Okay, I'm sure this is something I missed in my cancelled lessons last year. If you stand with the wind at your back and stretch your arms out straight to the sides, where you are pointing is your beam reach, right? Does it help to do this at first to "spot" the point on the horizon that is broad reach, beam reach or close hauled then? I can't say I've ever done it and usually just follow the line others (Paul in his buggy) are taking and try to parallel or my previous stretch's tracks in the snow.

first off, I'm not a kitesurfer... but I've put in about 100K miles under sail, half of them offshore...

so yes, back to the wind, your arms straight out, you'll point at your beam reach lines. And yes when I teach sailing I always have people use marks along the horizon / shore if possible to aim towards.

but the the wind is fickle, and sometimes moves around, so you'll need to keep checking, on water this is easy as the wind will riffle the water so as to tell you where it's coming from, generally at right angles to the waves / riffles / whatever.

and also the faster you move the more the wind you feel and have in your sail or kite (apparent wind) will diverge from the true wind. This can get really confusing, especially in lighter winds, as you can be moving easily fast enough so the apparent wind can move as much as 40-50 degrees from the true wind, and even up to 70 degrees at really extreme speeds, like when you're scooting along at double or more the windspeed.

edit: on land it would be harder to tell where the wind is coming from... blown snow or sand will nearly always blow directly downwind, unless it's gusty and shifty stuff, in which case you'd be having trouble with your kite anyways. treetops will lean downwind, too -- but I'm guessing if you're in the middle of a frozen lake in lighter winds w/o loose snow blowing about to help you out with a visual cue it could actually get kinda hard to keep track of just where the wind is coming from.

What I always tell folks when doing sail training is to keep being aware of the wind -- this should be second nature to any kite addict -- and you'll get better and better over time. Most folks can get to the point where they are continually checking the windspeed unconsciously, and then only become aware of the their wind sense when it tells you the wind is shifting, I know that's what it's like for most experienced sailors, like a sixth sense. But it takes a bit of conscious thought and awareness at first.

And that's as much as i can say...

hope that helps, sorry for all the wordiness...

folks with experience should be by soon...

You bring much good experience here Furbowski.

I start my sessions by putting a 4 foot mast into the ground with bright plastic streamers trailing off of it as a wind indicator. The mast is made up of 3 sections of PVC tubing that stick together and knock down to fit in a small bag. When I drive by buggy camp I can see any shifts in the local true wind.

On less lazy days I put up the big wind sock that I can see from 1/2 mile away.

On the buggy headstock I have a mast that is tye-wrapped to the headstock that supports a 6" piece of bright colored yarn. When stationary at a remote location away from buggy camp, it is my true wind indicator. When moving it is my apparent wind indicator and helps me judge tacking angles.

On the headstock. That's interesting. Tell me, what does the knowledge of the apparent wind do for you?

It tells you whether you are pointing too high or to low. This is great information if you are trying to go up wind at highest possible speed. The change in apparent wind direction caused by your speed brings the wind behind you so you can steer higher up wind.
Tip: If you have space for long tacks, it is better to go on a beam reach after jibing to get up speed then head up into to your close reach. You will be able to point higher if you are going faster.

S

Hey angus

I use a local super market bag on a stick LOL guys who clean barrels at park alwAys wonder of it's trAsh

Quote:

Originally posted by macboy On the headstock. That's interesting. Tell me, what does the knowledge of the apparent wind do for you?

Scudley has it right on. Once I have a point of sail that appears to be working for me up wind for a given kite and wind speed, I make note of the angle of the tell tale and try to keep to that if the wind shifts

Quote:

Originally posted by dgkid78 Hey angus I use a local super market bag on a stick LOL guys who clean barrels at park alwAys wonder of it's trAsh

That's cool too of you can see it from a distance. Very resourceful!

On sail boats there are telltales all over the sails. You know your sail is tuned by by keeping the telltales on both sides of the sails are pointing back. Does anyone use telltales on their kites?
S

Quote:

Originally posted by Scudley On sail boats there are telltales all over the sails. You know your sail is tuned by by keeping the telltales on both sides of the sails are pointing back. Does anyone use telltales on their kites? S

I keep a tell-tale mounted on my headstock. It's about a 7" tall mast with some brightly colored yarn. The mast is plastic tubing soft enough to bend if I were to fall on it, and it's tye-wrapped to the headstock.

Quote:

Originally posted by acampbell I keep a tell-tale mounted on my headstock. It's about a 7" tall mast with some brightly colored yarn. The mast is plastic tubing soft enough to bend if I were to fall on it, and it's tye-wrapped to the headstock.

The tell-tale mount on the head stock would correspond to the weather vane found at the top of most masts. The ones I am talking about are on the sails. They tell you if your sails are properly trimmed. I suppose for kites they would only be useful for tuning.
S

yeah I know what you mean; I sail, but it would just be hard to see those littel yarns on the kite :singing::singing:

I thought I was real clever when I mounted a Davis Windex on my headstock, but the sand kept fouling the bearing on the vane. Back to simple yarn. KISS

Good info guys...I have always faced the wind and listened or felt for it to be the same in both ears...kind of tricky when getting used to it, I guess, but I've been doing it a long time. Then, like furbowski said, your arms will point to the broad reaches.

The body is amazing in what it can percieve...we just have to train it. Once you develop this sense, you rely less and less on other clues...

Under way, I rely more on feel and speed...ie it's not easy to do the ear thing charging thru waves and spray! However,you do delelop the skill to know when to bear off for speed and when to pinch up for pointing ability. In the bug, we have what is known as high resistance to lateral movement(correct me if I'm wrong) compared to water, so we can really point high to windward. If you point too high, you feel it when you start choking the kite, and it's time to bear off and regain speed.

I like to see what I can get away with sometimes(alot). Yesterday, we had 20 side-on and I thought I'd have a tacking battle to reach the tip of the sandbar, but...after the second tack, I just picked an impossibily high angle to windward (which kept me out of the surf barely) and held it ...I made it out, slower at the end of the tack, but it's like putting away credits...then you can bear off and rip...



or you can just look at the flag and follow the other dudes.

I find myself feeling my way through my initial pass finding that balance with speed and angle, without choking the kite and the after that, I'll sortof follow my tracks. If the tracks stop working, I'll glance over at my flag to see if the wind changed directions. When I get my buggy back together with the new parts, I'll put a piece of yarn on the headstock. That really give you a good indicator of what you can get away with for angle.