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Short video - HI return

ignacio

Member III
Blogs Author
All this reading about going and returning from Hawai'i (thanks Phil and Christian) has me reminiscing. So many moments and moods of the North Pacific. A while back I started working on a video (that's still not done), but I did manage to make this short piece. I'm no pro at digital storytelling, and there's no real point to it aside from an amateur attempt to capture some of the experience. I thought now would be a good time to post this while the digital storytelling critic is out at sea.

:egrin:

This bit covers the first few days out from Kaua'i, and then a couple weeks after that into the N. Pacific high.

https://vimeo.com/200234083
 

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  • IG_2016_Picavet_HI_Return.jpg
    IG_2016_Picavet_HI_Return.jpg
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907Juice

Continuously learning
Awesome dude! How did you get that kite to pan like that? L-I-V-I-N!! My dream to do that.
 

MMLOGAN

Member III
What, no dancing on the deck?

I feel short changed. Wow, you don't get much for free these days.

Of course I'm kidding. Great job. Beautiful skies and amazing kite video.

Well done!
 

tenders

Innocent Bystander
That's cool. I have a kite mount for my GoPro which is really fun on land, but have been reluctant to use it on the boat for fear of fouling the string on the rigging and losing the gear.
 

ignacio

Member III
Blogs Author
I built a picavet ("peek-a-vet"), named after its French inventor, Pierre Picavet. Properly done, it results in a stable platform on which to mount a camera, and the platform remains horizontally stable (more or less) while in flight, even if the rest of the kite is moving. There's plenty of instructions online for building one, but what they have in common is a cross shape, and at end each of the 4 points of the cross, you have some sort of eye for the routing of line. The routing of the line is important, as this is the mechanism by which the platform is kept stable.

Below is a picture of mine. Last year, with the rush of preparing, this was one of the last projects before the final push to leave...I think I made this just a few weeks before I left. I had some spare aluminum sheet, eyes, fasteners, and bought the small blocks because, you know, it's a sailing picavet. I also didn't want corrosion or salt from creating friction and impeding the movement of line while its working, and thought the blocks would help minimize that. I drilled a small hole at the top and mounted my cheap Go-Pro knock-off to it using just the accessories that came with the camera (an "SJ Cam"). To clip onto the kite's line, I used regular hardware store "S" carabiners, but I tied an alpine butterfly loop onto the kite line and cliped the picavet into that to avoid losing my camera if the rig went down.

As far as kites go, I bought a 165cm x 104cm sled kite, which I had read is the most stable kite for this application. However, sometime on the outgoing leg, I must have damaged it, so couldn't use it on the outbound leg. While in Kaua'i, I went to the only store that seems to carry kites (a toy store in the Hanalei Bay area) and bought the one you see in the video, which definitely was not as stable as the sled kite I intended to use....the one in the video was the largest kite they had in stock. I removed the thin line it came with and instead used parachute cord, which I had 500 feet of onboard.

The whole rig, picavet, camera, and parachute cord was a bit heavy for this kite, but I launched it in ~15 knots and it seemed to do ok.


picavet.jpg
 

ignacio

Member III
Blogs Author
I forgot I had the picavet on my desk, so mounted my camera to it. It's just missing the line and carabiners.

One thing I forgot to mention was that the orientation of the camera resulted in the footage being upside down. This was easily corrected with the video editing software I used (Corel Video Studio). As I understand it, some cameras have the ability to correct this right in its own settings. Ah well...cheap knock-off as I said.

IMG_4057.jpg
 
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JPS27

Member III
That is extremely helpful, Ignacio. Thanks. I'll add this project to the list. I'll pick up a nice kite on my next trip down to Kitty Hawk. They have nice kite shops there ... for obvious reasons.

Jay
 

Tomwine

Member II
Video

Fantastic job Ignacio. Nice to see you back on the board. Are you ready to go again?
Tom
 
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ignacio

Member III
Blogs Author
It really takes it out of you for a while. Between the boat being pretty beat up after that trip, the neglected domestic affairs, and catching up on work, I haven't been sailing much. But, that hasn't stopped me from making further improvements on the boat. I've been out fishing a few times recently, and just started thinking about which direction has appeal for the next voyage. I've been thinking about heading north...like, Alaska north. But have also considered the Sea of Cortez as well. And, and.......

Fantastic job Ignacio. Nice to see you back on the board. Are you ready to go again?
Tom
 

907Juice

Continuously learning
It really takes it out of you for a while. Between the boat being pretty beat up after that trip, the neglected domestic affairs, and catching up on work, I haven't been sailing much. But, that hasn't stopped me from making further improvements on the boat. I've been out fishing a few times recently, and just started thinking about which direction has appeal for the next voyage. I've been thinking about heading north...like, Alaska north. But have also considered the Sea of Cortez as well. And, and.......


Someone say Alaska???
 
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