How do I prevent slack lines and outrunnig kite in big waves

[?uest]

Hi everyone,

I've been waveriding strapless for a while and my aim is always to park the kite and surf down the line, preferably without any pull from the kite.

Now in bigger and more powerful waves it often happens that, while making the first drop off the wall of the wave, the lines go slack because of my speed and I out run the kite so it drops out of the sky...

Can I prevent this with a better technique or could it also be a question of tuning the kite?

After all i'm kiting with a very high AR kite (EH ripper) on short lines (17m), while you see most waveriders kiting low AR kites, that apparently should be better drifters...

Thanks for your tips and advice!

[jakemoore]

Downloop it so it is flying back into the window as you ride the wave.

[TheJoe]

Try and keep the kite higher so it is above you and not in front of you. I have a hard time with this as I ride mainly wake style since we don't have a good local wave spot and lots wind killing marine layers or doming on Galveston. Inland it nukes .

[ITN]

Its mostly technique but some kites do a better job then others at drifting backwards. I use the Ozone Reo which works a treat at drifting but this isn't the only kite out there with good drift.

[plummet]

looping is your friend!

[Westozzy]

Yeh the problem with a kite with high aspect in the waves (just coming off the edge so I have some valuable input here) is when the lines do go slack (which by the way is what you want at times to really surf) the kite loses speed and instead of drifting back, it stalls and therefore when you need that little bit of power after say a re -entry, there is little until the line slack goes and you get some speed back in the kite. Its trying to hunt the edge not sit back in the window and travel with you aka drift.

You gotta either drop into the wave and immediately cutback away from the kite then resume or you have to loop the kite down the line. Gotta keep that kite moving man...even if just a bit, back and forth into and back from the edge of the window.

Have ridden a lot of wave specific kites this year and if you really want to get into the surf this is what you need.

The only high aspect kite I have found with some drift capabilities is the LF NRG. But even then it is no match for a REO, Neo, dice, religion, Cabo, wave, drifter etc etc etc...

[Megabear]

Hi there,

Dont listen to much to people taking about how if you have xYZ kite everything Will change. Chances are it is not about The kite, is about your bottom turn. You to need turn more straight up and vertically against the wave. This will keep tension on your lines ....

[?uest]

You do see Tophat surfing with Rippehrs in older videos, he surfs with a pulley bar and often hooked out though...

[tautologies]

You do see Tophat surfing with Rippehrs in older videos, he surfs with a pulley bar and often hooked out though...

I find it odd that people are giving advice here without asking the wind direction....so what is the direction of the wind???
Sometimes it is not possible to avoid..huge waves In Light onshore wind...it is just sometimes a matter of physics...and with that kite..in not a huge fan of it.
When you sagbig waves...any estimates?

Btw. tophat ride steady sideshore wind for the most of the time...he is also really really good at it.

[Peter_Frank]

Hi there,

Dont listen to much to people taking about how if you have xYZ kite everything Will change. Chances are it is not about The kite, is about your bottom turn. You to need turn more straight up and vertically against the wave. This will keep tension on your lines ....

Exactly

The answers about looping the kite, or flying the kite low - is how I do it, as it works in extremely light wind and with big kites.

But as you want to use the other way, parking the kite (two completely opposite ways, both awesome in each their own aspect), then you have to ride even more vertical and with "tighter" bottom turns

This is also a much better way of riding IMO, no matter what way you ride parked or aggressive, as it is much more fun, more radical, and looks way better for everyone watching

It is all about technique - dont just ride "grandpa style" with tiny wiggles straight down the line (does not work with big kites/light wind) - ride with tight bottom turns and go vertical hitting the lip harder !

Peter