Last kite standing in long lull?

[edt]

"what makes windy gusty in land? how does water fix it? does snow kiting have this issue as well"

water is flat. land is not. snow kiting isn't that gusty because the leaves all fall off the trees.

[zh4k]

How is the water temp at your spot? Right now it's very cold probably 40s, but soon it should get up to the 60s as we get closer to the summer, but for a big chunk of time it was in the 40s

You love kiteboarding dont you? I don't think I'd be dealing with gusty conditions like these if I don't like kiteboarding, I drive 40 minutes both ways just to landboard and an hour and 40 mins. just to kiteboard on water.

so does kiting inland automatically means the wind is gusty? Depends on what is surrounding, but generally yes because there are trees and buildings....it's a little better during the winter because the leaves fall off

where are you kiting at? I'm from Ohio near Cincinnati, thus I don't have the ability to test out many kites since not many riders here (like 5 total) and there are no shops so I try to get on here to get better experiences.

if the kite falls, in what type of danger are you? i mean, no inland sharks... right? No sharks, but just very cold water that I wouldn't like to be in for long and just a lack of experienced kiters to help if something goes wrong. Also the public has no clue generally what I am doing so they can't help out especially boaters because they don't know if I'm in trouble or not. Granted I can just float till I hit the other end of the lake, but that would take a couple hours and if one is in 40 degree water it doesn't feel the safest.

As to foils, I have tried a couple and just don't like them. I just feel safer with a LEI especially like a couple weeks ago when I got on the water and it started off light probably around 10 knots then it kicked up to 25 knots then shot down to 7 knots then back up to 20 knots. These weren't always instant changes in the wind speed, but generally gradual over a few seconds

[zh4k]

i'm thinking a flatter kite with good relaunch would be good the lei kite to use (Cabrinha xbow, gk sonic, anymore?)

[ronnie]

I dont know about those conditions because I wouldn't go out in them, but I have a couple of Xbows and if the kite did drop in a lull, quickly pulling down the front lines on the IDS kites will mean that if a sudden gust hits when its dropped into the power zone, the kite wouldn't power up much. Mine haven't Hindenburged on me. The Xbow is an efficient shape of kite, but with 7 struts and a one-pump system, there may be lighter kites out there which might drift down slower.

You said that you might drift for a couple of hours to the other side of the lake, which makes it sound like you kite in offshore winds? Kiting on the other side of the lake where the wind comes to you over the lake should surely be less gusty and with less drifting in cold water?

[zh4k]

nope I don't kite anything off shore....only side or side on for me.......I just have limited beach to work with and once you get past it there is nothing but lake till the other side.

[tswierkocki]

Pre 2006 I used to ride Peter Lynn kites and they would hang in the air forever. With the bow kites that came around in 2006 I made the switch to inflatables.

Since then the best kite I have had for staying up in a major lulls in the Best Kahoona. Probably a combo of its very light weight and delta shape. Also relaunches very easily.

My 2009 is not the highest performance kite but it has been my go to kite for poor quality wind.

[jrfiol]

Z, those are some hardcore conditions.

i don't think i have much to offer as far as a kite that can manage that situation.

except... move to aruba?

[edt]

nope I don't kite anything off shore....only side or side on for me.......I just have limited beach to work with and once you get past it there is nothing but lake till the other side.

are you at caesar creek state park? I used to water ski that place as a boy. I think the only decent wind directions are south-east when it blows across the body of the lake or south-west as it blows the long way. The lake is only a few miles long, off or on shore winds dont matter like they do for the ocean, you can always swim back if you have to.

where is your launch?

[zh4k]

can't do caesar's creek because it practically sits in a bowl, CJ brown is the best spot for a little bit cleaner wind but it will still be on and off at times.

[edt]

can't do caesar's creek because it practically sits in a bowl, CJ brown is the best spot for a little bit cleaner wind but it will still be on and off at times.

cj brown has a bad shape, that peninsula on the east side of the lake means there you are only getting 1/2 mile fetch from any direction. I would sooner kite the ohio river than cj brown, though dodging river barges going 20 mph is no fun, lol.

If I were you I would plan for a trip to lake erie. If you make it as far as sterling state park, I'll be there on good easterly.

Or, if I lived in cincinatti I might buy a season ticket to wake nation in Cincinnati and work on your powered moves like rallies etc. I'm pretty sure I will have to plan a trip to wake nation this summer.