach but have some skills before you do. The river is wide out there.
5. Go to the coast and stay on the inside.
How will you know when your ready to head to Stevenson, Lyle, Rufus, etc? It's very simple, you no longer get the urge to pee cause your nervous when you get all your stuff on. |
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genek
Since 21 Jul 2006
2165 Posts
East Po
KGB
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| Wed Jun 04, 08 10:03 am |
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| pdxmonkeyboy wrote: |
3. Lastly, when beginners stand there with there kites parked at 12:00 then all the rest of us can't tack in the shallows and get back upwind after jumping and fooling around.
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How is this different than the situation at the Hood River sandbar which is even more crowded?
I think like you said people learning just need to try and avoid congested areas. That's the main point. That's what I did and most other people did when we were learning. The difference is that as the sport grows the beaches get more crowded so spots that used to be good for learning might not be very good anymore.
There's still lots of space at Sauvie Island, Jones beach, the entire OR coast, and the regular Gorge launches just not during peak times. You can't really get rid of the congested areas at the different launches so as a beginner you should try to be aware of them and avoid them if possible.
When I taught other college students (mostly at 3rd Ave in San Francisco) I'd avoid the weekends during peak season because there'd be 30-50 kiters out right where I'd be giving my lesson. Instead I'd go early on a weekday before the masses showed up and do it then. It worked out better for everyone. I wouldn't want to subject a student to body dragging through lots of kiters zipping back and forth. It seems like there are some great spots for teaching near Wells Island that would prevent this situation.
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pdxmonkeyboy
Since 16 May 2006
6081 Posts
forever labled as the
retired kiter & motorhead Unicorn Master
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| Wed Jun 04, 08 10:16 am |
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It's different because most experienced people launch from the sand bar and then go kite way out in the river away from the kook fest. At Lyle, there is no real "way out in the river"...at least not on the same scale as the sand bar.
I would hate to try and learn at the sand bar. I didn't like it back when I did it and there was 1/10th of the people that there are no.
But then again, the sand bar has been declared thunderdome....... |
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genek
Since 21 Jul 2006
2165 Posts
East Po
KGB
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| Wed Jun 04, 08 10:25 am |
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| pdxmonkeyboy wrote: | It's different because most experienced people launch from the sand bar and then go kite way out in the river away from the kook fest. At Lyle, there is no real "way out in the river"...at least not on the same scale as the sand bar.
I would hate to try and learn at the sand bar. I didn't like it back when I did it and there was 1/10th of the people that there are no.
But then again, the sand bar has been declared thunderdome....... |
True, Lyle is smaller but you can still ride far upwind or out in the channel. I guess the point I was trying to make is that you can always expect more experienced people to get out of the way, but that won't change the fact that some areas are congested and difficult to navigate.
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forrest
Since 21 Jun 2005
4330 Posts
Hood River
Hick
CGKA Member
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| Wed Jun 04, 08 10:41 am |
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What ever happen to board body dragging to get upwind? No one teaches that anymore.
For all you guys learning to stay upwind, did you know you can just body drag upwind way faster and with less effort than walking with your kite over head?
Find me on the beach (Just around for Forrest), I'll be more than happy to teach you how to do this in deep water for free. It will take 10 minutes to learn and change your experience. |
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bulae99
Since 12 Jul 2006
1691 Posts
I give out bad advice.
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| Wed Jun 04, 08 1:00 pm Look not for approval from yea local nwkite crowd but kite.. |
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wherever and whenever you can get a piece of the action at Suavies, Spities, or lofafus when you need to kite. If you are really unsure of your ability take a lesson to get oriented, but don't ask for permission to kite. It's like hurding cats, sure it's possible and maybe somebody is doing it but it's alot easier to just hurd cattle instead, or better yet just buy a hamburger. Ok, I will admit that made no sense, but get your kite up in the air and just do it without killing anybody else or yourself.
Kiting is getting crowded these days and the spit is smaller than usual so it may be a good idea to pay some bucks to have a local instructor orient you to the area and assess your percieved abilities. This ain't mexico and if you can't get up wind you need a plan. Like forest said, ask for help from anybody who looks like they can help. If they can't they will say no, if they can they will help you.
Good luck 
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tonyb
Since 09 Oct 2006
973 Posts
Stevenson in the summer & SPI in the winter
Bolstad Clan
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| Wed Jun 04, 08 1:07 pm |
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As long as you have basic skills down and can launch and land your kite safely come to Stevenson week days or early on weekends. (avoid late afternoons and the weekend crush). Sure it's deep water and the launch looks sketchy but once you're 20 yards off shore and in the main channel you're good to go! Worst case is a long swim to shore but it's not that bad.
I'll help anybody with a launch who doesn't feel safe and take it out into the river and switch with you there.
Like Forrest says - get those upwind body dragging skills down! Until you can body drag back to where you started from you shouldn't be trying to stand up on a board.
Main thing for beginners is not to plug up the launching/landing zone or the primary traffic lanes. Yes, we can see your kite at noon but it's hard to get by sometimes.
We were all beginners once so don't be afraid to ask for help!
Tony |
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forrest
Since 21 Jun 2005
4330 Posts
Hood River
Hick
CGKA Member
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| Wed Jun 04, 08 1:19 pm |
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| I wasn't just talking about body dragging. I'm talking about body dragging while laying on the board to get upwind. Once upwind then you can have a go on the board and loose ground. Once you have the skill of board body dragging down, you'll never need to walk again. |
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Inept_Fun
Since 14 Apr 2005
1417 Posts
Hood River
XTreme Poster
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| Wed Jun 04, 08 1:36 pm |
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What your saying about lyle and the sandbar doesnt really make any sense. I kite at the sandbar not upwind. I guess im not experienced or something. Its super annoying when people are trying to learn and we are trying to do tricks in the flatwater. Its also dumb to say that the experienced kiters go upwind at the sandbar, are you saying they cant kite upwind at lyle? I would agree though, I think there is a lot of submerged Shinn in Lyle that makes it bad for learning.
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