just got back from a week and a half in NYC (love that city, but fW@cken hell - it and the partying sucks the energy out of ya) While there I managed to sneak away and spend a day on Long Island with crew at the NYC Kite Center.
What an awesome set-up these guys have .. you arrive at what appears to be the wrong address until you spot the tiny sign pointing up a tiny pathway to their front door. Head up the stairs and an awesome showroom awaits complete with change rooms and enough new kites and boards to get the stoke happening before you've even said g'day.
Check-in, change and you're directed back down the stairs and out the back where you're greeted by crew waiting to ferry you your new mates and the required quiver out for the session (side laugh: I dragged a 12 and a 17 half way round the world only to hire a 9 for the day *sigh*)
You get jet skied out to one of many grass covered islands in the middle of the Great South Bay meeting up with 10-20 fellow frothers of varying levels of skill from (the kookness') kookness to downloop kgb indy crew.
The set-up is awesome, regardless of wind direction you'll get butter smooth waiste high water and space a plenty to push your limits (think Towra for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles)
When the sad moment of the session being over hits and you're ferried back to the 'club house' you get changed after a warm shower (awesome).
Some tips:
- don't bother carting your quiver 10,000Km's to NYC, just hire when you get there ;) I carted a 12 and a 17 and ended up hiring a 9; and *drool* it was a 2013 rebel ... already reserved a space in the back of the car for this awesome piece of kite engineering.
- book ahead; I was lucky, I booked the night before, turned up and the boys somehow sorted it for me to join the session; they reminded me booking ahead is essential ;)
- take sunscreen and water; sounds pretty basic but you get hypnotised by the bright lights of NYC and forget the little stuff (or at least I do)
- don't bother hiring a car to get out to Long Island, take the train; it costs $23 + a $14 return cab fare
fW@cken massive ups to the NYC Kite Center crew - thanks for a great session!
