Hello
"crash&burn",
I am very sorry about what happened to your kite, but like you said it was not the kite's fault but huge waves. Things like that happens and you are one of the non lucky ones and I am very sorry about this.
This is an easy fix. You can send it to AIRTIME and they will do a great job fixing it. And from what I see on the picture this is the 2010 Renegade 6. For 2011 we did add more reinforcement on the struts in order to make it even stronger then before.
Now concerning flying the RENEGADE 6 in 45 knots. This is too much wind for the RENEGADE 6. The Renegade 6 has tons of power and in very gusty winds like you mention up to 45 knots it will play you around because it has more canopy then the kite you are use to fly and it is a lower aspect kite.
This is the reason why I came up with the JUNIOR PRO 4. This is the kite I use in wind from 28 to 45 knots +++. This kite will behave way better then the RENEGADE 6 in 45 knots and gusty because it has less canopy and higher aspect ration, so it won't jerk you around. Yes it was designed for my son Cameron who is 8 years old but what makes this kite special for Kids is because of the BAR. So if you are interested in a smaller kite, then the JUNIOR PRO 4 will be the call for winds from 30 to 45 knots, but get the kite only not the JUNIOR PRO bar. This bar was made for kids. Use the "XTEND BAR" for the JP 4 kite.
P.S. I have used the JUNIOR PRO 4 on a surf board in 18-22 knots and was working good but had to work the kite a lot while other riders where on Renegade 9 & 6, Screamer 9 & 7.
I have used the RENEGADE 6 in 38 to 48 knots but had it on 20 meter lines. I was way over powered and it was not that gusty so the kite was not jerking me around like it did to you. The 20 meter lines helped. That is why for 2011 we will add an extra set of 15 meter lines in the bag but only for the RENEGADE kites. So you can use these short lines if you get over powered on your 22 meter lines and don't have a smaller kite to use. By using 15 meter lines on your RENEGADE kites it will reduce the power and will feel like a way smaller kite. So my recommendation if you want to save money will be to invest in 15 meter lines first. But it won't be a bad idea to get the JUNIOR PRO 4 kite either.
If you need more help please do not hesitate to contact me at
dimitri@epickites.com