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Hi all, I’m not actively broadcasting this across the community but the core group of folks here make KiteLife what it is and have been so kind to our projects over the years so I wanted to share some personal news, hopefully providing a little insight into my absence from many active discussions here. After a little over nine years, my wife and I are separating - still a lot of love, but we’ve struggled for a long time now and our two characters together just aren’t working for either of us... With this in mind, I’ve been spread fairly thin emotionally while we’ve been working our way through what’s next. I won’t air laundry here except to say there are no villains involved, we just need to evolve our situation and I can’t quite swing the long term expense of two separate residences (theirs and mine) so I am currently working to find an small affordable RV for myself like the Itasca Spirit, which actually fits into my long term goals of being able to do kite tours on and off through the year, as well as being able to stay in Portland and maintain sufficient time with my son - I’m close to having what I need to make all this happen, but I may be putting some old kite treasures up for raffle or sale over the next few weeks to cover the difference so keep an eye out for that! ✌️ Life ebbs, flows and continues, my son is still well cared for by us both, so we move forward with our heads held as high as possible while we find our way. Please, consider all this with the kindness it deserves and try not to contribute to gossip - all that needs to be known by anyone outside my family is said here. ❤️ Thank you all for your patience and understanding of my varying output / input while life is under construction, but everything else should be business as usual and as always, this is your home too. 🙏🏻

Rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat. Cut down on the “hunt and peck”, go to it - do it, pause, toss, reorient, repeat, over and over at a steady rhythm - I guarantee your 100th attempt will be better than you 10th, so the gambit is to get there quick. There is also this... https://kitelife.com/forum/files/file/631-rev-tutorial-3d-flying/

Peace, Love and Blessings John [emoji1317] Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

0000010101101000 There are 10 kinds of people, those that understand binary and those that don't.

Peace and love from me. *hugs*

The best of thoughts as your situation resolves.

Best wishes and keep safe fella.

I've heard rumors, that the trick was invented by Lee Sedgwick, doing it SIDEWAYS too (not leading edge ~ leading) from a open van during the rainstorm at wildwood. Has anyone accomplished the catch sideways (into and out of his van, so he didn't get wet!) is this true?

Hey brother, Respect and mad love mate. Sent from my SM-G950F using KiteLife mobile app

Love and support my friend. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

Everything looks smoother when you do it. Thanks for the advise!

The magic to keeping your lines tidy during catch and throw is the “U”... Having passed both handles to one hand for the pull, I sometimes flick that hand (and handles) deep out to the side as the kite is halfway down to me, this puts each end of the lines 4-6 ft apart, shaped like a “U” on the ground. No overlap, no tangles. The only situation where the U may not free you, is debris or brush on the ground that may snag lines, a twig, random feather or even a HUMAN HAIR (true story) happens to get between two lines at the wrong spot... But this is rare, if you pick your spot for catching - respect the U. There are also situations that may call for a harpoon layout on a throw... Continuing “S” pattern, like on the deck of a boat, between tether and spear, idea again is to eliminate overlap or lines rolling across the ground. Which adds the other golden rule of line management on catch and throws... Try to avoid haphazardly dragging your lines, preserve the U if you must drag them, holding both kite and handles high to lessen the angle of drag.

The Pro Dancer SUL is one of my secret weapons for 0-2, 50#, 50’ or so... So easy to generate pressure with a drop of the hands, super stable with the flat sail, it likes small inputs (less wind dump) and will drop a vertical tip stab from a full 10’-12’ off the deck if you hit it right (called a black hole). One of my faves. ❤️

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Bravo Jack!!! The showmanship was excellent. Dug the catch and the flair you displayed at the end. Well done sir!!

We put it through the Paces in Corolla back in 2017 with 240' lines. The White kite is dogstaked on 240's the Red/Black kite is on 120's