Light wind technique - HELP PLEASE

[dragonpig]

Hey there, hoping that somebody may be able to help me with some advise on kiting in light wind.
I weigh 95 kgs , have 9m , 12m eclipse nanos and a 15m F-one Bandit. Ride a Crazyfly Raptor Pro 137x44.
Really happy with the kites and board but was just looking for a few pointers that i should keep in mind when kiting in winds between 8-12 knots...kite position , body position etc.

Thanks in advance for any help

[20 m or bust]

As u well know, at some point there is just not enough wind to make riding fun, but when trying to ride in bottom end of the range wind I find it helps: to ride more upright, less on the edge and to also try and ensure the board is flat from end to end. I call the posture neutral with similar weight on both feet and the board quiet, less edging and wake than usual. Kite position when I ride light wind is very high in the window. This allows one to catch more of the available wind and with most bows allows the kite to fly around u more and give u a chance to get up wind. Of course in low wind, sineing the kite will be the rule in an effort to plane and build board speed. I am 105 kg and ride a 15m Waroo and a 143 Stretch board.

[pebbles]

I weigh about the same as you with a 132x44 Crazyfly and in those winds it just sux. Get a skimboard and then you will have some fun in those winds. Try to get the larger size skimmer.

Good Luck!

[gobigkahuna]

I weigh 245 lbs (110 kg), ride a CrazyFly AllAround 145x49 and fly either my Waroo 20m or Bularoo 16m in light winds. Here's a couple tips I've learned that help in light wind:

1. Keep the kite flying. Avoid keeping the kite stationary, especially in lulls as this can cause the kite to stall and fall out of the sky. In the really bad lulls, I sometime have to resort to flying the kite back and forth through the power zone just to keep it up in the air. Won't get you upwind, but beats trying to relaunch it when the wind bottoms out.

2. Don't over sheet the kite. I think this is most peoples' biggest issue, when the wind lightens up, you should depower the kite more so it can fly faster. If you see the kite's tips start to point in or if it should begin to feel sluggish, you're probably sheeting it in too much.

3. Maintain board speed. As 20m+ said, ride the board flatter so it will plane easier, keeping your weight more directly over the board. Avoid going directly into chop or anything else that might slow down your board speed. Work your way upwind in the smooth spots and bear off in the chop. Use waves (even tiny ones) to your advantage whenever possible, bear off and let the wave give you whatever little push you can get.

4. Modify your sine strokes so the kite flies deeper. In really light wind while sining the kite, I direct the kite deeper into the zone on the up and down strokes, so it probably looks more like figure 8's than a sine wave.

5. Keep your speed through your gybes. I usually wait for a wave or small gust to gybe so I'm able to keep my board speed up.

Hope this helps...

[MissionMan]

Some more tips:

1. Keep yourself moving, the moment you start to sink you lose lots of ground to get going, you lose less ground steering down wind than sinking and getting going again. The faster you move, the more power your kites creates so this is one of the keys.
2. Power up on the down strokes, depower on the upstrokes. Your kite is likely to stall on the upstrokes, by depowering it, it flies faster (less resistance).
3. As someone else mentioned, ride flatter, if you edge too hard you're going to lose lots of ground.
4. Use 10m extensions, it gives you a larger powerzone. The kite flies slower but it adds 2 knots to your low end.

[tautologies]

what they said;

ride more upright, but keep your speed. once you get more speed you can set your edge better, but keep in mind that light winds are many times unstable

[MissionMan]

Sorry, last thing I forgot, when gybing, try to an upright slide reverse direction thing, I'd don't do the whole toeside carve thing, you lose too mcuh ground.

[KiteboardingTampaBay]

Good tips everyone!
I tend to edge harder on the downstroke while sheeting in, then edge less on the upstroke while sheeting out to build board speed. You can really rocket forward on the upstroke and pre-steer into the downstroke. Try to ease back into your edge without killing your speed.
Downstroke= power, upstroke= speed

Once planing, an upwind shift in the hips and shoulders can help dig upwind. Also pushing downward on the bar towards the water creates more "apparent edge"(???)
Practicing this in butter flat water and medium winds really helps understand this technique.

[sideonshore]

did you try squat toilet in japan or china before? exactlly the same gesture.
looks funny but your board can plan early faster in >10knot .

[Tyrone Rabinowitz]

Lots of good info here. To briefly re-cap-
Ride the board flat, using your fins to edge.
Remember to sheet out on the upstroke to gain kite speed.
Bear off (downwind) a little bit on the upstroke to keep kite and board speed.
On the downstroke you can edge a little more but try not to kill the power and speed.
When changing direction try a downloop to keep power and speed.
As Pebbles suggested a large skim board will make your light wind sessions more enjoyable.