The wavekiting myth.

> 10 years ago
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waveslave
waveslave
WA
4263 posts
WA, 4263 posts
4 Dec 2009 11:50pm
There seems to be a heap of BS going down about wavekiting.
I hear about kites that 'drift' well.
You don't even have to control them anymore.
Flying has been cancelled.
They autodrift so you can autosurf.
How convenient.
But let's not forget about two important things...
wind direction and wind speed.
A couple of critical factors. ^
KiteNutt
KiteNutt
QLD
280 posts
QLD, 280 posts
5 Dec 2009 6:46am
Slave, think you'll find that if you connect a death leash any kite will behave a lot better in waves......
dutchy1985
dutchy1985
213 posts
213 posts
5 Dec 2009 6:30am
waveslave said...

There seems to be a heap of BS going down about wavekiting.
....
wind direction and wind speed.
A couple of critical factors. ^


When it's that windy that seagull's wings are getting torn clean off, it is definitely easier to ride straight at your kite and not have to do much to keep it airborne, I seem to have noticed that this whole 'good drifting' thing happens a lot better with BIG slow kites (unless it's really howling and then any kite will drift back)

p.s. you don't need a good kite to go in the waves, checkout how they used to do it:

stamp
stamp
QLD
2800 posts
QLD, 2800 posts
5 Dec 2009 10:19am
waveslave, i reckon you are spot on. how the kite behaves is about wind direction relative to direction of the breaking wave.

dutchy, that vid may be "going in the waves" but its a long way from waveriding.
harrysurfer
harrysurfer
WA
254 posts
WA, 254 posts
5 Dec 2009 8:26am
slave am i right to assume for a kite to autodrift the wind needs to be crosshore/sideon and of consistent strength. i would love to ride in those conditions one day so i can ride backhand without having to work the kite so much.
au_rick
au_rick
WA
752 posts
WA, 752 posts
5 Dec 2009 10:37am
Irrespective of wind speed and direction, there are some kites that "drift" better than others.

The speed and particularly the direction of the wind relative to the wave have a big impact on this (cross-on shore is best).

Generally, SLE kites that sit back in the window seem to "drift" better, by that I mean sit back in the window without generating much pull, so you can ride the wave rather than being pulled along it by the kite.

Where's the bull**** in that Slave ??

stamp
stamp
QLD
2800 posts
QLD, 2800 posts
5 Dec 2009 1:55pm
au_rick said...



The speed and particularly the direction of the wind relative to the wave have a big impact on this (cross-on shore is best).




i would say cross-on is the worst direction to try to park the kite, it needs constant movement when riding down the line just to stop it dropping out of the sky.

i find it easiest when the wind is dead cross to the wave, or even just a tiny bit cross-off. that's when you can forget all about the kite and just ride.

IanR
IanR
NSW
1359 posts
NSW, 1359 posts
5 Dec 2009 3:19pm
au_rick has a small point about the Kite But I must agree 100% with stamp on wind direction. It is Critical I love slightly cross off The kite sits right over the wave and you can ride top to bottom and barely have to turn the kite. Dead off shore is also Fun. just off Dead onshore can also be fun if you have a long sloping beach like Muizenburg CT.
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