Spent last week at OBX working on my SUK (Stand Up paddle Kiting), along with a stop in Raleigh on the way to meet up with Ed and do a little buggying. Somewhere along the way, I also windsurfed and flew some static as well as some flying of kitesurfing (LEI) kites.

I found that my buggy engines made excellent kites for powering an SUP. The best one seems to be my 2.9 M NPW 21 following Ian's design. Here is a video of me using the 21 with my SUP. Using the NPW's I was able to go from mainly sailing downwind only to sailing across the wind and jibe to turn around. Still a work in progress, but I am getting there. I have several more vids on my youtube page showing a bit more of the technique, and sailing in lighter and stronger winds with other kites. Jibes are interesting - pretty much just like a buggy top turn.

One of my GPS tracks

Quote: Originally posted by Randy

Spent last week at OBX working on my SUK (Stand Up paddle Kiting), along with a stop in Raleigh on the way to meet up with Ed and do a little buggying. Somewhere along the way, I also windsurfed and flew some static as well as some flying of kitesurfing (LEI) kites. I found that my buggy engines made excellent kites for powering an SUP. The best one seems to be my 2.9 M NPW 21 following Ian's design. Here is a video of me using the 21 with my SUP. Using the NPW's I was able to go from mainly sailing downwind only to sailing across the wind and jibe to turn around. Still a work in progress, but I am getting there. I have several more vids on my youtube page showing a bit more of the technique, and sailing in lighter and stronger winds with other kites. Jibes are interesting - pretty much just like a buggy top turn.

Randy - that's awesome. We tried the same in kayaks, but couldn't hold an edge. The rudder alone didn't resist the lateral pull - maybe if we had a skeg. Toby has a Hobie (yeah, fun to say) kayak that uses the flippers - that helped - he can also drop a daggerboard into the same slot - which might solve the issue. Love this idea - combining my two favorite hobbies! Thanks!

Thanks Jim. Maybe I can bring a SUP to JIBE and we can try it at high tide. You need to edge the SUP (dip the downwind rail) and stand back near the tail to make it work. It took me quite a while to get this to work, but its pretty simple once you do. NPW's work very well because they can provide a lot of pull and hang near the edge of the window.

Thanks for the visit Mr Randy. I do like that bug you're driving. I wish I could have arranged friendlier wind. I'm happy the main attraction went so well at OBX. Fair wind kite buddy.

Thanks to you too Ed for hosting! I will be putting your spot down as a good place to visit on my way to the OBX.