Shadow Blasted ... Flying In Dirty Air

[RickI]

Shoreline irregularities are pretty common in many parts of the world. Are there wind directions where certain launches are excessively gusty or even avoided in your area? Not talking about dead offshore but side off to side shore winds that may have been shadowed by upwind land features. Some directions are just gustier and unstable than others in these places.

[switch313]

well.....for instance the other day i looked at the port which is directly upwind of the spot there are 100ft high boats moving in and out reguarly, i we even saw a mini waterspout (twister) caused by the wall which must be 25ft high (directly upwind). then you have a gnarly ass wall of rocks directly upwind to add to that which at low tide can be a pain in the arse and you have only the top 1/2 of the wind window in effect properly, any lower and the kite jellyfishes and backstalls....room for manover is small probally 100-120 meters per tack before the buildings upwind kill all wind and the other side is mean looking rocks......... launching is hazardous directly behind the wall of rocks but the spot is dead offshore so if anything happens you will be ok, its 30knt or more wind if we have wind in that direction...

thats just to put it in your views though (danger first)......its ridden all the time and can get very crowded it can be an epic wavespot if you know when to go there but dont get me wrong its noted as a dangerous spot and the riders who go there are mainly pros and very experienced riders......but its the best session you will ever have on butter flat water with a solid 30-40knots, its like a second home to me hahahaahaha and it has good and bad days sometimes its just gnarly, ignore the dangers, go for it, if you dont you will regret it and watch your friends rip form the beach..............and its going to be going off in the next few days!!!!!!!

[poldo]

Very interesting post!

First photo looks similar to Guincho, in Portugal, where I've experienced very dirty wind

[RickI]

Very interesting post!

First photo looks similar to Guincho, in Portugal, where I've experienced very dirty wind

I would really like to checkout Portugal, has an incredible coastline. Looking at conditions, I believe you can have some major rotor at Guincho as you say.

That is the beach at Guincho, it is less than 2.5 miles (about 4 km) from that point of land, Cabo de Rocha. Cabo seems to rise a good distance above the water. The area is known for a strong wind, the Nortada. I understand it comes out of the N-NW augmented by thermals from the arid hot shore areas rising to around 25 kts. (perhaps as high as 40 kts.?, not sure about this).


The photo is alinged more or less to the NW. If you have a honking strong, likely already gusty wind rotoring and refracting around this high point of land, you can expect some major gusts and lulls. I understand it is a popular spot with windsurfers. They can perhaps deal a bit easier with rotor, gliding through the lulls and sheeting out (or being catapulted!) in the gusts. Kiters either manage or they don't. Sounds like an experts spot with strong local experience when the wind is on and from the N-NW, then add waves! I imagine with strong winds, the "some rotor" zone can be pretty wide with shifting winds.


A closer look at Cabo de Rocha, that is a big chunk of rock!

The thing with rotor like rapids over rocks, the faster the flow and higher the obstructions, the more violent and longer the area of turbulence. Some kiters may not know it but they are setting up in some Class 4 (aerial) rapids by analogy.

We frequently say this accident or fatality happened due to excessively gusty wind. In some of these cases the excessively gusty wind has been caused or increased by rotor. Riders should routinely scope this out when evaluating the launch of the day.

Who else has rotor at their spot, when, why and how do they deal with it? Any interesting stories come to mind?

[RickI]

Here's another example of serious rotor from a couple of years back. Again, this is known as a windsurfing spot, kiters go elsewhere. Windsurfers may be able to manage excessive rotor a bit better. At least they may be able to glide through the lulls. In gusts hopefully suffer nothing worse than to get spun 20 ft. away from their rig across the water in a catapult.


In strong winds, this embayment seems like it would turn into a blender of cascading wind. If you are standing there, the wind would die down to almost nothing for seconds, then boost up a bit, then perhaps rage down at high speed, then ebb or die and repeat. The direction of the wind might change as well, perhaps a lot. Look at the colored blobby diagram on the first page. I assume the colors represent various velocity ranges. Thing is where there is no color, there is no significant wind, dead lull shifting perhaps to honking strong in a red zone. The mess whirls all over the place continuously.



Pretty much anything east of north going clockwise up to around north west will be rotored in this bay.

The rider was from out of the area, and apparently didn't fully appreciate hazardous conditions at this spot. Reportedly he was warned that this area wasn't a good choice for kiting by a local. He had been in around 12 kts. winds, kited upwind nearer to the rocks of the point. He was reportedly hit by a strong gust and lofted about 45 ft. high and fell into about 8 inches of water. He didn't survive the impact.

Location is real important. Kiters should learn what to look for and avoid particularly if they are new to an area.

Question, do some instructors teach this stuff along with other location selection considerations? I hope the days of focusing on the kiting setup, waterstarting and other basics alone are well in the past.

[Peter_Frank]

Dirty air does not feel as dirty today as earlier

Meaning - before the flat kites emerged, we could not use these "dirty" conditions - it was a nightmare with kites being overpowered and/or hindenburging - a very unpleasant and dangerous ride !

Today it is a new world, and many of the REALLY good wavespots, which were not accessible earlier (because older C kites and TTs were the standard), are now commonly used.

F.ex spots with good point breaks behind tall piers and/or directly leeward of wind power stations - where the wind is totally ripped to pieces, where impossible and not fun to use earlier

But today, with so much better kites, and much higher rider level, and waveboards - we can use these conditions fully, and really enjoy

The same goes for other spots with flat water - dirty wind is not a problem like it was in the early days
Of course, it feels better doing freestyle with "smooth" wind, but for jumping high, or waveriding, really gusty or dirty wind doesnt matter, thanks to equipment (all types of kites, newer C's and Bows and foils).

On the lee side of piers, you will often have an extra "rotor" lift in fact, which will make you jump higher very predictable - great

So although dirty/rotor wind usually is a p.i.t.a - it doesnt matter that much today, and in some circumstances it can be a huge advantage also.

Having said this - it is still very dangerous if you are not capable of understanding where and when it happens, and the risks involved

But if used to flying and wind/kitesurfing you know this - and when I teach kitesurfing I always ask about everybodys background and really teach intensively to those not used to the wind (windsurfers and sailors and pilots knows these things), how and where the risks are - as it is by far the most dangerous: Newbees not knowing the wind and how it behaves !

Kindly, Peter Frank

[RickI]

You are right Peter, things have become easier and more efficient in handling uneven winds with the inception of flat kites. Worlds better than the old days with traditional C kites with limited depower, I totally agree on that.

Thing is, people are still being badly hurt in rotored conditions and with the new kites, very recently. We've had five severe accidents, including one fatality, perhaps more in only the last couple of months at various points around the world related to rotor. A couple of these kiters were well experienced. However it seems the majority were unfamiliar with the conditions, hadn't sufficiently practiced emergency depowering, froze in the seconds available to them to make a difference, chose a poor launch when a better one was a short distance away, etc..

It is like flying a high performance aerobatic plane. The plane is capable of incredible stunts, high G maneuvers, whether the pilot has all the necessary training, skill, conditioned reactions, stomach and relevant experience is another matter entirely. The technology is good, but it isn't enough as harsh recent experience underscores. You still need to pick and choose your weather, launch and riding areas well. People too frequently don't practice dealing with emergencies they just assume things will fall into place when the time comes. They may not scope out a prospective launch area properly, or even listen to well intended local advice. For experts in local conditions, different matter perhaps. They likely will know enough what conditions to pursue, manage and those to avoid. For new folks to these conditions of excessive gusts, lulls, direction changes from rotor, I believe it is something to be avoided with understanding and forethought. Accidents are inevitable, but long experience in dozens of activities has shown that with knowledge, training, good judgement and appropriate systems the quantity of avoidable ones can be significantly reduced. It starts with awareness hence this thread.

[poldo]

For sure in this difficult (but not impossible) conditions the right mixer of right and the equipment make te difference between a dangerous experience and a good kitesurfing day. F.E. there in Guincho with wind gusting up to 25-30 knots and lulls of less than 15 knots (kite almost falling) I was overpowered and not in control with my Waroo 9m, so after 10min i set off of the session, whereas a local with a 6m SLE, well powered in gusts and moving it a lot in lulls (and with more skill) had 2 hours of great kiting

[RickI]

Imagine trying to handle those conditions with an old C kite?! Guys have done it but it was dicey at times or worse. With flat kites things get easier and when you're dialed in to local conditions and with the optimum sized kite even better. Some experienced riders in the waves are probably already on directionals or strapless boards so they can afford a little less kite power to manage the gusts and sine through the lulls with a smaller kite. It is so much easier to avoid a stall with a flat kite with proper handling than it ever was with old C kites.

It is just knowing what the conditions are in advance and that you can comfortably handle them from past local experience. Or, better still, that more rideable conditions are not so far away down the road or in time when the wind shifts. Seems like too many are getting ambushed by lack of understanding what conditions are actually like. Black ice looks the same from a distance until the differences come out. Pays to know.

[RichardM]

if 'rotor' winds concern you you wouldnt like my home spot hahaha.............

Too funny, thing is, there are probably 20 or 30 people around the world dealing with dead or severely messed up relations right now. All this in only a month or so. Rotor seems to have been a important contributing factor among others.

I did say ... To some degree it is what you are skilled in and used to within limits.

So, where do you ride and what are conditions like there? What causes the rotor and what do you do to manage the effects?

Guys that ride at inland venues may have more regular rotor effects than riders on the coast. Even at inland venues there can be some wind directions so heavily rotored out, that guys don't ride in those conditions. In all the examples I have photographs for, there are options for avoiding rotor by choosing a different time or location. Some people such as yourself, may have rotor all the time, ranging from moderate to nasty.

At least one of these injured riders kited for years in an intensely rotored area. Despite that, it may have been a big factor in a bad outcome. In most cases, it seems like the riders weren't used to the conditions, may have been caught off guard or were simply overwhelmed by extreme rotored conditions. In most perhaps all of these cases, all they had to do was move to another location or at worst blow off that session. There were readily available options in these cases.

Unfortunately, for many people, to "...blow off that session." is a lot easier said than done.

Someone who can only kite occassionaly, or depends on kiting for exercise, relaxation etc., has arranged a big chunk of spare time in order to kite and may have dealt with over an hour's worth of hideous traffic in order to get to a location, will find it a LOT harder to "blow off that session" than someone who lives near a bunch of spots and kites frequently.

At some point of course, discretion will always be the better part of valor and require not going out. However, perhaps honing safety skills such as carefully checking equipment, practicing using quick releases, quickly getting in the water (or even doing a water launch if feasible), landing the kite in the water etc., as well as adding safety equipment such as helmets and impact vests along with a specific conscious readiness and determination to INSTANTLY activate the QR, would add a few sessions where conditions would otherwise be too sketchy for a particular individual.

Richard M.
Malibu Kitesurfing - since 2002
(310) - 430 - KITE (5483)
http://www.MalibuKitesurfing.NET
kfRichard@MalibuKitesurfing.NET