andkite, that is a very good post regarding bar recovery after disabling the kite.

those techniques are spot on. i like how you include information regarding preparedness to re-release as the lines reset tension in case of line tangles or snags on the kite. that is very important to impart to people (knowledge of likely situations to be prepared for potential problems, and how to be ready to deal with them)

Yep Bille....that's how the North 5th line works.

The kite releases onto a single front line and is harmless - fully flagged out, no power.

Then if you want to relaunch from the water, just put your CL back together if you released it, get the bar back and away you go again.

If you're packing down from this flagged position in the water, simply wrap the 5th on the bar a few times then wind all lines together as normal. No tangles....

Thanks. I do know the procedure by heart, we teach each and every student this and we have had a few of those passing through the school.

Blatantly grabbing and resetting the CL may work, but may also get you in trouble as the kite will start pulling and resetting the flag/5th line as soon as you grab the CL. If you are not fast enough resetting the CL you may end up with a fully powered kite holding on to the CL. If you are lucky you just let go of the CL and retry. If you are unlucky flag/5th line has caught on to something (leg, arm, harness, board..) or you have some other tangle, and you may be in bigger problem.

Of course, experienced kiters may be able to see if lines are fine or not, and thus can take the decision wether to to full recovery procedure or "short version" but it is dangerous to teach/show this as it may become dangerous for the unlucky/unexperienced.

Any kite using a full lenght 5th line is essentially the same as a front line flagging kite. Same technique can and should be used.

tks bnthere, I dont ride naish so I wasnt sure about that one. So to summarize,

for 4 line kites as of 2012

Y-mini-5th line quick release: cabrinha, best, north, airush, epic, switch, gk, core, ocean rodeo

single center line flag out: ozone, slingshot, liquid force, wainman, blade, naish

I don't want to comment on older kite control bars because it would take a spreadsheet to get all the details right.

Bille if you have single center line flag out if you don't want the bar to shoot all the way up put one of these



With a short piece of line figure 8 knotted and then larks headed and lock stitched 10 meters up on your line. It will stop the bar and if you attach it correctly won't decrease line strength. This is what ozone uses on their flag out line.