so I dropped my 12m soul into the water for the 1st times yesterday, wind dropped to zero, no chance of a relaunch.
Thankfully I wasn't too far out and the kite was floating nicely part on its leading edge and then kinda wrapped over itself so I thought I would swim in and let it bob along behind me. It got increasingly more difficult and got to the point where it was full of water and impossible to move, thankfully I managed to just get into my depth and drag it in.
I was initially thinking if this happens again I will roll it up on the water immediately and swim in with it like that, I was then wondering however if its possible to attach two lines to one side (like an old C LEI attachment) either tying off to bridle string or around the material, and then swimming in with it floating on its back towing behind.
Is this an absurd idea, will it fill with water anyway doing this?
I had a short (15min swim) with 15m soul last week and it took no water at all.
I think whether it drinks or not depends on how choppy the conditions are and how the valves are positioned on the water.
If there is a few knots of wind sometimes it makes sense to keep the center lines tensioned if it's in hot launch position
you can drag the kite behind you but it depends on the kite. I have some foils where you could drag it behind you all day others will just fill with water if you look at it. Sounds like your foil likes to fill with water, you gotta roll it up immediatly.
First of all... by any means DO NOT pull the kite when it's leading edge down. That's how it fills with water. If you can't relaunch it then you roll it in such situation. Or at least use QR, so it would straighten and float while you swim. It still might not save you from water getting inside, but that's way better scenario than plowing the water with the leading edge, where the air intakes are.
imo, the ability to perform a water self rescue is a required skill for using high performace(or not) foil kites...
True, but most of the time it's hard to make the decision..
Maybe you want to wait 5-10 minutes to see if the wind picks up but meanwhile start slowly peddling towards the beach.
Maybe you are just a short swim away and the chances are that the kite will not drink much water..
Maybe there is a current and spending 10-15 minutes wrapping up will take you out an extra mile from where you want to be..
Maybe your kite is a tangled semi-deflated mess?
Maybe it's a combination of the above?
Never ever try to pull a dropped foil kite if it is more than 30 m distance! Not important on which lines or if on additional lines, wont work anyway !
Every existing foil kite will fill with water at least by capillarity of the sewings, the more the sewings have been loaded in the past, especially by pulling it through the water , the faster it will fill in the future !!
@elguapo: Very good video and explanation. Thanks
Here is another one, from more close up but exactly the same methode.
@deniska
No there is absolutely no decision to make:
If you are not 99,9 % sure, that the next gust will allow you to relaunch ... then:
start the shown dismounting process, even if it might be just for exercise and you turn back mounting if wind comes back. Exercise will be important to do it well.
As mentioned never ever wait 5-10 minutes and especially never ever try to peddling with a foil kite anywhere.
Creating a see anchor by peddling will pull you much faster into any current trouble than any dismounting process will, which never needs more then 10 minutes. If there is a current that takes you within 10 minutes into trouble:
then your error has been to go kiting there.
If your kite is tangled and can't relaunch: Just use the exact same process to dismount till you reach the point to untangle and then rebuild and restart again.
There is no combination and no excuse to not do it the shown way, but
- read the manual which already explains everything basicly, https://flysurfer.com/downloads/downloa ... l-english/ page 14/15
- you should learn to sit on your board
- you should learn to dismount and mount your kite in a clean way first on land, then in the shallow and in the last step in the deep water
If you can do this, all problems you could ever have with foil kites in water will be gone ...
... and if you are experienced you will be the first back on land, before the tube kiters are, even if your kite drops last.
These users thanked the author Horst Sergio for the post:
I practised shallow water rescue a couple of times and deep water once. When the day came that I had to do it for real offshore it was a cinche.
Carrying a little ruck sack to put the rolled up kite into is a good idea like in the first video but I just used my harness to clamp the kite.
I agree that it's a tough call knowing when to pack up or persevere. My main decider is the kite position on the water. If the vents are pointing up and theres a couple of knots of wind to keep the kite half out of the water, I will wait. If its twisted, face down, strong current with the wind etc, I'll pack up.
These users thanked the author Macster for the post:
Slight high jack... what is the best technique to get a foil kite pointing upwards again when the wind is too light to reverse launch nor enough to pull one steering line and get a wingtip up and rotating?
I'm talking less than 7-8 knots, bit of current in the direction of the wind I.e. without back paddling on your foil board you would struggle to relaunch the kite in a normal hot launch position....
This is my worst scenario and attempts to yank and reverse launch just scoop water into the vents...
7-9 knots is way more than enough to reverse launch. make sure you are firmly seated on the hydrofoil. You want maximum resistance against the water so you can jellyfish the rear lines. You should be able to reverse launch a foil kite in as low as 2-5 knots as long as you are able to push hard against the water. Maybe you have a weird foil kite?