Ecoastprock wrote:Also I have been wondering about the approach y'all use when chasing down a wave. Generally when I'm tacking out ill eye down a set from the outside then turn and try to position myself while the wave is hitting the sand and beginning to break.
As it starts to break I set my bottom turn and ride the was as I would if I were just surfing normally. I tend to focus more on the wave and usually forget about the kite If it's not pulling me out of position.
Other times, I will be riding upwind inside the breaking waves and see a good section on the outside. I usually race up to the wave send the kite from 3 to 9 o'clock and try to smash it. With this approach I tend to his get one big hit and find I harder to ride down the line but the hit really solid.
I've noticed myself having the same problem.
I think that what is happening is that when you are inside the breaking waves, spot a good one approaching, and rush up to meet it, then you end up hitting it with
too much speed and power, so to speak. As you say, that makes for a really solid hit off the lip, but with all that power and speed it is then hard to slow down and actually surf the wave down the line after your initial hit. Basically, it is hard to get rid of all that power in the kite when you approach with speed.
Meanwhile, when I'm on the outside and find a promising set coming in, I usually place myself in front of the building wave and what typically happens is that I end up edging hard upwind in order to slow down and let the wave "catch up" with me. As a result, I've already bled off most power from the kite by the time the wave catches me. It is then pretty easy to depower the kite completely, forget about the kite, and simply surf the wave like you would surf any wave without a kite.
I am trying to teach myself how to moderate my speed and power when approaching waves from the inside, but it's tough. Conversely, I find that when catching small waves from the outside, I sometimes slow down so much that I fail to catch the wave (i.e., the wave passes underneath me without me being able to start riding it). It is obviously a balancing act.
I'm sure that riders with more experience, or with pure wave kites, may not have this problem. My kites (mainly Wainmans) are a bit grunty, so bleeding off power can be a challenge after you gain too much speed.
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Marley