So this Thursday the 23rd, the forecast at the lake is for a nice 80* degree day with winds in the afternoon/evening around 12 knots.

So Im going to take the ol' 15m kite and board up for a shot in the water. Going to start off with some body dragging then once I feel comfortable, going to jump on the board and see what happens. Its going to be a cross wind from the "shore." I've watched many videos on youtube on how to start out and watched the Progression Beginners Dvd many times.

BUT I thought I would post up and ask for anymore advice. Anything else you can think of that would help or things to look out for?

Thanks in advance. And if there are any Kiters here in AZ that wanna join, let me know. Although I haven't seen anyone post that was from Phoenix

operating the kite with one hand, be patient. alot of floaty balance stuff you'll encounter .

drag and be happy with just being in the water harnessed with the kite.

when you can pop yourself out of the water while dragging and return to an upwind point thats when to ad the board. do some water relaunches inlike hip deep so you get the action response of the kite.

have fun! stop when you are fatigued its a sign that should be heeded

Be aware of any possible hazards on your lake, and have an exit plan in case you get dragged to an area you don't want to be. At our local spot, the lake isn't too big and is surrounded by a hike n bike trail, so walking back to your launch isn't a big deal. But, the majority of the shoreline is surrounded by boulders to prevent erosion, so we have to be wary of where we enter/exit the lake, and make sure that we dont' end up blown on to them.

Also be aware that inland winds can gust up, lull out, and shift directions, so be prepared to deal with that as well.

Can you post us a google maps link to your riding spot, and tell us the wind direction for the day you plan to ride?

What lake are you headed to? For 12 knots i wouldnt head up there.. but in the 15+ knot range i would definitely think about taking a road trip in the future! Especially if you ever get a few consecutive days like that!

Im very much so a beginner, but IMHO advice isnt so important, you really just gotta get out there and experience it. Then you'll be able to gauge different things and see what you need to focus on. The only advice id have is to wear booties, or those water shoe things, or something.. unless Phoenix lake shores are much softer than Yuma's!

Samm - Going to Lake Pleasant. Its just 15 minutes from me. If the winds aren't strong enough we're just gonna sit back and relax.

BB - Here is a link to the lake: http://g.co/maps/ma7j6

We're going to be on the East side of the lake. Depending on how high/low the water is we're going to be either on the north end or south. Winds are going to be North - North East.

++ to Samm's comments. You just gotta get out there and experience it.

Just be aware of what's downwind of you (hopefully land) if the wind is too offshore. Flying the kite from the water is mad fun even without a board.

+1 on the the breeze ,

one of the first things i had to accept as a beginner on the water was that anything less than 15 was misery esp. with the board. anything over 20 was nerve racking.

in the beginning if in doubt for tooo much breeze get in the water and drag til you relax a bit, call it a day

def know your spot underwater hazards are nasty surprises

Ya I got this larger kite for the low winds that we have here. It is predicted 12 but I am hoping for a little more. Im sure there will be gusts as well to "help" move me a long. Im thinking with those winds, me at 160lbs, 15m kite w/ 27m lines and a bigger board of 150cmx44 I should be able to get up and go.....at least thats what I am hoping for. And with the winds coming from the South its a nice straight shot, no hills or anything to block or cause turbulence on the wind. Again...hopefully. Hell, I may get out there and it might be a nice sunny day with no wind at all.

Friday morning is predicted for 20 mph winds - at 3 am.

What they said

Body-dragging is fun - perfect your upwind dragging, it's vital. Then do loops and superman straight downwind :D

When steering with one hand... sheet out, kite will drop; sheet in, kite will climb.

When water-starting... lie back floating in the water, knees into your chest, dive kite, sit up, stand up. Keep your arms straight and let the kite pull through your harness.

Oh forgot to add... water-start exercise.

Start off NOT trying to stand up - stay in your starting position (balled up) and dive the kite through the window, letting it pull you around upwind a bit and keep the board balanced against the pull.

Repeat till you feel comfy... then start pushing out your front* foot at the kite in a flying karate kick style... do that at the end of the kite dive then gradually sooner and sooner until you're popping up out of the water.
Push out your foot but don't try to stand up - let the kite pull your upperbody into a sitting then standing position - LET THE KITE DO THE WORK!!!

*Front as in, diving the kite left-to-right then your right foot will be front foot.

Thanks for the info and good call on the water shoes! We dont have sandy beaches, just rocky hard shores. I remember last time I was at the lake I cut my foot several times just walking in the water, so I got some water shoes :D

I've been watching the forecast on the winds for the lake and was sadden when I saw it drop to 8 knots. Woke up this morning to check it and its predicted up to 13 knots! *Pix*

Hope it stays sunny and windy. Im sure I'll come back later today sore, beat up and with lots of pictures and maybe some footage :wee:

Link to pic

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn319/kkeebb007/predictth...

Please report back...looking forward to hearing how it went!

..one more tip...forgive me if it's already been mentioned, when you do your initial board start, don't forget to point your board slightly downwind, otherwise it'll be real easy to go over the top of it...

good luck!

AZ,

Please be sure and look at that thread on the multiple mistakes. Notice He didn't fill his kite proper !

I'm not sure your water temp. but up here kites lose pressure after filling due to the cold water. Pump that kite up much more than you have been doing when hitting water.

Body drag aggressively, learning to control and appreciate the power of the kite. Make sure you can body drag upwind to retrieve your board.

From Kami: "When water-starting... lie back floating in the water..." ...pull the kite back to get a strong power stroke and dive the kite. Don't stand up, instead let the kite pull you up. Flatten your board and point it to the spot where the kite would hit the water from the dive if not redirected.

dive the kite
flatten and point the board!


You start with lots of short 3-5 second rides, then try the other direction. Weight on the back leg. Lessons will shorten the learning curve you keep you out of the weeds. Good luck man.
:wee:

Well it was another "failed" day. Actually it was a lot of fun! Had a small group of us, had $1 kites for the kids and my 3.5 Imp as well. Sadly the forecast was off. It was an average of 5knots with a gust of 8-10 knots. Either way I blew up the 15m and got in the water and played. Froze at first but got used to it real quick. I had 2 good body dragging times that dragged me straight down wind. Otherwise I spent the 2 hours trying to keep it in the air. I was located in a cove, so I could've just floated back to the shore but instead I had them break out the boat and paddle out to me and pull me back :eureka: Later we found it easier to having my helpers pull me back to shore. Yes...I had a rope tied to my harness This way once the kite pulled me out from shore then inevitably die from lack of wind, they could just pull me back :tumble:
Otherwise after about 30 minutes of the kite in the water/air, we pumped it up more b/c like Bladerunner said, it changed the pressure as it hit the water. Either way it was just too light of winds to do anything. Relaunch from the water was almost zero! I was able to catch it twice and get it back up in the air but only to lose it again. Didnt even attempt the board. With having to work it so hard to just keep the kite up, there was no way I was going to be able to one hand it to get the board on.

So then we broke out the little kites, built a fire, cooked some food and had some drinks. Good time for all! Till next time!

And I can post some pictures later of us amateurs... :Ange09:

Any time you play with kite ..... wind or no wind .... get you more experience .... as longest you have fun that counts as good session ....

Quote:

Originally posted by AZKevin ...we broke out the little kites, built a fire, cooked some food and had some drinks. Good time for all!

Sounds like anything BUT a fail!

Here are some of my favorite shots (with the links below for a larger image):


http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn319/kkeebb007/2012-02-2...


http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn319/kkeebb007/2012-02-2...


http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn319/kkeebb007/2012-02-2...


http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn319/kkeebb007/2012-02-2...

Album if you're bored:
http://s307.photobucket.com/albums/nn319/kkeebb007/

Looks like a good spot though! Jealous

When we first got out there, there were sailboats so I got my hopes up....but no. :sniff:

Kevin, you have the BEST "ground crew" ever! Dude, your support is so awesome. Keep feeding them beers.
The skills you are learning with the super light wind is great. Trust me, there will be a day when you "limp" back in to shore. When that day comes, you'll be the man, when everyone else's kites are falling from the sky!

Haha no doubt Flyfish! It would've sucked without their help!

So other than the main issue of too light of winds. I have been looking around and found some good videos on youtube for relaunching in light winds. I believe I did it once on accident just by pulling random lines trying to get it to flip over or on to one side. But I thought these were good as well.

Also I downloaded this app for my Droid X - Wind Meter - Its in the video below and I'm curious to see how well it works.

http://youtu.be/TyW_Xfkhe0g

Another
http://youtu.be/YnwAlDxAOwg

One more
http://youtu.be/CGcYINoxI_0