Unhooked wave riding

[stealth sampler]

For those who have been into unhooked waveriding for awhile:

1. What are advantages/disadvantages to unhooked waveriding?(frontside/backside, wind angles, etc)
2. What are the main tips you could give that you wish you had known before starting out? (kite/bar tuning tips, positioning of kite etc)
3. If you are not riding "fixed" unhooked, what are the techniques for tuning kite while not actually riding the wave vs. when you are riding the wave?

Appreciate it...

[simonm]

1. Frees up the body movement (ie not constricted by a CL attached to your hips). More surfing feel. Cool feeling the power of the kite through your arms. Better kite sensitivity. I prefer switch, but others are just as happy riding front side or back side. All in all, nothing better than a solid powerful vertical snap when riding unhooked on a decent wave (going strapless also adds a few satisfaction points). Some disadvantages might be if you are not particularly strong in the upper body you may have troubles. Most bow kites (at least the ones I have tried) don't work as well as a fast C (shame if that is all you have). There are times that being able to depower the kite would help correct mistakes you make on the wave, however I'd prefer the the advantages of being unhooked rather than easily being able to cover up sloppy riding. If the wind is pretty side off then the depower of hooked in riding can be pretty handy.
2. Commit to the bottom turn. The harder you bottom turn the more solidly you can tag the lip. Ride the smallest kite possible.
3. No idea. Only ride fixed.

[stealth sampler]

Thanks for that Simonm. I guess I could add to the thread for consideration:

#4 Why fly "fixed" unhooked vs. the alternative, and what forms do the "alternative" take???? (make sense?)

[seano]

StealthS:

I ride unhooked but not fixed... works well for gusty conditions.

New Zealand winds are mostly gusty low pressure frontal systems, so I use 5th line too

When not riding the wave I make full use of C/L to deal with gusts while tacking back upwind.

Once you've selected a wave you reset the depower to the optimum trim for unhooked - 5th line can be further adjusted to suit wind while unhooked.

Because you are depowering the kite"bearing away" when riding down the line you can be unhooked in gusty winds that you can't Tack into unhooked.

[hot]

hey i just watched ben Wilsons Unknown Road DVD - He is doing an instructional dvd - check his website i think there is a traler of it on there
http://www.benwilsonsurf.com/?pageid=10137 - there is you tube link there
I think youre questions may get answered there

[simonm]

4. Fixed vs CL or should I go out on a bigger kite that I can depower or go out on a smaller kite that requires sining to power up? I find that riding fixed lets me drop a kite size compared to riding CL (and for me, the smaller the kite the better). The smaller the kite, the faster it flies, the better the punch through the power stroke and the less pull it generates when on the wave. With larger kites that you have to trim to unhook, you can end up changing the angle of attack of the kite to the extent that it no longer flies so well when unhooked (sometimes hanging too much off the front lines). I also find that I ride with more confidence onto a wave when I know the trim of the kite is already set and correct. I can hook/unhook at any stage (eg if you are heading back out and a nice clean wall stands up in front of you) and everything is good to go. Other small advantages include being able to steer or even sine the kite with one hand, a simplified bar and being able to constantly shuffle your hands around the bar without having to work around the lines through the centre.

I guess its not for everyone, but if you get the hang of it, it is a pretty effective and rewarding style of riding. At the beginning, you really fight the kite to keep it under control, but after a while, you don't even notice edging or stalling the board, or working the kite. Everything just becomes reactive. The kite might be flying all over the window, but it is just like some subconscious extension of your will. All in all, quite cool when it comes together. Going back to a 12m (or even 9m) bow kite feels like a school bus in comparison.

If you give it a go, make sure that you start with a very very small kite and choose an area with lots of space around. Learn to launch and land unhooked (in fact I am almost never hooked in when on or around land).

[surfingwithkites]

simonm is spot on and I second his comments regarding the fixed vs. cl thing.

but if you ride with a cl all you need to do is know exactly how much to depower the kite with the depower strap before you unhook. Then just ride swell, as wave gets steep depower strap to perfect trim point, drop in, unhook and off you go. at end of wave just power back up and use chicken loop for comfort. Many riders like Reo Steven, Peter Petersen, Skip Wunderlich, Bertrand Fleury, Will James, Ben Wilson etc, etc, use this method. It's a bit more of a hassle and usually you need one size bigger kite but it works fine.

[PeterP]

Simon and SWK are spot on - except the notion that fixed allows you to drop one kite size. The reason I'd use one size up on Felix, SWK etc is that I weigh about 25-30kgs more........You can fly a kite as efficiently with a CL it's just more of a hassle having to trim to unhook + the argument about getting used to your kite in it's perfect trim when flying fixed probably carries some weight.

Most important thing is to learn on a kite that works unhooked - if you can unhook, sine your kite generate speed and just go in a straight line then your kite has passed the test.

[seano]

- Regarding the notion that using C/L & unhooking technique = use a bigger kite theory: I will always use the minimum size kite practical for the conditions - Take for example a typical day here when it's blowing 15-35kts, I could take out my 5m and be skunked in the lulls but OK in the gusts, or I could take my 7m and be sweet in the lulls & handling it in the gusts - using the C/L for getting back upwind.

As the wind range here is often +/- 20kts, using C/L makes sense (I have no trouble adjusting a clam-cleat depower rope, I know exactly where optimum trim is & obviously I am familiar with how my kite flies unhooked )

[simonm]

Simon and SWK are spot on - except the notion that fixed allows you to drop one kite size. The reason I'd use one size up on Felix, SWK etc is that I weigh about 25-30kgs more........You can fly a kite as efficiently with a CL it's just more of a hassle having to trim to unhook + the argument about getting used to your kite in it's perfect trim when flying fixed probably carries some weight.

Most important thing is to learn on a kite that works unhooked - if you can unhook, sine your kite generate speed and just go in a straight line then your kite has passed the test.

How much do you weigh? Personally for me I can definately get more out of a fixed kite that CL (maybe I just get lazy with riding CL), especially with a bit of extra turning speed from using a pulley bar. Even if you could get as much out of riding CL, I can only imagine that it would be a pain having to ride with both hands on the bar at all times to keep the kite sining.

The real question though is that you suggest that you can get as much out of riding CL as fixed, however if you were already getting everything you could out of the kite in low wind (as you would if riding fixed), why would you need to trim the kite to unhook?