Sunday, December 13, 2009

Kiting- Edge Control Makes a Difference!

This was probably my best kiting day yet! I still crashed my kite all over the place and did my signature long swims to retrieve my board but I think I had a breakthrough with edging and handling more power, and my slide transitions started to click a little too.

Edging and handling power- The secret ingredient was revealed by Frank's well timed tip- keep the kite low in the gusts. That's the opposite of what I've been doing, stupid me. What a difference! I could feel the board's angle of attack shift dramatically and in a few runs I was upwind by our usual Summer launch spot wondering how I got there. The best thing was that I felt much more comfortable and in control when powered up. It was a pay off day for all my crashes and gallons of saltwater that I've been drinking, great fun!

Skim Board- I tried getting up on an old skim board that we had hanging around the house. This was nuts! How can anyone get started on these things? My booties gripped the board like a banana peel on ice. It didn't float at all so I had to throw it across the water and jump on as I powered up the kite. Of course I slipped right off the other side. What was I thinking? I may glue some grip on and try again some time when I feel like crashing a lot.

Waquiot Bay, Kitesurfed, SSW, 14-26? 12M Royal Era, 152 ply board, Frank, Igor, Paul, Robert.

1 comments:

Jean Dunoyer said...

Looks like you are switching to the dark side after all...