Some may have seen this, but kiting in stormy conditions, this may save you a kitemare!!
Select to expand quoteTHE PIN PULLER said..
Always rig for the lulls and hold on from there is were it's at down my local.
Ive been caught out so many times with that, winter is really a gamble, winds generally exceed what's been predicted , I use a visual, if a frontal looking cloud approaches it's been pushed along, here you get a lull which changes to strong winds then mental as it reaches its peak settling as the horizon clears, just be prepared to either sit it out or hang on, no chart or prediction can be trusted with winter frontals
Rig for the lulls is how people die.
Rig for the wind range. Take a kite/board combo out that can handle max gust to max lull.
The old windsurfing saying was "Choose your sail for the gusts and the board for the lulls.". I've used that for years kiteboarding and it works pretty well. A larger board glides through the lulls and a smaller kite handles the bigger gusts.
It works even better with a hydrofoil where you can get going with a ridiculously small kite and just keep riding no matter what the wind does.
My policy for squalls has generally been to ride out to sea to meet them. That way you're a long way from land and hard stuff that might hurt you. If it's really bad then sit in the water with the kite at the edge of the window. I've seen people getting dragged all over the beach trying to land a kite in the middle of a squall.
Squalls in Melbourne generally only last 10-15 minutes so you can sit them out then ride on. If things are totally out of control then it's better to release the kite in the water a few hundred metres out.
Select to expand quoteGorgo said..
The old windsurfing saying was "Choose your sail for the gusts and the board for the lulls.". I've used that for years kiteboarding and it works pretty well. A larger board glides through the lulls and a smaller kite handles the bigger gusts.
It works even better with a hydrofoil where you can get going with a ridiculously small kite and just keep riding no matter what the wind does.
My policy for squalls has generally been to ride out to sea to meet them. That way you're a long way from land and hard stuff that might hurt you. If it's really bad then sit in the water with the kite at the edge of the window. I've seen people getting dragged all over the beach trying to land a kite in the middle of a squall.
Squalls in Melbourne generally only last 10-15 minutes so you can sit them out then ride on. If things are totally out of control then it's better to release the kite in the water a few hundred metres out.
That's good advice.
Select to expand quoteGorgo said..
The old windsurfing saying was "Choose your sail for the gusts and the board for the lulls.". I've used that for years kiteboarding and it works pretty well. A larger board glides through the lulls and a smaller kite handles the bigger gusts.
It works even better with a hydrofoil where you can get going with a ridiculously small kite and just keep riding no matter what the wind does.
Agree. Foiling is great for marginal winter winds. At 100 kg with a 6m i can comfortably foil in 15-20 knots, but still easily handle the kite if a 30-40 knot front were to come through.
