Flying
kites used to be the preserve of kiddies and their parents, a harmless
diversion on a windy day, though not always without its problems, as
recalcitrant kites often refuse to do what their owners want. In recent
years, however, kiting has been transformed into something very different
and much more exciting, a radical sport supported by a technically-minded
creative community, linked globally by the internet.
And all the signs are that what has been a sport for the few is now
due to hit the mainstream.
To
get an insiders view of this fascinating world, SOUTHLIFE spoke to Sam
Eaton, a systems manager at Pavilion Internet by day, and an enthusiastic
kiteman in his spare time. Sam got back into kites three years ago after
a long break; during his childhood he flew kites a lot, as his dad used
to build them. Kiting, as Sam explains, can be divided into several
key areas, each of which attracts its own afficiandos.
The
first of these is single-line kiting. The traditional diamond-shaped
kite we all flew at one time in our life falls into this category. But
single-line kites have now developed in strange and wonderful ways to
include a whole variety of huge, inflatable display kites in all kinds
of shapes and materials, including gekkos, octopuses and trilobites
amongst others - a veritable kite zoo.
The other main branch of single-line kiting are Indian 'fighter kites', which are a national obsession in their homeland and have now caught on around the world. These kites give the users an immense amount of control - sophisticated handlers can even catch a balloon with one. Traditionally, flyers would stage battles between two kites, both of whom had the top 10m of their line coated with ground glass, the aim being to cut the opponent's line.
The
second major area is sport kites - divided into two-line and multline.
In this field there has been a technological revolution, with radical
changes in materials and aerodynamic design. These kites are made of
ripstock nylons and polyesters, developed originally for spinnaker sails,
and have spars made of carbon fibre rather than wood or aluminium. Two-line
sport kiting began with Peter Powell's diamond-shaped acrobatic kites
and has now reached the level of sophistication of organised competitions
which, like ice-skating, have set figures and freestyle routines, set
to music.
The newest flyers, like skateboarders, have developed radical tricks, and there are different wind ranges, styles of flying and kinds of performance. The development of multiline sport kiting is a relatively recent development. These kites have four lines, with two lines above and below the hand, and can fly backwards, sideways, upside down and you can stop them dead in the air. This 'revolution' was pioneered by the American Hadziki brothers some 12 years ago (check out www.revkites.com).
There are competitions and eight-man display teams like The Decorators, some of which who come from the South-East, and who get invited to festivals all over the world. Also painting competitions, with kites that have brushes attached. Even more recent still is power kiting, invented by Peter Lynn in New Zealand (www.peterlynnkites.co.nz) who was looking for a way of powering sailing boats and developed kite-powered boats.
He
had several boat frames lying around his yard, he added three wheels
to them and 'kite buggying' was born. This started with 2-line, later
4-line, inflatable kites, that like ram-air parachutes, have vents that
allow the air to fill out the kites into a wing shape. This enables
you not only to be blown downwind but also to tack and go back up wind.
Buggy racing is now taking off in mainland Europe with Red Bull as sponsors,
and Berrow and Weston-super-Mare are buggying HQs in Britain.
Sam
himself has recently been buggying at Ivanpak, Nevada, 20 miles south
of Las Vegas, where there is a 4m x 7m dry lake bed which provides ideal
conditions - absolutely flat, smooth winds and gorgeous weather. Sam
says key flying spots in the South are Stanmer Park in Brighton, Sundays
at Telescombe Tie - a spit of land between Telscombe and Brighton -
some flying on the beach, at Hove Lagoon and outwards, occasionally
at Goring Gap and with kite buggying at Camber Sands in season.
Even newer still is kite surfing, using waterproof inflatable kites that you pump up. These provide an enormous amount of power, are reliable and, if they do go down, they float and are easy to recover. Kite surfing is the only form that Sam hasn't done so we spoke to Simon Catling whose into it Brighton big time. He tells us that it orginated in Hawaii 10 or 12 years ago and they quietly got on with it for years, and its gone on from there. He is one of five or six people in Brighton who are out there at a weekend, when conditions allow.
Simon
had never surfed, windsurfed or skated before. He just got on a board
on the beach, got a hang of the kite for 10 minutes and was off. Kite
surfers are strapped in a harness and use a special board. It has footstraps
and is designed to help produce stability at speed and keep the edge
of the board in the water. Simon has outrun a speedboat, travelling
32-35mph. Power kiteboards cost from £190-500, and have a ram-air inflatable
kite driving them. So there you have it, get out there.
John
May
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Sam Eaton can be found at www.slack.org.uk, where there are many kiting web links. Further useful information, including photos of the recent Brighton Kite Festival, at www.whizzieworld.free-online.co.uk, created by Mick Junnison.
