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strong side shore current/ nugget

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Michelks
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strong side shore current/ nugget

Postby Michelks » Fri Aug 16, 2013 5:19 pm

In my spot when I have side shore wind I have a strong side shore current that spoils my session with surfboards (nugget).
Last session the wind was 22 knts with gusts of 26 and I was riding very well with a TT and a rebel 8. Then I changed the board for the Nugget (Light wind surfboard) and couldn't ride anymore.
With the TT we keep the kite low and gain speed to cross waves and edge againts the current, but with the nugget I can't do that , can't edge , don't develop speed, the board sinks, lose my angle very fast, and have to do the walk of shame all the time.
If i was on a 12 it would be perfect for the nugget, but it doesn't make sense to inflate 2 kites for a 22 knts session, i might be doing something wrong since i'm new with the nugget.
With onshore winds and no current I use both boards without this problem.

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davesails7
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Re: strong side shore current/ nugget

Postby davesails7 » Fri Aug 16, 2013 7:02 pm

Michelks wrote:but with the nugget I can't do that , can't edge
What size twin tip are you talking about and how much do you weigh? Unless you are talking about a door style twintip, the nugget should go upwind much better.

I've actually had the opposite experience with my new Slingshot SP (very similar to nugget). We get really bad current in the ocean so have to do downwinders most days, but with the SP I can stay upwind no problem and still ride waves.

Don't try to edge the board like a twin tip. You have to keep the board flatter and use the fins. Takes some getting used to. Also try moving your weight more towards the nose of the board. That's usually the best way to get upwind: weight forward, board fairly flat, push against the fins.

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Re: strong side shore current/ nugget

Postby letsgoflyakite » Fri Aug 16, 2013 7:58 pm

Well, a twin tip will generally hold a lot more power. A nugget is very corky,(bouncy) by comparison, so using a size kite down is better, as it needs way less power to get it going. They are two very different boards, the nugget has not got a grippy edging ability like the TT. As a previous poster (davesails) stated, ride nugget flatter, off it's fins. The nugget is huge fun !

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Re: strong side shore current/ nugget

Postby tony montana » Fri Aug 16, 2013 9:25 pm

22 knots i could use my 6 park bang on shore wind and still ,drive up wind on my nugget,its just technique,i was like that when i first started riding surfboards,couple of sessions and you will have it nailed.and yes ride it flat,it completely different to a TT,TONY

Michelks
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Re: strong side shore current/ nugget

Postby Michelks » Sat Aug 17, 2013 12:53 am

I'm 85 kg and was riding a 135x45 tt board( when the current is strong i take wider boards) , develop lots of speed and better to go trought the foam of the waves.
With the nugget i was with both feet close to front pads, trying to keep the board flat, and having dificulty to get speed, after each wave the board sinks and I have to sine the kite.
I used to push against the fins to get me planing when I was a windsurfer, but our feet were close to the rail. Now with both feet on the center of the board , and the board flat, how can i push against the fins?

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Re: strong side shore current/ nugget

Postby davesails7 » Sat Aug 17, 2013 3:28 am

Are you riding with straps or strapless? If strapless you can move your feet around and see what works. Even if you plan on riding with straps, it's good to try the board strapless first to see where you want the straps to be.

Maybe "push against the fins" is the wrong way to say it. On a windsurfer (and kite raceboards), you really push against the fins from the rail. For surfboards, it's more feel the fins and turn the nose of the board upwind? Hard to put into words. Takes some getting used to. Keep at it!

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Re: strong side shore current/ nugget

Postby KYLakeKiter » Sat Aug 17, 2013 4:41 am

davesails7 wrote:Are you riding with straps or strapless? If strapless you can move your feet around and see what works. Even if you plan on riding with straps, it's good to try the board strapless first to see where you want the straps to be.

Maybe "push against the fins" is the wrong way to say it. On a windsurfer (and kite raceboards), you really push against the fins from the rail. For surfboards, it's more feel the fins and turn the nose of the board upwind? Hard to put into words. Takes some getting used to. Keep at it!
That is exactly what I needed to hear. Wednesday I was riding my surfboard on a crazy wind day. 10 minutes of 5 to 7 kts followed by 3 minutes of up to 17kts. I ride my surfboard in light winds on the lake to practice jibes. I was flying my 17m kite. During the peaks, I was hauling a**, and since I was going downwind during the lulls, during the peaks, I was edging hard, twin tip like, digging in my back heal and angling the board as much as possible to get back upwind. I realized that by easing off a little (flattening the board), I seemed to get the same upwind result (although more speed). Now that I have heard what should happen on the surfboard, I will try just pointing more upwind leaving the board flatter to get a better result. Thanks for the tip. I obviously needed it. :thumb: This was strapless btw.

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Re: strong side shore current/ nugget

Postby tony montana » Sat Aug 17, 2013 6:11 pm

Michelks wrote:I'm 85 kg and was riding a 135x45 tt board( when the current is strong i take wider boards) , develop lots of speed and better to go trought the foam of the waves.
With the nugget i was with both feet close to front pads, trying to keep the board flat, and having dificulty to get speed, after each wave the board sinks and I have to sine the kite.
I used to push against the fins to get me planing when I was a windsurfer, but our feet were close to the rail. Now with both feet on the center of the board , and the board flat, how can i push against the fins?
If you have your feet that far up the board it will stall and slow you down,nugget is short and nose of board catches if your feet are too far forward,just in front of back foot pad is more than enough,keep back foot flat and point nose up wind with front foot,TONY

Michelks
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Re: strong side shore current/ nugget

Postby Michelks » Sat Aug 24, 2013 8:18 pm

tony montana wrote:
Michelks wrote:I'm 85 kg and was riding a 135x45 tt board( when the current is strong i take wider boards) , develop lots of speed and better to go trought the foam of the waves.
With the nugget i was with both feet close to front pads, trying to keep the board flat, and having dificulty to get speed, after each wave the board sinks and I have to sine the kite.
I used to push against the fins to get me planing when I was a windsurfer, but our feet were close to the rail. Now with both feet on the center of the board , and the board flat, how can i push against the fins?
If you have your feet that far up the board it will stall and slow you down,nugget is short and nose of board catches if your feet are too far forward,just in front of back foot pad is more than enough,keep back foot flat and point nose up wind with front foot,TONY

I had a much better session with the nugget yesterday, thanks for the tips guys.
After all, my biggest mistake was to drive the kite as it was a TT, keeping the kite low, doing aggressive moves with it, trying to accelerate as fast as possible.
Keeping the kite higher and moving it gently, took my weight from the board and rail, so it was easy to keep the board flat and move forward even at low speed.
I was using a rebel 14 in 12/16 knots, with more practice I think a 12 will be fine.
We have to open our mind when using new equipment, otherwise we repeat the same mistakes over and over.

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Re: strong side shore current/ nugget

Postby SupaEZ » Sat Aug 24, 2013 8:39 pm

Michelks

Your kite area (14m2) to board area ratio was much better than during your initial post using a 8m2 !!

You will also do well with the 12m2 Rebel but any smaller kite does not balance that well with Nugget

With my Nugget 2013 i use almost exclusively my Core Riot XR3 LW 19m2 starting with 7kn wind

I have used my Nugget with my Rebel 12m2 once and it worked good also starting with 12kn wind


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