Postby jonysan » Thu May 10, 2018 5:59 pm
HI, I think all the points you mentioned "Drift, good de-power, fast turning, steady power in loops" are the main requirements of a kite to make it easier to use in onshore conditions, they also apply to cross/on, sideshore, and cross/off conditions,
Offshore winds ......... dangerous, and very hard work.
In onshore conditions the main requirement is very good depower, but also to use the right kite size so you are riding - comfortably to well powered up.
if underpowered then as soon as you top turn off the wave you are riding into slack lines which means you need to bottom turn hard while hoping the kite stays in the sky.
If well powered up then you have possibly the opposite problem, the kite is still pulling you out in front of the wave , and that's when you need good de-power to allow you to stay close to the wave face,
Good de-power is top of the list,
A fast turning , and very reactive kite is next on the list, it allows you to rescue a move either by downlooping to get the kite a bit more powered up, or slamming the kite right back across the wind window to get out of a sticky situation.
Drift, I'm not sure about the whole "drift" thing , as long as the kite stays in the sky, and is recoverable after it drops back a bit, then most low aspect kites work perfectly in waves.
In onshore conditions, probably the most important factor is experience knowing that if you are turning down a decent sized wave then your speed is going to increase toward the kite, so knowing your next move is a good idea !