Hi all. Might sound like a dumb question, but what are the best tide conditions to go out and kite surf? and why does it matter.....does it relate to the wind in any way?
A lot is said about wind speed and direction, but I can't really find any information on this.

Thanks in advance.

If the water is flowing with the wind then your apparent wind speed is dropped by the speed of the water, and vice versa. It only really matters in strong tidal areas or rivers.

Its always worth knowing what a place looks like at low tide. Then you can see obstacles and dangers that may be under the water at other tides.

If its a place with shallow water and local wind created waves, then it should have smaller waves at low tide. Low tide can also give you more space for safety margin when launching and landing.

If you can't do a thorough recon of the bottom before you go (like on a long downwinder), maritime charts are your friend

theDoctor said..

zarb said..

Tide and wind operate independently. One does not affect the other, except in cases of extremely high wind, in which the wind will appear to cause a higher water level on beaches and in harbours.

In the case of surf conditions, different breaks work better at different tides. Also, swell size will dictate what tide will be better. Smaller swell will often need lower tide to create breaking waves. Larger swell will often be better at higher tides because the waves won't "close out" especially on beach breaks. But all of this still comes back to the venue in question.

For flat water conditions, I found that a mid tide on the way to a low tide gives nice flat chop-less conditions. But once again, depends on the venue?

hmmmm, tide and winds operate independently......

maybe I'll think of that and laugh about you next time we are waiting for the tide change to kick the wind into gear

That's not very friendly... but...if you've a good link that details the relationship between the two, let's see it!

SaltySinus said..

theDoctor said..

zarb said..

Tide and wind operate independently. One does not affect the other, except in cases of extremely high wind, in which the wind will appear to cause a higher water level on beaches and in harbours.

In the case of surf conditions, different breaks work better at different tides. Also, swell size will dictate what tide will be better. Smaller swell will often need lower tide to create breaking waves. Larger swell will often be better at higher tides because the waves won't "close out" especially on beach breaks. But all of this still comes back to the venue in question.

For flat water conditions, I found that a mid tide on the way to a low tide gives nice flat chop-less conditions. But once again, depends on the venue?

hmmmm, tide and winds operate independently......

maybe I'll think of that and laugh about you next time we are waiting for the tide change to kick the wind into gear

That's not very friendly... but...if you've a good link that details the relationship between the two, let's see it!

maybe when you spent more time doing it and less time reading about it, you wont need a link, you'll experience it

Still don't understand why people insist on promoting other websites when all the information you will ever need is right here!

rockykite said...[br]
A lot is said about wind speed and direction, but I can't really find any information on this.

Click on the help topic "about the wind" right above you on this page, very informative...

Doctor be tolerant, remember the time honoured practice of teaching the young and inexperienced.


Quote

theDoctor

NSW
3241 Posts
Posted 22/08/2008, 4:51 pm
whilst walking back up-wind for the umpteenth time, along the beach one day a few years ago, an old salty walking home in the opposite direction struck up a conversation with an introductory 'that looks fun' 'yeah' i said, 'but its heaps more fun when the winds stronger', to which the old salt replied, 'incoming tide always brings the sea breeze, she's on the move, give 'er an hour'. i smiled, bid him good day and continued my way back up the beach. the wind did pick up as the tide increased, and over the last few seasons i've paid attention as this has happened time and time again, even when its already blowin its tits off, it gets stronger when the time comes in. we quite often plan our indo island hops in relation to moon cycles to make the most of the swell and more often than not it pays off, and last kiting season we set our calendars to mid day and afternoon high tides to ensue we got the winds, now i know seabreezes hit during the afternoons mostly, but they were always stronger and got stronger last season on an incoming tide.

Unquote

Just 1 more thing to add from a noob perspective. When the tide is coming in it makes it easier to retrieve your board after a spill, i.e. the board will generally start floating its way back into the shore. It can be a little daunting when you've stacked it away from shore and you're trying to get your kite relaunched, get your bearings etc only to then see your board floating further away from you when the tide is going out. I know we all know how to body drag up / down wind, but it's a small thing worth considering when you are still getting the hang of everything

bene313 said..

Katz said..

Doctor be tolerant, remember the time honoured practice of teaching the young and inexperienced.

theDoctor

NSW
3241 Posts
Posted 22/08/2008, 4:51 pm

whilst walking back up-wind for the umpteenth time, along the beach one day a few years ago, an old salty walking home in the opposite direction struck up a conversation with an introductory 'that looks fun' 'yeah' i said, 'but its heaps more fun when the winds stronger', to which the old salt replied, 'incoming tide always brings the sea breeze, she's on the move, give 'er an hour'. i smiled, bid him good day and continued my way back up the beach. the wind did pick up as the tide increased, and over the last few seasons i've paid attention as this has happened time and time again, even when its already blowin its tits off, it gets stronger when the time comes in. we quite often plan our indo island hops in relation to moon cycles to make the most of the swell and more often than not it pays off, and last kiting season we set our calendars to mid day and afternoon high tides to ensue we got the winds, now i know seabreezes hit during the afternoons mostly, but they were always stronger and got stronger last season on an incoming tide.

Awesome.

Yeop. Easily *the* best post on Seabreeze... or anything else for that matter.

Damn you must have a memory made of steel Katz! Legend