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Kite for 18+ knots

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foilonfoil
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Re: Kite for 18+ knots

Postby foilonfoil » Fri Mar 02, 2018 8:37 pm

Foil wrote:
Fri Mar 02, 2018 6:09 pm
So a small kite with Massine range to cope with lulls and gusts and the wipeouts(slack line syndrome) that high waves add into the mix would be good for me.
Hood River, Oregon is famous for the summer West winds which blow hard all day long. Its a mecca for Windsurfing and Kiteboarding. "Normal" is 25kts-30kts average with gusty 10-15kt difference in gusts and lulls. There are close to zero foil kites on the water in mid summer and my preference is a LEI surf kite for these conditions which can float and handle the gusts. 7M LEI or 5M LEI are my choices when it really gets cranking but I am always considering rigging for the lulls with confidence and experience the kite can handle the gusts.

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Re: Kite for 18+ knots

Postby plummet » Fri Mar 02, 2018 8:48 pm

Pedro Marcos wrote:
Fri Mar 02, 2018 7:51 pm
plummet wrote:
Fri Mar 02, 2018 7:16 pm
Pedro Marcos wrote:
Fri Mar 02, 2018 7:13 pm

10-20 is a terrible wind, 20-35 its abit more acceptable :) But yes if its THAT gusty you cannot apply any table really.
Why? is awesome 8m wind on the hydrofoil!
No, awesome 8m wind is side-onshore 13-15 knots , for freeride that is :)
And therein lies the limitation inside your own mind! free yourself up to adapt your style to suit a wider wind range per kite size. Then you will have more fun during those sessions with shifty winds.

On a 10-20 knot session, i'll do Drexler style kite gymastics 10-13 knots. 13-16 ill roll with freeride style carving and wave riding. 16-20 i'll smash into jumps and speed carves, and general high speed tom foolery, ill probably pratice some foiling jybes etc because its good to practice that shit with more lift from the kite. I'll have an awesome session feeling amped.

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Pedro Marcos
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Re: Kite for 18+ knots

Postby Pedro Marcos » Fri Mar 02, 2018 9:08 pm

plummet wrote:
Fri Mar 02, 2018 8:48 pm
Pedro Marcos wrote:
Fri Mar 02, 2018 7:51 pm
plummet wrote:
Fri Mar 02, 2018 7:16 pm


Why? is awesome 8m wind on the hydrofoil!
No, awesome 8m wind is side-onshore 13-15 knots , for freeride that is :)
And therein lies the limitation inside your own mind! free yourself up to adapt your style to suit a wider wind range per kite size. Then you will have more fun during those sessions with shifty winds.

On a 10-20 knot session, i'll do Drexler style kite gymastics 10-13 knots. 13-16 ill roll with freeride style carving and wave riding. 16-20 i'll smash into jumps and speed carves, and general high speed tom foolery, ill probably pratice some foiling jybes etc because its good to practice that shit with more lift from the kite. I'll have an awesome session feeling amped.

I cant really adapt to "shi**y" winds, because i rarely have those, so when i have, they will remain "shi**y". :) But good to know its possible to adapt to them and have fun.

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Re: Kite for 18+ knots

Postby Pedro Marcos » Fri Mar 02, 2018 9:12 pm

Maybe i should take a variable out of my 18+ knots kite search: i rarely have gusty conditions on my spot :)

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Re: Kite for 18+ knots

Postby Peter_Frank » Sat Mar 03, 2018 12:10 am

The crazy wind conditions a few of you guys got and describe, sounds really horrible :o :o :o

Amazed you can ride in this and find it good, respect, truly :wink:

I think the far majority of kitesurfers usually ride in winds somewhat or a lot more consistent than that, luckily.

Here in Denmark such winds dont really happen, nor in all the spots I have ridden in Europe and South Africa over the years - the closest thing is riding directly behind the spinning blades of wind turbines, can be a nightmare :worry:

8) Peter

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Re: Kite for 18+ knots

Postby Foil » Mon Mar 05, 2018 9:45 am

This thread made me rethink my choice of kite yesterday, the wind yet again was super gusty as we have been experiencing unusual offshore winds, maximum peak gusts were 20knts or slightly more lulls were 8-10 knts with completely no wind for short periods.
Some foilers rigged for the gusts and went out with 8mtr kites, they struggled to maintain ground upwind near to shore as they had to spend time bearing off to maintain flight, and then Inthe very light wind thier kites were down for a long time, so the 3 of us left on shore had a discussion and I said I would go out on my 12mtr as I did not want to come back in on the rescue boat.
I needed to know the top end of this kite anyways, and the conditions were perfect for this.
The others agreed 12 MTR could work better and we all had rescue cover if we got it wrong.
As it happened our 12mtr kites were fantastic, fully depowered they kept us upwind and moving very quickly at times scary fast over the 6ft wave sets coming over the reef, but coming back in fully powered up was the best, everyone who went out ended up in the rescue boat as the wind did die to nothing at all, but I was the last one on the boat, my 12mtr Reo was brilliant at all times even when there was next to nothing and I was teasing it off the water,
Next time I will think rig for the lulls.

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Re: Kite for 18+ knots

Postby jumptheshark » Mon Mar 05, 2018 1:55 pm

I hope the rescue boat is funded by and for kiters as apposed to simply a public safety service funded by taxes. Otherwise the only message I can take from this is that you guys are seriously irresponsible. If its a club boat.... no worries, head out there in dying off shore breeze all you like, but if not, your choice of kite is not the issue. Opting to go at all is.

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Re: Kite for 18+ knots

Postby Foil » Tue Mar 06, 2018 9:45 am

jumptheshark wrote:
Mon Mar 05, 2018 1:55 pm
I hope the rescue boat is funded by and for kiters as apposed to simply a public safety service funded by taxes. Otherwise the only message I can take from this is that you guys are seriously irresponsible. If its a club boat.... no worries, head out there in dying off shore breeze all you like, but if not, your choice of kite is not the issue. Opting to go at all is.
There are 3 beaches here on Fuerterventura that have rescue boats that you can pay a fee to before you go out, the one at Flag beach charges 35euro for a week's cover, unlimited pickups, with 3 rib boats, 2 large ones kept offshore mostly with thier schools, these are big powerful beasts capable of carrying around 12 with kit, the 3rd rib is kept on shore ready to go manned by 2 staff at the launch spot, smaller but on the spot all the time, if you do not pay your weekly fee they will pick you up for 100euro each time,
At Matas bay where the winds are off shore most of the time they have 4 jet ski rescue craft with 2 on the water most of the time, and 2 large rescue boats kept at the waters edge, here you pay 50 euros upfront fee, this gives you up to 3 rescues, if you don't pay this then they charge 150euro.
At Sotavento beach they have a similar charging fee to pay upfront with a much larger fee to pay if you decide not to bother (very silly) here the beach is massive with jetski rescue dotted along the beach with look out towers manned with kite center staff,
Relying on the public rescue services is not an option for me on a foil, one guy here on Flag beach will not pay the fee and he had a massive swim in with his gear against the wind, he was built like Arnold Swartzanager, and took around an hour to swim back, we were all in disbelief, the rescue guys said he has done it before and waves the rescue boat away if they offer a ride.

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Re: Kite for 18+ knots

Postby jumptheshark » Tue Mar 06, 2018 1:36 pm

Alright then, Ill just take my judgment elsewhere!

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Re: Kite for 18+ knots

Postby PD Gorby 67 » Tue Mar 06, 2018 2:25 pm

jumptheshark wrote:
Tue Mar 06, 2018 1:36 pm
Alright then, Ill just take my judgment elsewhere!
I had the same thought that you did, but it sounds like some places are well set up for kite rescues in offshore winds.

The unwritten rule at all of our local beaches is: If it is blowing offshore, you just don't go out. But we don't have any sort of kite specific rescue boat system in place.

It makes sense that schools and rental places would have these, since they can always set up in the same place, regardless of wind direction.


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