Fractured Axel

Hi all!

Starting on May 25th and continuing to May 31st 2020, the Nordic Kite Meeting is happening on the beautiful sandy beach of Blokhus, Denmark!

Kite flyers from all around gather for a week of hanging out, flying kites and having all the fun in the world. SLKs, duallies or quads, just bring your stuff and join us on the beach.

In the weekend (May 30th-31st) you can also take part in the Blokhus-Løkken Wind Festival comprising wind activities for young and old.

Check out our web page for more information on the events!

...and see ya' on the beach!

I hope you have better luck than us , we can't get three people together over here...

711jrp wrote:

I hope you have better luck than us , we can't get three people together over here...

To my understanding they have been ”lucky” year after year. I remember the 2018 event (the only one I have attended) as a figuratively and literally bright (sunny) event and memory. It was the largest number of skilled quad line and dual kiters that I have seen at one time during this millennium (but on the other hand it is the only larger event of similar character I have been to). The same goes with the single lines kites who had the neighbouring area on the beach– they were all impressive ”real kites” - never seen anything like it (could not see much interaction between the two areas though).

Impressed, I wrote a long blogpost about it which got *nearly* finished and ended up ”in my drawer”... Here is the short text/image version:

https://kitelife.com/forum/gallery/imag ... ting-2018/

I'm not sure you know, but I guess as it comes as no big surprise that the Nordic Kite Meeting 2020 is postponed until further notice. The Blokhus/Løkken Wind Festival 2020 is also cancelled.

You know the reason why.

Exult wrote:

...(could not see much interaction between the two areas though)....

Have you ever tried to infiltrate an SLK field with your duallie?!!

Trust me, you shouldn't!!!

aerialis wrote:

Exult wrote:

...(could not see much interaction between the two areas though)....

Have you ever tried to infiltrate an SLK field with your duallie?!!

Trust me, you shouldn't!!!

A small group of us did that at The Berch festal many years ago, remember that Craig? They definitely were not happy lol

711jrp wrote:

A small group of us did that at The Berch festal many years ago, remember that Craig? They definitely were not happy lol

Happy days, would kill for a few hours on the beach currently!

you know

aerialis wrote:

Exult wrote:

...(could not see much interaction between the two areas though)....

Have you ever tried to infiltrate an SLK field with your duallie?!!

Trust me, you shouldn't!!!

No problem you just paint one line sky blue and say it is a single line glider kite and is therefore happens to be controllable. Actually in which area would one belong with a (single line controllable) glider kite in no/low wind?

OK, I’m guilty as charged (minor detail, it happened to be with a 1.5 Rev though). This kind of open areas (as vast beaches in Denmark), with the possibilities of redundancy of margin doesn’t exist around where I live, which possibly could explain the different perspectives. Also from the time when the main kite festival was decently sized in Stockholm (~20 years ago), the single line kites were often smaller yes, but mixed with the picnics everywhere. DLKing (though being a smaller fraction) was possible wherever space allowed it.

That part that I “infiltrated” as the only one with a controllable kite was very distant (hundreds of metres) from any SLK activity and was then not used for days or perhaps not at all. I was just about a line length in from the very low fence. A large car stopped and I was quite told off (for me completely unexpected – this was the first time I was in a such a context). It gave a bizarre feeling of a desert war in the sand, like a battle over a few metres of land (that then remained having no practical use). The SLK kiters were gathered on the other side of their area, as far as possible from my “intrusion” and the DLK/QLK camp.

I don’t operate any SLKs (can’t really say pilot here as I usually do when it comes to kiting). Therefore I took a walk in the SLK area (without a kite) to learn about SLKs – mainly focusing on anchors. Every “SLK operator” I met seemed nice then though. There was also an (if I remember right) ex dual line pilot that had converted to SLK-kite making and found it more relaxing because the (SLK) kite didn’t demand constant piloting. He was very informative.

Actually what I meant by “..(could not see much interaction between the two areas though)....” wasn’t the territorial incident/behaviour, but just that there seemed to be no interest in the other groups achievements, designs, implementations and no groups visiting each other from what I could see (but I might have missed it from being occupied by my own piloting to a large extent).

Being a "general" kite nut, I don't really care if I am looking at 1,2,3 or 4 liners. And the people flying them are all of the pleasantly crazy kind. Therefore I don't have any problems interacting with anyone.
Love you all!

Lex B wrote:

Being a "general" kite nut, I don't really care if I am looking at 1,2,3 or 4 liners. And the people flying them are all of the pleasantly crazy kind. Therefore I don't have any problems interacting with anyone.
Love you all!

Now you done it! You made those fiveline power kiters feel neglected!

The fifth line (to my understanding) is a safety feature to collapse the (depower?) kite if needed. This is demonstrated at 7:05 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZeSz_I5mkE

Exult wrote:

Lex B wrote:

Being a "general" kite nut, I don't really care if I am looking at 1,2,3 or 4 liners. And the people flying them are all of the pleasantly crazy kind. Therefore I don't have any problems interacting with anyone.
Love you all!

Now you done it! You made those fiveline power kiters feel neglected!

The fifth line (to my understanding) is a safety feature to collapse the (depower?) kite if needed. This is demonstrated at 7:05 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZeSz_I5mkE

I am truly sorry.
I have never meant to hurt anybody by my comment.

On the other hand

Craig wrote:

711jrp wrote:

A small group of us did that at The Berch festal many years ago, remember that Craig? They definitely were not happy lol

Happy days, would kill for a few hours on the beach currently!

Life is not fair (and has never been) . At this time we don’t have any restrictions here (in Sweden) limiting our time or place of being outdoors. No I don’t see kiting as a risk of spreading/getting corona virus – no other persons are doing kiting here means that I am constantly far from other people anyhow.

Working from home most of the days so far due to the pandemic saves me much travelling time. Many days I often got two chances a day (whether I take the opportunities or not) to do short line low wind quad line kiting on the nearby parking. The parking is rather shielded from the wind by a ridge and high trees. The reason I say two times is that the wind tends to be low in the morning and in the evening but not in the middle of the day when it instead becomes turbulent. The morning session clears ones head and makes one wake up properly before work begins. There are “morning joggers” and people taking a walk here that I suppose are in the same situation. However I already know how to run, so I rather learn low/zero winds kiting (a “quest” that really started out with about half a year ago), while at the same time getting exercise. And the beach/jetties/field (most within 20 minutes by car) are open as usual, especially on the weekends/evenings.

Last Monday evening session on the beach was particularly interesting . I then tried out the budget Orao Fourline quad for the first time. It was trickier (as in ease of provoking it into slack line manoeuvrers) than I had expected (though I’m not skilled enough in that area to judge the quality/”usefulness” of the moves, but I guess if I now could repeat the stuff they would be a tricks). Sorry for the comparison of daily life in covid-19 times (I know that I’m just being unbearable from an envy point of view, but don’t loathe me to much – during the next week it looks like I can’t work from home to the same extent )…

I sincerely hope that you reach your beach soon!