Kite boarding 201

16º 27.047s 145º 22.046w

Tue Jul 02 2019

Well I reckon I got all that “how the kite works” stuff pretty much bass ackwards. Isabel and I have had 4 lessons together, and I’m finally starting to understand how the darn thing works. Now that I’m an expert and actually get up and wobble along going faster and faster downwind until I execute a magnificent face plant, it’s time to relate my newfound knowledge.

On the subject of face plants – if you crash in a most spectacular fashion, one of the lenses from your sunglasses will actually pop out and be forever lost. Ask me how I know. The good news is trusty crewmember Thad left us his spare pair of sunnies, so now they’re my primary sports goggles. That’s important, because if we weren’t wearing sunnies with tight straps on them, our eyeballs would likely have been washed out of our heads by now.

After spending lot of time staring at the various strings that extend from the kite boarding handle to the actual kite (that’s what one does after a face plant when one’s board is too far away to even see) it’s more obvious to me how this thing works. It’s actually a lot like the ram air canopy that I used to use back in the skydiving days, except it’s not a ram air device, rather it has an inflatable leading edge and ribs that hold the shape of the airfoil. There’s a red line that attaches to the left side trailing edge of the kite, and a gray line that attaches to the right side trailing edge of the kite, and they attach to the red and gray ends of the bar (handle) that’s used to control the kite. There’s a couple of lines that lead up to the leading edge of the kite, and they converge to a single point where there’s an adjustable trim control. That adjustment can be used to set the static angle of attack of the kite, sort of a baseline power control. From that point there is a single line enclosed in a tube which passes through a hole in the center of the bar then attaches to your belt with a fancy quick release mechanism. When you’re kiting along, the belt carries the loads of the kite. It’s still a very physical activity, but your arms aren’t heavily stressed.

Pulling the bar toward you increases the angle of attack of the airfoil, which creates lift and causes the kite to surge forward until it achieves equilibrium. Pulling the bar so that it is tilted, i.e. you’re pulling on one side more than the other, causes the shorter side to stall a bit and the other side surges forward; that’s what causes the kite to turn and dive.

Starting in the “toilet position” (instructor Adrien’s words) squatted on the board, you bring the kite overhead then aggressively pull the bar to create lift which pulls you upright, while almost simultaneously turning the kite in the direction you want to go, so you’re both pulling the bar towards you while also tilting the bar to turn the kite in the proper direction. It seems to be an “acquired skill”. If done properly, the miracle of flight occurs and you’re off, whizzing along the water wondering what to do next. If the wind is strong enough you can leave the kite in a static position and tool along downwind, which involves having the board flat on the water, a board position achieved by a particular posture with both legs bent, in sort of a seated position. If the victim wants to go upwind, that involves extending one leg more than the other and leaning back a bit similar to wake boarding behind a ski boat. That reacts the lift vector of the kite against the water.

It all happens quite fast, is really fun and exciting for a newbie, and generally (well for us, at least) results in seconds of cruising along followed by either a face plant or more generally getting one’s weight too far aft and falling backwards like happens when water or snow skiing. Isabel and I have determined that flat water, about 15 knots steady breeze, and the appropriately sized kite may lead to hours of smokeless tobacco pleasure, so we’ll be shopping for gear in Tahiti once we arrive there in about 3 weeks. Why not, can’t dance. . .

So there you have it - how kite surfing works. I bet my university technical writing professor is rolling in his grave right now. I also bet it could take you the rest of your life to unlearn the most likely completely incorrect theory of operation that I’m currently espousing.