apextech - 22-1-2012 at 10:50 AM
So I was really lucky this last week, getting in 3 sessions which were all great. They all were on a hard packed beach in a Flexifoil buggy with
extended/kinked downtube and Bigfoot lites w/ @ 8 lbs tire pressure.
On the last 3 mile leg I had to get back upwind racing to make it back before a storm front came in, at the end of which it was rather gusty.
Flying a 5m HQ Apex II traveling N, NNW in 16kt. NW, WNW winds gusting to 20-23 kts. I noticed a little trick to help me get back upwind.
I had the kite on the 1st adjustment knot (closest to the kite) and running between 1/2 and full trim strap depending on the gusting involved, at some
points it was just beginning to pull me sideways as I was on Bigfoot slicks on hard pack sand.
I know the kite will run better upwind on the second knot but it doesnt have the grunt needed to get things going if you get stuck.
Now this might seem rather obvious to some and may even be common knowledge to some as well, but I thought it noteworthy anyways. So
I found that if I pointed the buggy slightly towards the kite I could build up some speed and then fall away back towards the water to get a better
pull even though it slightly scrubbed off some of the speed, so this zig zagging down the beach helped gain the apparent wind needed to get me moving
at the same time modulate the speed to move me down the beach in these gusting conditions.
Most of the time the bar was all the way out and the kite when not sineing was kept at @ 10-11 o'clock. I'm really a "park and ride" kind of guy so
this move worked really well for me as I was moving @ 10-20 mph the whole way.
During the week I was really impressed with the upwind performance of the 5m, 7.5m and the 10m as I flew them all at some point ranging from just over
5 kts. to over 20, with a NW wind I was able to place the kite at basically ENE and get up the beach.
I dont know whether I'm improving my kite skills or the winds were just favorable for this, but again it worked really well.
BigMikesKites - 22-1-2012 at 11:37 AM
thanks for the recap. something to try on my end next time i'm out.
BeamerBob - 22-1-2012 at 05:02 PM
Onward and upward. Miles and hours help us figure out tricks that work to overcome less than perfect angles or conditions. 
snowspider - 23-1-2012 at 06:42 AM
Discovering and/or perfecting new ways to get it done is some of what make this sport so addicting. I desperatly want to try something that was posted
quite awhile ago ,buggy straight down wind faster than the wind. Now that I've figuered out how to stop I think I can go for it!
John Holgate - 30-1-2012 at 01:45 AM
I was told to head slightly towards the kite as you sine the kite down and then pull slightly away from it as you sine the kite up.... seems to work
for upwind and very light wind for me. Good to do at night if you have a light attached to the buggy - the beam 'sweeps' from side to side to light
up any obstacles!!