I am kiting in the surf 80% of the time now and on the flat I can do things like a hooked in f16 etc... so I am keen to start learning how to unhook as I can see the potential with the additional freedom in my mind and watching others.
My questions are:
Where to put the safety leash? (Chicken loop, 5th line?)
how depowered should the kite be before unhooking?
tips and tricks?
I have seen some of the Ben Wilson videos of him surfing and hes never hooked in and he moves his hand from bar to chicken loop!! Obviously that sort of thing is a fair way away, but would love to nail the basics.
Cheers
Lance
I tryed it yesterday. Was sweeeeeeeeeeet fun. Very interesting.
Ive got no tips, except for just go for it, if worst comes to worst just let go of the bar.
Hi Lance,
Hate to be pedantic, however, a hooked in F16 is a backroll kiteloop, it's only an F16 if you are unhooked!
You have either option of chicken loop or 5th line for your leash. if you connect onto the chicken loop, make sure your chicken loop will remain attached to the leash if it is inadvertantly quick released. Secondly this kind of leash setup is a suicide leash so you need to make sure you have a way of jettisoning the kite if you have a problem, preferably from the harness end so you can reach it if the kite is powered in death spins.
The alternative is to attach to the 5th line, this is generally preferable and just stops the kite in the event of a missed pass or dropped bar. Most riders try tricks close to the beach which can result in the kite being blown onto the beach and into the general public in cross onshore winds. The 5th is better and safer!
As for depower, try riding with the bar fully sheeted in, if you have to ease it out to control speed or gusts then trim it in until you can comfortably ride fully sheeted in, then add another couple of inches to the depower and you should be right to unhook.
Keep your kite low when you unhook to get a good edge and a lower centre of gravity until you are ready for your trick. If once you have unhooked you get overpowered and start speeding off out of control, just grab your chicken loop and dump power and think about adding more depower before you unhook next time.
The surf is a different category altogether. Ride a smaller kite and a surfboard and then similar rules apply but riding downwind often stalls kites so depower to prevent stalling is essential. Experiment, but do it downwind of others so if you end up speeding downwind out of control you aren't going to take anyone out.
Good luck and enjoy!
Good winds,
Hey Lance,
I have just started unhooking and going for raileys etc a few days ago. Day one involved a lot of overpowering myself getting the kite ripped out of my hands etc and travelling downwind too much. This was all great experience as i began to understand the control required when setting up to unhook etc. Plus i learnt how to relaunch my kite properly.
Day two - I had a little system worked out which involved breaking the tricks into steps and repeating the move over and over in my head even thoughout the day whilst sat behind my computer at work.
Some tips:
- Watch videos of the pros riding in slow motion paying attention to the movements involved
- Get your hands on an instructional DVD I have Kiteboarding 101 and 201 with Shannon Best its old but spills so much great technique and tips that had not even occured to me
- www.kiteworldmag.com/ has a fantastic motordrive section which breaks each move down to a digestable format.
Check this railey tutorial with Dan Anderson: www.kiteworldmag.com//content/view/88/10084/
Then get out there and go for it - I was afraid to just unhook or chuck a kiteloop in with a backroll.
After landing my first sloppy but ok raileys and hooked in backroll kiteloop yesterday i am frothing more than ever!
just unhook and learn. time will make you feel comfortable with being unhooked and you will then be ready for simple unhooked moves and progress from that.
Thanks guys - Kitehard - yeah I knew it wasnt a F16 but it describes it pretty well, I have tried to unhook once but my prep wasnt right into the move and ended up with one hand on the bar which ended up in death - but I have that sorted now!
I will keep the leash to the 5th line as that is where it is now and just go out there and give it a go!
Without knowing the names I can see some of the spins and loops you can do unhooked in my mind would be way cool, or may have some unwanted consequences - all part of learning I guess.
Thanks again for the input
Lance
