Up till now I've been just staying hooked in and letting the kite drift as I "slash around"… It's a 10m Dice BTW… These are lake rollers which can be 6-8 feet mainly which break into maybe 2-4 footers into foam and then I turn back out.
My experience unhooking has been by accident on my 9m Rev and all I remember was the kite just having massive power and me having to fly it overhead until I got in. I was less experienced then and not much into surfboards and waves.
I'd like to try unhooking the Dice and was wondering if anyone can offer some advice on how to unhook safely for the 1st time. I wonder if I should depower the kite fully or halfway? Should I do it when I'm on a big roller with fast down wind speed so I can hook back in before I go back out? Any tips appreciated - Thanks
Never tried it myself, but this video looks to be good tips for getting started. I get the sense that unhooking isn't as popular as it was. For one, with drifting wave kite, you don't get pulled out of the wave like older more direct power kites. Second, sliding harness hooks mean the pull isn't all from the front, hips can open up while still hooked in. But I could be wrong!
Trim in just enough that there is no stall and try it out first when your in the bottom end of the kites range. Guys like Felix who unhook in waves full time ride pretty small kites and they fly the kite aggressively rather than just let it drift. A 10m is pretty tough to fly around one handed, but you can certainly get a feel for it on the lighter days. A 7m is probably the right size to really get into it.
Just unhook, ride and hook back until you get used to the feeling and the handling. Don't overthink it. It is not hard, and once you get the hang of it, you will love it. I would ride unhooked all day if my hands could handle it. I don't do it myself because I'm not good riding waves, but I bet it is a hell of feeling riding waves unhooked.
straight side shore (to the wave) or a little tiny offshore is ideal. too much on or offshore is not really working right. wind direction makes a big difference in terms of if unhooked down the line is possible or not. down the line unhooked riding: set the kite slightly deep in the wind with usually a sharp turn and anywhere on the side usually 1/2 way up, so there is room for it to fall or for you to send it up and back down when necessary, then shred moving with it. the game is in moving with it at the right pace to keep the proper line tension (almost none most of the time, as the kite drifts dw) you are allowed to move your body way more freely for shredding, and your arm can extend way out, or be pulled way back into your body to maintain the line tension you need while you carve it up. there is no force in your hand when a kite is drifting. that is what drift really is. falling backward from a high point without "hindenburging" or whatever I guess counts too, but that isn't really it.
I would suggest trying it in the smaller sections of the wave or break at first. Like previously said wind direction helps a lot. Side shore is ideal as the kite flies itself. Practice practice and more practice but first you have unhook .
I appreciate the responses but I am perplexed with some comments. jats2k9 - you want me to just unhook without any specifics? And you're "just no good at waves"? Is this akin to a skydiving instructor skipping the training and saying "Go ahead and jump, you got the parachute, just chill out"?
bnthere, you had me until - "that is what drift really is. falling backward from a high point without "hindenburging" or whatever I guess counts too, but that isn't really it". The end part has got me scratching my head.
Another question - can anybody clarify why side shore is better? I know the angle of attack is straight back towards the beach on the wave. But what does that have to do with unhooking?
side shore (in relation to the direction of the wave face) is more ideal because you can ride at the kite with 0 power and minimal line tension and it is still allowed to fly because of its position in the wind. too much onshore and you are forced to continuously steer up and down to maintain tension and flying. too much offshore forces you to have to depower and use body weight against the kite to prevent yourself from getting launched out the back of the wave.
people have different ideas about what drift is. if you fly the kite at 12 and run or ride dw as fast as possible allowing it to "fall" back with basically slack lines some will fall back relatively nicely with you, others will drop LE down to the side easy or straight fall out of the sky LE into the wind and down. that is sort of a kind of drift characteristic. real drift is more like kite on side of wind 45degree-ish somewhat in power zone floating back without stall while you race at it. its a weird term/characteristic to qualify, and doesn't really even matter that much, the way you position the kite, and carve your turns to maintain proper (minimal) line tension is more important than magic drifting abilities of a kite.
Mark can you unhook without being on a wave and hook in again? Like on a flat section of water for instance. If not first get comfortable with that. The dice doesn't need any trim to unhook (if your front lines haven't stretched too much last factory settings) but maybe a little trim to start.
Not sure where you are at man, but you have to be comfortable just unhooking properly and hooking back in before you start blasting around in the waves.
The Ben Wilson video is great. Like he says, if you and the kite have the same speed, no problem, if different, get ready to go for the chicken loop.
Biggest challenge for wave riding (for me) is side onshore when I want to loop the kite to redirect it. Just make sure you keep ridding straight toward your kite.
But don't make too much of it. Just watch the video and start unhooking without the wave first.
.