TractionKiting.co.uk

The Access comes with bar and lines so its as standard, it depends on what size of kite you get, I use the 10m Manta and 6m Access2 in the buggy and both bar lengths are fine, I use both kites in my Flexi buggy and also Judith's Libre full race buggy, no problems with either.

The depower option is a good one for the mountains, one because you can use the depower to handle the gusts but also the safety systems are good for killing the power instantly.....

O.

cheers O for the edit.

kitehighland : it wasnt on speed dial it was just the first number in my phonebook and i always forgot to lock the keypad lol but it is now on automatic lock

Newt.
I normally fly down at roseisle beach. and some times at nairn if the wind is wright. unfortunatly i dont have my own transport at the mo but my dad flys aswell so he does the driving. coo me and my dad will try and get there :afro:

Mac: yeah i didnt set a good example there lol but i tend to do it alot and have been lucky so far.

Ross

What like is Roseisle then Ross? I assume you need a NW to get ideal conditions? also how much beach do you get at high or low tide?

Hmm, maybe a bit off topic, but I guess nobody will really care seeing as there's no snow at the moment (ref the thread title!!)...

always looked at ardesier for land stuff, have kitesurfed there, whats it like for land stuff?

have used both depower and fixed - fixed power if the wind is light (high pressure) and depower if the forecast is over 10/12mph. if the forecast is 30 or more then i would not be up there with the kite as gusts would be unmanageable plus you would loose finger ends prettey quick when sorting lines.

bridalled depower kites are good for quick setups (less windchill on the fingers) and are relitevely light to carry up there but for total safety and large wind range then a depower arc (peter lynn) is defo the way. in addition you can launch the arc then forget about it whilst you get yer board or skiis on.

Ardersier is really a water based place to go (er em, good for Wind$u4f) and is fantastic at the right state of tide due to the really flat beach, at half tide it can be waist to knee deep for about 1 mile or more out,,, great for water starts etc. especially learning!! At below half tide you get a mile plus of very flat beach but normally rippled and holding lots of standing water!!! Wear a wet or dry suit (or good waterproofs) but also vibration proof pants!!! :shocked: !!!

I have done a bit on the path that runs along the foreshore http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=57.578778&lon=-4.050239&z=17.6&r=0&src=msl

It's quite narrow with the odd strainer post on the shore side for bird watchers and also the odd seat for the old fogeys on the land side!!! Not to be connected with at speed!!

The faster you go the narrower the path becomes!!! Believe me, I know!

Gotta nip out, will comment more in a while..... :grin:

..... Back

Yea, got a real fright at Ardersier, was down watching a couple of friends wind surf and kite surf about 4 weeks ago when we had some good wind's... it was blowing Force 7/8 but died right down to Force 4/5 and was really nice directly onshore clean... set up the buggy, Kite (Crossfire 3.2), safety gear and off to the shingle bank, not enough wind to power me on the shingle so try really hard to work my way up to the path through all the crap on the high water mark, make it on to tera ferma (flat hardcore path) and went from treatment works (mid point in bay) all the way to Fort George, turn on path and head back towards Ardersier.... Probably cruising at 25 - 30mph when out of nowhere the wind went back up to Force 7/8!!! Aghh, I was going so fast that the path became narrower and narrower..... OK try pulling on the brakes-- I go faster!!! Put kite above head-- start lifting out of seat!!! (too fast to disconnect with buggy at this point!!).... Bugger what now? gate across path approaching fast... think, what the F@ck next....I seemed to be getting faster and faster as my direction/tack steered up wind (curved bay).... I can hear you say "just let go of the handles" after all you've got savers on!!! OK that's what I had to do but then spent 25Min's getting the kite and lines out of the gorse and thorn bushes to relaunch and buggy back to base... this time I came back along the shingle (actually planing over it this time.... wow what a buzz).

In all seriousness I learnt a valuable lesson... let go sooner!!!!!!

Hate it when that happens!!. When it does though if your slow enough with the kite you can take it over the top without leaving the buggy... Just be very gentle with it and give it time, sounds like you had time before aproaching the gate, as you were describing quite a wee run there lol. Also turn upwind and keep turning slowly untill the kite is behind you? (I dont know the area so there probably wasnt room lol. Bt hey glad to hear it ended well (ish).

Thanks James

Yea I did consider turning upwind but with the debris at high water mark and also the fact that the path is level and the foreshore dives away at about 45 degrees down to the beach I would have done a cracking "Dukes or Hazard" style flight and god only knows where I would have landed :angel1: !! No seat belt on the buggy so it would have dropped away from me and that would have been as bad as the straight up scenario but probably worse with all the cr@p on the high tide mark!!

I was buzzing with adrenaline and could quite easily been put off but for some reason couldn't wait to get going again!! and have been out many times since so still love it!!!

roseisle is the most consistant out of all the beaches round here i am not sure about nairn tho. roseisle is normally smooth and a little wet but drys quick if the sun is out. as for winds the best is a NW/W but you and fly with N and SW winds. the beach is normally quiet but come summer it gets quite busy.
whats Kingsteps like?

Ross

Kingsteps is basically Nairn but just a little more round the bay, it's probably 10-15mins walk East from the East end of the caravan park..... as the bay curves NE it means that a due East wind becomes slightly off shore and can become a bit messy but even slightly NE and it's fine..... If you're ever there and the wind is offshore, forget it!! The trees cause terrible turbulence! :angryfire: The plus side of Kingsteps is the glassy smooth surface and minimal amount of standing water (just watch out for the randon but small patches of sinking sand!!! ) as well as the huge expanse of beach that is available..... check it out on www.flashearth.com

Here's a link to where we usually set up and leave all our stuff (the cross in the middle of the screen is the spot)http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=57.598773&lon=-3.830518&z=17.4&r=0&src=msl

You can see that it's not too far from the caravan park but we park at Kingsteps and walk in from there (the only bad thing about the spot is that walk in!!)...

Also, the beach changes depending on recent weather and when the flashearth pics were taken the channel you can see was much closer to the land that I've ever seen it!! We normally have much much more beach! plus if the wind is right (onshore) you can go for miles (probably 1/2 way to Findhorn)..

The best bit about Kingsteps is it's remoteness so there's not many pepole there other than dog walkers etc. (no family's with kid's etc. due to the walk in!! )