Nice. You wouldn't want to drop your kite on one of those whales though if the wind backed off. I was out a few kilometers on my foil and pretty near two whales a couple weeks ago, but with the wind being on the light side I didn't hang around for a good look, I turned around and came in. Kite looks pretty smooth.
I'd be more worried about the long swim back. :)
Its always a bit but touch and go: you need relatively glassy waters to find them (when it gets too choppy they become hard to find). Too little wind and a 2km venture into open ocean can turn into a long swim back.
Still: the reward for seeing these magnificent creatures makes it worth it.
:)
13 knots on a 9m? seems a bit optimistic, no? Especially to go out 2 miles off the coast in shark-infested waters. You're crazy!
Cool whale encounters though!
Depends on weight, volume of board, experience, etc. I tend to think things through okay. Back up plan here was if the wind dropped off more, I'd downwind it and hitch a ride/catch the bus back to my car. Its been done before :)
Thursday afternoon SSE - max 30km (16kn) dropping to 18km (10kn).
Plan C: I told 2 kite mates I'd head out for a bit of whale hunting, so they'd raise the alarm if I didn't make it back.
Plan D: wait for a whale watching boat.... lol
You crazy Dutchman. I'm not that confident with their sonar after a couple of close calls
Not to be racist and suggested the Dutch are underprepared, but what about plan E and F?
