Following a Yacht on a kite - questions

[nicor]

I've sailed my whole life, race and cruising, and I wouldn't recommend this.

I would think you would be able to keep up, assuming the sailboat wasn't pointing too high (going upwind), but the self launching off a sailboat with no experience and no experienced kiters around is a mistake. Most people can't self launch properly in shallow water when you need to wrap up your lines first to get into the drink. Sailboats don't have a lot of clear area: full of lines, winches, stays, tracks...etc. You only get one chance to self launch properly in this type of situation, otherwise you have a big mess on your hands. Landing might be difficult too depending how windy it is.

I suggest you bring your kite stuff and hit the beach when you stop. Better yet, if possible ask the captain to bring you to a proper spot if there is some flexibility in the route.

[Vin Stefanelli]

I totally love kiting around in boat traffic

but

the logistics of kiting along
with your sail tour yacht
during a 'travel session'

will likely be challenging.

you will have plenty of fun kiting
at an anchorage session
and find other boats that are coming and going to follow

[OzBungy]

We frequently go sailing with friends on their 40' cat. We used to take kiting gear (and we might do it again) but for now we just commit to being sailors for the time we are out.

One thing nobody has mentioned is that you are generally looking for a sheltered mooring when you drop the anchor. That means offshore winds and possibly hills to hide behind.

The only way to get some wind to launch in is to moor the yacht in place where you can walk or motor a dinghy to a beach with some wind. In Fiji we launched from a sand bar in the middle of nowhere at low tide.

The other thing is that most dinghies on yachts have crappy little underpowered outboard motors. If you get in difficulty then they will take ages to get to you. Alternatively they will have to haul up the anchor and drive the yacht to get to you. 6 knots is fast for a motoring yacht.

Finally, once the yacht is under way and heading somewhere it is a bit of a pain to stop. You better have your destination and pick plans and backup plans well sorted before you head off.

[jrfiol]

Faster than a yacht in open sea for a few hours... Not

those big yachts are pretty slow. for instance the beneteau 49 will go 10 knots in a reach with wind speed 20 knots. if you can't go faster than 10 knots in chop when it's blowing 20 on a reach for a few hours well . . . . at 30 knots the beneteau 49 blazes at a speedy 11 knots in a reach, 7 knots if it has to go a bit upwind. cruiser yachts are pleasure craft not race horses. hull speed is important here, a 50 foot boat has a hull speed of 1.34 * square root (50) or 9.5 knots. They don't get on a plane, and can't go much faster than hull speed.

A few hours
Open sea
Yacht will be streching legs, kiter will be beat. Just opinon, lifelong sailor

[overboard]

I have kited off yachts a few times in the past using foil kites. Having a wet foil kite on a yacht is a pain so we have developed a system that keeps the kite dry most of the time when landing it. My mate on the yacht stows the sails and uses the yacht engine to control the yacht keeping the back of the yacht into wind. In this position the yacht is very stable and he can use the engine to power upwind or down wind without hardly touching the wheel. He can therefore easily position the yacht to keep me and the kite on the beam. As I approach the yacht I drop the kite low and drop back into the sea with the board still on my feet so that I can approach the yacht slowly. The aim is to land the kite on the foredeck so the mate adjusts the yacht position up or down wind to line the kite up while I keep the kite low while being dragged through the water. If the kite is not going to hit the foredeck I can always steer it up, drag out and have another go. When it does reach the foredeck the crew grab it and I start winding in the lines, tie them off and the crew haul the bar on board before they recover me. It is a good idea to wear a helmet as when you are messing around close to a yacht there is a good chance of bumping your head on the hull.

For launching I have the kite set up with the lines attached and folded in a way so that I know there are no tangles. With all sails down and the yacht under engine I hook onto the bar and pay out the lines behind the yacht. I then get three or four crew members to hold the kite over the stern of the yacht so the wind inflates it. The mate turns the yacht into wind and reduces the speed to as slow as possible and I grab the kite brake lines. Once the yacht is going slow enough the crew let go of the kite which flops over into the water on its back, due to me holding the brake lines which I then release. The kite floats away from the yacht over the flying lines until they are fully extended when a good pull on the front lines should get it airbourne. If there are any problems I will be in the water with the kite and the crew will launch the dinghy to sort out the kite.

Once you have a kite in the air if you get tired of kitesurfing then you can always go dinghy surfing. We have so far clocked 4.5kts from a basic flat bottomed rubber dinghy with a kite but have so far failed to get one on the plane. With a flat bottomed dinghy there is a problem with directional stability so a rib would be much better. It would be good to get the dinghy going faster than the yacht. If anyone has managed this then I would be interested to how it is done without nose diving the dinghy.

[Slappysan]

People have mentioned it but it's worth repeating:

The boat will be able to sail at a 45-55 degree angle in to the wind, so even if it's only going 10 knots it can be going 8 knots upwind.

Unless you are on a big fin board you'll probably be maxing out around 25 degrees in to the wind which means you would need to be doing 19 knots just to keep up.

[jrfiol]

Faster than a yacht in open sea for a few hours... Not

those big yachts are pretty slow. for instance the beneteau 49 will go 10 knots in a reach with wind speed 20 knots. if you can't go faster than 10 knots in chop when it's blowing 20 on a reach for a few hours well . . . . at 30 knots the beneteau 49 blazes at a speedy 11 knots in a reach, 7 knots if it has to go a bit upwind. cruiser yachts are pleasure craft not race horses. hull speed is important here, a 50 foot boat has a hull speed of 1.34 * square root (50) or 9.5 knots. They don't get on a plane, and can't go much faster than hull speed.

Im just saying there is a spectrum, but let's put it this way,

If we match best out of 5 you one a twin tip with whatever kite, me on your beneteau from Fajardo to Culebra (Puerto Rico in the Atlantic), i'll win every time.

I am also not saying its not doable nor fun, just that there is a spectrum. Like for example, the Captain of this yacht may be into the whole project. Good Luck!

[jackie]

well, thank you all for sharing your experience.. I am not really reassured about this plan after reading all this but I will just see how it goes I am well aware that the yacht is able to go upwind way better than me .. but I just want to pick a time when the yacht is not going to go upwind and follow it downwind, I do not intend to have any competition with it.. like have a downwinder with the yacht picking you up at the end. I will try to give it a go and see how it goes... maybe the lines get tangled on the first take off and I will have to wait for a beach to get them sorted, but I have to at least give it a try now. And I am going for the drifting launch and self-rescue type packing up in the water, I don't want to go into any mess of trying to land the kite on the yacht or launch it from there. Now lets talk to the captain what he thinks about it