Had my first shot at trying to self launch my 8m Catalyst today in 23-26kt cross-shore wind, with mixed success.

I attempted the Cabrinha method, where the lines are laid out upwind, the kite moved on top of the lines, connected, then the kite is moved further upwind and to the ocean-side of the lines, turned to face 45 degrees away from the wind. Supposedly then the 'downwind' trailing edge will catch some wind. The lines will then be sticking straight out the back of the kite, going downwind before they loop back around the kite, then upwind to the control bar.

The next step calls for the launcher to connect to the bar as per usual and walk upwind. This then is supposed to rotate the kite to catch more wind, then it is meant to pivot up onto its tip and launch like a water relaunch.

The video on the Ozone website from 2008 shows something similar, but much more vague.




So that's what I tried. In reality, when I turned the kite 45 degrees away from the wind in order for the trailing edge to catch wind, the centre strut got blown over the downwind trailing edge, pinning it down, and it didn't really catch anything. It kind of did a contortionist thing and didn't want to play nice. Trying to pivot the kite by tensioning the lines only further pretzeled the kite. I got a bit too scared by that point to push it any further because I didn't want it to suddenly hot-launch. It just looked way too weird and unsettling.

The videos are not particularly clear on where exactly you should be for the launch. Is it telling me to be directly upwind from the kite when I tension the lines and pivot the kite? If that's the case, isn't the kite going to launch from the power zone?



Is there any easier way to self-launch? I know about the sandbag/sandscrew method (have not tried it yet), but I was wondering if there was any other method or if I should stick with practicing the Cabrinha method. The beach I normally go to has a fairly narrow launch zone, even at low tide (if that makes a difference).