7m foil kite deep water pack-up carnage

[papasmerf]

this did not go well,, defintely not as planned. broke rope slider during gybe/foot switch. worst possible time.. worst possible place as i was as far out as i go during cold weather,,, i don't ever go further out than i can safely float in before hypothermia gets me. manage to hang onto bar although it was fully powered up on the cleat plus unhooked,,, would do a few things different now but at the time, well, things go fast. i grab the cl and let go of bar to reduce power, hoping to hang on to ride in unhooked. while holding on to the cl, i reach up to depower kite but it's pretty far away, plus when i let go to do that, the kite started going down fast,, i reach up to steer and it speeds up, and rips out of my hands, going to the safety line. it's obviously a foil kite and it flops/deshapes all around as it descends,, pretty much a disaster. no way i am going to relaunch so i figure get the board for flotation and so i don't lose it,, I do have a very floaty impact vest on so didn't need board but thought it might come in handy. manage to swim upwind to it. the next bit goes pretty good. get on board, and start wrapping up the middle line that went to safety, then start wrapping up the other lines, nice and neat so far, until i get to the bridles. they are freaking everywhere. like being attacked by intelligent seaweed. i now wish i had wrapped them all together around the bar instead i tried to use kite as a sail. not working. lines get arouind mast, 4 loops around my ankle, jesus fucking christ. should have practiced this for sure. now i start gathering bridles and try to wrap around the ends of the bar like normal... duh, not enough room. figure i am close enough though so decide to undo vent to deflate kite and wrap it up. also not so easy since the bridle has wrapped around my ankle. in no danger though really,, could just remain still and float in since my original plan was my ultimate back up, glad i had it, surprised i had to resort to it. sitting on the board was not working great so i got off and tied my leash to the single hook. note to self,, put a small loop on back of board for this very thing. so i am about resigned to float in when a buddy risks having his kite go down in the lighter wind and comes out and drags me, and my board and my half wrapped up kite/water anchor close to shore. kite is full of water, weighs a ton,, i stagger thru the rocks with 4 loops around my ankles, can't even take full steps, get it all sorted out,, have great 2 hour session with back up harness, go home.

so my next plan is this

have back up rope next to slider rope.

wrap up the damn bridles all the way to the tips of the kite to keep them out of the way, then open flap and roll up kite,

put a loop on board with an extra leash perhaps to let it drag behind me hopefully, has anyone done this? my board already has a mind of it's own so not sure.

carry some sort of stretchy bag to stuff kite and bar into.

have something to lash bag to board or to my back so i can lay on board and paddle in with it.

any other tips?

[Herman]

If you are on a big wing and small kite would it be worth considering leashing to suicide or the end of the trim strap for this sort of session.

PS if I have backstall landed to a tether and the wind is fairly light, I practice packing down by bringing the tips together with the bridles. Then grap the tips into a little roll before working down to the deflate etc...... rarely goes as well as you think it should but at least it is some sort of practice.

[Janus]

thx for sharing.
Reminds me to check my slider..
I have a 15cm bungee loop at the nose of my board, primary for the leash attachement (extra leash, normal/long, unsed on the back of my haness) to keep the board with me if there is a problem and I'm busy with the packing or restarting the kite.
Thouht about a mesh bag too but since the Peaks packs up to a very small package not really needed.. could be really handy thoug..

[joriws]

> Any tips?

Wondering if your slider still has metallic spreader so assemble chickenloop around that metal and sail home. As you can assemble chickenloop and relaunch flagged foil kite, for sure first practice on land or shallow water before deep water. During safety descent the flagged kite might/will rotate so just rotate the bar to untwist lines. Or do you still use chickenloop? If not, maybe if depower rope could have been tied?

Dragging kite by another kiteboarder is quite bad option as it might rip kite internals or airfoil seams on heavy acceleration.

Also when I made my own DIY slider bar I inserted old kiteline inside slider line to have additional 200daN safety core in slider rope.

Simple line or bungee line in impact vest pocket could be handy to wrap kite and maybe tie to board.

[airsail]

thx for sharing.
Reminds me to check my slider..
I have a 15cm bungee loop at the nose of my board, primary for the leash attachement (extra leash, normal/long, unsed on the back of my haness) to keep the board with me if there is a problem and I'm busy with the packing or restarting the kite.
Thouht about a mesh bag too but since the Peaks packs up to a very small package not really needed.. could be really handy thoug..

After a few swims with a peak I started always carrying a small mesh laundry bag. Yes it rolls up small but bits tend to escape and become a sea anchor. Had to keep stopping to wrap them back up and slowed my progress in.

[nothing2seehere]

I have heard of people using a rash vest (worn over wetsuit) as a stuff bag to put the kite into instead of a laundry bag.

Does your harness have a handlepass leaash? I wonder if you might have been able to turn your harness backwards and clipped the QR into the handlepass leash. Wouldn't be super comfortable but might be enough for a single run in to the shore? Wouldn't want to try with twin tip winds but for hydrofoil winds might work?

[Foil]

just make sure you use this spreader bar that has two slider ropes, the ION, two ropes independent of each other, both 5mm dyneema, and replace every year, the Ion slider bar fits most 4 strap harnesses,
https://powerkiteshop.com/ion-no-hook-spreader-bar.htm

One rescue method that works well-
In the water foil kite down-no hope of relaunch, and before lots of water has entered.
if the conditions are such that you will need the board, get hold of it quickly and secure it on a leash to the back of the board.
this has to be done in a blink of an eye, so make a plan and try it out, it may work on the beach but up to you neck in water is another world.
not securing the board and then failing to relaunch the kite may well mean the board will be too far away and impossible to get to without firing off the kite bar and swimming off to it,
I have done this and it worked as I was able to lie on the board and paddle back and start my pack down, but its very risky, and will make you think very strongly about how to do it better next time (of course a buddy looking out for you will hopefully retrieve a runaway board, but has he seen you? and will he know how to do it?
back to the job of pack down-
Rolling in all the line and the bridals around the bar is a must do,right up to the kite, and secure the line to the bar with the bar end bungies or a overhand knot of the bridals over the bar ends,
I have found it best to leave the vents shut as long as possible, this provides a number of advantages,
firstly a floating big balloon is easier to spot,
and the floating mass helps it to act like a big GO JOE, a mini sail for the wind to help the wind blow you in the right direction, keeping this balloon good and tight by ocasional winding the bar up tighter, this prevents water getting in, opening a vent will quickly make the kite flood and impossible to keep on top of the board.
Always have a leash eye loop on the rear of the board, ideally secured under the rear foot strap or use a footstrap screw hole, not the front, if it's on the front, the board will keep bumping on to you,and get in the way all the time, and also if you do leash on to the front end and before the kite bridals have been secured inside the rolled up kite then the board and foil will get tangled up in the loose lines, and that's a right knightmare.

Which sort of leash management system you use is a can of worms, and I have tried the lot, and only one works well for me, 100% of the time. but the main consideration is your safety, and the board is a flotation aid and must be kept with you for the swim in if at all possible.
I do a risk assessment each and every time I hit the water, tidal flow, strength of tide, direction of flow around our sandbanks, wind strength and direction, are buddies on hand, suitable attire for the temps on the day, nasty looking dark cloud formations, the list is endless.

My o'shit list includes carrying my mini flares with me at all times and my smart phone in its aquasure pouch, it's switched on, and can be used in its pouch, volume is on loud of course, the phone is also used as a fitness tracker to log distance and speed, so dual use and helps me not to forget it.

Getting a buddy to help drag you in works, but it needs rules for it to work well,
the foil kite has to be totally wrapped up tight and on top of the stricken guys board (or set it loose, as it will not allow a drag back)
he has to lie out flat on the water with one hand holding his board pointing forward,foil down and either securing the kite with a leash through the footstraps or his full arm over the kite and holding on to a front footstrap,
when all that has been achieved the towing foil surfer can then approach the stricken foiler, himself already in the body dragging position, with his board and foil on its side,foil pointing downwind,
the stricken foiler has then to drift into him and grab his handle on the rear of his harness.

Only 3 weeks ago I pulled one of my buddies to shore using exactly this method,
while he was packing up his kite I was in the water practicing how I would hold my position downwind of him, and reassuring him I would be getting him back as soon as he had sorted his kite as described above.
It worked so well, in fact we got good speed up, with me using a foil kite myself helped a lot, as it has no habit of falling down with slack lines. and allowed nice soft kite movements to keep us moving.

[edt]

My best tip is go out there and practice it closer to shore 5 or 6 times. Like anything else it gets easier with practice