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Trivial Tips and Other Tips
These are the trivial tips and other tips
for kitesurfing compiled by Chris Glazier in 2001 (from the messages posted on the Kitesurfing
group). If you have any other compiled tips to add, please send us an email.
- Trivial tips for kitesurfing
- Tips on doing spins
- Tips on going upwind
- Tips on the wind window and
apparent wind
Trivial tips for kitesurfing
1. When winding your lines on your bar, use a figure 8 pattern rather than
just looping them in a circle. It keeps them from tangling when you unwind.
2. If you use a small hand pump on your inflatable, store it in something
protective. Pumps break easily if you just throw them in your kit bag. (I
use and old windsurfing mast base protector).
3. If you fly a foil kite, keep your bridle lines carefully organized when
you store your kite or you will get tangles. If possible, don't even
disconnect your flying lines.
4. You can clip your board leash onto your harness or spreader bar and not
bother with an ankle strap.
5. Rig your kite with red lines/bar on the left. Almost everybody does.
6. If you notice an interesting message on the kitesurf group, click
Favorites | Add to Favorties. Then you can easily get back and re-read that
message anytime.
7. To avoid the bladder twisting inside the leading edge of an inflatable
kite, lay out the kite with the leading edge flat and untwisted before
pumping it up.
...I find it sufficient to keep the middle 4 feet of the leading edge
straight while pumping.
8. If you use a four line system, when you disconnect the kite, tie the
flying line ends together (using the larks head loops) before you roll up
your lines. It keeps them from tangling.
9. Kite fabric patch material is available at most marine stores (spinnaker
repair tape). ..or tent repair tape from a sporting goods store..
10. If you are new to this sport, you should visit www.kitesurfingschool.org
11. Flying lines stretch. If you fly a 4 line kite, periodically check that
your front lines against you back ones and adjust your leader line knots to
compensate.
12. Rinse the inside of your wetsuit after every session and it wont stink.
13. Use a harness with a spreader bar that will not fall off completely when
you unhook one side. This helps during self rescue if you want to lie on
your board or kite.
14. Find a place in your harness for a hook knife or other stainless steel
knife.
15. Want to respond to a posted message privately? Just click on the email
address next to From. Then your reply will be sent to the individual and not
posted to the kitesurf group.
16. Looking for a bladder leak? Remove it and pump it up well. Some pinholes
don't leak much until there is significant air pressure.
17. Looking for a topic that might have been discussed before like helium
filled kites. Type 'helium' in the Search Archive box above and you'll find
old posts on that topic. PS. ..helium doesn't help!
18. On the large Wipika airblast pump, you can trim the nozzle tip so that it
has a larger opening - makes pumping much easier.
19. If you do not sail from a sandy beach, you can use a bag of birdseed or
kitty litter or dog food to secure the kite. Conveniently packaged in
strong plastic, 5 or 10 kg at your local supermarket.
...Somebody else suggested taking the liner out of a wine box & filling it with
water. That's cheaper & less "theft-worthy".
20. When de-rigging alone, land the kite on land, depower it with the
leash, and if your board is heavy enough, attach the leash to the board to
anchor the kite while you walk to it.
...Or if your board's too light, dig the fins into the ground & attach the
leash to the boardleash or back strap, so they dig themselves in, & just to
be safe, run your hand down the leashed line, in case it tries to take off.
21. Use common PVC electrical tape for quick waterproof repairs. I used a
piece over a small windsurfer board ding and it has lasted for years.
22. So it doesn't get creased at the same place each time, I sometimes roll the
kite from the very tips, sometimes around the tip batten, & sometimes with the
tips folded to the center.
23. If you make your own flying line end loops, tie them with figure 8 knots
so you will have half a chance at loosening them to adjust. Same reason to
use figure 8s instead of plain overhand half-hitches to put your lark's head
loops over.
24. You can clip you kite leash to your harness, and not bother with a wrist
strap.
25. If you put your harness around your kite (to keep it rolled), it's easier
to carry. And use your leash as a shoulder harness.
26. For deflating my inflatable. I roll one end in to the middle to get
the air out of the LE. Then I prop my board against the rolled up
portion. This prevents it from unrolling while I roll up the other
side (towards the middle). Simple but effective.
27. Are you afraid to ask a newbie question on the kitesurf group? Join the
ksurfschool group which specializes in helping beginners.
28. Soak your chicken loop trim line (the grey one that goes through the bar)
with candle wax, this will seal the line and keep sand out and it lubricates
the line so it lasts a lot longer. [Naish kites]
29. With Q-Power line, I took permemnent marker and marked my outer lines solid
with blue and red (which turned out orange and green) and then striped
the center lines. It is much easer to take out twists and tangles. If none of
this works for you, then at lease they would look snazy. :)
Updated 2002/04/11
>From Chris G.
Roland A.
Mel
Windman
Steve Mc.
Nick
Tips on doing spins
Messages posted on: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kitesurf
Assembled by Chris G. 2001/9/9
From: "Chris Glazier" <cglazier@home.com>
Date: Sun Sep 9, 2001 5:45 am
Subject: Spin advice please?
My attempts at spins seem to always end out of control and I crash
disoriented. Could anyone give me any tips please. Should I be
unhooked? (I am on ARX kites.) Maybe what I need is tips on how to
make my jumps more vertical and less horizontal.
Chris G
From: Peter Traykovski <ptraykovski@whoi.edu>
Date: Sun Sep 9, 2001 11:43 am
Subject: Re: [ksurf] Spin advice please?
I'm just starting to get spins down..well I still crash alot but I'm getting
the kite control down so even when I crash my body I keep the kite in the
air. What I found helped alot was taking out a trainer (or any two line small
kite) and flying behind my back..walking through spins on the beach..etc. A
couple hours of this gave me a much better feel for where the line tension
should be and which hand I should pull during the jump etc. You may want to
give this a try I know it sounds a bit weird.
And yeah vertical jumps are much better for these sorts of tricks than fast
horizontal ones. the landings are much less out of control in vert jumps. I
dont them hooked in but I think that is no so important however you fel you
have the best control on takeoff..for me that is hooked in..others have
better control unhooked. To get more vertical in the jumps start witht thw
kite high and get agood solid edge set before take off. If you gett pulled
downwind too early on take off the jump will go horiz not vert.
-Peter
From: "Dwight & Jacky" <fishersfort@attglobal.net>
Date: Sun Sep 9, 2001 7:25 am
Subject: Re: [ksurf] Spin advice please?
If you have the Powerzone II video, watch Nina closely. She uses perfect form to jump and
spin. The trick is to not use the kite, well sort of. Put your hands on the middle
of the bar to kill all steering influence. Then use the progressive edge pop to jump
and spin. This leaves the kite parked
overhead and waiting for you to stop spinning. It requires no skill to spin this way. The
kite will always be just sitting still overhead and your jumps will float back down.
The hang time from the kite seems to be longer when jumping like this too. I can't
explain why, but a simple powered jump done using edge pop alone, will have huge hang
time. It will hang longer than a reverse the kite only type of jump.
Step by step:
1. While cruising along well powered,
2. Let the kite rise slowly to about 11 o'clock and STOP it there.
3. Move your hands to the middle of the bar.
4. Unhook and lean back and edge hard, then spring forward and up, all in one smooth and
quick motion. This should pop you a good 10 feet in the air.
5. After getting this technique down, start spinning on lift off.
6. You will have no high forward speed to deal with, you'll just float down, so landing
the spin is easy, even if backwards on landing.
Dwight
Tips on going upwind
Messages posted on: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kitesurf
Assembled by Chris G. 2001/9/9
From: mikeiacovides@hotmail.com
Date: Sun Sep 9, 2001 12:41 am
Subject: Upwind Ability
Hello to everyone,
I have an ARX 7.5 [62kg] which, thanks to the advice from this group,
I will get it replaced by Naish due to delamination problems. I ride
a 6'6" directional.
I'm now at a stage where I'm struggling to go upwind ... but it's too
dam hard! Is it supposed to be like that ?!
When the wind is strong [5 bft] I try to lock the kite at abt 45 deg
and edge hard. I end up going very fast and the pull of kite is so
strong that I put A LOT OF EFFORT maintaining a proper edge which
will make me go upwind. Sometimes it works but while struggling to
keep the edge I feel a breath away from being out of control!!! [it's
scary... especially when I do eventually crash...].
Sometimes the edge doesn't work: the pull of kite wins and I end up
going downwind superfast! Before this happens I try to put the kite
close to neutral in order to lessen its pull but with the kite that
high I cannot egde properly. If I depower the kite instead then again
I cannot maintain a proper edge as my edge wins the pull and I end up
falling in the water on my back.
Strangly enough, once I managed to go upwind in light wind where I
had to work the kite continoulsy, going slow and with a very gendle
edge... I cound not believe my eyes !!!
Does all these make sense to you???
Thanks
Mike
From: janwcoffey@yahoo.com
Date: Sun Sep 9, 2001 1:18 am
Subject: Re: Upwind Ability
Makes perfect sence. You almost have it. I was there a couple of
months ago.
> I'm now at a stage where I'm struggling to go upwind ... but it's
too dam hard! Is it supposed to be like that ?!
No, but it is.
Part of it might be the big board in higher wind. Most of it is
technique. Try pushing your back leg down into the water and then
forcing against the kite. This will not only force the kite to the
edge of the window, but will also slow you down and turn you more
sharply upwind. At first this will stall you out to the point where
you go over on your back, you just have to learn the balance point.
Try leaning back against the lines more, this will put more of your
weight against the kite, once agin you have to find a place were there
is a balance. (like riding a bycicle). Your so colse, a few more
sessions and you will have it.
Since you are runing 4 lines, try depowering a bit and lowering the
kite, then when you get it low enough pull in again with your arms and
lean back. turn the board more upwind by using presure on your back
foot. You will fall on your back and go over the bars many times
before you learn to feel the balance points. But the best way to get
out of a seed spiral for me is to lower the kite.
Just keep doing what your doing, it sounds like you have it mentaly,
you just need a bit more practice.
My first real upwinder was when I was way overpowered and I could lean
all the way back. There was no way I was going to go down on my back
becouse all of the power. I was paying so much attention to the kite
and keeping the power were I could handel it that It didn't even
notice that I was blasting up wind.
Everyone kept telling me to go slow to go up wind though, now it makes
sense, but going out way overpowered was a faster way to learn the
feel.
Jan
From: jmullmd@home.com
Date: Sun Sep 9, 2001 1:37 am
Subject: Re: Upwind Ability
Hi Mike,
Makes perfect sense to me. Parking the kite low at the edge of the
window often helps you get upwind, but if you're hugely overpowered
you can pick up so much speed you can lose that edge. You're getting
a big pull at the edge of the window to begin with, but as you speed
up there is also apparent wind contributing to the pull your kite is
generating and that's probably getting overwhelming. I'm assuming
your kite is fully sheeted out when you're doing this in 5 Bft
conditions...or maybe you should sheet out more.
In heavy wind you've gotta really try to control your board
speed...keep it SLOW. Keep the kite higher in the sky than the 45
degrees, lean back or sit back a bit , hold that edge while going
slowly, and if you start to pick up too much speed immediately bring
the kite back up to straight overhead, slow down, get back on your
edge, and then slowly lower the kite until you're going upwind with a
slow, controlled board. You may have heard that you need your kite
way in front of you to get upwind, but in strong winds you'll
probably find that if your kite is sheeted out fully you'll get
upwind well even if it's high in the sky as long as you control your
boardspeed and hold the edge. If you're fully sheeted out, leaning or
sitting back, trying to edge with the kite high in the sky and you
continue skipping downwind, it might be time to get a smaller kite, a
smaller or less floaty board or just get really fat.
In underpowered conditions it's important to keep your boardspeed up
so you can plane and make it upwind with such light pull toward the
edges of the wind window.
In overpowered conditions it's critical to keep your boardspeed SLOW
enough that you can keep that edge in the water.
Hope this helps. Sounds to me like very soon you'll be getting upwind
easily. Have fun,
John
From: bnow@earthlink.net
Date: Sun Sep 9, 2001 3:25 am
Subject: Re: Upwind Ability
Hi Mike
I will put out a few suggestions that you might try the next time
your out. First get the concept down. Imagine the wind is at you
back, and you have the wind window edge to your right and to your
left, as well as above you in an arc shape. Just like you can park
your kite straight overhead, so too you can park it to your left or
your right. That is what I will call the right or left edge of the
window "boundry line". Just before that right or left boundry line
the kite has pulling power and just after it there is very little or
no pulling ability. In going upwind you want to have the kite just
inside that boundry line in the direction you are going, either to
your right or left. You also need the right amount of board speed to
be able to maintain that kite position just inside the boundry line.
If your board speed is too slow the kite will travel beyond the
boundry line in the direction you are going and loose pulling power.
If your board speed is too fast, you end up going faster than the
kite is traveling, and so the kite moves more toward the center of
the power window causing you to go faster and faster because the pull
is stronger there. The idea of sining the kite up and down can be
two fold. One it creates apparant wind. The other is to slow the
kite down in traveling to the left or the right, so that you can gain
some ground on the kite, thus changing where the kite is in the
window (the kite moves more toward the center of the window as you
gain board speed). OK so much for the concept, I hope you got some
of that in my attempt to put it into words. So what you are dealing
with is kite position, edging, and board speed. There are a few
techniques that may assist you in this. Practice starting the kite
off more toward the edge of the window or boundry line as I called
it, especially in powered conditions. Make you initial dive of the
kite past center so that the kite is in front of you when you get
going. You will have to practice to see just aggressively you will
have to dive the kite to get going and stay going. A tip here is
that if you start with the kite more toward the boundry line to your
left or right, you will have to dive it much more aggressively than
if you started your initial dive right through the center of the
power zone. I am not saying to actually start your initial dive at
the boundry line, but just to the right of center if you were going
to your right. Once your up if you feel pulled really strong, bring
the kite overhead until you slow your board speed a bit and then
again dive the kite more toward the boundry line to keep going. Once
you get more profient, you can actually edge a bit harder in a way
that causes more drag in the water, so that the kite moves ahead of
you toward the boundry line and slows its pull on you. This is
different than just straight edging, which can actually make you go
faster, especially on a wakeboard or twintip if your weight shifts to
a more even stance on the board. It involves body position on your
board and resistance. Another thing that can help is to stay square
with the kite and don't twist your body. In other words keep your
hips parallel with the kite. Stance can help that if you use a
wakeboard or twintip. Don't duck the bindinds out too far, maybe 5
degrees max. These are all things that will eventually come
naturally, but for now realize the following. If you are going too
fast blazing down wind, it is because the kite is too far toward the
center of the wind window, which means your board speed is too fast
also. If you are loosing power and there is adiquate wind, your
board speed is too slow and the kite is too close to the boundry
line. Stay quiet and steady with the kite as much as possible . Avoid
sudden and irratic changes in sining the kite. Make nice smooth wide
turns. Do the same with the board. Try to settle in and keep a
decent edge, but don't try to force it so much. You don't need to
fight pull of the kite or the board, just to go upwind. As you have
already experienced in the light wind conditions, going up wind is
not dependant on speed and stength. Find the balance in board speed
and kite position relative to keeping the kite close to the boundry
line, and you will go upwind.
Mark
From: "Chris Glazier" <cglazier@home.com>
Date: Sun Sep 9, 2001 5:36 am
Subject: Re: Upwind Ability
Hi Mike
I think Jan, John and Mark have covered it all but let me add a few
thoughts:
- it is much easier to learn upwind technique in light to moderate
(and non-gusty) wind conditions... as you already know.
- if you are overpowered while trying to edge, try to fall on your
back rather than go on a wild downwind run.
- try to keep your kite low (45 degrees or less) so you aren't lifted
and you can hold your edge.
You will have mastered going upwind when you learn to avoid going
downwind. It usually takes 10 or more hours on the water according to
the video "How to Rip". Be patient and have fun while you are working
on it.
Chris G
From: captain1@iname.com
Date: Sun Sep 9, 2001 7:11 am
Subject: Re: Upwind Ability
Mike,
What everyone here is saying is true and si the same advise I got
when I was learning to go upwind and I ended up having the same
problem as you, I could get the kite to the edge of the window, but
then I would start speeding up, the kite woudl then lag toward the
middle of the window, speeding me up and flattening up the board and
moving the kite more toward the center of the window and so on untill
I was rocketing downwind faster then ever.
Also keep in mind that to get the kite to the edge of the window you
must speed up the kite (alread taken care of by the other advise
posted) or slwo yourself down. One thing that very few people told me
to do that I foudn really helps slow your down before you speed up
too much is to turn your hips in teh direction upwind yo plan to go,
so dont turn your head but rahter your whole body, your legs will try
to follw and hence forse the board to point more upwind and slow it
down.
Or course I am talking from my experience, and I learn't and have ony
ridden twim tips - never directionals, but I suspect this might work
on a directional as well.
Good luck
Anthony
From: tpurdy1@gte.net
Date: Sun Sep 9, 2001 8:35 am
Subject: Re: Upwind Ability
As several posters pointed out, when you get out of control it is
because your board is going to fast, the kite drops toward the center
and you are in for a fun time ?. Sounds like you have the kite in
the right place. What about the board?
If you get going to fast you need to be able to slow down the board
quick. You can do this by pointing it up wind with twist of the hips
and really pushing down hard on the tail and edging. This allows the
kite to shoot out farther to the side (depower) and you can regain
control. The alternative of going down wind and under the kite works
but is not conducive to staying up wind. To really go up wind when it
is windy you need to steer the board and edge. In my opinion, it is
almost all board skill at that point.
at 62 kg (150 lbs) a 6'6" board can be a real handful in windy
conditions. Depending upon the rails and tail it can be almost
impossible for you to slow down. A lot of converted surf boards have
this problem. However, a big floaty board can go real slow and with
lots of fins you don't need an edge to go up wind. Thus, it is
likely easier to go up wind with the kite up high and moving and in
less wind.
I speak from experience here. I learned on a 7' directional two fin
board. I learned to go up wind pretty easily and also found that
lighter winds and some pumping was easier. In fact I added two more
fins and felt like I could almost go straight up wind ;). However,
when I got more power, it was very difficult to control
Now, I am on a 175 cm twin tip with real sharp rails (small fins and
in fact tried some larger one and did not like them) and control in
stronger winds is easy. I can hold much more power and kite with the
same kite in more wind. Why do I want to do that? If you want to
get some bigger jumps, you need the power.
Oh yeah, there is one more ingredient, time spent on the water. Have
you considered quitting work? ;).
So if you are at the point of being able to stay up wind in moderate
winds on your 6'6" board you might consider a smaller board to get
you to the next level. You might also find you can stay out longer
(see above paragraph). Watching my friends I notice that the guys
investing in boards and going smaller have progressed faster. They
all seem to like their kites (and so I surmise that they (the kites)
are all pretty good and that boards are very important). You can
keep the bigger board for cruising on light wind days and for those
explore the world down winders!
Good luck,
David
From: "Roland Andrag" <randrag@icon.co.za>
Date: Sun Sep 9, 2001 11:10 am
Subject: Re: [ksurf] Upwind Ability
Mike, very good advice from everyone.
I'll add one more thing: when you really can't slow down yourself anymore
because there is just too much power and you are going too fast, you can
bring the kite back overhead (slowly unless you want to fly through the
air), slow down (still going mostly downwind), and slowly bring the kite
back down to the front of the window while edging hard. In most cases you'll
be able to get the kite to the front of the window by doing this. Keep it
there, and you'll be going upwind. This is my last defence - if it doesn't
work anymore (being completely lifted out of the water with kite overhead),
I need a (much) smaller kite.
Roland
From: Mel <kitebord@pacbell.net>
Date: Sun Sep 9, 2001 12:45 pm
Subject: Re: [ksurf] Upwind Ability + Stong Wind Board
Just a couple of points I'd like to add:
- I'd suggest it IS okay to turn your eyes & head slightly upwind too, since
your body will tend to follow, bringing the board with it.
- When starting to get overpowered, you CAN keep the kite low, & control
it's power by keeping your boardspeed down (done by edging & pointing
upwind - which happens to be where you're trying to go!) instead of by
flying high (which pulls you up off the edge). You'll make the most headway
upwind with the kite fairly low (under 45 degrees - even lower if you're
sheeted out but still getting overpowered) & boardspeed just barely enough
to stay planing. If you go faster it may seem better (& more fun), but it
will actually take longer to get upwind (but who cares, if it's more fun -
unless the wind is about to die, or you're trying to beat your buddy to the
beach...).
- Try riding in the trim loop & unhooked from the main harness line
(especially if it's gusty). This helps you maintain constant power, which
is very important when learning to go upwind.
Mel
Tips on the wind
window and apparent wind
Messages posted on: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kitesurf
Assembled by Chris G. 2001/9/9
From: jmullmd@home.com
Date: Sun Sep 9, 2001 9:37 am
Subject: silly wind window question
Hi everybody,
Some of these comments on the "upwind ability" thread have me curious.
When we have the kite parked low (less than 45 degrees above the water)
and are going faster and faster on our boards, then slow the board down
suddenly, we all observe something with the kite: it shoots forward
(relative to the rider). I have a question for you guys:
Who thinks that the kite drifted back toward the center of the window
and suddenly shot to the edge of the window upon slowing down?
Who thinks that the wind window appeared to have shifted due to
apparent wind effects from a fast-moving rider, and seemed to have shot
forward when this apparent wind effect was suddenly reduced?
John
From: Mel <kitebord@pacbell.net>
Date: Sun Sep 9, 2001 12:15 pm
Subject: Re: [ksurf] silly wind window question
> Who thinks that the wind window ... shifted due to
> apparent wind effects...
That's EXACTLY what's happening. Let me try to explain:
When you're standing on the beach with the kite parked, without sheeting you
can NOT control the position of the kite, relative to the edge of the
window. In other words you can't make it fly further upwind ("closer to the
edge") or further back ("away from the edge"). It just automatically goes
all the way to the edge all the time, unless you steer it across the window,
& even then it will always just automatically continue to the edge again.
Now visualize being on a power boat, motorbike, bicycle, skateboard, or
RollerBlades going 15 knots perpendicular to the wind (beam reach) in a 15
knot wind*. The wind hitting your vehicle is not coming from the side.
It's coming from 45 degrees in front of you.
* A typical situation on a kiteboard.
Now visualize it kiteboarding. When you were stopped on the water (before
waterstarting) the kite would park nearly straight overhead, but not quite,
maybe 15 degrees back from straight up. If you park it down by the surface
it will also fly about the same 15 degrees back from straight across the
wind. Now waterstart & get going 15 knots on a beam reach in a 15 knot
wind. Just like the examples above, the wind is now hitting you, your
board, & your kite at a 45 degree angle. That means that the edge of the
window is no longer 15 degrees back from straight ahead, it's now 60 degrees
back! (15 + 45 = 60) Another way to visualize that angle is that the kite
is now parked at the edge of the window 30 degrees ahead of straight
downwind of you!
Now that you know why it LOOKS like it's moving back from the edge, you may
be wondering why it FEELS like the kite is "in the power zone", with much
greater pull. The extra power is only due to the kite's increased airspeed
due to the apparent wind. It's really quite simple to calculate on a beam
reach (right angle to the wind): A squared + B squared = C squared. On a 15
knot beam reach in a 15 knot wind: 15 squared + 15 squared = apparent wind
squared, or 225 + 225 = apparent wind squared = 450, so the square root of
450 is the apparent wind, which comes to 21.21 knots.
That may not seem like much difference, but since power is proportional to
the SQUARE of the velocity it really adds up. Let's say for example that
the size of your kite is such that while stopped on the water with the kite
parked straight up it's creating 100 pounds of lift. When riding at 15
knots board speed (21.21 knots apparent wind speed) the lift will have been
multiplied by the ratio of 21.21 squared, divided by 15 squared, which is
450/225, or 2:1 That means while riding on a beam reach at the same speed
as the wind, with the kite PARKED, you'd have TWICE as much pull as when you
were stopped !!
This factor is reduced slightly because for simplicity I ended up comparing
the stationary lift with the kite parked straight up at 30 m altitude, where
the wind is slightly stronger than when you're riding with it parked at say
21m (45 degrees up).
Mel
From: peter.barnes@pobox.com
Date: Sun Sep 9, 2001 10:31 pm
Subject: Re: [ksurf] silly wind window question
Good explanation Mel. The only thing I'd add is that variation in
true wind speed and direction affects both apparent wind speed and
direction when you're moving. The apparent effects are a function of
your board speed.
Using Mel's example, if you're cruising at 15 knots in 15 knots of
true wind, on a beam reach, a change in true wind speed of 5 knots
either way will move the edge of the window roughly 10 degrees (back
in a lull, forward in a gust). This is part of the reason why your
kite "overtakes" you in a gust or when you edge hard, and why
you "overtake" your kite in a lull. The apparent wind speed will
also change by 3-4 knots.
Same situation, 15 knots at 15 knots on broad reach. If the true
wind swings 30 degrees around towards your nose, stays the same
strength, the effect you will feel is approximately a 5 knot increase
in apparent wind speed, and the edge of the window will move about 15
degrees back.
Hope I didn't make any mistakes in my guestimates ;-)
In reality, our board speed and direction changes quickly in response
to both these situations, and the true wind effects are usually
combined (ie. gust and change of direction) making these calculations
mostly theoretical, and at best only good for a moment.
On the use of inertia, every kid who has run along towing a single
liner in 2 knots knows that you can use your own movement to make a
kite fly better. The skill is in the finness of knowing how much
pressure to apply to the lines in a lull (by carving upwind) without
killing all your board speed and putting the kite in a position where
it might luff.
One last piece of technical trivia to be going with - the air in
kites is enclosed and moving at the same speed as the kite. The air
counts when you calculate the energy stored in a moving kite - weight
of the kite PLUS the air in it * velocity squared. Compressed air is
obviously more dense.
pete |
