Onshore wave riding

[chalks]

The thread on wave kites has got me thinking. I'm trying to get a bit of practice in on onshore wave riding but am having problem with my kite control so any tips would be greatly appreciated.

The issue is that when coming back in to the beach port tack I decide I'm going to have a go at bringing the kite round to the other direction so that I can turn downwind- to the right- and then hit the wave and then go back the way I was going but when I try to turn the kite, a Religion 10.5 2014, the kite doesn't pivot but instead shoots up to 12 so that by the time I get it down again to hit the wave, the wave has passed.

I have tried being more aggressive with the bar but the kite still shoots up to 12.

Hope that makes sense. Any tips appreciated.

Thanks

[cleepa]

Sounds like you are losing tension in the lines in the turn. You are probably turning the kite late.

[plummet]

Try looping when you are running downwind on the wave. fish pole that bar and loop like hell.

[lobodomar]

Yep. For that kite size downlooping is the only way to go for onshore conditions.

[clint2070]

I start off figure eighting the to get the kite and board heading downwind before even contacting the wave this will allow your kite to drift a lot longer before having to down loop it. Sometims i loop over the back of the wave and sometimes in front. Depends on the location. All kites react different. Ive never tried the religion. My kahoonas were the worst. If you loop it and it actually makes it around without hitting the water you ended up in the next zip code haha. My wiaans in onshore just wiuldnt stay put. Slingshoting across the window so much that i could focus on the wave. Im on the pivots now and ive found it to be the best so far. Onshore wave riding is difficult !

[TommyDuotone]

This promo vid for Switch is almost like a little tutorial for onshore wave riding. The left side of the wind window is utilized(9 o'clock - 1 o'clock).





Really depends on the angle of the wind though. Anything more than 45 degrees from side shore starts getting difficult.

[chalks]

Thanks for the replies. Just to confirm, what I am trying to do is come in on a wave backside on port tack, then turn the kite to change direction to hit the lip which is behind me, so that in effect I am turning about 270 degrees to hit the lip and then turn back the way I was coming from.

Don't know if this makes sense. I've never thought of looping the kite- think that I would have to go way out into the flat before turning if I did though, or could this be done really quickly? As you will have gathered, I'm no expert!

[knotwindy]

depends on the wind angle as said before but if you do not want to try looping yet try this

before you start the turn, pull the bar hard and fast but not for too long to bring the kite just past overhead and then pull the bar back the other hand, also fast and short as you start the turn.
if you time it right it should leave the kite overhead facing the way you started with enough slack in the lines to let you finish the turn, hit the lip and reverse the board direction with no pull from the kite and it will be waiting for you to go in the old direction. sounds complicated but pretty easy, just happens fast and early. if you have a kite the drifts well..... YMMV

[lobodomar]

. I've never thought of looping the kite- think that I would have to go way out into the flat before turning if I did though, or could this be done really quickly? As you will have gathered, I'm no expert!

Start the carve before the loop to slacken the lines some, this way you wont get pulled dowwind. The carving turn should be as tight as possible.
When the kite is coming back up through the loop you should already be finishing your180 and start reengaging the lines aiming towards your 270 to hit the lip.
Before hitting the lip, with the lines reengaged, you should already start yanking the kite in the opposite direction, timing it as required (shouldn't be necessary to downloop again, unless dead onshore/big swell)

[foam-n-fibre]

If you are talking about wind that is very close to straight onshore then it's not going to look like that Switch video. I'd say that video looks like its side on, and maybe more side than on, so don't expect to draw those lines in true onshore conditions.

My preferred way to ride onshore wind waves in a beach break assuming that one side is slightly favored for going out, is to use that direction for the wave riding. Head out toeside (or switch to toeside partway out) and when you spot a nice wave, carve off it, riding it back in on the same tack, continuing down the beach hitting it as many times as you can. So for your description you're riding out toeside left foot forward, then near the outside you can start riding in with frontside riding still on the same tack. It's the easiest way to get frontside riding in those conditions without having to turn through 270 and doing a lot of kite maneuvering for each one.

It ends up that you don't have one tack going out and one tack going in. Your "out" tack is half pinching up wind, and half waveriding on a slightly broad reach, then the other tack, which is not favored for getting out, is used to pinch up wind as much as possible.

As for your first question about the kite heading to 12, the key is that you need to start with the kite lower and turn it very quickly more than 90 degrees so it's heading the other way and not just up. How hard or more rounded you turn downwind will determine how much the kite tries to rip you off your board as the kite goes through the powerzone. If the wind is light and lines are going loose, then yes, looping helps, but if its too light even that won't work.

HTH,
Peter