Wow i feel slow

That is bloody fast!!!!!!!!

I think the speeds being done by the Kite speed crew are just phenomenal, they are real, and windsurfers need to stop trying to make excuses, it's poor form, makes us look like spoilt sooks. (And Mathew not having a go at you I know you're a top bloke, I've met you, you are only trying to be scientific). However, whether it's ground effect, liquid ice whatever, credit where its due. These speeds will never be replicated by windsurfers, unless there is some radical change in technology, which I can't see happening, but I'm no hydrodynamicist, nor futurologist.

Ask yourself this question why do you windsurf? Is it the feeling you get, or the number you get on your gps. I get a buzz everytime I windsurf. YesterdaY WAS ABOUT 13 TO 14 KNOTS ON THE windmeter, and I did 26 knots, it felt unreal.

Good on the kite crew, keep setting those boundaries, let 60 knots be your next goal!!!

Hey Hardie - definitely not whinging. As you said, windsurfing is not likely to catch up to those speeds using the current gear, which is exactly why I posted the question -> it may actually be possible for windsurfing to learn some tricks from kitesurfing...!

Kitesurfing may have only had 10 years of development, compared to windsurfing with about 30 - but kites adapted lot of knowledge from windsurfing, just like windsurfing adapted a lot of knowledge from surfing. I have always thought that it was only a matter of time before kites went faster, and am a little surprised that it has taken this long; I was recently starting to think that they would run into the same fundamental limits as windsurfing, but its good to see that kitesurfing is achieving exceptional results.

Which is great news for windsurfing...! Now that we have conclusive evidence of a faster sailing craft, it shows that there may be other designs that windsurfing can use, eg:
- say possibly using 10cm fins
- different board designs, say something closer to a kite board but doesn't require mast-foot pressure
- maybe sails that generate some vertical lift.


Aside: One of the reasons for me asking/stating various ideas about water-depth and kite-slingshot is that these kind of questions need well though-out responses... With a very shallow water depth (gut feeling of below 6in) results in something similar to ice-sailing, ie the water is acting as a lubricant. For the kite-slingshot, then there is energy storage/transfer occurring - assuming its actually possible to slingshot at those speeds.

... These speeds have even got me thinking that I should get my kites out of storage to do some speed runs (I'm just not a fan of the excessive risk factor of kiting).

it's all over. kites have smashed the world speed record and there's nothing left to fight for

so throw away them gpses, throw away those cams, get yerselves a waveboard or freestyle board and it's time to learn to windsurf good'n'proppa


flame suit set to extreme

hardie said...

Haircut said...

it's all over. kites have smashed the world speed record and there's nothing left to fight for

so throw away them gpses, throw away those cams, get yerselves a waveboard or freestyle board and it's time to learn to windsurf good'n'proppa


flame suit set to extreme

BTW the only person I'm competing against other than myself is Elmo, as long as my gps says I'm faster than his GPS then life is complete

shed some weight fat boy

decrepit said...

Hey, my 18cm weedy is just about ready to roll, you 2 had better watch out!!!

Is that the Carbide coated Titanium jobby you've been working on in the Lab??

I'd have thought it's much too messy to be called a lab.

No haven't tried the silicon carbide yet, this one's testing some stainless steel wire on the leading edge.
The 20cm version has a small stainless plate near the tip, works well but doesn't go down quite far enough, I'm getting a bit of wear at the junction.
The wire on the 18cm covers the bottom 3/4 of the leading edge.
I'm just not sure how well the bond will work in practice, epoxy doesn't seem to grab stainless all that well.
If it falls off, then I'll give the silicon carbide a go.

Haircut said...

is the wind situation over there really as bad as everyone is making out?

Yes

having to sail early morning easterlies to have a sail

wow. did you get much of a season at all?

I still don't think huey has really made up for a month and a half of no wind during SE qld spring /early summer. We've had a full week of 30 knots + the occasional 20 knotter here and there