high wind

Yesterday was windy. The boys and I hit the field, just the three of us, with the kite. I wanted to see if I could launch by myself in high wind. It was a good idea, in theory. But the wind was gusting and changing direction frequently. This kite is rated for up to 24 mph winds, but I quickly learned I am not large enough to control it in winds that high.

Jonathan had my phone for three minutes. He took a million pictures of the grass and two or three of the action. I had Jackson stand on the kite because I couldn’t keep it on the ground long enough to string out the lines. He got distracted and stepped off. A gust picked up the kite and rolled it three times. I turned around and my lines were tangled again.

I finally got the kite in the air, took a deep breath a tipped it into the wind. That resulted in the most volatile two minutes of kiting I’ve ever experienced. Once I got it back on the ground I realized I’d lost my phone and the kite cleat in the scramble. We searched the field and found them thirty feet away, where I’d first started.

I’ll be leaving the high winds to Caleb from now on.