Relaunch method

[azoele]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone could offer a simple explanation (or a link to a video) on how to relaunch a kite with the "backline + opposite frontline" method.
I seem to not have found much online, and at my local spot, people do not even know what I am talking about!

So... any help from the those with much more experience?
Pretty please?
Thanks!

[leeuwen]

Hello,

Video here:


Basically its what you said: grab the opposite frontline from the steering line.
Luke in the video flips the bar around, I personally don't like doing that.
It is in the video but be VERY careful when grabbing a line with your hand its very easy to accidentally grab it in a way that won't release when there is tension coming from the kite.
Another way I heard about that is a bit more finger safe is pulling the safety line below the bar since that is one of the powerlines (and use the opposing steering line).

Do note that its common that the kite back-stalls during/after the rotation because of the extreme angles. This can result in rotated but trailing-edge down into the water kite.
So you might want to be careful to not rotate it all the way but "just enough".

[azoele]

Thanks a lot!
The video is quite clear.
I thought it was something different altogether, like: getting the kite on its side, and then pulling hard on both the back and the opposite line to "lurch" the kite out of the water.
(as I said, pulling both fronts while holding the back invariably sends the kite straight into the water rather than in the air, so thought this was a method to jump the kite out of the water).

Honestly though, your comment and the video itself made me hesitant to test it, for fear of accidents involving my fingers
Problem is that the kites might this not just in 7 knots, but in 10 knots too – their tips go under the water due to the extremely thin leading edge designed for air speed, thus loading the bottom part of the canopy with water preventing relaunch – and at that wind speed, once the kite is in the air, it will accelerate quickly... with my fingers possibly in the lines

Also, my other doubt: to perform it you need to drop the bar, and reach for the lines pulling until you get to the appropriate front line.
That looks like a possible recipe for lines tangling around the bar (I have a carbon bar without floaters). Not a huge issue in very light wind, but another source of danger nonetheless

Ouch.

Hello,

Video here:


Basically its what you said: grab the opposite frontline from the steering line.
Luke in the video flips the bar around, I personally don't like doing that.
It is in the video but be VERY careful when grabbing a line with your hand its very easy to accidentally grab it in a way that won't release when there is tension coming from the kite.
Another way I heard about that is a bit more finger safe is pulling the safety line below the bar since that is one of the powerlines (and use the opposing steering line).

Do note that its common that the kite back-stalls during/after the rotation because of the extreme angles. This can result in rotated but trailing-edge down into the water kite.
So you might want to be careful to not rotate it all the way but "just enough".

[Herman]

To take this method towards the extreme of it’s capability you could consider the following:

1. Trim in for low AOA.
2. Get the kite dead down wind with kite lying accross the wind.
3. Put the kite on it’s back - still dead down wind and across the wind.
4. Use the opposite front line to pivot the kite through 90° Keeping the rest of the lines slack and therefore the kite stays dead down wind.

You now have the kite in the most powerful position in the window for a launch. Usually it will take off as you ease the the opposite front and re-tension the lines. If not a gentle tug on the top rear leader will get the kite airborne, if it does not and the kite starts to fall onto the TE a big yank on both fronts once the kite is starting to point skywards can get it launched.

Still need to be careful to avoid the possible tangle fest!

PS when you are pivoting the kite, most kites will not be sitting on their tip, most will sit with what becomes the upwind tip just off the sand/water providing you have given enough slack on the rest of the lines. But only for light wind because of the tangle risk!

[mountain_lake]

I like the following video better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxje1acn2p0

Because:
- It shows that you don't need to swap your hands, which I consider the better way.
- It shows how the relaunch is done in the water and not on sand
- It shows that you need to grab the center line further up and not just at y-split. The y split is only sufficient if the wind is not super light.

For me personally, the lighter the wind the higher the risk of a tangle and I always make sure everything is untangled before I launch. And yes my carbon bar as well tangles easier than my standard bar.

Hope that helps.

Cheers

[tautologies]

Just want to iterate...do not get any lines around fingers or hand...or limb.
You can grab both front lines as well. Its almost as goog.

THe point in all this is to keep an eye on the kite, and feel what it is doing. All light wind riding is a balancing act, and the same goes for the relaunch.

[azoele]

Thank you all for your suggestions.
I really appreciated the inputs!

I succeeded at relaunching in "low" wind (I'd say 9 knots, as I needed a couple of loops to waterstart immediately afterwards )
and I used a similar technique to what was described in the various comments: while I didn't pull on the front line, I allowed the kite to get on its side, and like in the videos, I made it fall a bit backwards by slackening the lines.
The kite tilted a bit backwards while still being in a launch position, and in that position the tip *did not* go under the water and the canopy did not fill with water.
Thus, the kite relaunched immediately without need to pull on the fronts!

I was frankly very surprised, as I was ready for a long swim

So, thank you all!
I shall continue to test lighter wind relaunch with this technique and testing also the front+opposite line, as they feel like the most successful ones.

Ah! It was surprising to me, but I had never thought of holding the foil like I saw in one of the videos, despite foiling for 3 years... ouch
Putting the feet on the fuselage to keep it still, and the bar/lines over the board was a much better way to hold it (and use it for some braking under water to keep line tension) than I usually did.
Thanks for that too