The area is blessed with many beaches (such as Lambert's Beach pictured right) so it does not really matter from where the wind is blowing one can usually find somewhere to fly and when the wind isn't blowing maybe the fish are biting. It's a hard life but someone has to live it.

Jim got into kites when he was still a schoolboy. His mother had a book on things for kids to do and he enjoyed building the kites and rushing home at lunchtime to put them up and tie them to the fence so he could watch them from his classroom. In those days they were the brown paper and sticks cut from then pine fruit boxes, held together with the wonderful concoction - glue made from flour and water. Having had a design to work from his kites flew so he didn't become disenchanted like a lot of potential kite lovers did.

Jim got back into kiting after he bought a Ground Zero Slash from Curly Pickering at his kite shop in Cairns. Which started off a renewed interest in kite making and acquiring Pfaff sewing machines.

In 1999, Jim was awarded a Millennium Sports medal for his contribution to kite flying in the Mackay Region.