Your Bio

Hi, I'm John. I live in Holden Beach, NC where I waste most of my time flying kites. I began flying about 4 years ago when, while walking down the beach, someone said "Here, hold this for me". Turns out it was a line to a kite being flown by "Grumpy", one of the WACKOS kite club members. I realized I hadn't flown a kite in 50 years. The WACKOS (Wings Across Carolina Kiting and Okra Society.....had to have something start with "O", why not okra?) showed me the ropes and now most of my disposable income and time goes into this stuff. If you're interested in learning to fly go to your local kite store or visit one of these good websites for more info: http://www.blowinginthewind.com ; http://www.gombergkites.com ; http://www.gwtw-kites.com ; http://www.aka.kite.org.
When I'm not flying, I'm a biochemist and consult for drug companies.

Galleries

Cape Fear Kite Fly 2009 : Photos from the Cape Fear Kite Fest 2009 in Wrightsville Beach, NC. We had no wind on Saturday and essentially no wind Sunday morning. Later Sunday it picked up a bit and we were able to put up about 12-13 of our 90 ft octopi. We had ~24 of them on hand and were hoping to beat the world record for big octopi in the air but the winds wouldn't cooperate. Had a good time anyway with all our friends. Mike and Judy Agner bust their butts to put this thing on each year, nice to have someone willing to do all the work while the rest of us get to have all the fun.

Cape Fear Kite Fly 2009

Photos from the Cape Fear Kite Fest 2009 in Wrightsville Beach, NC. W ...

Updated: Nov 10, 2009 2:29pm PST

Eagle at Lake Anna : 10/03/09 Bald eagle at Lake Anna catches and eats breakfast. Pictures aren't very sharp as I was riding in a boat, shooting at full zoom without a tripod, and it was a hazy day. Anyway, you can tell it's an eagle.

Eagle at Lake Anna

10/03/09 Bald eagle at Lake Anna catches and eats breakfast. Picture ...

Updated: Oct 06, 2009 2:05pm PST

Pool Finally Complete! : Hoorayyyyyy!!!!! The pool and yard are finally finished. If you look closely in these pictures you'll see that there is still some work going on. The aluminum covering on the support posts on the decks has been replaced on all but one back deck. You can see the gate and railings look beat up a bit. That's because all the nails used to build the railings just a few years ago were either galvanized or low grade stainless and they've all disintegrated so they're being replaced with high quality stainless steel nails. My oh my, maintenance at the beach is an ongoing thing! In a couple of the pictures if you look close you can see the bridge from the mainland to the island in the background. Friday the power washing people come and next week the painters are here to finish everything up. Also note the bar under the house (just above the "pool rules" sign). I'll be there if anyone comes to visit.....can no longer afford gas money to leave.

Pool Finally Complete!

Hoorayyyyyy!!!!! The pool and yard are finally finished. If you look ...

Updated: May 06, 2009 3:21pm PST

Pool Construction :

Pool Construction

Updated: Apr 19, 2009 6:32am PST

Ursula's Maiden Voyage : This is Ursula, named after the purple octopus in Disney's Littlest Mermaid. She's 88 ft tall and was made by Peter Lynn in New Zealand and bought through David Gomberg at www.Gombergkites.com. These pictures are of her maiden voyage on 03-08-09 at Holden Beach, NC. There was only about 6 mph wind so I had to add a Pilot 60 as a lifter and fly on 750 lb line. Wind picked up later and she flew beautifully. Wind was straight out of the west and tide was way out so no worries about fences, houses, etc.

Ursula's Maiden Voyage

This is Ursula, named after the purple octopus in Disney's Littlest Me ...

Updated: Mar 08, 2009 4:50pm PST

Trop. Storm Hanna - Beach Erosion : Beach erosion as a result of tropical storm Hanna at Holden Beach. These pictures were taken from the Boyd St. walkway where I access the beach (next to Stan & Sarah's house)down to Grumpy's walkway (next to J.J.Yeley's house). Most of the "new" dune is gone and there is a lot of washout at all along the way.

Trop. Storm Hanna - Beach Erosion

Beach erosion as a result of tropical storm Hanna at Holden Beach. Th ...

Updated: Sep 07, 2008 7:18am PST

July 4 '08 Holden Beach : A few of the kites Grumpy and I flew on the 4th.

July 4 '08 Holden Beach

A few of the kites Grumpy and I flew on the 4th.

Updated: Jul 06, 2008 9:38am PST

Day at the Docks 08 :

Day at the Docks 08

Updated: May 04, 2008 8:22am PST

John's Kite Bag : I'm just now starting to organize pictures of my kites. Here are a few of them, more to be added as I get photos. A couple of the pics (mostly of the dual lines) aren't ones I shot but were taken by people I bought them from.

John's Kite Bag

I'm just now starting to organize pictures of my kites. Here are a fe ...

Updated: Aug 09, 2007 6:27pm PST

Misc :

Misc

Updated: Jun 11, 2007 11:12am PST

Launching the big flag : Step #1- Tell everyone on the beach that this is really a kite, not a flag, and as such it will inevitably touch the ground. We'll treat it with respect but it generates extreme pull even in low winds and can't be held off the ground without serious injury. Then tell them the same thing again, because the crowd has grown. Step 2: Walk down the lifter kite (10 x 12 feet, flying on 500-750 lb line...you can see the lifter in photo #16) and attach top of flag to lifter line with carabiner. Step 3: Avoid fences, bushes that will tear the flag Step 4: Gradually let the lifter line go back up while trying to protect the flag from tearing (this is the dangerous part) Step 5: When flag is off the ground adjust amount of sand in bag hanging on lower "pole" end of kite to make it hang straight...usually takes several tries to get it right (too little weight, kite blows out with no shape, too much wt, pulls lifter down too much.) Step 6: Listen to the crowd applaud lead them in Pledge of Allegiance Step 7: Answer questions about how big it is, how much it cost, do you have a stars & bars since you're in NC?

Launching the big flag

Step #1- Tell everyone on the beach that this is really a kite, not a ...

Updated: Jun 05, 2007 5:40am PST

Cape Fear Kite Festival Nov06 : Kite fly in Wrightsville Beach, NC on November 4-5. Fliers from WACKOS (Wings Across Carolina Kite & Okra Society), WOW (Wings Over Washington), RAF (Richmond Air Force) & others participated.

Cape Fear Kite Festival Nov06

Kite fly in Wrightsville Beach, NC on November 4-5. Fliers from WACKOS ...

Updated: Nov 07, 2006 2:02pm PST

Festival By The Sea : Festival By The Sea is an annual arts/crafts show at Holden Beach, NC in Oct06. Usually all the WACKOS show up but this year is was only Bob, Leigh, Priscilla, and me.

Festival By The Sea

Festival By The Sea is an annual arts/crafts show at Holden Beach, NC ...

Updated: Nov 07, 2006 10:15am PST

Flying Kites with S. African kids : In September, 2006 we went with a group of kite fliers to participate in the 11th annual Cape Town Kite Festival in Muizenburg, South Africa. The purpose of the festival is to raise funds for the Cape Mental Health Program. A few days before the official festival, we went to a local park and flew with the children who are in the program. The trip was organized by David & Susan Gomberg. You can find more info and photos on their website. http://www.gombergkites.com/update/index.shtml

Flying Kites with S. African kids

In September, 2006 we went with a group of kite fliers to participate ...

Updated: Nov 02, 2006 6:20am PST

Phinda Game Reserve (So. Africa) : After leaving the rest of the group, we travelled to the Phinda reserve for a few days.

Phinda Game Reserve (So. Africa)

After leaving the rest of the group, we travelled to the Phinda reserv ...

Updated: Nov 01, 2006 2:22pm PST

South African Game Drives : Game viewing & drives from the Addo elephant park (1st three pics) and Kariega game reserve.

South African Game Drives

Game viewing & drives from the Addo elephant park (1st three pics) and ...

Updated: Oct 25, 2006 12:49pm PST

Bloodhound kites : These kites were custom made for me by Dave Holt in the U.K. They were modeled after my bloodhounds Dudley & Nell. I have one 16 ft, two 8 ft, and three 4 ft ones.

Bloodhound kites

These kites were custom made for me by Dave Holt in the U.K. They were ...

Updated: Oct 24, 2006 8:18am PST

In & around Cape Town :

In & around Cape Town

Updated: Oct 18, 2006 1:16pm PST

Dieppe Kite Festival 2006 : These photos were taken at the Dieppe International Kite Festival, September 2006.

Dieppe Kite Festival 2006

These photos were taken at the Dieppe International Kite Festival, Sep ...

Updated: Oct 18, 2006 11:57am PST