Stolen Kite Gear!

On April 29th, 1995 at approximately 5:00 p.m. somebody stole some of my kite gear from the beach near Crescent Beach, Florida. This theft has been reported to the St. John's County Sheriff's Office. The case ID is 95119211. Should you have any information about this crime, please contact the St. John's County Sheriff's Office at

	4015 Lewis Speedway
	St. Augustine, FL 32084
	Phone: 904-824-8304

Items stolen

Kite: Sputnik 4

This kite is a completely soft parafoil with tapered wingtips, measuring approximately 10 ft x 3 ft. It is royal blue with a red ribs and a red applique of a starburst pattern centered on the left side of the front of the kite. This is a one of a kind design on a home made kite that was finished only 5 weeks before the kite was stolen. The sail is made of Carrington sail cloth and has a defect on the trailing edge on one of the tapered wing tips. The kite might also be signed "Philip B Chase"--I do not remember for sure. The picture show at the top as a drawing of the kite. The picture shown on left of this text is of a similar model with a different color pattern.

Like all parafoils, the Sputnik 4 has a multilined bridle on the face. It is a dual line controlled kite. When stolen it was attached to 150ft of 275lb test Spectra line. It also had a set of Peter Lynn quick release dual line handles. These handles are made of stainless steel and have about 3ft of black webbing between the two handles.

Kite: Quadrifoil 25

This kite is a completely soft parafoil with a rectangular shape, measuring approximately 3ft x 7ft. It is pink and purple with the word "Quadrifoil" printed on the face. The picture shown here of a similar model with a different color pattern.

Like all parafoils, the Quadrifoil has a multilined bridle on the face. It is a quadline controlled kite. When stolen it was attached to approximately 60ft of heavy line--450lb and 350lb test Spectra line. The line was attached to a pair of handles made of white PVC pipe wrapped with black and red tape.

Soft Duffel Bag

This bag measures approximately 2ft x 3ft x 2ft. It is made of burgundy colored Cordura with black handles made of nylon webbing. It has a zippered top and two zippered side pouches. The name "Philip Chase" is embroidered in gold thread near the top on one side of the bag. Kite fliers would recognize this as a bag manufactured by M.L.D. Associates of Townsend, Massachusetts.

Bundle of Kite Line

This line is a pair of 150# Spectra lines 150ft long with loops at each end of each line. The line was wrapped on a flat plastic plate known to kite fliers as either a Moran Board or a Buckaroo Board.

Bundle of Kite Line

This line is a pair of 100# Spectra lines 150ft long with loops at each end of each line. The line was wrapped on a flat plastic plate known to kite fliers as either a Moran Board or a Buckaroo Board.

Moran board

A plastic plate used to wrap wind kite lines measuring about 8 inches by 4 inches with notches and cuts on the periphery.

Ground Stake

This ground stake had a neon-yellow golf ball attached to an 8 inch aluminum rod.

Caribiner

A piece of rock climber's gear, oval in shape with a hinged gate. This caribiner was red and silver labeled "KONG-BONIATA-ITALY". The gate has been drilled through and a short piece of line has been attached.

Kite handles

A pair of neon-pink padded nylon straps with large chrome plated D-rings.

20ft yellow nylon webbing

Mickey Mouse Hat

Brown, Green, and Blue with a large "M" on the front.

Set of keys

Two cylindrical bike lock keys, a Honda key, a two house keys, and two other brass keys on a ring attached to a brass clip with a short piece of pink, blue, and yellow line.

The Sputnik is a unique kite that is easily identifiable. Should you see a 10ft x 3 ft blue kite with a left-centered red starburst, it is almost without a doubt my kite. I expect the theives will either use or sell the kites. They packed the Sputnik and wrapped its 150ft of line. They undoubtedly saw us buggying with them. They understood what they were taking. It is my hope that the this message will circulate widely enough that the perpetrators will be caught trying to fly or sell my kites.

If you have any information relating to this crime, please report it to the St. John's County Sheriff's Office and your local authorities. Also, please contact me as I would like to know if my gear is coming home. You can reach me on the Internet at pbc@ufl.edu.

Thanks,

Philip Chase