Yesterday I was foiling in about 12 knots with some downwind current and 2 foot wind chop. I have recently started using a much lighter 68cm mast and fuse (Project Cedrus http://www.bayareakiteboarding.com/foru ... =1&t=14778 ) with Cloud 9 S24 wings (same as Liquid Force impulse wings) and a 140 cm low volume Shinn foilboard.
I dropped the kite in the water on a transition in a lull and one of the lines twisted around the kite, and it took a minute or two to get it straightened out and relaunched, during which time I drifted about 35 meters downwind of my board. The board was on its side with the foil upwind, and was not coming downwind at all ( or if it was, very, very slowly). If anything, it was moving slightly across the wind in the direction the board was pointing. Fifteen minutes of bodydragging were getting me no closer to the board, and in fact I was losing a little ground. I eventually used the kite to get to shore, swam out and got the board, and swam it back to shore. Took a long time and was not fun.
Using the heavier mast (also 68 cm) and fuse that originally came with the Cloud 9, the board always ended up flat with the mast pointing down, and the foil made it go pretty rapidly downwind. I have really been enjoying the lighter setup, but this was definitely not something I want to repeat.
So: has this happened to anyone else? Could it have been a function of relatively light wind (both in terms of being able to make a good upwind angle bodydragging, or in terms of whether the mast would have been forced down in stronger wind)? Is there some easy modification that might prevent this from happening in the future?
Thanks for any insight or solutions.