Stewart25 said...

Just had a **** fight trying to land in 22-28 knot northerly. Does anyone have a full proof technic? I try to bring kite to back of wind window and pull down centre line= kite relaunching in strong winds. Also nowhere to drop kite behind and small amount of beach to land on.

hmmm get a rope + hook or clip attach to post, clip to chicken loop, another one on safety and run towards your kite sitting on the edge of the wind window... will be the safest but make sure your safety is also in place and that the kite is fairly stable before running towards it... Defo the safest.

Thanks dafrog. i might give that a try. i fly Liquid force envy 2012 7m and 2011 havoc 10m.

cbulota said...

Stewart25 said...

Just had a **** fight trying to land in 22-28 knot northerly. Does anyone have a full proof technic? I try to bring kite to back of wind window and pull down centre line= kite relaunching in strong winds. Also nowhere to drop kite behind and small amount of beach to land on.

What kite do you use?

I have both Switch Element 11M and Ozone Cats 8 and 6. Arguably user friendly kites, some older kites or pure freestyle Cs may be a bit more touchy... a good way to see if the kite would be stable is to leave the kite fully depowered on the window's edge and see if it stabilizes itself naturally and does not collapse while you are hooked in during a normal session.

The post technique should work with any kites as it is the same than a normal take off with a little helper, if it's stronger just place sand on your wing tip... the main benefit is that when you put the kite ready for take off you'll be able to check that the lines are not tangled. please note that the kite needs to be on full depower at all times during this process and even perhaps use the depower strap.

I wasn't too sure about this technique but then tried it in 25+ knots gusting with my 11, I used to do the other technique drag the kite but it's a killer for your kite and there is a chance the kite takes off instantly if you made a mistake in your lines or they get tangled, I would not recommend if you have a post, bull bar, tow ball handy.

we discussed the technique in the following post a couple of months back: www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Western-Australia/Storm-session/

I would add to this that if it is really windy, you should be careful and perhaps not kite alone anyways unless you are well confident and able. If you have the slightest hesitation or feel that the kite is starting to get away from your control: USE YOUR SAFETY, do not try to hold on to it thinking you'll manage. Make sure your leash is first and last hooked in to your body during the process of landing or taking off

There are videos all over the web to show you how it's done so google it. Perhaps try your system in low winds first and get used to it. Stay safe.

cbulota said...
Some good info here already.

In order to succeed to put the kite in a secure position straight away you need the kite to be stable on the sand at 3' or 9 O'clock. Also, it really helps if you can get more surface area of the leading edge in contact with the sand before you attempt pulling the upper front line. You can achieve this only easily on bow type kites (almost impossible on most C kites).

On kites that uses dual line safety system like your LF kites, unhook from the chicken loop once you've lowered the kite (this is to give the kite more depower and to prevent you from getting dragged if you screw up). Follow the centre lines over the bar until you get to the ''V'' (where the centre lines split). Taking a few steps upwind helps a lot in making the leading edge curve more towards the sand and getting more leading edge surface area in contact with the sand. Basically gets the kite more stable.

Pull the upper centre line HARD, FAST and UPWIND. The initial pull needs to be strong and will make the kite fall down in a safety position if your kite was stable and in a position described above.

Similar technique for a fifth line or single centre line safety system, but instead you do it directly from the chicken loop without climbing up your lines.

If you don't succeed in securing the kite straight away, meaning that it lifts and turns into the wind, just keep following that one line all the way to the kite and grab the kite to secure it.

I'll try and shoot a video on those techniques soon and post it here.

Just a note, the method described above does not involve a post, it's how to land a kite while still hooked in by pulling your lines to get the kite to flip onto the sand.

I believe the original poster has been using this technique and felt uncomfortable in high winds hence why I was describing an alternative where you attach your kite to a post via a rope, unhook yourself then go land your kite manually as a helper would do.

In high winds I would be uncomfortable with self landing the kite while hooked in as most kite unless secured with sand on top have a tendency to try to take off again and there is always a chance that something goes wrong and the kite relaunches abruptly because of a wind gust...

The method you describe is great and I use it in normal winds but in high winds, it can be daunting and it's not as safe as you are still hooked to a kite that may go awol. That's my opinion.

Jared888 said...
Wish I had the luxury of posts and such, then again if there was more infutsruture there would probably be a denser population, not to mention damage to such infustructure and if ur shire was anything like mine I wouldnt trust it anyways.

I beleive people need to be able to launch and land safely without any assistance if you cant, consider sitting the session out and take pics of the lads who can

I'm just trying to answer the guy's query. most of our beaches have fences around where I kite so I assume he has access to that or goes with his car.

I think self launching and landing in high winds is dangerous and should be avoided... but with a rope system it's no dramas.

Thanks cbulota. Do u mean unhooking and then grabbing the centre line and pulling up wind, forgetting about the bar? My main problem seems to be that when I go to grab the centre line nearest to 12, it's more than an arm length away and my kite which was sitting on the sand then generally likes to start to float back up in the air. Ill give the unhooking a go. Also there's no fences within landing range at the local and the water was over my head depth where I needed to be to land on the sand (not the shrubs trees behind). So I had minimal time while being dragged to try and land it. I will always hit my safety if it comes to it and nearly did the other day. Ill keep trying as it seems I need to practice for these days when know ones around. Cheers for the feedback.

Jared888 said...
dafrog said: I think self launching and landing in high winds is dangerous and should be avoided...



Thats what I'd expect some one with a cute little cat avatar to say hahahaha pussy

cute kitty died this week. not funny.