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Kite foiling and sargassum?

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mikael sidenius
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Kite foiling and sargassum?

Postby mikael sidenius » Thu May 24, 2018 5:56 pm

I'm thinking of getting into kite foiling but living here in Mexico on the Caribbean side means lots and lots of sargassum these last years so I was wondering how that affects kite foiling?
Does it slice through it or does it get stuck on the wings making it impossible to kite foil?

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Re: Kite foiling and sargassum?

Postby tmcfarla » Thu May 24, 2018 7:17 pm

I have not tried foiling in sargassum yet, but if you have anything like what I’ve seen in Barbados the past two years, don’t bother, it won’t be possible. Even tiny patches of seaweed can through you off a foil, I don’t see any way to get through the large mats of sargassum I’ve seen, where even surfboard fins were a problem. My understanding is that sargassum is seasonal, so you could foil during the rest of the year.

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Re: Kite foiling and sargassum?

Postby edt » Thu May 24, 2018 7:28 pm

You can't foil where there's seaweed. Even if the foil manages to cut the seaweed, it will still stick to the wing, so 1 second after hitting it your entire foil is covered in it and you end up turning your foil upside down while keeping your kite in the air, pulling it off the wing, then you body drag to shore with your wing upside down. So it doesn't matter if it slices through the seaweed it ends up on the wing and you come to a slow stop, or if you hit a big patch and it stops you instantly and cartwheel head over heels after hitting it, there's zero chance of foiling if there's seaweed. Even a tiny little bit of seaweed on the foil, 2 or 3 cm of it, will cause horrible problems with the wing, ruining the lift.

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Re: Kite foiling and sargassum?

Postby winduser » Thu May 24, 2018 8:40 pm

It can be done with a big Alai

https://vimeo.com/262078975

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Re: Kite foiling and sargassum?

Postby mikael sidenius » Thu May 24, 2018 9:23 pm

Thanks a lot for the responses so that kind of stopped my foiling career because we have lots and lots of seaweed here in the Riviera Maya Coast and it's almost year around and strongest during the summer where there is the least wind where I would be foiling the most.....damnit :duh:

Thanks!

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Re: Kite foiling and sargassum?

Postby unclebill » Fri May 25, 2018 12:52 am

I'm sorry to hear that the sargassum is back again worse than ever. 2015 was the worst I ever saw then not as bad the next couple. I've been trying to get detailed information on how bad and where but there seems to be an effort to keep it quiet to not scare away tourists. Is it building up deep in most places or localised? And what about closer to cancun or is the current pushing it past into the gulf?

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Re: Kite foiling and sargassum?

Postby mikael sidenius » Fri May 25, 2018 1:06 am

Right now its bad where I live in Puerto Aventuras and also in Tulum and Playa del Carmen but I don't know how it is up in Cancun.

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Re: Kite foiling and sargassum?

Postby Saami » Fri May 25, 2018 4:19 am

edt wrote:
Thu May 24, 2018 7:28 pm
You can't foil where there's seaweed. Even if the foil manages to cut the seaweed, it will still stick to the wing, so 1 second after hitting it your entire foil is covered in it and you end up turning your foil upside down while keeping your kite in the air, pulling it off the wing, then you body drag to shore with your wing upside down. So it doesn't matter if it slices through the seaweed it ends up on the wing and you come to a slow stop, or if you hit a big patch and it stops you instantly and cartwheel head over heels after hitting it, there's zero chance of foiling if there's seaweed. Even a tiny little bit of seaweed on the foil, 2 or 3 cm of it, will cause horrible problems with the wing, ruining the lift.
Congratulations on post # 5000 :) :thumb:

Seaweed can be fun... On a twintip :lol: 8) Smooths out the surface of the water and it can be fun seeing the seaweed whiz by underneath you and hear that sound of seaweed on your board. But on a foil or surfboard, no... :-?

Not to mention what can happen if your kite goes down in seaweed :o Relaunching a kite when the lines are draped in heavy wet seaweed = not fun :(

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Re: Kite foiling and sargassum?

Postby unclebill » Fri May 25, 2018 3:20 pm

Have you been able to ride at all on twin tip or too much sargassum even for that and lines fouling with it?

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Re: Kite foiling and sargassum?

Postby super_padge » Fri May 25, 2018 9:25 pm

Hi,

i wouldn't write it off totally - maybe you have to visit another spot/figure out which wind directions work best for you. I'm based in Holbox, and it's been a great season for foiling.

When i hit seaweed its either: i fall off, if i'm prepared and see it, then i drop off the foil, or i sail straight through it. It doesnt get stuck but i'm on an Axis maroro (more race type)

I find it's tricky on or after a norte as the currents mean all the seagrass is moved around and there's plenty floating around. This season seemed to be worse around January as we had several norte's in a row.

Marco at extreme control is doing demo days at el cuyo, which is worth trying, or alternatively come to holbox and try it (the lessons start in november, we're just at the end of season. We have really easy foil conditions here!
Hope you have fun, and give me a shout if you get chance to head to holbox!


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