Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2002 1:25 pm
murdoc,
I've used the arcs and agree they have the least leash pull of any kite I know of, but the slack lines do present a hazzard, especially on the water, and there is reduced chance of a succesful relauch if you recover the bar.
I've not used the mastair but on the warrior 9.3 I have been seriously overpowered and find releasing the bar is a very good way to neutralise a potentially dangerous situation, there will still be quite a bit of tension on the lines which takes getting used to but you would have to be EXTREMELY overpowered (35+Knots on the 9.3) before you are at risk of being dragged. In such cases if you are being dragged out to sea wait a minute or so (after a minute or so of such dragging the kite will have taken enough water on to prevent it relaunching) then release the kite leash from your spreader, you can save yourself and worry about the kite later. If you are on land then being dragged by a grounded kite is safer than being dragged by an airborn kite because the kite will hit the groin or sea wall before you and will stop dragging, no system is 100% safe but I like the predictability and relauchability of the flysurfer system.
If you have to solo land when severely overpowered its best to do it in the shallows and wait for the kite to take on a bit of water to weigh it down before disconnecting the leash and retreiving the kite
Sean
I've used the arcs and agree they have the least leash pull of any kite I know of, but the slack lines do present a hazzard, especially on the water, and there is reduced chance of a succesful relauch if you recover the bar.
I've not used the mastair but on the warrior 9.3 I have been seriously overpowered and find releasing the bar is a very good way to neutralise a potentially dangerous situation, there will still be quite a bit of tension on the lines which takes getting used to but you would have to be EXTREMELY overpowered (35+Knots on the 9.3) before you are at risk of being dragged. In such cases if you are being dragged out to sea wait a minute or so (after a minute or so of such dragging the kite will have taken enough water on to prevent it relaunching) then release the kite leash from your spreader, you can save yourself and worry about the kite later. If you are on land then being dragged by a grounded kite is safer than being dragged by an airborn kite because the kite will hit the groin or sea wall before you and will stop dragging, no system is 100% safe but I like the predictability and relauchability of the flysurfer system.
If you have to solo land when severely overpowered its best to do it in the shallows and wait for the kite to take on a bit of water to weigh it down before disconnecting the leash and retreiving the kite
Sean