...........................well sort of. The last couple weeks the east coast has been hit by a couple Noreasters with winds of 20 to 30 mph lasting 3 to 4 days. This has caused some beach errosion and left behind huge troughs of water, 3 to 4 feet deep and at least 200 yds long at low tide. I took a look and said, what the hell. Grabbed the Blade and board, and sure enough it worked. Winds were out of the SE, 13 to 15 kts so downwind was a since. Upwind was a little difficult due to space and I had to do the walk o shame. Regardless, it was pretty sweet. A couple more runs in the troughs and I may take it in the breakers, we'll see. I was a blast! If you try this I can highly recommend a helmet and impact vest! Fly hard and safe!

That sounds fun. I have a BladeIV 6.5 and am thinking about making it depower. I think Powerzone can do that? Wonder how it works..... - Brian

The UDS mod maybe................... I believe there are 2 UDS setups. One with pulleys the other without. Not sure if that adapts to Flexi but John or Rippsession will know! Wow, a depowered Blade, that would be interesting.

yeah... send it over.... the depower will be similar to a Flysurfer.

Glad you got into the water. It takes some practice but you'll get it no problem. Going upwind should be a snap with the Blade. I was able to go upwind in 12-15mph on the Blade 4.9meter and I'm 200 pounds. Just takes some practice. Take the Blade into the "big" water and give it a go. What's the worst that will happen? Kite washes to shore and you swim in. Just never go out farther than your willing to swim. This is true for "water" kites as well!!!
I don't think the depower is needed. Just fly a smaller kite and work it more for power. That way you are less prone to going out with a kite to big then rely on kite depower ability to keep you safe. Better to play it safe from the word go. This has worked for me for many years.
I've only gotten into trouble one time by going out with a kite to big for the wind. Ended up with a broken leg. Won't happen again!
Here's a pic of some small waves and me doing a hand drag gybe flying a Quadrifoil XXXL on handles.

Scott

That's pretty cool Scott. I gotta say you've been my motivation to try a foil kite on the water. I live by lakes so my c-kites work okay but the more experienced guys around here swear by their Peter Lynns and Fylsurfers. I wanted to get a Blade to use with my landboard and on the water. Right now I'm flying my Profoil but it has a few rips so I've been looking around for a used Blade (not so easy to find used - I understand why).

Should I only be looking for the newer blades or will an older model still work for me on the water?

Are you holding both your handles in one hand in that photo?

I'm hooked into my harness and only have one hand on one handle. I've not pulled on lately but I used to be able to pull a backward slider with both hands in the water. I'm not sure why I've not been able to get one in a couple of years..... I keep falling on my face. Guess I got old. Seriously it's no problem to fly these kites on the water. JI don't think about crashing the kite while riding. Just never go farther than you want to swim.
I've only flown a Blade I 6.5m (wasn't impressed) way back in 2000 and just flew the Blade IV 4.9meter last week and was very very impressed.
Also remember to take a mesh bag with you so you can stuff a wet kite. Practice dumping a foil into the water and winding your lines and packing the kite while floating. If you do it in freshwater you get a free cleaning as well.
Here's another photo. This one is a XXXL on a trial set of 150 foot lines.:tumble: Just a test.

Wind direction permitting, I'm gonna get in the water in a few weeks on the coast. I'll have to wear a wetsuit but I have to try this with a foil. My kiteboard buddy will be aghast at this heresy. Not only is it not a bow LEI, or even a twin skin, ITS AN OPEN FOIL!

LEI bows, C's and closed foil kites are for people who can't fly kites Seriously you'll have a blast on the water no matter what you fly. I've flown all different kites and go back to my open foils everytime.
See ya-Scott

Oh youre gonna catch .... for that comment!

It seems flying ram air on water is alot like country music. Some prefer it, most hate it! Oh well, to each their own I guess. So what do you get when you play country music backwards?........................you get your truck back, job back, girlfriend back..........................................................................etc!:D

Yup that's kinda what happens when you fly your open foils on the water. You get your kite skills back. :-)
Open foils on the water are not the end all be all but they are a lot of fun.
Foils are best on a big open beach like at my house.
Scott

that looks like the dredged beach at St. Augustine.

dredged beach at Cocoa Beach

cool pic Scott, what size board? Looks like a 6' to 6'2. Nice thing about a directional is you have ALOT more glide. You power off on a twin tip, youre sinking fast or faster!:wow:

Which board? The board in a picture above is a 7'3" Hana Crew custom kiteboard based off of my F-One 7'3". It is my favorite board to ride. Lots of glide and it lets me ride very underpowered as well. Hence one of the reasons I can fly a 4.9 meter Blade in 12-15mph wind in the waves.

The board in my Avatar is a 6'6" Hana Crew custom. It's on Saipan awaiting my return

The attached pic is from 2000. My 2 Hana Crew boards are there along with another directional converted surfboard, wakeboard and windsurf board and maybe a couple surfboards thrown in for good measure.

Scott

Any news about your water adventures???

Today I went to fly in the flat waters down the street from my folks' house. There was a few guys trying to ride with 12m-17m Best Waroos. My friend was flying his 15m and doing ok. After sitting around for a bit I broke out my 10.5m Blade III and hit the water. I was screaming around while everyone else was sitting on shore because their kites wouldn't fly.

Get out on the water with the 6.5!

Scott