Blog Archive 2011 Oct
Sat 10/1 to Thu 10/6 - Got a flu shot; recharged my Kindle(10/24/11); donated two big batches of stuff to Goodwill; opened an account at Canyon State Credit Union; cut my hairs so I'll look good on TV; applied preemergence spray to my front and back yards on the 5th; tweaked my
- PASA
- Professional Air Sports Association
kiteboarding lesson plans, phoned my friends & family so they can watch my TV appearances; washed colored cold-water laundry; got up at 6am Monday to be interviewed by Scott Simmons on Channel 3 TV at 8:15; got up 4am Wednesday to be interviewed by Celeste Rodriquez and Joe Dana on Channel 12 at
5:45; received a phone call from Christian Canease who invited me to join him and Steven on possibly driving down to San Carlos, Mexico for kiteboarding if the wind forecast holds out.
Fri 10/7 - It was after 6:00 in the evening and I was just about ready to sign for an Enterprise car rental for Mexico when my cell phone rang. It was Christian Canease, confirming that wind forecast was good for San Carlos, Mexico and our trip was on. I rented the car. Why? Because first thing this morning I took my van into Ken's Transmission where Phil gave my van a test drive and explained the occasional vibration and said he would not recommend driving the van on the highway. Also I wanted the experience of kiting from a rental car I spent the rest of the day fixing meals for the trip and preparing things to pack in the rental car. I got the car and packed it, ready to drive out tomorrow morning at 4:30.
Sat 10/8 - 5 am: Christian, with Steve, and I caravaned down to San Carlos
- 2 pm: We arrive at the Catch 22 Beach, saw Don Gray, rigged our kites and went out on the water. My 12m Cabrinha Switchblade-4 and 130 cm Lite Wave Stealth twin-tip board were a good call. I did a full
kite loop progression in 1:14 hours with a top speed of 30.0 mph.
Sun 10/9 - Wind came relatively late today, and then was not great. I was on the water from about 2:30 'til 4 this afternoon with my 12m Cabrinha Switchblade-4. First with my 130 cm Lite Wave Stealth twin-tip board with which I did the full
kite loop progression and had a maximum speed of 26.7 mph. With my Naish Custom Fish 5’2” x 17.5” surfboard with only the front footstrap, I did lots of jibes and made all of them but one. Pretty good, I thought. At the end of the session I removed the front footstrap for my next session with the board.
Mon 10/10 - Another good day of wind here in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico. I spent over an hour on my Naish Custom Fish 5’2” x 17.5” surfboard (no footstraps) with my 15m Epic Infinity working exclusively on jibes with the foot switch when the board was going downwind. With that much concentrated effort, these jibes are looking better. For a while I concentrated on just the footwork, trying to take only two steps. Then for a while I concentrated on the kite work. Of course when I did that, the footwork sort of went to hell. Eventually I'll get the whole thing to be flowing and beautiful. I also tried a few jibes with the foot switch before and then after the carve. Handheld wind readings before this session averaged 15 with a gust of 19 mph.
- It was picture time around three in the afternoon. The wind had increased so the call was my 8m Best Nemesis. Christian took some pretty good pictures and videos of both Stephen and me. It is a little embarrassing to have my puny jumps recorded on video. Christian's comment was, "Your jumps are worse than they were two years ago." I think he's right, except for my occasional good one. The sequence was:
- Stills with the Santa Clause hat and surf board for possible Christmas cards
- Videos with my black hat for the website on my surf board
- Videos with my black hat for the website on my twin-tip
I met Alex Gomez, a nice young man (probably mid 20's) who has been kiteboarding about a year and is doing flips, spins and all sorts of gnarly stuff. He is into training marine animals and has been offered a job in Guaymas, near here. I arrived back at Christian's house after dark and after filling the rental car with gas for the trip back home to Phoenix.
Tue 10/11 - I spent an unbelievable amount of time on the phone getting the Enterprise rental car an additional day. Getting the car extended was quick and easy, but not extending the Mexican insurance. The first person I talked to didn't even think about extending the insurance until I brought it up and the said, "Sure I'll do it." When I asked her for the new policy number and other details, she obviously did not what she was doing. She said she'd call me back in a half hour. After an hour I called again and got the second person who knew about as much as the first person. I offered, actually insisted, staying on the line while he took care of it. With my help he was able to email me a PDF of the new policy. I hate to say it, but that particular Enterprise office is pushy, and does not take very good care of their customers. That conclusion is the result of two experiences with this office. Update: Later, when I returned the car they gave me the the additional day's insurance at no charge. My conclusion is that, although they may be poorly trained, they have a good heart.
- After lunch at Bonifacios on the Catch 22 beach, I had two good sessions and the best winds so far this trip. My hand-held
Windtronic 2 showed 20 mph average with gusts to 27 - perfect for my 8m Best Nemesis and twin tip. I was on the receiving end of my FSR instruction helmet while Jeff, gave me some jump pointers. I made some progress and had some pretty good jumps, although I seemed to be "hitting" my jumps today anyway. The right foot strap screw came out so I was forced to change for:
- The second session which was for about an hour with the same kite. I used my Naish Custom Fish 5’2” x 17.5” surfboard without footstraps and mostly practiced jibes.
- I'm tired and happy, today, being the last one kiteboarding on this trip. I have now eaten all my prepared meals so will need to eat out for the one extra day.
San Carlos Summary:
- Four days of good kiteboarding
- Used three kites: 12m, 15m, & 8m
- Never crashed my kites, although two kiters crashed and tore each other's kites
- Practiced lots of jibes without foot straps on my surf board
- Didn't get any bumps, bruises, scrapes or scratches
- Got jump pointers with my twin tip board from Jeff, local instructor
- My helmet communication invention worked well with Jeff
- Lots of good socializing with kiteboarders Earl, Don, Christian, Jeff, Stephen, Scott & Alex, who had a dog
Wed 10/12 - Driving home day: I left about 8:45 am and arrived home about 10 hours later, unloaded and turned in the rental car. I then picked up my mail from Mike, my neighbor, and had a good visit with him. It was nice to not be in my usual rush.
The most interesting things I saw on the way home were:
- In Mexico, a five-mile bumper-to-bumper line of semi trucks waiting at an inspection point
- In Arizona, a 102-wheel low-boy rig carrying a huge pressure tank. It evidently was too big for the freeway so was on a side road. The procession was lead by two police cars with lights flashing, then a pilot pickup truck, then the 12-axle rig hauling the tank, another pilot pickup truck and another police car bringing up the rear with lights also flashing.
Thu 10/13 to Fri 10/21 - Upon my return I got the rental car returned barely in time, saw my dermatologist, filed an amended IRS return for 2009, filed my 2010 return, got my van's transmission rebuilt, my twin-tip's foot strap plates re-anchored and repositioned, restored and imaged my C-drive, took Mildred shopping, went to the first session of a memory class, got on a national radio talk show, went to Gangplank in Chandler, started reading the ADOT drivers' license book and fixed my neighbor's TV system. Also I added a San Carlos section to my Shops/Weather web page, which you may find helpful or interesting.
Sat 10/22 I negotiated the lease renewal of my Dahlia rental house; recharged my kindle at the first "low battery" indication in 2.5 hours.
Sun 10/23 to Wed 10/26 - Ate out at the Tempe Cracker Barrel with
- George and Cindy
- younger brother who lives in Mesa and his wife
.
They bought my lunch as an early birthday present.
- In the not too smart but necessary department, I replaced a burned out spotlight on my master bedroom's high vaulted ceiling. Also I started phoning some of my kiteboarding friends, giving them a telephone safety consultation and certifying them as Level 1
- PASA
- Professional Air Sports Association
kiteboarders; had my eyes checked for deterioration but not refractive (my early cataracts and mild macular degeneration are largely unchanged); had the annual Dahlia rental house foam roof check; installed a 10-year lithium 9v battery in the smoke alarm on my high vaulted master bedroom cealing... hopefully for the last time. This operation is too precarious: standing at the top of my A-ladder, being barely able to reach the smoke alarm and getting the power plug in, the wire stuffed into the ceiling box and the alarm secured in its bayonet mount. I called
- George
- younger brother who lives in Mesa
.
and had him on the phone while I was up on the ladder in case I fell and went "splat." Next time, when I'm 80, I'll probably hire someone to change the battery. Wednesday afternoon I drove to Gangplank in Chandler, stopping by the LA Fitness in Tempe on the way. I figured money talks so I took $100 to Gangplank to encourage people to read personal improvement books by paying them $10 for each one they would buy as ebooks, audio books or physical books. I couldn't believe that I only had one or two takers.
Mon 10/27 to Mon 10/31 – The largest Wurlitzer pipe organ in the world is at Organ Stop Pizza, in Mesa, Arizona, in a two-level pizza parlor in a building specially built for the organ and for the organ experience. I was not disappointed. We went there to celebrate the finalized adoption of Nathan, by my nephew, Shane and his wife. Shane did a little windsurfing with me in his younger years. The whole party was a fantastic gathering of family, friends and, of course, music!
- In the doing-risky-things department, I climbed to the top of my A-ladder to change the smoke alarm battery on my master bedroom's vaulted ceiling. Thank goodness I did not lose my balance, but I DID put in a new 10-year battery, which should last to when I'm past 80. During the operation, as possible accident recovery insurance, I was on the phone with
- George
- younger brother who lives in Mesa
.
- I mailed in my vote for the Phoenix Mayoral election, had my Dahlia rental house's annual foam roof checked (about four years remaining on the roof's 10-year warranty) and hosted lots of trick-or-treaters for Halloween.
