Kiting in French Poly 2018 - The Societies

Kiting in The Societies - A super day for Shindig, Kaimana, and Cinnabar (looking NNE)

(Tom)

The short version:

• Kiting chances are few and intermittent in The Societies - this is surprising and frustrating. Best to include a 14m in the quiver.
• Kiting in The Tuamotus is generally better - more locations and more frequent winds overall.
• When kiting chances do arrive - right place and weather - it seems extra special (and almost worth the hassle).
• Kiting in Baja is the best value overall - tons of locations, regular winds, tacos, and tequila.
• It's good luck to kite with friends who are also drone videographers.

The regular version:

I want to say that almost everyday here is like that in the photo above, but that would be very untrue.

Fresh from a terrific winter in Baja, Mexico with lots of great wind and kitingboarding days (34), I was fired up to continue the good times here in French Polynesia. While the Baja desert scenery has its own distinct beauty, the tropics have the ultimate allure of consistent tradewinds blowing over exotic, smooth, warm, bluewater lagoons. The reality, though, is a little more complex than that. While the ideal conditions can be had on occasion, if one works at it and gets lucky that is, they are surprisingly elusive. Some of the challenges include: finding a good launch beach with soft sand and clear air (most atolls here have concrete-like hardpan coral edges with no beach; ubiquitous palm trees and hills obstruct the wind); the winds are too light/gusty/holey and from the wrong direction (they blow onhore or offshore and inconsistently; sideshore is best). There is excessive current from the ocean crashing over atoll edges and piling up inside the lagoons like an overflowing garden fountain, causing rushing rivers of water trying to escape back to the ocean through only a few channels.

Tom (L) and Rob (R) in paradise 'levitating' on teal hues.

The net result is that my kiting pals and I have been denied our kiting fix about 1 in every 2 or 3 attempts here.  I have logged just 5 days kiting in 10-15 attempts (and 3 months time). It's a little disappointing and wearisome. So why bother at all - why not hangup the harness and focus on other more assured pursuits? Because when the conditions are accidentally really good, the kiting experience is so stimulating that it provokes euphoria and exuberance. 

Ideal conditions like this seem to be the exception.

On one of our coveted lucky kiting days, Shingdig Rob and I joined up with Kaimana Melissa to get some good board time at one of the nicest remote motus in The Societies. The surprise bonus was that Melissa is a professional drone camera videographer and she was kind enough to capture some of the magic of kiting in a warm, picturesque, tropical lagoon. Nothing quite like racing across miles of shallow blueness in bright sunshine, and skimming over startled eagle rays, cruising blacktip sharks, and colorful coral bommies underneath the crystal waters.

Melissa struggling to view her iPhone screen in the bright sunlight as she flies her DJI drone.
Rob is tuning up in the background.

Rob, flying Melissa's kite (13m), and I flying my usual kite (12m), were cruising around trying to be good 'drone models'. I've never been involved in drone video; the closest I came was mounting a GoPro camera on my kite (w/acceptable results, but nothing like from a drone).

Anatomy of a drone video shoot.
Melissa commanded the drone to 'stay' (like Fido) while continuing to film; she then ran to launch Tom before resuming control of the drone..

The only thing better?
This shot with a giant aerial jump involved (someday!).

Frigate's view of the kiting area looking SSW, island pass in the background.
Cinnabar and Kaimana are anchored out of frame to the right. Yes, it's long dinghy ride.

After she was done filming and set aside the drone, Melissa expressed an interest in trying out riding a strapless surfboard (a different type of riding than the usual twin-tip board). Rob happened to have such a board and offered some coaching and dinghy support. Turns out, that really wasn't necessary. On only her 2nd try, Melissa was up and riding on Rob's surfboard like she was born to it. She's an incredibly quick study and set the bar for what's possible in speed learning.

Melissa riding the strapless/directional/surfboard for the first time. Piece of cake!

So we had a memorable session and got some unique pics. For all of the expense and hassle of bluewater cruising, this day was one of the great payoffs that one is always seeking. Hooray!

Rob even edited a fun, short video HERE - 2018 Kiting French Polynesia - Video. But in the final analysis, the greatest kiting bang for the buck, Baja/La Ventana, is tops. However, for the occasional grand splurge in the form of the elusive, novel, and hard to obtain dreamscape type experience, then roll the dice and French Poly, may, just may deliver.

It would be another 1.5 months before similar conditions arrived again. Worth it?
(Open ocean beyond the reef; Tahiti is 90 mn ESE)