Rails said..

When do you stop being a newbie?

When all you can talk about is newbies getting in your way when you go to your favourite spot...

IKO publish KB skill 'level's', beginner, intermediate, advanced. I'd suggest using this before you announce to your friends you're not a newbie ;-)

zarb said..

After about 500 posts.

Damn it! I'm further behind you... and I joined this website before you! Seems you don't really do much other than post or make amazing progress with Kiteboarding...

I hate you!

Rails said..

When do you stop being a newbie?

When you don't need to ask this question anymore

Probably not as much as I would have liked. It was even a bit of a hindrance learning to ride on my weak side. It helped a bit with carving turns, but it counts for zilch when it comes to jumps and transitions.

Hi All, I am one of the new test subjects for kitesurfing and I also do SUP. I figured out I preferred to avoid riding goofy when doing SUP and so I adjust my stance based on going left or right down a wave. I just love seeing what is about to smack me in the head.

I have really appreciated reading the first 9 pages of the newbies forum and I am sure I will have some funny and painful stories to tell in the very near future.

I have taken the advice on lessons (three so far) and I am getting ready to stand up (tried but face planted). Pretty sure I will be implementing a great number of the lessons presented on this forum ......

Learn something new every day .... forehand goofy and forehand natural, thanks.

kitebt said..
For you more experienced guys following this thread. I am finding that I am riding to close to the wind when going up wind and I end up stalling,losing power or hitting a wave and falling backwards. Can any of you guys provide any considerations to prevent ridding to close to the wind?

If you bring the kite too far forward in the wind window (in your direction of travel) and keep the bar in to try and generate power the opposite happens. The kite loses power, you lose board speed, then you can get smacked by waves like a sitting duck, or just sink back into the water.

Try bearing downwind a bit, let the bar out and get the kite to get back into the power zone. When you get your speed up and the kite well powered then pull the bar back in, edge the board back upwind, but not too much of either.

There are some more details here: kitesurfing-handbook.peterskiteboarding.com/progression/going-upwind

Hi All, are there any issues moving a slingshot bar onto a cabrinha kite?

I think you must be thinking about the Cabrinha Crossbow. Slingshot is a different brand.

cyber98 said..

Hey everyone,

I have travelled to Sri Lanka to take kitesurfing lesson and so far I just simply cannot get past the board balance as I have never did any boardsport.

Should I go for cable park or should I do a little bit of wakeboarding in order to get it right?

Sadly the wind in UAE is extremely weak, the wind rages from 10 to 16 on best days. Do you think 17 meters dyno would do me any good in these conditions?

Thanks

Cyber, yep, a cable park will do you a world of good, or at least it did me. I also had no board sports.

As for kite size... you need to include your weight to get a good idea of what size kite you need. I.e. if you're a big heffer (which is fine), you'll need a bigger kite than if you're a light weight.

An alternative to a bigger kite is a directional board, which has a lot less resistance (if you're into cycling, think road cycle tires at 100psi, vs mountain bike tires at 20psi).

Im 85kg as well, and my 17m Zephyr and 140x41 Tronic is a great combo for winds over about 12knots. With a little bit more experience in light wind, could probably get down to about 10knots. Add a lightwind board and the range could get down to 8knots.

It's fast enough to get the job done on light-wind days

It's actually been quite comforting having such a slow kite to practice stuff on. No matter how much I bone-up the move, the kite will always be in the same place I left it.

Note to self, if one's kite drops from the sky, turns itself inside out and is unrecoverable, it's worth considering firing the QR. This might give the bound kite enough free line to untangle.

Also, if you're going to swim in with the crippled kite, remind yourself as to the motivations as to why you chose not to wear booties whilst clambering over the rocks at Brighton beach (you turkey).

explain number 2 for me salty. are you looking for your board that floating around? is your board attached and the kites at zenith but your procrustinating which way to go? is your board on or nearby but your kites down and your trying to relaunch? or are you sitting in the water looking at your kite float into the horizon?

allso bloke who learnt kiteing in sri lanka they should of had you up on the door within 3 days easy. theres plenty of kiters in uae if you meet any jump on them with questions as to how to contact the rest. shouldnt be hard to find a kite buddy or 2. if your really into the sport you should be at the best kite beach within 2 hours drive every day you get off just waiting till you see one up in the air or getting pumped. bring sandwiches and a stunt kite to kill time. even if theres no wind its good to just be there dicking around on a trainer or stunt slowly absorbing how wind interacts with surounding object why clouds form where a good bit of shade is and water all these things become important as theyll reduce your stress levels on your first steps on your own. being aware and comfortable with your surroundings is a big part.

bigtone667 said..

Hi All, are there any issues moving a slingshot bar onto a cabrinha kite?

just make sure u have the same bridle type kite.
nearly all bridle kites are set up so any bar lines are of equal length will work

but for instance if u go putting a hybrid bar onto a c kite u could end up in hospital

best to be sure and check with your local kiteshop, they tend to dispense safety advice freely