Dumb question...

I'm a rider with a fair amount of FB foil experience on sand/snow. Go out for 1st day on water w/o instructor-1st day flying 12m 2013 LF Envy + LF CPR bar-before going out I rigged kite in yard to get to know it and the bar-practice QR drills...

Out on the water, 2' deep, 50 yards off shore-wind side/on shore 15-20, I hit the QR as tree lined shore is coming up fast and no one around to land me-QR deploys fine BUT kite is still pulling like a mother-leading edge down but still has it's C shape-in other words not limp/flagging-the back lines are still taunt enough to make the C to hold the wind-fearing a kite loop and hot relaunch w/no control I double wind front lines (making back lines slack) wrap up lines with enough adrenaline to give Popeye Envy-and shredded hands (actually wound lines over my thumb tip so tight I needed Olive Oil to get it out!)

I have to know what happened!! Is this the best de-power the CPR bar gives? (which is why they call it CPR-cause you'll need it??) I expected a 5th line type flag out-limp kite.

So one front line runs through the swivel and becomes the flag depower line, and that line is only a couple inches longer than the back lines and the kite still has equal front line lengths-so it's balanced-looked like it wants to just flip with a gust and fly off...

Do I trust that the couple of inches slack in the rear lines is enough and that the pull of the balanced upside down kite is as good as 100% depower gets with the CPR? What if I connected to upper knots at the back lines-eats up some of those critical inches of slack...!!$$

Please tell me what I'm missing here!!

Thanks!

The LF bar has a short safety line which runs through the bar and the swivel and then connects to one of the front lines, right? Did you for sure have your leash attached to that line or did you attach it to the trim/adjuster below the bar?

Usually the bar of a 4 line kite runs about 5m up the front line when released. Does the bar have a stopper on the front line? Could it be that the front lines were so twisted above the swivel that the bar couldn't slide towards the kite? It wouldn't be the first time that happens...

Edit.: I reread your post and it really seems like the flag line was stuck in the swivel or something similar.

Sounds like you hooked up to the 90% depower hook and not the safety.
Here's a demo video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4haTfarOABo

As far as Mistakes go.

Are you saying this was your 1st solo AFTER lessons? Or you are going for it without lessons?

Flying alone.
Not being familiar with safety before approaching trees.
Not understanding how to self recue.

2 things-got the answer and clarifications

Answer was the main line wasn't running through freely because the ball stopper and depower line were crowding the hole in swivel, leaving little room and plenty of friction to keep the knot connecting the main line (blue cord) to the right front line from running by-and the depower line was not twisted...bad design. Look at the photo attached(orange taped rod pointing to knot)-imagine the stopper pushed all the way up-cramped up space for a knot to navigate through freely

Tested this by laying out the lines on the lawn, staked the chicken loop and main line ring, pulled QR, then pulled 4 lines to kite as kite would-clear as day that the main line knot fought it's way through the swivel and past the pushed-up stopper and depower line block.

Lesson is keep the stopper at least 2" away from swivel and keep everything lubricated and running freely -and test free running lines often.

Question to all is what's a good lubricant to use here-salt water/sand tolerant? For hardware (blocks/pulleys) and lines? Silicone, an oil, butcher's wax...?

Clarifications: Raised some eyebrows with unclear language in the original post-sorry

1. Was first day on water w/o an instructor-had 9 hours of lessons in Cancun w/my son-he was doing jumps by hour 8-my old knees told me to stop at hr. 9-had a consistent water start and up wind ride by then, transitions were/are next...

2. Lots of skilled company on/off the beginner-friendly venue** the other day-talked, launched and/or landed with them all-total recon mission first day out on my own.

3. Practice-flew kite the evening before, reread the CPR manual and did practice dry QR drills on land the morning of (lines hooked to tree, not kite-sprung QR a lot but didn't follow through to check lines were running-since all ends were stayed at one point on tree), then got wet and practiced up wind body dragging and water relaunching a lot before grabbing the board.

3. Was definitely hooked into the mainline ring, kept depower line all the way out to full depower during the session.

Thanks for your responses.

**Though lots of riders on the beach that day they were all too good to end up down wind... Get too far down wind and you're all alone-lesson is unless you're a confident self-lander, even if there are lots of kiters around, confirm there'll be a qualified person to land you down wind- I didn't, my bad!

***hundreds of "how to self-land" vids out there-why don't any of them simply advocate for a simple QR deployment? Seems it's the most guaranteed safe option. What am I missing?

I've always fancied those above-bar sviwels but I'm not so sure about that now...
There are just too many lines, knots, etc. crowding that bar and the swivel. It's just a matter of time until something will get caught/twisted/stuck in something else and the safety will malfunction. Make sure to keep everything well oganized when flying.
The lines can be waxed and you could use silicone/oil on the pulleys but be aware that if you oil the bridle pulleys, the oil is likely to end up in your kite so choose something that won't stain the kite. Also, depending on the design of the pulleys, they might not benefit much from lubricating and instead the grease could attract sand.:evil:

1. 9 hours of lessons is plenty, especially if you're already familiar with FB's.

3. The kite will be more stable and easier to fly when you don't depower the kite fully on the adjuster so only depower it as much as necessary. If full depower is necessary, you're overpowered.

*** Didn't the QR just fail on you? Now you're asking why it might be a bad idea to land the kite with it?:D:D:D

Seriously though:

- the kite would end up on its "back" and you'd need to walk up the front line to secure the kite. In high winds the kite may also flap around violently.

- the QR deployment would mess up your lines and you'd need to untwist and sort out everything before rolling the lines up.

- depending on the safety system the kite may slam on the ground pretty hard when released. Also, depending on the system it may keep pulling significantly even after release.

- releasing the kite takes up more space on the beach and poses a higher risk to other people on the beach than a controlled self-landing at the edge of the wind window.

Glad you figured out the problem.

I had a terrible time on my 1st day alone after lessons as well. Ended up tea bagged until the wind was knocked out of me.