What's with holding the depower strap in one hand when the bar isn't fixed anyway? Kites don't really need to be trimmed that much in most conditions, particularly hooked in with a reasonable throw on the chicken loop. To me any amount of trimming he is doing with the depower strap he could do with more precision with the bar, it would certainly be hard to be precise working the bar and depower strap at the same time/pointless.

Also, "I think kite and board designs will stabilize, one area which we will continually be able to innovate and improve on is fin foils" LOL could not talk more **** if he tried.

One of the faster course races.

Spacemonkey! said...

What's with holding the depower strap in one hand when the bar isn't fixed anyway? Kites don't really need to be trimmed that much in most conditions, particularly hooked in with a reasonable throw on the chicken loop. To me any amount of trimming he is doing with the depower strap he could do with more precision with the bar, it would certainly be hard to be precise working the bar and depower strap at the same time/pointless.

I doubt he'd modify his trim system unless it yielded some advantages. He seems to have been at the front of course racing evolution for a few years now so regardless of what he says on the beach, I'd say his results on the water justify his mods.

From a technical perspective, it seems like racers are using big enough kites to go very deep downwind which means that they'll be on the edge upwind, and so anything that lets them keep their weight further outboard through gusts and lulls will be rewarded with efficiency and control gains.

Spacemonkey! said...

What's with holding the depower strap in one hand when the bar isn't fixed anyway? Kites don't really need to be trimmed that much in most conditions, particularly hooked in with a reasonable throw on the chicken loop. To me any amount of trimming he is doing with the depower strap he could do with more precision with the bar, it would certainly be hard to be precise working the bar and depower strap at the same time/pointless.

Also, "I think kite and board designs will stabilize, one area which we will continually be able to innovate and improve on is fin foils" LOL could not talk more **** if he tried.

You don't understand whats going on then, look from 2.44 for the next 10-12 seconds, look at how he hooks upwind after that tack when he pulls is a swag of trim!

What do you know about kite racing and fin design that makes you sure Adam is talking ****???

Kitepower Australia said...

Spacemonkey! said...

What's with holding the depower strap in one hand when the bar isn't fixed anyway? Kites don't really need to be trimmed that much in most conditions, particularly hooked in with a reasonable throw on the chicken loop. To me any amount of trimming he is doing with the depower strap he could do with more precision with the bar, it would certainly be hard to be precise working the bar and depower strap at the same time/pointless.

Also, "I think kite and board designs will stabilize, one area which we will continually be able to innovate and improve on is fin foils" LOL could not talk more **** if he tried.

You don't understand whats going on then, look from 2.44 for the next 10-12 seconds, look at how he hooks upwind after that tack when he pulls is a swag of trim!

What do you know about kite racing and fin design that makes you sure Adam is talking ****???

I just can't imagine that there is too much more to improve on in fin design compared to kite and board, just my opinion. As for the depower strap I was more talking about when cruising along, obviously when going upwind/downwind you need to adjust trim.

I'm pretty sure you got a sailing background steve? On a yacht trimming the sails is a very precise thing, if the bar is mobile and moving in and out slightly and your also moving the depower strap in and out when cruising along it seems to me your adjusting the trim twice.

Once you got the depower strap set right you should be able to trim mostly from the bar unless very gusty etc. I would imagine. Just theory crafting.

The guy who crosses the line first can do and say whatever he wants

If you look at the clip from Fuerteventura, you can see the bent over stance the sailors have to adopt to be able to sheet the bar in and out far enough.

Then compare that to Johnny Heineken or Adam Koch who finished first and second in this years world championship, and you can see that the trim line is an extra level in performance - when you can do it well.

The film was made for Rista fins, so that may explain the emphasis on fins. I expect more development on boards, even more development on fins, but I expect that kites are still the area that will develop most for lightwind racing - if there is no cost capping.