Friday, April 9, 2010

The Most Interesting Woman in the World

Last week I had the good fortune to spend an afternoon with the most interesting woman in the world, or at least the most interesting woman in Saint Lucie County west of I-95. Her name is Linda, and she is a windsurfer, kiteboarder, pilot, skydiver, seamstress, engineer, military veteran, emergency medic, and a bunch of other interesting things.

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I'd talked to Linda on the beach in Fort Pierce a few times, but I had never before visited her "compound" out in the country. The reason I went there was to get some kite and wetsuit repairs done - Linda is handy with an industrial sewing machine and you can call her at 332-0941 [Ft. Pierce area code] if you need something fixed or fabricated.

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The place she lives is out of this world. It's a whole neighborhood that caters to recreational pilots, where all the houses are paired with huge airplane hangers that open onto backyard airstrips.

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Linda builds and restores planes for fun, and she has two beautiful, vintage planes gleaming in the hanger. My favorite was this biplane.

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Anyway, if you live in the Treasure Coast Area and have a busted kite or windsurf sail, don't hesitate to give Linda a call. And leave some extra time when you go out there for the guided tour because Linda will be more than willing to share stories of her various adventures.

Bonus- Here's a video from last Sunday where I used the 14 msq kite that she had just fixed, plus a big 17 msq kite when the wind was down.

Big Kite Board Mount Video, 3 April 2010 from James Douglass on Vimeo.

4 comments:

  1. How well do large kites charge upwind?

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  2. Seabass- Well enough, but the feel is a little different than a normal sized kite so you have to make some technique adjustments. I'm still working out the kinks.

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  3. So thats a Pitts Special aerobatic plane; is the other a Piper J3? Or a Supercub? Unusual neighbourhood for sure!

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  4. Morley- Good ID on the planes. I'm not sure what the red one is but I'll ask Linda when I see her again. Apparently some of her neighbors are even more "interesting", but not in a good way. Like, they're successful cocaine smugglers.

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