Jamaica

So far, I've only been able to get my hands on three kites from the Caribbean Kite Company: a single Cayman in the older chevron colour pattern, and a pair of Caymans in the later colour pattern. But the company also produced a wide range of dual-line deltas, and even a quad-liner.

Thanks to eBay-US (and a friendly fellow kite flyer who was willing to bid for the kite on my behalf, and ship it to the UK), I've now been able to add the first dual-line delta from the Caribbean Kite Company to my Peter Powell Kites collection: a Jamaica (virtually all their kite models were named after Caribbean islands).

The Jamaica is a relatively small kite: wing span of 1.63m. It has a fibreglass frame and is also quite flat. That flatness really influences its flight behaviour.

The kite needs a decent breeze putting pressure in the sail all the time; it doesn't like the edge of the wind window. Jamaica also tends to oversteer quite a bit. But even though it is not much more than a glorified beach kite, I did manage to axel it! Just about, but still ...

The self-proclaimed ambition of the Caribbean Kite Company was to produce kites of the highest quality, to be the benchmark for top-end sports kites. This Jamaica certainly doesn't tick that box, but it may well have been aimed at the lower end of the market, with the larger models targeting that top-end. Guess I'll find out once I get my hands on them, won't I?