Octopus kite day at the beach

My 1,848th kite video. A pleasant April Saturday, with just a light breeze, was irresistible for kite-fliers, and Octopus kites were today's main feature. We would have put up more, but the wind was not reliable.
My 12m and 20m (sold as 18m) Octopuses came from here: www.aliexpress.com/store/3186... .
Anyone wanting to check out all my "How to..." videos on various aspects of kite-flying can now find them all easily on my Playlist at / jimskitesnz .

[@THEAWESOMESHEE]

I bought an octopus kite after watching your videos. The wind was strong but not consistent but everyone at the camp ground loved it and so did the kids, it flew next to the sun set and people were taking pictures. Then it detached from my hand reel and flew for a while then into the water, a speed boat came and saved the day. I’ll fly it again this afternoon!

[@JimNicholls]

I'm glad it was rescued, and I hope you have a lot more fun with it.

[@TheRevFlyer]

Looked like a great day, I was imaging the Octopuses swimming in the sea, love the shot above the grass bank

[@JimNicholls]

I'd hate for these to go swimming, Colin! The "grass bank" is the narrow strip of sand dunes which stretch along most of this section of coastline and hide the ocean from anyone on the other side. Some people call for their removal so they have a better view from their homes, but that would be crazy as the dunes are our only defence against the sea.

[@johng.9319]

Fanstasic Jim. Enjoyed seeing the variety Octopuses out there. The sizes, shapes, and designs seem like endless possibilities. As always, thanks for sharing.

[@JimNicholls]

The two newer Octopuses are among my favourite kites, John, without a doubt. They're good value, too, and I'm not surprised that they are becoming popular. But the others are still good kites too, and a group of them certainly makes a good display.

[@ronstewart9792]

So cool Jim. Love the white and purple one. Ron

[@JimNicholls]

The new Octopuses are great kites, Ron, and wonderful value. They were designed by Mr. Ma who designed the Trilobites, and he did a great job.

[@ronstewart9792]

Yes Jim I love the Octopuses. Scott has 3 his biggest one is the 100 foot one.

[@danokitemano9316]

Thanks for the kite show, Jim. Also, I really like the music here too.

[@JimNicholls]

Glad you enjoyed it - music is always a problem, and people's tastes vary a lot so I can never please everyone.

[@pfkites8967]

Wonderful Octopus big show⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@JimNicholls]

Thank you!

[@mrlionel1965]

That’s a lot of tentacles flopping in the wind there JIm. Those newer octopuses are aooooo cool! It’s on my wish list.

[@JimNicholls]

Definitely one to get, Ken. I love both of the ones I have, but the 12m gets flown more often as it's a lot easier to pack up after flying. The bigger one does have a zipper to aid deflation, but still takes a bit more effort.

[@longbeachpeninsulawaphotos]

That view of all of the Octopi; really reminds me I'm at the beach. a very colorful show, JUST SHARP!!!

[@JimNicholls]

Glad you enjoyed it. We're having a thunderstorm here at the moment - very changeable weather.

[@longbeachpeninsulawaphotos]

Jim go to my playlist Long Beach Peninsula in Washington State. We have been having high wind and wave warnings. (STAY OUT OF THE WATER) The top video or #1 video will show you how high the waves get here. The video was taken down at the lighthouse a couple of miles south of me.

[@longbeachpeninsulawaphotos]

Jim, you will understand why there is no kites on the beach.

[@JimNicholls]

@@longbeachpeninsulawaphotos Bad weather everywhere, it seems. At least we get a few reasonable days as well, as you'll see again in my next video.

[@kitecrewireland]

Great video Jim Octopus kites sure make a wonderful impression

[@JimNicholls]

Thanks, Brian. These new-style Octopuses are terrific, and as I've mentioned elsewhere are much nicer than the expensive Peter Lynn products which are anyway only line laundry. These fly brilliantly, and I'd probably fly them every time I'm out if someone else would do the packing up for me!

[@MarkAGroh]

What a great display of octos. I really like my 20mm purple, although it hasn't been flown much...yet! I am hoping for better weather soon.

[@JimNicholls]

I wish you luck with that, Mark. The weather seems to be crazy everywhere these days.

[@SingaporeCityWalks]

What a great day with lots of octopus in the air. It's so much fun to watch. The music is wonderful too.

[@JimNicholls]

Octopus kites are among my favourites. I'd fly them more often if they didn't take so much effort to pack up afterwards.

[@sir_rider9399]

hey jim! your videos really inspired me to make and fly kites! especially now that I already have my own child! I'm now working on my own D.I.Y. octopus kites! I'll be uploading the video as soon as I'm done.. ☺️

[@JimNicholls]

Sounds great. Well done!

[@kiteflyingdownunder....car6272]

I could have contributed a couple more octopus. Maybe one day I will also purchase one of Mr Ma's excellent octopus kites

[@JimNicholls]

You should do that, Carl. They are terrific kites.

[@CirrusRC]

So many tentacles, impressive site Jim. Old and new designs look great.

[@JimNicholls]

Glad you enjoyed it, David. The new Octopuses not only look better than any previous ones (my opinion) but also fly much better too (fact). They are great value, too, especially compared to PLK designs which are just line laundry.

[@CirrusRC]

@@JimNicholls I've not ordered from AliExpress for many years, I fear with new rules I'd have to pay vat and import. The days of cheap kites from China are over I fear.

[@JimNicholls]

@@CirrusRC We have to pay 15% GST (NZ version of VAT) now on imports - used to be only on items over $400, but now applies to everything. However, if we buy from smaller companies then we're OK, but certainly Amazon and AliExpress purchases are caught, as they have to charge the tax at source. If I buy from my friend Helen at Picture Pretty Kites, there's no tax as she doesn't reach the threshold for sales to NZ after which she'd have to collect the tax too.

[@pfkites8967]

Very good music for your kites😀

[@JimNicholls]

Glad you think so! Everything is from KZbin's free audio library, but since 99% of that is rubbish, I spend a lot of time trying to pick out suitable pieces.

[@ttullis1]

Thanks Jim for another great video to tide me over while waiting for breakup here. I love my 20 meter from Kaixuan. It just dominates the sky when flown and is always a kite that gets comments from spectators. I next expect to fly it in June at the Kenai Kite Festival.

[@JimNicholls]

It's a great kite for sure, Tim. I don't fly it too often, but if I had someone to pack it away for me each time, then I'd fly it much more.

[@ttullis1]

@@JimNicholls I so agree with packing it away, 2 minutes to unpack and 30 at least to repack. Still a wonderful kite in the sky

[@JimNicholls]

@@ttullis1 I've managed to get the time down, Tim, but it's still a bother and I don't enjoy it.

[@ttullis1]

@@JimNicholls Agreed. I'm flying mine maybe once or twice a year.

[@randylackershire4766]

I definitely like themed kite flies. Well done.👏👏👏

[@JimNicholls]

Thanks, Randy. I'll try to do a few more themed flights from time to time.

[@brendanelson4648]

Thanks!

[@JimNicholls]

You're welcome!

[@deweygravesjr.122]

Enjoyable afternoon indeed. Octopuse day great idea. It was good Jim. Thank you!

[@JimNicholls]

The Octopuses, especially the new designs, are great to fly, Dewey, and the only thing I don't like about them is the packing up afterwards! I was going to fly my 23m black one (like Peter's) too, but couldn't face the extra work involved.

[@onbekend1631]

always in awe when seeing your kites, great video jim! 👍

[@JimNicholls]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@tantiyo5013]

When I saw kites flying, I feel so quite & peaceful. Thank you

[@JimNicholls]

Flying them gives a good feeling, too. I'm glad you enjoyed the video.

[@Kupper-Kites]

Great video of your octopuses, they look at the blue sky very nicely, especially the movements of the tentacles...

[@JimNicholls]

Those newer Octopus kites are really good, and reasonably priced, too. They are, I think, far superior to the expensive ones from PLK, which in any case are line laundry and not real kites. Blue sky always makes things look their best, and I try to do most of my videos with that background.

[@Herr2Cents]

I have 2 Octopus now because of you Jim. I flew Prince my purple and white one in Brazil recently. Everyone called it Lula which means squid in Portuguese. The Presidential candidate is called Lula. I didn't know my kite was so political. Lol. I have a 32 sq meter trilobite on the way. My collection is growing. Yikes

[@JimNicholls]

You have some good kites there, John. One of them as president couldn't be any worse than a lot of politicians in many different countries. Have fun!

[@steveparsons5015]

Hi Jim love your videos. Would you recommend the 20 meter octopus in your video? I'm looking for a big octopus for my local kite festivals, and wanting to find something with a wide wind window and hopefully simple to put away. Thanks!

[@JimNicholls]

Yes, absolutely, Steve. It's an excellent kite in every way. Construction is very good, appearance is great, flying ability first-class - it's a real kite, not a piece of line laundry requiring a lifter like the much more expensive Peter Lynn octopus.. Packing up is aided by a zipper, but takes a few minutes of course, as with any large inflatable. If you start from the end of the tentacles it's quite simple. Maybe I'll make a video of packing it up sometime, but as I have to do the filming as well as the packing it's not so simple.

[@paulellingson5915]

Amazing Jim! How do you anchor your kites at the beach? And how do you keep so many kites in the air with out them getting tangled with eachother?

[@JimNicholls]

Paul, I mostly use driftwood on the beach to tie my kites to. There is a video in my playlist about How to tie down a kite, which shows how I do that. If there's no driftwood then I use sand anchors, and there's a video about that too. As for not getting them tangled, it's a question of experience and knowing just how far apart to keep them. But even so, I do sometimes have tangles but don't often show them on the video as I'm too busy sorting them out. I avoid such things as much as possible as they're not great fun.

[@Mzteresam]

Paul, I haven't had a single kite mishap since watching Jim's videos on how to tie down kites. Jim, you are the best kite mentor, and I appreciate every one of your videos, even though I probably haven't seen them all (yet).

[@JimNicholls]

@@Mzteresam Thanks for your kind words, Teresa. I think watching all 1,800+ videos would be a terrible waste of time - just go and fly kites!

[@balonflexia4084]

These new Octopus kites (white-purple and white-black) fly well without problems? I have seen some videos and pictures with these kind of octopus flying under a pilot kite.

[@JimNicholls]

They definitely fly very well, in a wide wind range, and no pilot is necessary. They are much better than previous octopus versions, which in many cases are unable to fly alone. Anyone who flies these as line laundry is probably doing it as a convenient way of flying multiple kites from one anchor point, and the kites do come with attachment lines for that purpose (which I've never used).

[@armandoa5468]

Those are some awesome octopus kites Jim! Question Jim, after flying the kites in your beach do you washing them with a water hose to remove the sand or just leave them be? I've flown a few of my kites at the beach and I'm not sure if I should clean them or leave them alone.

[@JimNicholls]

Usually I just dry them out and then brush off the sand. The only time I've washed kites is on a couple of occasions when one has come down in the sea, and I wanted to get the salt water off in case it caused any harm.

[@armandoa5468]

@@JimNicholls yeah that is my concern as well. I didn't have a kite land in the ocean water but wanted to know if there is any thing to be done once I finish flying at the local beach such as washing the kite in fresh water.

[@onbekend1631]

i was thinking of maybe buying an octopus kite, but i have no idea where to get them nor which ones are hand fly-able... any advice? (i live in the netherlands, there is either no/very little wind or unstable wind with strong gusts)

[@JimNicholls]

The Octopus is expensive, but a brilliant kite which flies well in a wide range of conditions. The only place I would recommend buying, to be sure of the genuine article, is here: www.aliexpress.com/item/4000767878237.html?spm=a2g0s.8937460.0.0.15b22e0ermHnqs .

[@onbekend1631]

@@JimNicholls ah thank you for the help Jim!

[@JimNicholls]

@@onbekend1631 You are welcome.

[@johnrosendale7855]

What strength line do you use for your 20m octopus….I have one on order.

[@JimNicholls]

I use 300lb braided dacron. If I were to fly it in a really strong wind (which I don't intend to do), then I'd probably use 500lb. I hope you have a lot of fun with your octopus.

[@bangkakreatifchannel6025]

Where to sell octopus kite?

[@JimNicholls]

www.aliexpress.com/item/4000767878237.html?spm=a2g0s.8937460.0.0.23632e0euJWWkl

[@henkaltink4183]

no tiger kite,s today?

[@JimNicholls]

No, Henk, it was Octopus day, but I'm sure there will be tigers again soon.

[@nguyenvanhuy8251]

Tôi có thể mua diều nãy ở đâu ?❤️

[@JimNicholls]

I buy all my kites from China via AliExpress.

[@nguyenvanhuy8251]

@@JimNicholls cảm ơn tôi có thể đăng video của bạn lên Tik Tok được không ?😻

[@comradeabby3141]

I have your post notifications on but they dont work:( anwyays I love the octopuses, such beautiful colors and nice flying. Very cool video Jim:)

[@JimNicholls]

I don't know how KZbin notifications work these days, Abby. I used to get emails every time a channel I'd subscribed to uploaded a new video. That hasn't happened for quite a while, and the only indication I get is when I go to my channel to check on activity. I'm glad you liked the video.