Robby Naish Kites Hatteras

The call came in early, skippers meeting southside, 10am at False Point. Unfortunately, the rain also showed up, and stuck around, all day. So the rain killed the wind, and we called off the wave challenge for today. We intend to run heats tomorrow. The forecast looks good.

So around lunch time, I ran up to watch Robby Naish do a downwinder. Bill called to say that there where a ton of trucks parked about 5 miles north of Rodanthe. Along the way there, I noticed a bunch of kites out on the ocean around S-Turns, but thought nothing of it. So I drove up to where I thought they were, and I see no kites up. The remaining kiters told me Naish was doing a down winder.


So I blast back south, looking for the kites again. So I finally see them, and I have to coordinate several seemingly simple logistical items so I wouldn’t miss them and then wind up having to hop back in the van and drive south again. Its tougher than you’d think because there isn’t really a lot of public parking there, as it mostly private homes. At this point, I kinda felt like Captain Ahab searching for his white whale, and I had to laugh at it all.

I needed to find parking, well downwind of them, so I would have time park and then run out onto the beach and snap a few shots. Well it all worked out great. I parked in a vacant rental home right on the beach. I literally walk up over the dune, and immediately, I saw the man.


He was easy to pick out from the half dozen or so other Kiters that where along for the ride. Not that he ran US1111 on his kite, it was just obvious which one he was, at least for me it was. There were some tourists on the beach and I’m certain they had no idea who they where looking at.


I took about two dozen photos. Mind you the wind was very onshore so he basically was going due south the whole time with his back to the beach. Here is a short slide show:

Gotta run. Headed to the Party at Avon Sail House. C-ya!