Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

Long Distance Kitesurf

Forum for kitesurfers
marty306
Rare Poster
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:08 pm
Local Beach: garretstown, inchydony
Favorite Beaches: garretstown, inchydony
Style: freestyle
Gear: slingshot
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Long Distance Kitesurf

Postby marty306 » Sun Apr 14, 2013 6:01 pm

Hello All,

Any info would be great. I am thinking of undertaking a long distance Kitesurf for charity. Nothing too extreme. Thinking 100 - 150km would be doable? I have been kitesurfing for 3 years and am 34 years old. Is it best to go directly downwind or slightly cross wind. obviously I will have a rescue boat with me with different size kites incase of wind change. what are the other things I should plan for. which board would be best suited. Twin tip or surf. Was thinkin twin tip so I could ride toeside for a break? Any information at all would be great as I don't know much about long distance kiting and am trying to figure out what the possibilities are.

Thankin you

User avatar
ChristoffM
Medium Poster
Posts: 196
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2011 5:26 pm
Local Beach: Langebaan and Cape Town.
Favorite Beaches: Anywhere in the Cape, South Africa.
Style: Hydrofoils! (And surf and old school)
Gear: Cape Town Foilboard and Spotz hydrofoils.
Any kite that can keep up with the hydrofoils.
Brand Affiliation: Cape Town Foilboards
Location: Langebaan (Cape Town)
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0
Contact:

Re: Long Distance Kitesurf

Postby ChristoffM » Sun Apr 14, 2013 7:50 pm

Have you got some experience on a surfboard? I find it much less tiring than a twintip for both normal and toeside riding. And riding a surfboard strapless is even less tiring for me.

Do some medium distance downwinders to train if you can, and see what works the best.

I think straight downwind would be least tiring since you can ride 50% on each tack. Staying on one tack for a long time is very tiring on any board.

plummet
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 6819
Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2009 11:25 pm
Local Beach: EE
Favorite Beaches: NZ
Style: Terrain riding
Gear: Old wornout ozone.
Plummet hydrofoil and mutant
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 224 times

Re: Long Distance Kitesurf

Postby plummet » Sun Apr 14, 2013 9:43 pm

Yes indeed 150km will be hard but easily achievable. The world record for 24hr is 400+km

DONT go directly downwind! thats very difficult. go broach reach. cross wind with a slight down wind angle.

That will give you speed and line tension.

Study your gear for comfort. if something annoys you or chaffs in a short 2-3 hr session it will be murder on the 10 hour long distance fest. This will be what kills your attempt if you haven't sorted your set up.

EG a seat harness is most likely better suited to long distance than a waist harness.

Look for a hydration pack like a camelback an ways to store food so its easily reached without stopping.

User avatar
davesails7
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2220
Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2007 7:36 pm
Kiting since: 2006
Weight: 75 kg
Local Beach: Virginia Beach
Style: Race
Gear: ML B3
R1V2 11. VMG 13, 15, 18
OR Mako 130x35
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 10 times
Been thanked: 22 times

Re: Long Distance Kitesurf

Postby davesails7 » Sun Apr 14, 2013 10:23 pm

The Cabrinha Transport was marketed as a good board for long distance kiting. In this video, they use it to cross the Bering Strait:


The Transport didn't seem to popular though, and they stopped making them after one year. Saw a few reviews saying they fell apart too.

Seems like a freerace board be the best long distance board. Full raceboards are a little faster, but your legs can't handle pushing against the big fins for 10 hours.

OzBungy
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2750
Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2005 11:35 am
Has thanked: 6 times
Been thanked: 219 times

Re: Long Distance Kitesurf

Postby OzBungy » Mon Apr 15, 2013 12:42 am

Kiteboards cruise at 25-30kph so 100-150km is 4-5 hours. Not all that hard if you're fit.

Cross wind is best. Slightly up or down wind is ok. Downwind is too hard on your back leg and too much of a general pounding at speed.

An Airush Sector is possibly the best allround board. Comfortable in all sorts of conditions, very stable and plenty of room to move around on so you can rest your feet and legs.

KiteloopKip
Rare Poster
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Apr 15, 2013 4:58 pm
Local Beach: Coakley Bay, East End Bay, Judith's Fancy, Great Pond
Favorite Beaches: Coakley Bay
Style: Freestyle and Wave Riding
Gear: Best (Kahoona,Cabo 9m, and Ts V2 Kites), North (Fuse 12m kite), Dakine Harnesses, Slingshot Twin Tips, and a Firewire Hellfire.
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Long Distance Kitesurf

Postby KiteloopKip » Mon Apr 15, 2013 6:40 pm

In regards to the board, I would recommend a large twin tip board like a 150cm such as the Best Breeze. I would also ride cross wind, because directly downwind or close to it puts strain on your stomach and hips after awhile. Good luck.


Return to “Kitesurfing”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot], Brent NKB, CaptainKook, Dave_5280, duddd, evan, Exal, Flyingseb, Google [Bot], ham-er, jyka, Kitemenn, mati, Matty V, SolarSet, tomato, Vivo3d, Yahoo [Bot] and 143 guests