Unfortunately, the long anticipated return to a local  restaurant for our traditional banquet turned into a bust due to last year's ownership change. The service was terrible, two of the 15 meals ordered didn't arrive until after everyone else had finished eating and no one seemed to care. That ain't no way to treat the honeymooners. I doubt they'll see us again. Fortunately, we found a great crab restaurant with outdoor dining that can handle large groups without losing orders.

We had a great time at the second annual WACKOS night fly on Tybee Beach. At one point we had four Cubes with Sky Lites in the air at the same time. At AKA nationals last Fall, we thought a single lighted cube was very cool but four is outstanding! We really drew a crowd to the beach - some came all the way over from the pier to find out what all the lights were. If you've ever seen Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the lighted cubes looked like the little scout ships around the mesa. Grumpy even taught one of the kids from the pier how to fly the cube. It was a great evening!

There were a lot more kites and wind toys this year than in previous years. Flyers from up and down the East coast came to show off some new toys. Check out the pictures below. For all pictures, click the small images or thumbnails to see the full picture.
 

Two festivals

There were actually two kite festivals at Tybee again this year. The Fall event seems to bring many more fun flyers than anything else. Check the picture at left to see the competition field on the south side of the pier. Then check the picture at right to see the north side of the pier where all the kite flying was happening.

 

Saturday

Early Saturday morning, Jim and Gary are two of the first flyers on the beach.	Stuart didn't realize how little of the beach was available for stunt kites. He's going to have to get a single liner to get some beach space.	Hi, guys! I'm ready to fly. Where's the wind?	ConnectiKITERS on the left, WACKOS on the right and people to watch us play. Life is good.	This sure is relaxing, isn't it, Ethel? Yes, Fred, it truly is.
Lemme see .. the Ray won't fly, the soccer ball isn't inflating. There has got to be something here that will fly.	If Jim didn't put up this sock, he'd never find his way back to Okra Central.	Never let 'em see you sweat.	A little generational bonding. If you look in the background, Gary Engvall is taking pictures and copying ideas. I'll bet there will be a lot of those teardrop banners in Rhode Island this Spring.	James figured out how to stay out of the sun and still get covered with sand.
Somebody from Ft. Lauderdale brought some neat Martin Blais stuff. The banners above ...	this big flow form ...	and this bol with the orcas swimming around it . Very nice!	Stuart concentrates on trying to fly a dual line in the middle of a very crowded beach. If you're wondering, he can fly a single line, though he doesn't want to admit it. Click here to see this great feat.	Good, Ben, you're almost there. Move your left arm towards the kite and slightly above your right hand and you'll be flying in no time.

Sunday

Looking North, the beach and channel are deserted.	Grumpy and Susan take an early morning walk to look for shells. They're such romantics.	As usual, Jim was the first person on the beach. Nice tip stand, too. Too bad no one's around to see it.