Postby jumptheshark » Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:35 pm
There is no doubt its a procedure, but its not hard, not time sensitive, nor is there any residual pull from the kite so it just has to be done methodically. The smaller the kite the easier it is and any decent swimmer should be able to pull it off. Well worth learning to take advantage of all the Peak has to offer stress free. I've done this with sizes 3-6m over 20 times and apart from having to repeat the process on a couple occasions due to weeds or insufficient winds, ultimately I've been successful every time.
1- a crashed peak with the bar in hand is generally much easier to maintain line tension and simply relaunch. Your test of letting it hit the water hands off is unrealistic and will almost always end up with the kite either taco or flopped bottom side down. Either way its a reset. In the video there was substantial time to save it as it slowly fell to the side....had you the inclination, and I posit that peak riders most definitely have the inclination. Right there, this is not a genuine example of how things generally work with peaks.
2- Once flat you have a chance of getting a rear corner to catch and the kite to take shape. Hold one rear line aloft and wait for about 5 sec. That's it If it catches and you can see material keep holding. If not, it's a reset. Pulling various lines willy nilly will definitely make the reset much more challenging.
3- Once a reset is the call, DON'T PULL THE KITE TOWARD YOU. The idea is to disturb the kite as little as possible before you get to it so it is easy to sort. Often its just pull one half open and set it on its back to drift. Swim a few strokes toward the kite and from there keep the lines slack. Wind the lines as you swim with your board flutter board style toward and slightly to the side of the kite. The kite has no pull at this stage and its drama free to wrap lines as you make your way toward it. Wrap all the way up to the grey lines and keep the bar clear. I put it on top of the board and pin it there with one hand while doing the rest with the other. A flotation vest is helpful.
4- if you have not tensioned the lines and drown the kite its usually just opening it back up onto its back and getting it to drift down wind. With all the bridles wrapped, it only takes minor care to stay free of the grey lines. Calm methodical patience is all it takes. I drain the tip cells by holding each one aloft by the LE, but you can get away without this step.
5- Let the kite drift at it's easy pace as you unwind the lines fast enough as not to tension them. The kite drifts pretty slow so I tend to backpedal with my board and finish the last few wraps faster, then get the board between me and the kite in a launch ready position (one hand on the front lines ready to pull, the other on the bar ready to brake and control the kite in shape allowing time for tip draining so you get a clean take off. Rush this phase and your gonna flop the kite around one heavy tip and end up starting over. Once the kite has taken shape, LET THE TIPS DRAIN before you try and fly the kite up off the water.
Ride away.
Pretty sure I put all these points in the thread right after you originally posted your clip. I had learned it more than a year prior from Horst's posts so the info was already out there. I don't expect this to be everyone's taste, but I'll gladly post it again for those who dare.
The key point is that you purposefully let the kite crash without any understanding of what to do next. I'm pretty sure every peak rider on here would have grabbed the bar in the ample time it takes a peak to fall from the sky and it would have never got wet. Again, most often when we do crash em, its with all four lines tensioned and more often than not, its a two second relaunch.
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- br44 (Tue Sep 14, 2021 10:01 pm)