Dave Whettingsteel said..
Any update on Ian's plans for today? I'm up at Horrocks with camera and kite at the ready! Wondered wether he would pop up on local radio this morning, being in Gero on remembrance today but didn't hear anything. PM me if you guys finish up at Horrocks and need a place to stay. Cheers

We farewelled Ian from Drummond Cove at just past 1:15 and as of 2:14pm he's already passed Coronation and 2/3 of the way to Horrocks. The plan for today is to make Port Gregory, with a possible stopover in Horrocks for an interview with the ABC. He and the crew will then assess the situation for the next few days, given the current weather conditions.

We got him kitted out with some footpads to soften the blow of the chop he's been riding and hopefully make the journey more enjoyable.

They'll overnight at Pt Gregory and if the conditions aren't suitable for a kite to Kalbarri, they may consider driving to Shark Bay to do the remainder of the trip from there. At the moment we've got a forecast indicating 20-30 knot southerlies with even some east in it at times along with some 3-4m swell for the next 4 days or so, making a traverse of the coast of Dirk Hartog generally unwise.

Updates as they arrive. Stay tuned!

Dave, PM me and I'll text you the support team's mobile numbers

Ian Young walks into a bar full of kiters....

NEVER buys a beer, never, ever again......

Dave Whettingsteel said...
Any update on Ian's plans for today? I'm up at Horrocks with camera and kite at the ready! Wondered wether he would pop up on local radio this morning, being in Gero on remembrance today but didn't hear anything. PM me if you guys finish up at Horrocks and need a place to stay. Cheers

Dave mail me your no and I'll pass it on , they'd be daft not to spend a night at chateau wettingsteel ,

Man I'm loving this thread! Every time I click on and see a photo of Ian traversing the coast it makes me smile,.. He's like the forest Gump of the kite world. Such a legend!

Gazuki said..
Man I'm loving this thread! Every time I click on and see a photo of Ian traversing the coast it makes me smile,.. He's like the forest Gump of the kite world. Such a legend!

Gazuki said..
Man I'm loving this thread! Every time I click on and see a photo of Ian traversing the coast it makes me smile,.. He's like the forest Gump of the kite world. Such a legend!

Robbo2099 said..
Spoke with Ian and he and the crew have checked in for the night at Port Gregory around 3:40pm. Dave, PM'ed Ian's mobile to you. Hope you were able to hook up with them.

Cheers,

Rob

Loving this thread as well. Wish there was more of this stuff for windsurfing and kiting communities ( I know what the remarks here will be LOL).

looks like he's skipping the rough bit or doing the Kalbarri thing, either way takes gusto to take on the next leg. Personally I wouldn't dream of it!

Ian said they're not real happy with how the weather is looking for the zuytdorp cliffs section so they going to drive up to steep point and continue from there. Said they might do the Kalbarri section later. Pity to not have a clear run, but totally understandable!

Great adventure, big effort, great cause. Really inspiring.

Wednesday night mission update: Haven't heard from the boys since about 1:30 this afternoon when the GPS tracker checked in just south of the Hamlin Pools turnoff on NW Coastal Highway.

Given the weather conditions (30+knot Sou'easters and 4m swell) the plan was to drive to Steep Point and assess whether it was feasible to safely restart the journey from there, so I suspect they'll be camped there tonight and check in tomorrow morning.

A few of Kat's photos from yesterday as Ian was pushing off from Drummond Cove:

Ian phoned me yesterday morning , they are going to kite from false ent or the camp at south passage near the rangers, he's then going to cross from the east side of dirky to denham and continue north, I've given the crew a few safety contacts and contacted my mate at dirk Hartog letting know the crews plans,

Dave Whettingsteel said..

cauncy said..
Ian phoned me yesterday morning , they are going to kite from false ent or the camp at south passage near the rangers, he's then going to cross from the east side of dirky to denham and continue north, I've given the crew a few safety contacts and contacted my mate at dirk Hartog letting know the crews plans,

Cauncy do you have any insight into why he didn't kite from port Gregory to Kalbarri?

Was blowing 30+ knots and 3-4m seas up that way yesterday and today , and swinging SE at times. Ian's smallest kite is a 10m foil...

Do a low-level fly-over on Google Maps through that area along the coast and you'll get an idea of how treacherous it is.

He's about to clear the cape in the next 10 min. After that, he'll have a 25km trip across open water, kiting across the wind to reach Denham. He's absolutely MACKING along at the moment!




Doesn't look like he'll have to worry about running out of wind for the crossing!

Dave Whettingsteel said...

cauncy said..
Ian phoned me yesterday morning , they are going to kite from false ent or the camp at south passage near the rangers, he's then going to cross from the east side of dirky to denham and continue north, I've given the crew a few safety contacts and contacted my mate at dirk Hartog letting know the crews plans,

Cauncy do you have any insight into why he didn't kite from port Gregory to Kalbarri?

Could be that he'd like to live,

Off to carnarvon today do you reckon rob?..!
Hes flying for sure.

Robbo2099 said..
Wednesday night mission update: Haven't heard from the boys since about 1:30 this afternoon when the GPS tracker checked in just south of the Hamlin Pools turnoff on NW Coastal Highway.

Given the weather conditions (30+knot Sou'easters and 4m swell) the plan was to drive to Steep Point and assess whether it was feasible to safely restart the journey from there, so I suspect they'll be camped there tonight and check in tomorrow morning.

A few of Kat's photos from yesterday as Ian was pushing off from Drummond Cove:

Very pleased to hear safety being given priority.
Youngy is such a driven, goal oriented guy there is a fear the goal may over-ride caution.
Obviously giving full weight to his knowledge on how important safety & strategy planning counts.
Good call.