IMO, I think gybing might be a more generalized term in kitesurfing than sailing.
In sailing, when the wind coming from behind the boat, the process of moving the sail from one side of the boat to the other is gybing and with a moving boom can be quite dangerous. In strong winds, a boat can be thrown all over the place in the process.
In kitesurfing, we would effectively be doing a gybe during a downwinder each time we swung from one side of the kite to the other. If you are using a TT or SB and not swapping the leading foot, you would effectively be carving healside to toeside and back again behind the kite.
If you were using a race board or SB and swapping the leading foot, then I imagine each time you swung to the other side of the kite, you would swap to the other side of the board.
Here is a vid of a two different ways to gybe a surfboard....
That's a good video.... it both inspires and magnifies my already large feeling of underachieving ;-)
BG: there's a beach infamous in Vic for being gusty, with significant wind-dead-spots that leaves you and your kite clambering over sharp reef (I have foot based scares to prove it).
I can sort of do 'sent jumps to my left, but not right, so decided for some reason to try it for the first time in said 'dead spot'. Buried the nose of the board on take off causing a powered up face plant lost my board (temporarily) off my feet. So began the dicey body drag up wind....
Still, on the plus side, got to practice my body drag in dicey conditions and got my board back (unlike someone else there that day) so it's a good lesson learned, kind of...
Select to expand quoteSaltySinus said..
BG: there's a beach infamous in Vic for being gusty, with significant wind-dead-spots that leaves you and your kite clambering over sharp reef (I have foot based scares to prove it).
I can sort of do 'sent jumps to my left, but not right, so decided for some reason to try it for the first time in said 'dead spot'. Buried the nose of the board on take off causing a powered up face plant lost my board (temporarily) off my feet. So began the dicey body drag up wind....
Still, on the plus side, got to practice my body drag in dicey conditions and got my board back (unlike someone else there that day) so it's a good lesson learned, kind of...
OOOUUUCCCCCCHHHHHH!!!!! :-(
Love the end note of positivity....that's a great attitude! Even my worse sessions there is still something positive to take away from them :-)
Lessons learnt today: having asked for a launch, i carefully moved the kite towards twelve and was quite surprised when kite hit twelve and proceeded to move rapidly to 2 oclock. With a quick correction i rapidly moved to twelve again and more surprisingly through to ten and flew forward five metres. I reduced my input into the next correction and slowly oscillated to 12 oclock.
At twelve I was experiencing way more lift than i thought the wind should give me so i went to "trim" the kite and reduce the lift. At this point i was quite surprised that i could not reach the trim strap anymore. I tried five times. I even jumped to reach it!!!!! (Stupid!!!)
At this point i noticed i had become unhooked. Aaahhh!!!!
Thanks to the dude who hooked me back in and special thanks to kitepower guy who recommended the short leash if i had no intention of unhooking (pretty sure having a longer leash would have meant PAIN).
Lesson 1: make sure you really hook yourself in.
Lesson 2: a safety leash is still a good idea even if you have a cabrinha IDS with all 27 emergency releases
Lesson 3: a short leash is great if you are not unhooking
Hey Bigtone... ah, I've been there, trimming my kite in the water, only to have it unhook... the joy.
As a general rule, you should launch the kite depowered, and turn the power on... or at least that's what I find works for me. Also check you donkey penis is in the loop correctly...
yep, the Cabs have 27 emergency releases that seem unnatural to me, but seem to work very well for many.
I went out today and managed not to completely fail. Also have vastly improved my upwind reach thanks to a new board and renewed concentration.
Select to expand quoteSaltySinus said..
I went out today and managed not to completely fail. Also have vastly improved my upwind reach thanks to a new board and renewed concentration.
I struggled big time on TT going upwind. So I tried a surfboard and haven't looked back at all. I now flick between a North Nugget and a Slingshot Tyrant depending on the amount of chop (The nugget is a bit slappy in a lot of chop which is typical for Kurnell).
But I decided to go and try a TT again on wednesday cause I really want to try jumping. I get up okay but just keep pushing out the back end of board and skipping across the water. Very frustrating.
This next few weeks (or probably months) will be me working on jibing on a directional (complete fail at the moment) and staying upright on a TT with teany tiny jumps.
Good on you bigtone. Might be worth giving a TT a go on a down winder and winding on the edging. Sounds like you're either over powered or edging too hard too fast.
Try going 45 degrees to the wind with a gentle edge, then 60 degrees, etc. until you're going over 90 degrees to the kite, ie up wind.
I've spent literally months just not getting it. The board has made a big difference for me (Jaime Pro (although I'm not Pro!).
Jumping is certainly fun...
Lesson Learnt:
Managed to get out for a rare kite the other day and when the wind picked up I tried a bit of boosting. Normally I land these 80% of the time, but for some reason I just couldn't land a single jump and begun to get frustrated. I kept swinging in under the kite and landing off balance. At first I thought I was just having a bad day, but then I realised I'd forgotten one of the most basic kite surfing tips. Spot your landing. As I got more and more frustrated I kept looking up at my kite to see where I was going wrong in the jump. By the time I looked down to spot my landing I was already off balance (the body follows the head). After I realised my mistake I didn't look at my kite at all during the boost and landed just about every time. I wish I had remembered this when I started learning to boost. I remember the same feeling of being off balance by the time I hit the water.
So my advice to new boosters. Watch the kite on the first few attemps, but once you have the kite action down, focus on the water and you'll pick it up much faster.
Great Tip acitta. I'll certainly try that next time I'm out. I'm about 80% successful at landing to my natural side, and 100% unsuccessful at landing switch. I'm burying the nose of the board when I land a jump switch side (I think my brain is trying to imitate the land position when I'm going the other way).
Lesson learned from weekend. If you do your first 'massive boost' (I hear it was > 2m heigh), it's important to focus on landing, rather than patting yourself on the back about how awesomely high you are!
I havent been kiting very much lately but had a good session yesterday. My feet and my calf muscles got so damn sore from absorbing chop and holding an edge! I could only go about 300 or 400m out before I was forced to turn back out of sheer pain in my back foot / leg - then on the return trip have the same same problem on my new back leg. I need to start doing excercises to prevent this.
I've beeen running a 5km circuit just about everyday during the week through winter and still now, but it's obviously not enough. Besides kiting more regularly (which is what I will be doing), do you guys do anything else to increase your strength & stamina on the water? I'm thinking squats and stair climbs.
Well one of dudes at Newcastle organised a downwinder yesterday from Redhead to Blacksmith Beach. I was bit concerned (nervous) about whether or not I could even go downwind (seeing I exclusively practice staying upwind except when I fall off!!!). About ten kiters turned up and we had a nice NE breeze and it was just awesome.
For a newbie, I think this is probably the best single moment I have had to practice healside and toeside turns over and over and over again. I would have done at 50+ carving turns.
And having the opportunity to surf down swell and then mix it up in the waves was fantastic as well.
Hey Phoney, if you search youtube for kitesurfing fitness, you'll see plenty there! Only thing is, it's a tad hardcore.
I've started to do a minor warm-up ahead of going out, I do a couple of squats (don't) on my board with my feet in... but this is because I'm secretly building up to my first backroll, and believe I need to squat and push off to back roll.
Thanks Salty. Christ there are plenty! A pre-kite stretch is a good idea too. Would help avoid you cramping up I imagine.
Aye. and I often suffer from foot cramps (esp. given the cold VIC bay temperatures, and my precious nature), and have found a few squats help that too!
Okay, so, lesson one. going strapless on a directional is harder than it looks. Especially riding switch... felt like a shiny learner again...
Lesson two: I can, just, handle my 12m in 30knot gusts.
Lesson three: St Kilda is busy...
Salty, it will not take you long to crack strapless, especially when the wind is grunty (Makes your feet stick a little better).
You and I must have shared the same thirty knot gusts today. We had a wicked westerly that would explode, then stop, then explode again. My ten metre kite actually folded in half before snapping back to shape!!! I was waiting for the rear lines to tear off. It was hilarious.
Select to expand quoteSaltySinus said..
Okay, so, lesson one. going strapless on a directional is harder than it looks. Especially riding switch... felt like a shiny learner again...
One of the nice dudes at Kurnell said i needed to get my weight over my front foot when riding switch. Worked a treat.
thanks Tone. My issue is keeping the board there long enough to get up on without a wave washing it away. I'm totally being unco... just need more practice!
Select to expand quoteSaltySinus said..
thanks Tone. My issue is keeping the board there long enough to get up on without a wave washing it away. I'm totally being unco... just need more practice!
I have found I am awesome going switch one way and completely unco the other .... Very funny to watch. I am definitely "natural"
Hey all, not a lesson but I was hoping there would be some tips on keeping the kite inc rest of gear cleaned/maintained. Anyone got a good process after finishing with the kite at location and when you get home?
Also, any tips of keeping the car clean and free from sand?
Sorry if this has been posted before, but I haven't had the chance to read all pages. TIA
Select to expand quoteflyty said..
Hey all, not a lesson but I was hoping there would be some tips on keeping the kite inc rest of gear cleaned/maintained. Anyone got a good process after finishing with the kite at location and when you get home?
Also, any tips of keeping the car clean and free from sand?
Sorry if this has been posted before, but I haven't had the chance to read all pages. TIA
IMO
1. Wash your bar and lines in fresh water leave them to drip dry out of the sun
2. Hang up your wetsuit and just let it drip dry out the sun again (the sun really kills a wetsuit). Put it away as soon as it is dry.
3. A kite damp from salt water isn't a big deal, not much chance of mould
4. A kite damp from fresh water should be dried to avoid mould
5. If i get heaps of sand with a wet kite, i will hang it to dry when home and i try get the sand away from leading edge/canopy joins etc. The abrasion from the sand will quickly wreck a kite.
Sure there is more...
Select to expand quotebigtone667 said..flyty said..
Hey all, not a lesson but I was hoping there would be some tips on keeping the kite inc rest of gear cleaned/maintained. Anyone got a good process after finishing with the kite at location and when you get home?
Also, any tips of keeping the car clean and free from sand?
Sorry if this has been posted before, but I haven't had the chance to read all pages. TIA
IMO
1. Wash your bar and lines in fresh water leave them to drip dry out of the sun
2. Hang up your wetsuit and just let it drip dry out the sun again (the sun really kills a wetsuit). Put it away as soon as it is dry.
3. A kite damp from salt water isn't a big deal, not much chance of mould
4. A kite damp from fresh water should be dried to avoid mould
5. If i get heaps of sand with a wet kite, i will hang it to dry when home and i try get the sand away from leading edge/canopy joins etc. The abrasion from the sand will quickly wreck a kite.
Sure there is more...
Great tips and awesome info. Thanks
so i had a pretty decent session today on my 11m in 15knt winds at applex (my 3rd on my own so far), able to get up and ride on my normal stance ok, but always seem to go slow have low power and the lines go slack, my board is pointed 45 deg down wind, so diagonal downwind and i'm trying to keep my legs straight. i fly the kite up and down but i always go so slow, maybe i gotta focus more on my posture and fly the kite more aggressively and i'm too hunched over, arms to close in. focusing on pushing bar out on up and pull in on down stoke.. or.... could i be going to much down wind?
contrary to this, when i start on goofy i seem to be able to park the kite at 2, get a good edge and almost ride cross wind/upwind until i run out of water.. its really weird, guess it could be down to feeling more scared on goofy so i dig my heels in more and this help fly the kite better...
guess it just down to practice.. and not get frustrated..
Select to expand quotebigtone667 said..
Lessons learnt today: having asked for a launch, i carefully moved the kite towards twelve and was quite surprised when kite hit twelve and proceeded to move rapidly to 2 oclock. With a quick correction i rapidly moved to twelve again and more surprisingly through to ten and flew forward five metres. I reduced my input into the next correction and slowly oscillated to 12 oclock.
At twelve I was experiencing way more lift than i thought the wind should give me so i went to "trim" the kite and reduce the lift. At this point i was quite surprised that i could not reach the trim strap anymore. I tried five times. I even jumped to reach it!!!!! (Stupid!!!)
At this point i noticed i had become unhooked. Aaahhh!!!!
Thanks to the dude who hooked me back in and special thanks to kitepower guy who recommended the short leash if i had no intention of unhooking (pretty sure having a longer leash would have meant PAIN).
Lesson 1: make sure you really hook yourself in.
Lesson 2: a safety leash is still a good idea even if you have a cabrinha IDS with all 27 emergency releases
Lesson 3: a short leash is great if you are not unhooking
If you unhook by accident you will find it very difficult to hang on to the bar as you will be pulling on maximum power. Grab the chicken loop and let go of the bar - this depowers the kite and allows you to keep pulling the chicken loop down and back onto your harness hook. Once you are rehooked you can immediately grab the bar to steer the kite back to where you want it.
Select to expand quotePeterc150 said..bigtone667 said..
Lessons learnt today: having asked for a launch, i carefully moved the kite towards twelve and was quite surprised when kite hit twelve and proceeded to move rapidly to 2 oclock. With a quick correction i rapidly moved to twelve again and more surprisingly through to ten and flew forward five metres. I reduced my input into the next correction and slowly oscillated to 12 oclock.
At twelve I was experiencing way more lift than i thought the wind should give me so i went to "trim" the kite and reduce the lift. At this point i was quite surprised that i could not reach the trim strap anymore. I tried five times. I even jumped to reach it!!!!! (Stupid!!!)
At this point i noticed i had become unhooked. Aaahhh!!!!
Thanks to the dude who hooked me back in and special thanks to kitepower guy who recommended the short leash if i had no intention of unhooking (pretty sure having a longer leash would have meant PAIN).
Lesson 1: make sure you really hook yourself in.
Lesson 2: a safety leash is still a good idea even if you have a cabrinha IDS with all 27 emergency releases
Lesson 3: a short leash is great if you are not unhooking
If you unhook by accident you will find it very difficult to hang on to the bar as you will be pulling on maximum power. Grab the chicken loop and let go of the bar - this depowers the kite and allows you to keep pulling the chicken loop down and back onto your harness hook. Once you are rehooked you can immediately grab the bar to steer the kite back to where you want it.
Thanks, sadly that only occurred to me after the event.... but it was the first tiime this had ever happened to me and I must admit it scared me at the time.
I have unhooked while launching on a number of occasions. All of them being self-lanches!
If you keep calm and grab the chicken loop all is good! In fact, the legendary Franz Orly is known to only launch his kite UNhooked, for reasons of safety. He launches holding the chicken loop in one hand and the bar in the other.
