…and that was exactly how yesterday went. A fantastic Saturday on October 17th with nearly perfect autumn conditions for kite flying. So when the clock struck three in the afternoon, I just put everything else aside, threw the bag of kites, lines, and gear into the car, and set a course for Refsnesstranda, where, according to my calculations, the wind would hit nicely.
And it did! …rustling nicely through the autumn leaves decorating the surrounding trees. Red, orange, yellow, and golden shades competed in the crisp autumn air. I also hit the beach at low tide, so there was plenty of space to fly.
Well… which kite would suit the wind best? Maybe an A-Quad Hardcore, or would the wind be a bit too light for it? The choice was between the Hardcore and the Semi-Vented, and in the end, I landed on the Hardcore. Out of the bag it came, and soon it was hanging in the air. But it didn’t take long before I changed my mind. The wind became a bit too light for the vented Hardcore, but the bag is full of kites for most wind conditions, so I soon replaced it with an A-Quad Semi-Vented. Much better considering the wind conditions. And a lot more fun, too!
As the sun slowly sank into the western sky, making the light more and more golden, the kite danced out there about ten meters away, obeying my every little hint and command. Right until the wind became too light for this kite as well.
No problem. You just dive into the kite bag and fish out a new one. I was a bit hesitant. I both wanted and didn’t want to bring out the A-Quad Ghost. A super-light four-line kite designed to fly down to almost zero wind. But this has never been my favorite kite. I haven’t quite gotten along with it and its flight characteristics. It never really accelerated when I asked it to, and that’s a trait I deeply value in my 4-line kites.
A while ago, Anders and I took a closer look at its bridle and made quite a few adjustments, but I had never flown it since. Until yesterday. Because I decided to give it a try anyway.
…and WOW! I didn’t regret that! The adjustments we made quite a while ago definitely had a major positive impact on the kite’s flying characteristics. Now it would actually accelerate when I asked it to, and in short, it behaved impeccably in the air!
So it ended up being the Ghost into the sunset, and by then the wind had died down too. Practically perfect!
Just take a look at the videos below from a few magical hours at the beach!
