Staying on a plane

[jim]

I am working on my waterstarts. I usually can get up on a plane with the first dive I make of the kite but then I fall off the plane because I cant seem to keep the kite powered up. Watching people who know what they are doing it seems like the kite dives to get you out of the water, and then it is just held somewhat stationary at a certain angle and the rider is locked in and planing.
I am not sure when to sheet in or out to keep the kite powered up, or when to keep diving it to keep power. Any help would be great. Thanks.

[kiwiar2000]

hey Jimbo,
okay. When starting, the waterstart/boardoff or whatever you want to call it, is one of the most challenging, yet "experimental" stage of kiteboarding. Now what I'm going to tell you is based on a medium-powered conditions.(14-20knts). and going to the right side of you.
Dive your kite from 11 o clock to 2 o clock. This will defenitely generate power for you to keep you on the board. Don't sheet all the way, nor non-sheeting would work. In between. Now, to keep you going, don't just park your kite at 2!!!!!. generate power on your first try, and once you have boardoff and speed(a couple of seconds), THEN bring your kite to 12, and then bring it to 2 o clock. Keep doing this until you have enough pull that you dont need to bring your kite up and down in an effortless movement. This is where you will park your kite at 2 oclock. This is where you will be able to unlock the holy grail of kiteboarding-going upwind. That's why you see the kiteboarders have their kites at a stable position.
Okay bud, good luck.
-Danny

[jim]

thanks. Ill work on it

[mobettah]

Originally Posted by jim

I am working on my waterstarts. I usually can get up on a plane with the first dive I make of the kite but then I fall off the plane because I cant seem to keep the kite powered up. Watching people who know what they are doing it seems like the kite dives to get you out of the water, and then it is just held somewhat stationary at a certain angle and the rider is locked in and planing.
I am not sure when to sheet in or out to keep the kite powered up, or when to keep diving it to keep power. Any help would be great. Thanks.

Here are some things that helped me through this stage.

1. Make sure you let the kite pull you up by the harness and you are not pulling in with your arms.
2. Don't worry about going upwind until you've got enough speed to keep planing.
3. Anticipate taking the kite back up after the first power stroke. What I mean by this is once you made the kite travel through the wind window on the downward stroke try steering the kite to go back up before it hits the lowest point you want it to go. This way you will generate a certain amount of lift that will keep you from stopping from planing and dropping back into the water.
4. It is only after you are planing that you can start to think about parking the kite at a particular position in the wind window and not have to move it. Depending on the wind, kite size you are using and your weight, you may have to keep the kite moving to keep going. I had several sessions where this was the case. This is not a bad thing either. It gives you a margin of safety if the winds pick up.

Keep trying - I know for me this was the hardest part of getting going. It all clicked in a session when I worked on these things. You also might try to ask a more experienced kiter if they see you doing any of these things.

[willworkforwind]

jim,

where to start? remember first of all that all instruction makes perfect sense AFTER you have learned the specific skill. what we describe in words are really not properly suited to intellectual but rather neuromuscular discovery. only after you attemt and fail and attempt and fail and attempt and succeed-only after you DO will you really KNOW.

but we have to start somewhere. . .

some mistakes i made early on:
1. Problem : i was a wakeboarder and found that the skillset learned behind the boat was not appropriate under the kite. wakeboarding makes us lazy from the perspective that you can position the board at nearly any angle, and if you are strong enough, achieve a water start. in kiting, you cannot start with the board quartered off into the wind to any large degree.
Solution: point the board to a downwind angle.
2. Problem: i did not know how to guage wind direction. not being sensitive to where the wind really was coming from. postioning yourself imporperly under the kite makes a waterstart unnecessarily difficult. one tends to spin under the kite, and you have trouble keeping the board on your feet, you may even spin arround backwards-its just exhausting.
Solution: become a wind-reader. understand that the wind is never constant (if you have trouble with this, stop now and take up something exciting, like golf lol) while still onshore, orient yourself to the wind direction as you are trained in your instruction. pick a landmark directly downwind. when in the water, orient yourself to that downwind location. also, with kite up at neutral, watch the kite. in neutral without rider input, it will fly downwind, ie the kite, if properly tuned (all kitelines equal length and in the absence of major windshifts), will tend to fly downwind toward your landmark.
3. Problem: i often was either launched "out the front door" or teabagged while trying to water start.
Solution: in addition to wind direction, think about wind strength, relative to the size of kite you are sitting under. are you a bit under-powered, or a bit over-powered for the existing conditions. kite size relative to windspeed will determine how big a "bite" you need to get up on plane. think of it this way-if you are sitting on a piece of level ground in your aunt's ford pos, and you want to accelerate away without spinning your wheels you apply a certain amount of pressure to the gas peddle. would you apply the same pressure to the accelerator of a formula-one car? when the wind is nuking, and you are a bit overlit, take a small bite, ie: 11 to one. if you dont get up, try 10 to 2, and so on. if you are not getting up and going, take serially larger bites through the power zone. if you are still not getting up, point your board more downwind. if you dont get up with big sweeps through the zone and proper downwind perspective with the board, you likely need a bigger kite for present conditions. alternatively, if you are getting launched, your bite was too big, back off on the angle through the zone on your next attempt.
4. Problem: i would start on plane with the first dive of the kite, ride a short distance and then sink back into the water.
Solution: remember, kiting is a complex interplay of kiter mass, windspeed-kitesize interaction, wind quality and direction, board size and orientation, water surface characteristics incuding chop, current and salinity, and so on. what can make this sport frustrating for some beginners is that conditions are often different from day to day or even session to session. consistant board speed is your initial goal.
-dive the kite, which will begin the process of overcoming the drag of the water, but remember, one stroke of the kite ends on the UPSWEEP (as fokiten, bless him, used to stress on another forum). dive the kite, but be ready to immediately sweep it back upward; it is often this upsweep that gets you up and away.
once you are riding, the again complex interplay of board speed and available power will determine how much edge you can achieve on your board. ideally, you are sufficiently powered that you can park the kite at the edge of the window, lean back on your edge and back against your harness, and ride. and that riding, grasshopper, can set you on the tack towards true freedom.

pay it forward,

jimmi

[jim]

Thanks for all the help. wanted to get out for the past 2 ays but too much wind so went windsurfing.

[mobettah]

Originally Posted by jim

Thanks for all the help. wanted to get out for the past 2 ays but too much wind so went windsurfing.

Auugh! It freezing up in Canada and little wind. It might hit 40 deg F Friday with some wind. Might be the last time out this year. :cry:

[jim]

Is pickering on lake erie? I grew up on lake st claire in Mi. Good wind but cold. We used to do downwinders across the lake to canada and wind up back in michigan 10 miles downwind a few hrs later. Fun except for playing chicken with the freighters!

[mobettah]

Originally Posted by jim

Is pickering on lake erie? I grew up on lake st claire in Mi. Good wind but cold. We used to do downwinders across the lake to canada and wind up back in michigan 10 miles downwind a few hrs later. Fun except for playing chicken with the freighters!

Nope. Lake Ontario. East of Toronto. There are several good places to kite on Lake Erie near Crystal Beach....

[jim]

It all clicked for me today at east beach. After a much appreciated lesson from Mike(dont know your last name sorry), I was riding upwind the whole time . I ended the session early after wiping out and my foot got stuck in my footstrap and I ripped up my right hamstring pretty good. I think my straps are too loose. It should only be toes that protrude from the front ritght? If my foot wasn't in so far would this have prevented this accident?