VIC
139 posts
Well had my second lesson down at Point Henry and to cut a long story short,, i wasn't able to get up . However i was very happy with the lesson because of the confidence it gave me with my kite. 2011 LF Havoc 12mtr
First off i set up my kite.
This was great as id never had it out of the back yard. We got it ready to put up and noticed that one of the lines were switched about (pigtails) . Center to back and visa versa. However that was only on one side, i changed all of the tails around but didn't realise than one side was right Instructor laughed a bit as he was going to put up the kite first time and check it out. Asked if i wanted him to be looped out into the bay. My reply was "better you than me Joel"
So up it went, comment from Joel was "she's a big girl" and "there's some power up there" and probably the most important was , "It's a good looking kite" . So he handed it over to run some body drags and i found it really easy. I went higher up wind than i could go in my first lesson and went a lot quicker whilst doing that.
Then all of a sudden PFSSSSHHH , a big rush of air. Landed it in the water and found that one of the tubes connecting the LE to the strut valves let go, he pushed it back in and we pulled it back in and checked it out. Couldn't see why but reseated the valve anyway and pumped it back up.
Then OMG the tangles in the lines were amazing. Seaweed and crap were in them as it was my turn to launch the kite. There was a mass tangle in the middle as some seaweed hooked it all together. I walked to the knot and fiddled a bit and to my surprise it all just released and untangled. Also one line had half hitched itself around a pigtail, something he said he hadn't seen before.
So up it went , almost, the wind dropped. Sheeted in and I kept it up and was warned to be ready for it to pull hard and yep damn it was about to pull hard but i was able to keep it under control. We then did a drift launch and i commented that it was exactly like a relaunch only that you mean to have the kite on the water, that worked pretty well and i was surprised how easy that was.
So it was time to try get on the board.
We were in water just over waist deep. I just couldn't get the hang of keeping the kite at 12 with one hand , grabbing the board with the other, putting it on my feet and keeping everything square. The water was deep enough that i was fully floating. Damn that was hard, all this new stuff to think about all at once. I had a tendency to grab the bar from under instead of over the top.
Needless to say the kite hit the water a lot, yep a lot.
I re-launched it a lot and most of the time rather easily and the kite didn't spring a leak again , so that was fixed good.
By this time i was well and truly stuffed. So Mr instructor went for a cruise with it while i regained some energy. I guess we had about 20 minutes left when i tried again.
This time i was able to keep the kite at 12 with my left hand and i was able to get the board on and keep squared up. I managed to get the power stroke where it needed to be quite a few times and got up for a bout 2-3 seconds each time.
I kept turning the board to far up wind and would drop back in whilst pulling the bar to the left and down it came. I got up once and dug the front of the board in and went over. He told me if i hadn't have done that i probably would have kept going as everything looked under control.
Plenty of power , just not straightening up properly, once i thought screw it and i went over the front, splat!!!! After a few of these i managed to keep the kite up even though i went under water. I think he wanted to keep going even though the lesson was about to finish, i was just to stuffed though.
Yep i was a bit underwhelmed about not getting up , but in a way i am glad i didn't. I had the feeling that i was able to fluke it and get up early, what happened when i crashed it, how did i get the kite up and get the board on etc.
I spent plenty of time learning the kite ( not sure im a fan of the under bar depower, hard to pull when the kite has power) and in the and was able to get it to do what i wanted ( mostly) , not what it wanted me to do. I crashed and got it up again over and over. Kept it up after id went under over and over and did that near the end without needing to think about it.
I really spent about 35-40 minutes trying to get up and most of that was trying to get the damn board on and be able to keep everything controllable
Really happy with what i learned
Good stuff
WA
231 posts
Reading this was like listening to a boring person at work rant about a dream. Try to keep it down to just one or two paragraphs, otherwise the point of the post is lost.
These things are common and happen to everyone. I'm glad your stoked with the sport and are keen to pay attention and learn how to do it safely.
QLD
409 posts
Peter: "I really spent about 35-40 minutes trying to get up and most of that was trying to get the damn board on and be able to keep everything controllable"
This gets easier, the most crucial time is while you have one foot in the strap and the other strap in your hand, this will cause you to rotate. It sounds like you carry the board in your right hand, get your left toes in the foot strap and immediately push the board away from you with your right hand to get your right foot on the board. It doesn't matter at this stage if your feet are all the way in, what is more important is that your board is "square" to the wind so you do not start rotating.
Once both feet are on the board, the pressure of the water pushing on the board as you drift downwind will allow you to wriggle both feet securely into the foot straps, you could also use a hand on the handle to help.
You're now each to water start!
Hope this helps
13 posts
i'm having my 3rd lesson this week, will do water starts as well, this is invaluable. Thanks for sharing!
1421 posts
I'm guessing you are left handed?
You usually use your best hand to control the kite while you get the board on - if you have the choice.
You will also have a preferred side for your feet so if you are left handed its likely to be that you will prefer riding towards your right.
Its usually best to keep the kite not at 12 but very slightly toward the side you are holding the board with.
As someone said, just get the second foot onto the board anywhere if you have to until you have got the board and kite under control and then get the second one into the straps. Then wiggle them in properly.
Usual kite fault when getting up onto the board is to pull the bar in too much and choke the kite because you are trying to pull yourself up with your arms. What you should be doing is flying the kite to create the pull on your harness hook to pull you up.
Usual board fault is not pointing the board enough downwind, but anytime you nearly get up but drop back in with things under control is going to allow you more practice at getting everything co-ordinated, so dont feel too desperate to have one flukey success.
You have to always keep the board between you and the kite and anytime you fly the kite aggressively and manage that you are learning, so use your feet to get the feel of how to keep the board in position.
VIC
139 posts
Terminal - Im right handed so am holding the bar with my right even though i can do the same with my left i feel more coordinated grabbing the board with my left hand.
You are spot on about choking the kite by pulling in the bar, didn't realise it at the time but thinking about it now i remember doing it. Plus as you have said, not pointing enough down wind.
thanks.
It's all good clean fun
NSW
921 posts
Great read.you sound like you will get it next time round. Good luck.
Oh and for the comment that it was boring! If you don't like to read stories like this then why do you? This after all is the beginners section too and details help others realize that the probs they are having are common to many.
Cheers Billy.
